I’m Bored!
by Dlyrius, HSM team writer
Every time I see someone say this on Home, all I can think is: “what the heck?”
With all the core spaces, games, clubs, quests, and millions of registered users, how can this be? Home is an amazing place to explore, so how about we take a look at what’s out there.
I will admit, there are times when I myself think, “I’m bored,” but those times are few and far between. Generally, my thought processes turn to that phrase when I have nothing to decorate, don’t feel like playing a game, or none of my friends are online. That is usually when I put on something sparkly and head to the Hub to find some newbies to help. That never fails to take at least a couple hours of my time and I get to make someone happy in the process.
I’m sure everyone has their favorite hangouts where one meets up with friends and just chills. But what about when everyone is busy with real life? What to do then? Well, let’s see:
The Hub
We all know this area all too well. It is pretty much the center of the world on Home, and all of us end up there at some point during our Home visits. Now I can’t say this is the most exciting place in the world, unless you are really into trolls, pervs, and newbies. Spend some time lurking on the dance floor sometime; you might be surprised with the things you learn about society just by eavesdropping.
The Hub is my primary source for finding newbies to help. I spend countless hours each week teaching them how to operate their avatars, accessing and figuring out the navigator screens, and finding free stuff to help get them started. In fact, I bought all of the mansion spaces and a few of the other gift panel spaces specifically for this purpose. Not only can I show them some neat private spaces, I can give them numerous gifts to help them decorate their Harbor Studio Apartment.
Yes, at times it’s quite a challenge explaining how to accept an invite, or find their new goodies, but in the end it’s totally worth the effort.
The Sportswalk
This is a fun area of Home. Not only can you hang out with friends and make new ones, you can also challenge each other for bragging rights while playing poker. Not to mention the Sports Trivia game. Both games offer some sweet rewards, too. As an aside, and not necessarily relevant to the present topic at hand (although it would help in reducing the perceived “boredom”), I would dearly love to see are dart boards and pool games added to this area. The bar here is outstanding, but it is lacking in some of the basics to attract users to utilize it to it’s fullest potential.
The Action District
You want to shoot, kill, maim, and/or blow stuff up? This is your area. There is never a shortage of games to play here, and most also offer some pretty cool rewards. I wouldn’t call this a hang out area; there really isn’t any seating to speak of, but overall it’s a fun area to explore.
Pier Park
This is one of my favorite spots. I love the Ferris wheel; it’s just a great way to enjoy the view while chatting with a close friend. They also offer a cozy little dance floor with some mellower music selections if you need a special place to take your best girl (or guy) for a romantic date. Granted, there could be a few more things to do there; it does offer a portal to the RC Rally, as well as Indie Park. To go off-topic just a bit again, I personally would like to see something like a carousel or roller coaster added to give it more of a amusement park feel. How fun would that be?
Indie Park
There are games galore in here, folks! It’s right off of Pier Park, and packed full of games to try. I’m guessing it’s the Home equivalent of an old fashion arcade off some of the most famous boardwalks in the world. It’s not designed like anything else on Home, so it is definitely worth a look-see, at the very least. Keep in mind, however, that for most of these games, you will have to spend money.
The Adventure District
I love this core space! Not only is it fun to explore, you have the best of all worlds. There are games, beautiful scenery, a bar, and a dance floor.
I can’t say enough about the new Cutthroats game. It is by far my favorite game on Home. There is nothing like gathering a few friends to crew a ship and create all kinds of havoc and mayhem against the other ships in the cove. It is super fun, and has great rewards! Not to mention, even the lamest of gamers can master this game quite quickly and bring out your inner pirate.
Bear in mind – those are just the core spaces. Home offers so many other places to explore it isn’t funny. There are the major ones, like Aurora, Cogs Island, Hudson’s Gate, Granzella’s Southern Island Hideaway and Edo of Nippon, the Lockwood Showcase and Sodium 1 and 2. Let’s also not forget about one of my all-time favorite spaces that is all but forgotten, Slap Happy Sam’s. This is just flat-out funny stuff, and if you ever feel the need to slap the crap out of someone, this is the perfect place to do it. Even if you are angry when you enter, there is no way you will not be laughing by the time you leave. Yes, you have to purchase the music box to be able to play the game, but in my opinion, it’s well worth every penny. There is nothing better than slapping someone silly, especially if you are wearing a balloon outfit.
So next time you think, “I’m Bored,” whip out your navigator and scroll all the way to the right. Peruse the countless offerings in the menu. There are numerous spaces just waiting for someone to come play in them, and you never know who you might meet there. And for heaven’s sake, don’t forget to scroll into the depths of the games menu as well. I’m willing to bet there are games there you haven’t played in a very long time, and maybe, just maybe, some you have never tried. Remember, Home isn’t just for games, so try putting yourself out there and meet some new people along the way. You really never know what the universe has in store for you, so don’t limit yourself to the familiar – explore!
April 29th, 2012 by Dlyrius | 19 comments
Dlyrius, a native Oregonian, has been an internet chat addict since the days of the old BBS services.
I feel the same when I hear people say they are bored in Home. I can’t see how they could be with all that it has to offer. I sometimes ask them if they are new and don’t know how to find things to do. There is so much here, much of which is free to use. Nice article Dlyrius, I agree with your sentiments.
