Echo Chronicles: In Search of the White Kimono
by SealWyf, HSM Editor
In the beginning, there was Echochrome.
The Homeling Collective was based on an outfit and an idea. The outfit was the Echochrome Suit. It was there at the beginning, and, for some time, it was all we had. Closed Beta was a notoriously lean time for fashion.
Other items were adopted as Home wardrobes grew more diverse. To be included as part of the official Homeling kit, they had to match the “Homeling aesthetic” — the sleek, monochrome, sci-fi look that sets us apart.
The most important addition was the White Kimono skirt produced by Irem. It’s an ideal Homeling garment — the color and texture match the Echochrome top, and the lines are sleek and graceful. The White Kimono skirt was so desirable that we adopted it while it was still limited to the Japan and Asia Homes. Any Homeling who could glitch one over to NA Home was allowed to wear it.
The White Kimono skirt, with Echochrome
Once Irem entered NA Home, the White Kimono came with it, available to all as a free reward from Irem Square. The Homeling dress code was revised to reflect the new reality. Echochrome was still our default garment, the outfit that made us Homeling. To keep Echochrome dominant, the White Kimono skirt was restricted to officers of Subcommander rank and higher. Donning the white skirt became a valued perk of promotion.
But nothing lasts forever. The Japanese earthquake and tsunami of 2011 created financial strains for Irem, from which it could not recover. In September, 2011, all Irem public spaces left Home. Users who already owned Irem items still had them, but no more could be acquired. There would be no more White Kimonos.
For the first few months, there was no problem. All Homelings eligible for Subcommander had been on Home for a while and had already acquired the Kimono. But as time passed and new Homelings rose through the ranks, the lack of kimono skirts became more urgent. Those who already owned the White Kimono were allowed to use it. Others were limited to Echochrome. Homelings intensified their search for a suitable replacement.
Another discontinued item
The problem was not just finding a white skirt; it also had to match the Homeling sci-fi aesthetic and look good with an Echochrome top. Meeting these requirements has proved to be singularly difficult.
The ideal item would be something much like the lost Kimono skirt — a long, straight skirt in unadorned white, available for both male and female avatars. It would be nice if it were a free item, but that’s not a deal-breaker. One by one, we reviewed and rejected the available replacements:
The Pharaoh Skirt, a male-only item, had previously been approved for Commanders and higher. It looks good with Echochrome. However, it has been discontinued.
The Toga Skirt, a female-only item, had previously been approved for Commanders and higher. But it has a purple border, and the color does not match Echochrome. It’s also somewhat frumpy.
The Lili Costume skirt, from Tekken 6, is a female-only short white skirt that had been approved for Commanders and higher. But the look does not appeal to many Homelings.
The tattered Angel Tunic skirt, also female-only, simply does not match the Homeling aesthetic.
Close, but no match
The Silver Feudal Lord’s Hakama from Granzella is a new male-only item that somewhat resembles the vanished White Kimono skirt. But the color and texture don’t match Echochrome. Adding the Water Aura makes it whiter, but we can’t require our Subcommanders to stay submerged.
We do enjoy the challenge. Part of the fun of outfitting a group in Home is the “scavenger hunt meets thrift store” nature of costuming. But it’s frustrating when you had the perfect item, and then lost it.
At least we still have Echochrome. A few months ago, the Hamster-headed groups were threatened by the proposed retirement of the Hamster costume. It was unclear whether the head would remain, but the rest of it was on the chopping block. The Home user community vigorously lobbied to keep the full Hamster costume in the Mall. And, in the end, it was retained.
The situation with the White Kimono is different. Irem, the company that produced it, has left Home, taking its product line with it. This is not something that can be handled with a petition or an irate thread on the Forums. Our only option is to find a replacement.
I don't think so
In the Second Life virtual community, content can be created by users. In Home, all content is created by licensed developers. This is why Home looks so real, while much of Second Life looks like cardboard cutouts.
That’s the up side. The down side is that we can’t just pull out a toolkit and make what we need.
But there may be an intermediate option. In the real world, there are companies that add custom designs to standard items such as shirts, mugs and mouse pads. Web sites such as Zazzle and CafePress let users design and sell customized items online. Many organizations, including the Homeling Collective, create real-world custom content to raise money.
I have long wondered if there would be room for such a business on Home. It’s true that creating a virtual item is more complicated than slapping a photo on a coffee mug. But creating virtual items is what developers do. What if a group of them were licensed by Sony to create custom user-designed content and sell it in Home, in the Home equivalent of a CafePress store?
