In order to make Home itself into a game, its various public spaces should be designed in much the same way one would design a game level — which is very different than how one would go about designing, for instance, Central Plaza. Now, obviously, game levels have a somewhat linear structure due to questing, and Home spaces need to be commercial showcases. So there needs to be elements of both.

Should games be more clearly marked in public spaces? Yup. Something as simple as a pop-up screen when you first enter, showing a map of the space and where things are located, would do the job. And while I’m not sure if this is feasible with Home’s current architecture, I’d love it if public spaces had hidden areas which could only be uncovered by following a set of clues or successfully passing a mini-game in order to gain access. That would go a long way towards making the spaces themselves interactive — and, by extension, making Home more of a game.

I agree that finding things can make them more special, but finding everything can be tedious. I am mostly arguing that there should be easy ways for players to find all the things the developer expects them to.