Nightlife Lounge Apartment
by BONZO, HSM team writer
Next week all of Home’s users will have the opportunity to purchase the new Nightlife Lounge personal space or clubhouse. It is available now as a perk of x7, but let’s take a look at this place and see if it’s worth the purchase.
The personal space and clubhouse are each available for $4.99, but there is a pretty neat ultimate bundle for $9.99 that includes both the personal space and clubhouse. This is a bargain because they throw in the furniture for free — or for one cent if you do the math.
1970's Vegas Lounge
We have had club-style spaces before. The SingStar apartment is still my favorite. The Xi party house is a nighttime version of the Summer house with party lights, and the Desert Haven has a great pool and outdoor area. If you have never been to California, this space is very reminiscent of the desert resorts in Palm Springs.
Design elements are very subjective. What some people find gaudy and tacky, others may find classy or stylish. I have never been a fan of gold as a decoration element, especially bright yellow gold like you see in the Mansion. x7 overused the gold as well, but there a few instances where it doesn’t look too bad.
And there are varieties in the karat — for lack of a better word to describe the virtual representation of the metal. Some of it is so bright and yellow that it looks like cheap brass, while some actually looks well textured. Gold in real life comes in a similar variety of colors, since it is usually an alloy or composite of separate metals. White gold is usually gold mixed with silver, and rose gold is gold mixed with copper. The patina of old metals has always been more appealing to me, because it adds character and ages it a bit, and gives it a more interesting texture.
What's with all the bars?
The new Nightlife Lounge uses gold elements in decor. Some are well done, and others look cheap as flea market brass-coated furniture. There is a strange retro feel to this space — sort of like a dark 1970’s Las Vegas lounge.
There are three main areas. The center stage which is dominated by a dance floor with a bar opposite the suggested entrance to the space. To the left is a ballroom area with another bar, and on the opposite end is a U-shaped cat walk.
One of the design elements that immediately seemed off about this space were the bars. It’s not the first time we have seen bars in Home, but they often strike me as inappropriate. This space has two of them, neither of which you can explore from behind the counter.
In the main center area there are two staircases at opposite ends of the bar, both roped off. They lead to a mysterious area on a second level that doesn’t really exist. You can’t get past them, either as a guest or as an owner. It’s merely a tease. To what? To a VIP area inaccessible even to the owner of the space. A stage for a DJ? I’m not sure which, but it is a bit off-putting to see that there. Why would the owner want to feel excluded from any area of their space? We have seen this before — there are bars restricting you from the lower decks of the Lockwood Dream Yacht, and there is a half-open door in the Waterfall Terrace that won’t let you past. Many spaces have locked doors that wont let you explore beyond their boundaries. Restrictions are off-putting.
Please don't tell me you need to own the Mansion!
The highlight of the Nightlife Lounge really is the runway. It is a very well designed area, with some interesting color choices that work well for it. The walls are decorated in relief sculptures that look modern and abstract, like a flock of origami birds. The canopy is beautifully draped in what looks like turquoise silk, with hanging pillar lamps that set it off very well. It reminds me of a harem tent. The runway itself is nice, and it is lit, but it doesn’t compare to the runway in the Lockwood showcase.
A personal estate runway has been something that has been requested for some time by the Home fashionistas. Well, you finally have one. I would have loved to have seen it light up as you step on it. It would have added a nicer touch to it. The floor hints at dark marble, but it doesn’t translate well all the time. From some angles it reflects well, and from others it just looks like a dirty floor. It should have been much more polished and reflective. Not as glossy as the Lockwood showcase runway, but somewhere in between. The floor in the ballroom area seemed to translate better. At the rear of the runway are the stairs to get to the catwalk, and facing the back is a real time reflective mirror. I can understand the technical limitations of that decision, as it has to reflect less facing that way. There are mirrors behind the bars that only reflect the pre-baked furnishings of the space, but not the real time activity of the avatars.
