Gothic Cathedral: Oh Ye of Little Faith
by BONZO, HSM team writer
If you thought Home personal estates couldn’t be awesome any more, then here is a place to prove you wrong. Whatever element of the occult or the dark side you prefer, rejoice in this open house of the Gothic Cathedral. This is as close to the castle so many have been asking for as we have seen thus far. Goth or not, you have to appreciate the beauty of this enormous space.
The splendor of it is in the details. There are so many elements that are appealing of this space, and despite the name it isn’t something to appeal just to Goths or the occult aficionado. This is a very near-accurate representation of the architectural Goth style, mashed up with modern concepts of the Goth scene. This space would be a great meeting point for some of Home’s darker subcultures and fantasy role players. This could be a space for vampires, a little slice of Hogwarts, a true wizard’s den, or a setting for metal heads. Don’t let the name fool you: there is no religious bias behind any of the design and I must commend the designers for that element alone. Calling something a cathedral and then representing an ambiguous group of faiths is a very difficult thing when it immediately generates preconceptions with the name alone.
(NorseNote: I’ve been waiting eighteen months for an excuse to work Widor’s Toccata into HSM. Please enjoy the rest of this article to this astonishing piece of music. Skip to 3:47 and crank up your subwoofer if you want to hear something truly biblical in scope.)
Personal spaces seem to be trending on spaciousness, and this is a very large indoor space. Yes, it has avoided the flaws of the French Chateau and the Gothic Manor by being more than just one room. This space is well laid out into accurate segments you would expect from a gothic cathedral. It employs a Latin cross floor plan, with vaulted ceilings, though it misses slender stone piers instead opting for wide balconies flanking the nave.
The chapel, which has been decorated into a bedroom/dining hall space, is charming — doesn’t make much sense to the architecture, but I can understand its implementation. As a personal space I can already anticipate the complaints in the forum – that there is no place for a bed – if it hadn’t been included. The fireplace is huge, and a nice touch to add a cozy atmosphere to that room.
There is one locked door that doesn’t represent the exit to the outside world. Could this be an Easter egg, like the hidden room in the Cutteridge Estate? Many of the Gothic Cathedrals had an underground crypt in the center; could that be a tease to suggest where it would be or where it might be?
My favorite aspects are the spaces at the North and South Transepts. The south opening to a cloister and a courtyard with an ominous goat-headed giant gargoyle statue reminiscent of Pan, but disassociated enough to not represent the post Victorian neopaganism depiction of Satan. Again there is a religious ambiguity to this space, and I see they have been very careful about that fact; I respect that, as our delicate puritanical society can so easily misinterpret even the slightest lapse in what it considers religious propriety.
(Amen. –Editor)
The courtyard is very beautifully lit by full moonlight, yet it is half covered in shadows. Personally I feel it would have been much better if the moon had been set at a high moon position just above the courtyard providing more light. Though you can see the full moon in the sky from here, I really wish they had dropped the pretense of realism here and exaggerated the size of the moon. It would have really made the scene much more dramatic — particularly from the North Transept which opens up to a balcony overlooking the town below. The view is astonishing even in its minimalism. It sets the mood and perspective by intimating the position of the Cathedral atop a cliff high above a landscape scarred by a long silvery river, speckled with gold spots from the town’s lights below.
Lighting is beautifully done. This space avoided the clichés of the theme by providing a well-lit space while retaining the ominous feel of the environment with the colors they chose. The stained glass windows are really the eye catchers. They are amazing, intricate, and complete the finishing touches of architecture without being gaudy. This space isn’t completely accurate to true Gothic architecture, but it doesn’t have to be. There are so many wonderful details that it really sets it apart from the recycled design elements we have been bored with lately. This is something truly unique, and close to the grandiose feel of the Magic the Gathering public space.
As great as it looks, what is it really for? The recent trend on SCE spaces has been to include them as both personal and club houses. As a personal space it is huge and extravagant, but how much use can you get out of it outside an occasional theme setting? Honestly, I find this space creepier than the Cutteridge Estate. Maybe because it isn’t trying so hard to be eerie — it just is.
To that end there is a certain peculiar appeal to having such a large space to roam in alone. The size is impressive but a concern when it comes to the notorious memory constraints of Home personal spaces. Much of the furniture, like the pews, the benches and bishop’s chairs at the apse will likely be baked in, so it bears wondering if there will be any room in the memory capacity to add any personal touches, or will it be as restrictive as the Mansion? As a club house I can see this having more use, as it would serve better for a party setting, or meeting point for the subcultures that have spawned off the Home cliques.
What I would have liked to have seen more of: statues and architectural relief depictions. There are a few gargoyles, but their placing and sparseness leave the walls feeling a bit empty. Despite the few setbacks, it is a well crafted environment. It serves as a great space for a theme. How far that theme can be used is up to the user’s imagination, but despite the Gothic name it isn’t restrictive to the Goth persona. From the pillars, thematically crafted furniture, and checkered tile floors it ties in together brilliantly. It is an expansive space, beautifully designed and textured, and a welcome leap from the standard design aesthetics we have grown accustomed to.
