Aurora 1.5: A Second Look
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
I’ve been in Home for almost two and a half years now. During that time, I have been more involved in the social scene than in Home the gaming one; my club, the magazine and my friends have kept me pretty busy, and I have put off many of the games available here because of the time involved. I did complete Salt Shooter, obtaining my level-fifty jacket in about a week’s time after I purchased the game, but when it comes to in Home gaming as a whole, I have to admit I am a bit of a newbie.
The reason I bought Salt Shooter and began to play it after more than eighteen months in Home was because of the public space that Lockwood created to renew interest in the game several months ago. I went there like everyone else to get the free rewards and played through the five free levels of the game and got hooked, even though as a rule this kind of game isn’t my forte. I liked the upgrades I won in the full game as I progressed in levels, and getting that level-fifty jacket became a bit of an obsession for a while.
I still go back there and play to gain more resources and buy things from Vickie’s Store in the Sodium Hub, although I wish they would upgrade it a bit more often to give us more choices.
How does all of this relate to Aurora and their new 1.5 update?
I’ve started to go there and really used the orb game for the first time in the past week or two, and it is because of a similar reason: they got me interested by adding the OMG Trap-O-Matic. This is probably one of the easiest games to play that has ever been created in Home. All you do is set the trap by hitting the X button a couple times, then go back in twenty four hours to see what you caught, if anything.
I’ve won several things so far — all of them are simply re-skinned things you could buy in the store, such as the Flying Doomnut (a doughnut with sprinkles that flies, an active item for your apartment), a smoke machine active item in the color green, and a green gift box companion that is a redo of the Thing-in-a-Box. One thing I am trying for but haven’t gotten yet is the nighttime version of the Ansada Fone apartment. There is a ninja suit as well. Not too shabby for free.
There is, of course, a power-up you can purchase; it’s supposed to offer a better chance at winning things. It’s a five-leaf-clover chair (clever idea) to increase your luck, but it costs $3.49. This is optional; I have had friends win the apartment without it, but I haven’t had their luck so far.
All of this leads me to the reason for this article. To me, Aurora is the proof to the argument that upgrades and rewards will always bring in new people as well as keep your current customers happy. If developers continually add a little change to their products, we will keep lapping them up like thirsty puppies at a water bowl.
Us when we get rewards!
In this new update, they have coupled this trap game with giving people added orb points that accumulate each time they enter Aurora. For the first two days you get fifty points, which then goes to one hundred and two hundred in the following days. This is also a great way to bring people to the space continually, just like the Casino has started doing with giving out a hundred chips each week.
Granted, orb running isn’t the most exciting thing to do in Home, at least to me. It is probably why I never really got into it in the first place. There are many other things I would rather be doing than this, but now whenever I go to look at my “catch of the day,” I figure I might as well try the orb game as well, since I am already there. If that was their intent when creating this, they have succeeded. I would have probably never gone back into this wonderfully whimsical space if not for the marketing genius of the OMG Trap-O-Matic. I hope whomever thought this one up is getting a gold star on their forehead.
This simple marketing ploy has probably garnered more renewed interest in Aurora than anything they have done recently. Even when they gave us ten-thousand free points and the free unicorn companion, all it took was you going to the place and it was an automatic reward. You didn’t have to go further than the point of entry, and many didn’t, myself included.
What did I win?
But by adding the cage for this new game right next to the orb running area, it makes you go in — and once you are there, why not take the time to run the orbs? It only takes a few minutes, and you can level up faster with the added free points they give away upon entry.
It has me playing a game that I have never really enjoyed, or went out of my way to play; and I will continue to do so, probably after all of the cage goodies are given away. That said, I hope that they continue to upgrade and add more rewards as time goes on to keep it interesting.
I have to give kudos to nDreams for their willingness to upgrade and keep their customers happy and give even those who have reached level 100 something to come back for, even if it is different versions of previous store items. This shows us as consumers that they care about keeping us happy and interested, unlike many game spaces in Home that have foundered. Great job, nDreams; keep up the good work.
April 30th, 2012 by Burbie52 | 1 comment
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
I try to visit Aurora every day; it’s become one of my biggest Home obsessions, along with fossil-hunting in Granzella’s Southern Beach. On top of hunting orbs and trying to complete my Trap-O-Matic collection, there’s also Sky Fishing, which gives out three nice rewards; I still need to catch my Colossus.
As a result of visiting Aurora so often, I’ve also completed quite a few of the Collect-O-Rama challenges. Now, I just need to enter the space when two of my friends are already there and I unlock another 12 reward items.