Very nice design elements
One of my favorite touches are the walls in the ballroom. They are gold, but not tacky. There is a gold tile wall fountain that actually adds a very nice aesthetic touch. The chandelier in this space is a unique cluster of gold spheres, surrounded by embedded can fixtures in the ceiling with what hints at black lights. The soft purple glow works in a pleasing harmony with the gold of the chandelier.
The sounds design in this space is rather interesting. I get how even a space full of avatars can seem dead if it’s silent. Still, when you are there by yourself hearing ghostly murmurs, distant garbled chatter and glass clinking, I can’t help relive that scene in The Shining where Jack Torrance imagines himself getting drunk in the hotel’s ballroom. It’s actually rather creepy.
The furniture designed for this space leaves a lot to be desired. The couches, which come in blue fabric or black leather, are plain and simple. The runway stools come in gold or wood. I personally like the wood stools better, as they have an organic look and are far more interesting than the tacky gold. The barstool is okay, but I really disliked the gold legs, and the two tables are bland and uninteresting.
The showstopper is the Runway
There is an overuse of gold in this space that I find offputting, as well as the double bars, which just don’t seem appropriate. The strengths of this space are the runway, the ballroom, the built-in dance floor, and all the subtle little design touches that compensate for the gold. If you like gold, you’ll like this space. If you don’t, you will overlook that design choice because it has many other strengths that make up for it. Fashionistas finally have a runway they can call their own, and as a clubhouse this space will serve perfectly for fashion shows or events with a party atmosphere.
I don’t like the suggested restrictions of the roped-off area, and I feel they send a bad message. But it leaves open the possibility of creating an unlockable expansion area in the future to make the place a bit more dynamic, should the developer chose to take that route.
- Runway: Fashionistas Rejoice
- Interesting Design Elements
- Three main areas
- Built in dance floor
- Overuse of Gold
- Restrictive barriers
- A little too dark
- Furniture is uninspired
June 3rd, 2012 by BONZO | 10 comments
BONZO is an editor and artist for HomeStation Magazine.
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Great article, but I hate this space! It plainly says in the decription, that there is a DJ and music, yet no music or DJ…or access to 2nd floor. Would have been great if it included all it said!
Yeah it isn’t the first time descriptions have failed. It really is something they should work on because the descriptions are often misleading, and leaves people feeling disappointed.
LOL Bonzo! I see great minds think alike. Nice review, and we pretty much agreed on everything.
Yeah I just noticed that we game it the same rating. That’s kinda funny. I do feel this space is a fail for a personal space, unless someone is going to do a one person runway show, since guests can’t change in someone’s personal space. As a club house it could work a lot better.
A nice alternative is nDreams’ Musicality personal space. I bought it on a whim when they were having their big sale recently, and was pleasantly surprised by how well-designed it was.
The upstairs is completely accessible, and there is a large open area in front of the stage for dancing or other activities. The best part is the music -- you and other friends can create your own music using the on-stage instruments, or have the space simply generate random music on its own.
yea you’re right the singstar space is by far my favorite. It is very dark though. I had to add a couple of active lights just to light it up enough. But i do dig the music game, it is cool that you can set it to automatic or jump in any time.
I totally agree with you. On stage should be a big DJ booth with a lot of lights and the place should be a club house
I’m amazed they didn’t include built-in music. That dance floor sounds a lot like the active item dance floor, which comes with a subset of the Hub tunes. It’s not one of those you-only-get-it-if-you-own-the-Mansion things, is it?
Has anyone ever been to a club with a “fashion runway”?
Call it what you like, but a least acknowledge what it really is, a stripper runway…..LOL.
I love the place, im not really into the runaway part, I think it was wasted of space. PlayStation home community should of focus on the club like. And why is the 2nd floor blocked, it doesn’t make sense! Why call it Nightlife lounge, if you have it half way done… theres no reason to block the 2nd floor off… I bet if psh community let it open in general, the sales would of sky rocking. Plus if any psh community member or management is reading this more styling clothes and DJ equipment and club stuff.