Not all that alien
Let’s imagine how such a service might work.
In our imaginary scenario, the Homeling Collective decides to commission some distinctive goods from the Home Custom Items team. They submit a list of products: three tee shirts, respectively bearing the image of Mother, the Homeling logo and the slogan “Alter Your DNA”; a long white skirt, similar to the vanished Irem White Kimono; a hand item that makes a Homeling logo float above an avatar’s head; and a female bald hairstyle with no stubble. (The bald female head provided by Sony is actually rather fuzzy.)
The Custom Items team studies the list and returns a price quote. It’s fairly low for the three tee shirts, which use a boilerplate framework. The over-the-head item and the bald female hairstyle would cost a bit more. The most expensive item is the white skirt, which must be designed from scratch.
The Generals’ Council examines the price quote, and decides they don’t really need the hand item or the “Alter Your DNA” tee shirt. They submit a revised order, along with graphics files of the logo and Mother images, some signed disclaimers and a payment. Several weeks later, the completed items appear in a new Homeling Collective section of the Custom Items store in the Mall.
Custom items in Home?
Now let’s suppose that sales of long white skirts really take off. All the cool kids in Home are wearing them. A percentage of the profits is automatically deposited in the Homeling Collective’s linked bank account, creating a small but welcome source of income.
At this point, the Homeling Collective commissions a few more tee shirts and the over-the-head item, and requests a price quote for a newly-designed General’s black skirt.
Is something like this practical? I’m sure any developer reading this article is laughing hysterically. At some point, lawyers would have to get involved. And custom items could not be kept in stock forever, or the store would fill up with junk. And it’s an open question whether any Home group, even the Homeling Collective, has enough buying power to make a custom item turn a profit.
So, at this point, it’s just a dream. But I think there might be elements here that could work. We all have ideas for new Home content, items we would buy if they existed. Items we suspect others would love too. Wouldn’t it be fun if there were some way we could make it happen?
Meanwhile, the Homeling Collective continues to search for our much-mourned White Kimono. We are cautiously hopeful. Home items come and go, endlessly changing. Perhaps someday we will find another perfect skirt, and our officers will once again be sleekly Fluidic. Until then, there is Echochrome. It was here in the beginning. And it will stay in Home, as long as there are arcade machines to award it.
And if the Echochrome arcade machine is retired? We have considered this possibility, but it does not haunt our dreams.
Homelings were born from an Outfit and an Idea. The Outfit may well perish. We know that nothing lasts forever. But, as long as the Idea survives, the Homeling Collective will adapt — will redefine itself and move ahead, and dance in glory through the universe of PlayStation Home.
June 1st, 2012 by SealWyf | 10 comments
SealWyf is a museum database programmer by day, and an officer in the Homeling Collective by night. She has been active in online communities since before the Internet, and in console gaming since the PS1. In games, she prefers the beautiful and quirky, and anything with a strong storyline. She is utterly addicted to PlayStation Home.
Great article Seal! Really enjoyed reading some of the history and the decisions we’ve been faced with over time.
Have high hopes that one day we shall design our own Homeling attire, yet at same time hoping a dev will find the kindness in their hearts to bring back a white kimono for both sexes.
As you stated, meanwhile, we adapt. We do that quite well in fact!
I remember an episode of Star Trek DS9 where there was a group of cloned aliens and their successors who were also cloned aliens. There were very little differences but enough to be different.They simply called themselves Alphas and Gammas. Maybe if the Collective ever looses too much clothes like the Echochrome, it could be time to adopt that mentality.The Elders or Alphas would be the veterans as the newly joined could be the Betas in a new set of clothes. Just an idol thought. My opinion.
Nice article. Our Nouvus-Prime club “The Black Hat Squad” faced the same issue. We used the lost tattered top hat from former Irem beach. In our case too, the hat was what sprouted the idea of the club. We tought we could find a replacement at the new hideaway but face it, the seaweed hat just couldnt do it. Some new members, as well as old 1, adopted 1 of the other top hate for sale but we dont want to make bauying an item a criteria for membership. So the decision was simply to forget about a distinctive item. After all, being a funny bunch IS our trade mark.
Thank you, Seal!
Wonderful article, Seal! Custom-designed virtual clothing…great idea. The echochrome does need to go to the cleaners every now and again
Lovely article. Truly inspiring.
great artice as always seal, bows ^-^
wouldn’t it be grand is they would only make a colour change option for cloths
I agree.
Wonderful read as well as some great ideas. To bad I prefer fur and color.