Lockwood Goes to Bed
Information provided by Megan Egglesden, Lockwood Product Manager; commentary by NorseGamer, HSM Editor-in-Chief
Sometimes I wonder why it seems so difficult to sell the concept of creating virtual commodities that deepen the social experience of Home. I mean, doesn’t anyone remember The Sims? Will Wright made a fortune off of selling people a game that recreated things you would do in real life. It wasn’t so much a collection of mini-games as it made daily activities itself into a game world.
Here’s the thing about social gamers: what drives them to spend money and time is the idea of duplicating real life in a safe, virtual setting. Volumes can be written as to the psychological motivations behind this, but at its core I believe it has a lot to do with the freedom to portray ourselves as we wish we were. And to the developer who can offer the most immersive method of doing this, the commercial returns can be substantial.
Which is why something as simple as a bed deserves attention.
For the longest time, Home’s beds were simply things to look at. Sure, you could sit on the edge of one, and if you used a Harbour Studio footstool you could climb up on top of one to sit on it (unless it had a canopy), but otherwise, they were fairly useless.
Then came active beds. Which, for the first time, you could actually lay down upon. And there was much rejoicing! (Yaaaaaaay!)
Except then you laid down on one and you were perfectly flat and stiff and levitating off the surface. And there was much rejoicing. (Yay.)
Bring in ze avaTAAAAAARS!
No, seriously. I had to go see a chiropractor because my avatar looked so uncomfortable. Trying to look relaxed on one of those beds was a bit like that ad where the business traveler checks into the German hotel, lies down on his bunk, and the voice on the loudspeaker blares, “COMMENCE RELAXATION!”
Now, granted, I’m not going to suggest that we should be able to Riverdance atop our beds or something equally preposterous. And don’t even get me started on people who want adult animations programmed in. This is Home, not Second Life. Honestly, people who want hardcore adult animations in Home make a Google image search (with SafeSearch off) look like a spiritual quest.
That said, it would be nice to lay on a bed and not look like you’re a UFO abductee who’s about to receive an anal probe.
Which brings us very neatly to Lockwood, who have saved the day. Observe:
OH MY GOD A BED WHERE MY AVATAR BEHAVES LIKE A HUMAN BEING.
No, really. It deserved caps lock. It doesn’t matter that avatars share the same bed at a distance roughly akin to Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke; what matters is that they actually look like they’re having a good time. It creates a setting conducive to socialization. And since it’s a for-sale commodity, it can be easily measured in terms of its market appeal.
Which is precisely why I’m recommending it. This commodity was almost certainly created because of direct feedback from consumers on the Sony forum and elsewhere. Many, many times have we read about users wanting beds with more interactivity, and postures that appeared more lifelike. And Lockwood has delivered. So now it’s time to demonstrate that yes, we were serious. Because if these new beds generated a healthy ROIC, then we can expect to see more such developments in the future. How about a bed that allows you to jump up and down on it? Or a bed with a custom pillow-fight mini-game? Developers follow the money, and these latest Cucumber beds from Lockwood are an outstanding step in the right direction.
June 18th, 2012 by NorseGamer | 12 comments
NorseGamer is the product manager for LOOT Entertainment at Sony Pictures, as well as the founder and publisher of HomeStation Magazine. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and presently lives in Los Angeles. All opinions expressed in HSM are solely his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sony DADC.
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All I can say about this is FINALLY!!!!!
Right on! It’s about time!
nice! Always glad to see this sort of advancement in Home.
I wonder, are the animations unisex?
These look great! I am going to get one, just have to decide on the color. I wish more furniture had those features especially the outdoor lounge chairs
It’s looking good, for sure. Now all we need is that pillow fight game Norse mentioned and I’ll be having me another week as a girly avi lol. *ahem*
Seriously though, I do like these new animations, I was very upset to see my avatar had suffered a stick up his ass directly after me buying the HUGE Creek Falls bed. Such a shame too, though one of my friends didn’t seem to mind, the fact we were in bed together was enough to open her flood gates on a slew of naughty jokes. These new beds will help bring a bit of fun to that area I think. I’ve been in X7’s beds and I really like the ‘lay-on-your-side’ animation in there, as it’s how I’d casually lay on a bed anyways. I’d hope for a small menu of different poses to adopt while on the beds but I already know that’s asking too much. As for those looking for even more than that, well, the internetz isn’t exactly short for ways to get your rocks off, and has much better offerings than a bunch of pixels in Home. People need to learn there’s a time and a place for everything… and its called college!
Heh! Oh I didn’t know you had to go to college to do that? O.O zoinkies! I thought there was an overwhelming supply of proof that it is happening far too much with the people that have not and have no desire to… as their progeny seems quite prolific in this day and age. In fact there seems no cure for it.