Thank you Burbie
I know why they’re bored Burbie, THERE’S NO AMAZING ARCADE!!!
*ahem*
Absolutely Dlyrius, there’s no reason to be bored in Home except maybe the users indecision. Personally, I spend about 8 hours a day in Home and still don’t have enough time to get other, personal things done.
LOL, I spend um, well let’s not go into the exact numbers here.. let’s just say a LOT of time on Home almost every day. And while once in a while I catch myself thinking I’m bored, but as I put in the article, I snap myself out of it and put my time to good use which keeps it fun and challenging. Not to mention I am lucky enough to get ideas for articles
Great article and interesting, too. When I hear people say that they are bored, I picture my mom saying, “I’m never bored. Being bored is a sign of a limited mind.” I haven’t said it in a long time and never even think it on Home.
hehehehe Kass, I remember my mom saying “If you are that bored, I will be happy to give you some chores to do”, and of course that always caused us to immediately exit her vicinity and find something to do. More times than not, later on in the day she was hollering for us to come home for dinner because we were so busy being “bored” we forgot what time it was
HaHaHa! Had that happen many a time growing up.
LOL did you get the “stop crying or i will give you something to cry about” line too?
Bored on home huh? Often I see this come from discontented kids with dragon wings and dolfy devil horns who wouldnt be happy if Home was made to their specifications. If you even minorly embrace home, the decorating of homes and avatars, games, exploring , making friends then you can spend countless hours being “not bored”. Yeah I too get bored when I see that friends are gaming or not on home, and there have been times that I just don’t want to go into public spaces, but this is mostly my view, and not that Home itself is boring. Home is like so many towns that claim “if you don’t like thhe weather, wait 5 minutes”. If your bored on home, give it 5 minutes.
LOL Exactly!
Great article, as usual D! I think your idea to go to the Hub to meet new people and help them out is an aweseom idea. If more people would do that we might just be surprised at how many fewer “perves” would be running around. As, in my opinion, they are usually just people that want attention in order to make friends. (Yeah, I know, I may be wrong here too!)
When I say I’m bored on HOME it usually means I’m bored with my whole life in general. I consider it to be more like…being “antsy” then being bored. Yes, it’s true, it’s definetly ME and not a thing to do with HOME. LOL And YES, I do need to get a life!! Hahaha…
LOL now don’t go and do that! then we would all have to do it and where’s the fun in that?
I really like your idea of taking newcomers on estate tours and ‘gifting’ them with the built-in freebies to get them started on decorating their own spaces. If I can ever get any free time in Home, I am definitely going to do that one.
It really is a lot of fun, but can be quite time consuming depending on the individual. If you like, I can share my newbie gifting speech for the mansions that definitely helps to cut it down time wise, while not taking away from the pure fun of helping someone out
ok, I will look for you in Home today when I sign in so I can pick your brain. I am a bit nervous about adding someone just for one day to take them on the personal space tour. But it looks like such a great idea, I would like to try it out. Just need some help with the logistics.
Aww, tell ya what, I should be back on in about an hour give or take (5pm pacific), I you can shadow me at the hub and see just what I do.. hows that sound? No risk with lots of hands on info so you can decide if you wanna try it too
This is a great article. Now, how do we get this information to people in Home who are bored? The fact that there is even an issue means that it should be addressed. This is important.
Well, as a general rule, about the only things folks actually read initially is the MOTD as they log on to home. That is usually where the new stuff is listed. Directing them to the forums can be an issue since most don’t have the knowledge or patience to learn to navigate them. There are plenty of websites devoted to Home and the gaming industry in general so maybe adding a section to the PlayStation’s official website devoted entirely to only the different activities there are on home to do might be a possible solution.
We also have the option of using groups on home dedicated to enhancing everyone’s enjoyment by helping others. This includes the HCV’s, Welcome2Home along with the lone mavericks like myself.
The Activity board seems to make the most sense though. It is located in many area’s of Home, so maybe simply adding a “Things To Do” section would help address this issue. It wouldn’t require anyone logging off to use a browser to access a website which keeps our users where the vendors want them. It would also be very simple to use, which would assure none of our folks get frustrated because they aren’t tech savvy. That would also give the helpers on home an excellent tool to use while assisting users. It could be broken up into different subjects like current events, games, social activities etc. Perhaps going a step further and allowing “approved” groups to post regular weekly events such as the HCV’s friday night bowling parties, or maybe Gray Gamers weekly get togethers as well. Of course this might make a little more work for Sony to accept, review, and make determinations about the applicants for this, in the process it might also encourage more helpers groups to come forward.
Any addition of positive influences on Home is welcome in my book, as well as life in general.
LOL sorry, I hit the wrong button while trying to add something to the Activity board paragraph.
*In addition, since it IS called the “Activities” board, it is the most logical place to tackle this issue. While anyone can post things to do there, the expiration dates require that it is done regularly not to mention that using that section of the board can be quite confusing even to someone such as myself. So making something as “blonde” as possible is our best bet to make it thee place to go if you are looking for something to do. Any new public spaces, theater activities, announcements, or what have you along with additions or deletions of regular posts could be accomplished during the weekly updates. It is a sorely under used resource that has a lot of potential to enhance the Home experience for old and new users alike.
Anyhoo, just a thought… Anyone else have any ideas?