- ENORMOUS space
- Great Detail
- Brilliant Lighting
- Awesome stained glass windows
- Indoor/outdoor space
- Specific theme
- Baked in furniture?
May 30th, 2012 by BONZO | 13 comments
BONZO is an editor and artist for HomeStation Magazine.
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Can we convince some developer to sell us a music box with, say, Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, for use in the Cathedral?
I’d vote for Carl Orff’s “O Fortuna” I know it’s been overused by I love it.
We need a whole collection of “Classical Music for Home”.
Irony is great isn’t it? Norse uses “Amen” to echo Bonzo’s comment about what he feels is an overly puritanical society? LOL wonderful!
Although, I do disagree with the statement. If our society was so full of puritanical fanatics, I think games like Dante’s Inferno would get much more flack. In fact, that game was SO not a problem with this puritanical society of ours that EA had to HIRE a group of protestors for publicity at E3 2009. Well, they didn’t have to… but they did.
Honestly, I think it’s just as likely that the cathedral’s ambiguity was maintained to not bother those who don’t follow the faith that spawned cathedrals more than it was to protect those that do. Bonzo, you commended on the developers on the lack of religious iconography within the space. If there were religious relics, crosses, statues of saints, vigil candles or an alter would they have been a point of condemnation?
All in all, great review Bonzo and boy, you sure are Johnny on the spot! I likely wouldn’t have given this space another look if it weren’t for this review.
Also, I really wish this had come out BEFORE Godzprototype’s “Dante’s F13” Maybe the sequel?
Hmm… a confession mini-game like in Catherine could have been fun. OH! What about a Virgin Mary that cries blood? Or maybe a penance game in the vein of guitar hero?! lol. That would have been awesome.
Noticed that little bit of in-humor, eh? I was hoping someone would pick up on that.
My first thought looking at the Cathedral: “Holy fark, it’s Ravenloft!”
I didn’t mean they should be commended for omitting religious relics, i mean’t to commend them for doing a good job of making the place neutral. I was raised catholic, but I am now agnostic, but it wouldn’t bother me if they had added a large cross or other religious iconography. But had they, it would have opened a can of worms, with all the other religious groups whom felt unrepresented in home. They the forums would be filled with, why isn’t there a mosk, why isn’t there a temple, why isn’t there a buddhist pagoda, why isn’t there a shrine, and so on. Had they represented the gargoyle to look more like Pan or had they added a pentagram, then you would have had all the Mrs. Lovejoys screaming, THINK OF THE CHILDREN, home is making them worship Satan! I think they did a great job of avoiding those pit falls, and in design alone they should be commended for making it neutral. And this country isn’t filled with fanatics, thank God [see what I did there :)] but the media pays too much attention to SELECTIVELY puritanical loud lunatics who look for any reason to get some media attention their way and increase the number of butts taking up the pews.
I looked at this and was astounded by the detail and size of it. As a personal space it is a fail for me just because of the sheer enormity of it, and I don’t think there will be much baked in furniture as all the pieces there in the open house can be looked at like the ones we place in our personal spaces, they all have numbers. It is a beautiful space I agree, love the stain glass, but too big to furnish properly. If it was a clubhouse I could see a lot of weddings here, as well as some of the subcultures in Home embracing it. Nice review Bonzo.
you’re right Burbie, I felt that as a personal space it would have limited appeal, it’s not that it is too large but the space’s expansiveness isn’t used well for a personal space. As a club it serves a better purpose but it is still a pretty great looking space.
Well, it is large and the first view is fairly awesome, but… there are really only two rooms as most of the space is made into halls. (That’s really all there is upstairs.) And one of those rooms is the main room (nave) where you spawn. Yes, there are two courtyards also, but one is full of a pond/statue and one is small with just a view. Anyway, I can see that a lot of people will like it. (If it’s a club house, it will be a great place for a Halloween party.) But I still want a pink fairy castle… and a pink fairy costume, too. Please, Uncle Sony?
I’m thinking this space would look pretty good decorated with Fool Throttle’s new line of fantasy-themed furniture. Other than the Wizard’s Den, we really haven’t gotten any personal spaces that work well in a medieval fantasy theme. This could be an abandoned church, or a temple to some kind of evil demon that the hero has cleared and claimed as their own.
Great review Bonzo,
I love the detail of this place. Studied and always love cathedrals. I know they tend to be dark inside already so with this one having a permanent night;makes it too dark for me as a personal space. The stained glass windows blew me away. I think had it been a daytime space they would have been spectacular. The shear size is overwhelming for my little avatar.
I like Burbie, could see weddings there, but for Dracula, and the corpse bride.All in all it is a welcome surprise from the developer. Looks like some ones been listening.
Could you use the active lights from Loot to light up the space a bit?
Also, am I the only one surprised we’re still getting personal spaces that are prema-day or perma-night. We KNOW there’s can be a switch!
Review Fail! Forgot to mention the sound design of the space. Anyone else find the murmurs creepy. Specially when there’s no one else there. to some degree it ads to the atmosphere but it is creepy. The bells were a nice touch, so were the crickets when you step outside.