Yeah I don’t think they should invent THAT until we really do have a divorce court public space to go with the marriage space, and Av lawyers to divide virtual assets and custody battles over puppy companions. Maybe even glow in the dark virtual contraceptives as well. Though it is by all accounts the safest kind of interaction you can have… Oh yeah and Av therapists that get paid by the hour in PS account numbers.
you know if they are worried about sexual content they should have thought about it before they allowed me to dress like a half-naked Av tart and tease the boys with my pixelated perfection. Or maybe they should have thought about that when they created x7, or maybe they should have thought about that when they created the “Flirt” mode -though I find it quite a turn off.
Yeah and why shouldn’t my av look like it is comfortable in bed? It seems sort of one of the least evil things allowable at this point.
The things which attract me to another person have little to do with what their av is doing anyway. I think educated grow-ups are kind of like that… someone’s soul sort of takes precedence.
P.S. Should an av’s horoscope be taken from the day it was created or from the actually person’s birthday- to thus determine if compatibility with another av is fortuitous? Inquiring minds want to know…
“The things which attract me to another person have little to do with what their av is doing anyway. I think educated grow-ups are kind of like that… someone’s soul sort of takes precedence.”
Indeed. But the fundamental difference in men and women with attraction regardless of age (and this is VERY apparent in Home) is that men are often more visual based. Where as women will fall for someones mind, their thought processes and overall character. Which is why you end up with so many weirdos running up to scantily clad female avis and asking to cam chat within the first few seconds of talking. I dare say that these beds and their animations will give the love-struck teenagers at opposite corners of the globe a tickle, but it’ll be the guys that will get the most outta the visual cue of laying “in bed” with the girlfriend they’ve never met.
I don’t know about the non-visually based female… You know I just think that if one has had some experience with the art of love one finds the mind and heart weigh in heavily on the attraction factor. As far as remarkable handsome goes there is Brad Pitt, but you know I would take Val Kilmer over him any day of the week. Yeah even in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang- and he was gay in that. But I know a lot of guys that would choose a Debra Winger over say an Angelina Jolie or a Sandra Bullock over a Nicole Kidman. But you sell your gender short when you say that the do not recognize a woman as an empty shell without the “je na sais quoi” to keep their interest. The diff btw genders as I see it is that men are, as a whole -- mind you there are exemptions- willing to waste their time with a meaningless trist -- while women -- up til the point of the pill had a whole different concern with anatomical consequences- and still do to some extent- so yes our brains tend to engage even within the throws of passion.
PS I would not call Cusack traditionally handsome -- and yet I have always had a great fondness for his wit which makes him magnetic to me- heh.
Bang On! I wouldn’t tar everyone with the same brush but in a broad sense, men will lust and women will engage. When you take away that instinct from men, but leave women with theirs you get poor unfortunate males unable to communicate asking inappropriate questions to anything that looks like a female without even considering the fact it’s a bunch of polygons they’re eyeing up! Who knows what’s behind that fine figure!? They don’t, but they’ll still ask it to cam-chat LOL.
For the record, I think beauty is something a lot of people carry in very different ways, and I’m not afraid to say Mr.Kilmer is a good lookin’ bloke, but Pit just looks like a hamster to me! But hey, I’m A) Straight and B) Scottish so what the hell do I know, right lol.
Women! Now that’s a very different thing! As an artist I’d say there’s nothing more soul stirring than the eyes, the sheer majesty and awe than can be found just by looking into them has left me dumbstruck at times. As a bloke I’d just say PHOOAARR!
Yeah in the words of the immortal Sting, “Da do do do, Da dah dah dah.” If you don’t think women lust you are deluding yourself. Without knocking myself off the pedastool -because it is just such a joy to sit on high and look down the masculine array on display for my discerning perusal, -yes, trying ever so hard to determine if there is any man out there legitimately worth enduring the pain of waxing my legs (yes to the armpits)for- (oh please excuse the dangling preposition lest this become erotica). …I would say, for me, its farm boys. Oh yes, that un-contrived muscular and toned body -the arms, and, yes other parts, would tongue tie this philosophical poet -given, of course, the smell of his freshly washed flesh, the intonation of his voice feathering against my neck, and a copacetic alignment of the stars -I swear the universe could be ours!
Funny how Home is filled with out of this world idea and the obvious is often non-existent… Thanks Lockwood (again LW) Now just because everyone know i love to whine a little
Cucumber? noooo never like this line! Look like my personal taste is not mainstream, again.Bah, make it a less than 22 slots active item and i might buy it anyway.
Cool. Now how about an interactive coffin?