A New Year For Home
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
This is going to be a wishlist for Home, but it is going to be a “horse of a different color” so to speak. I am not going to talk about what new content I would like to see made, or new emotes or anything virtual at all, really. This wishlist is for Home itself; it is what I wish to see Home become.
I am entering the beginning of my fourth year in PlayStation Home, and as I reflected on what has been, I decided to ponder where it will go in the future, not just for me but for everyone who loves Home as much as I do. What could the future hold for this incredible mix of gaming and socializing that Sony has created? Where should we go from here?
Many of us here at the magazine have talked about the fact that Home is more than a game, and I think that this fact has been supported in many ways by many people. So, taking that as a given, where does that leave us? Home is a social place — that is its heart and soul — so it needs to have more expansion in the social realm. This not only means the evolution of our avatars’ capabilities, which is something that has already begun to happen with the new posing emotes and various locomotion items, but also in the context of Home itself.
Sony’s free Home for us
Some people have expressed a wish that Home itself become more of a game, but that is not what I wish for. I wish for Home to grow into the full-blown social network that it is already leaning toward becoming. Don’t get me wrong — games are good for Home. I like being able to play games when I want to, but I am not sure that making Home more game-like is the right way to go. We have enough people in Home who treat it like a game as it is.
Sony deserves a lot of credit for creating such an interesting idea in the first place, and the fact they have continued to support it for this long means that they know they have a great product here. I am sure that when they launched this over five years ago they weren’t sure if it would even work, and look at what has happened in just the last year. We have been deluged with new content at such a rapid pace in the past six months alone that I haven’t had time to absorb it fully yet.
Xi is a great example of the future of Home as I envision it, a game that brings people together to work toward a goal. These are the kinds of experiences that Sony and the developers in Home need to foster in the coming year if they wish to keep Home moving forward and increase its numbers.
The questing system has lain dormant in Home for a long time now. It was used very creatively last Christmas for the winter quests and since then hasn’t had much going on. I hope they intend to use it again for these types of events in the future, I thoroughly enjoyed the questing last year and helping others to achieve goals laid out in it. These are the kinds of things that will build Home up for the long haul.
The event calendar was supposed to be for the fostering of community, but a few bad apples using it as a personal ad page forced it to be taken down, and I applaud Sony for that action; it was necessary for many reasons. But that leaves a gap for clubs and the rest of the community to let others know about events they are doing. There must be a system put in place to police the event board or they need to find another way to allow groups to announce these things. This will add to the feeling of community in many ways because when people get together in a club, no matter what they base it on, it brings them together as friends, and those bonds can grow and strengthen Home in a lot of ways.
As the New Year approaches and we are faced with an economy that has gone south for many people, I hope that Home continues to give us a cheaper alternative for entertainment. The games that have been implemented so far are a wonderful step in the right direction. They give you a chance to play for free, but pay a little if you can or want to. This concept works, and people need to stop fussing about prices as no one is forcing anyone to pay anything for Home. The very fact that Home itself hasn’t become pay to play astonishes me, considering all we get, rewards included, for free each year. People need to become more grateful for what they have here. When you consider the alternatives you have to choose from — oh, wait, there aren’t any.
My New Year’s resolution for Home is to continue loving my friends, continue adding to the community in whatever way I can, and to be grateful for what has been given us for free for so long. Whatever the new year brings, I will continue to feel that Home is where the heart is, for where you put your heart is what will become valuable to you. And with that attitude, it can become valuable to the others you meet along its paths. Cherish each moment in your life here in Home and outside it as well, for no one is guaranteed tomorrow.
December 31st, 2012 by Burbie52 | 1 comment
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
Great article burbie, I couldn’t agree more about the activity board. You got great ideas here, I hope Sony listens to you because they have in the past! Here’s to 2013!