A Public Avalon: Heavy Water Announces Hexalon Village
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
Medieval times weren’t all that great in the real world. There was a lot of chaos, violence and general mayhem among the different fiefdoms and countries. Many of them were fighting each other for land, and war was a pretty constant state of being. The gap between the rich and the poor was enormous. Very few people had much more than the basics necessities of life, and many didn’t even have that — pretty much like a good portion of the world today.
Yet we tend to romanticize that time in our legends and myths, and the books and movies that have sprung from them. Like the most famous legend of all — King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table, the sword in the stone, Merlin the Magician, Guinevere and Lancelot, and of course Camelot, where it all happened. In the legends of Arthur, Avalon was the land that produced wizards and magic — a mystical island hidden in the mists, a place where fantasies could come true.
It’s time to romanticize medieval times once more.
When Heavy Water decided to build Avalon Keep, they stepped outside of the norm for their product lines. Up until then, this developer had been known for tattoos, Peeps companions, and retro pin-up girls with a sexy swagger. Heavy Water’s virtual items had an edginess that has been their trademark in Home — it is what set them apart from everyone else. Many of you have used their products, some of which were created behind the scenes for Sony, such as RC Rally and the famous Chamber Apartment.
Then Heavy Water decided to return to the mythic style of the Chamber apartment, and they created Avalon Keep, an extremely interactive personal space and one of the largest estates Home has to offer. It has an unapologetically fantastic atmosphere, with fairies flitting about and many NPC figures who converse with you, send you on quests and trade items for the jewels you collect in the gem hunter game. The space has grown twice since its creation, first by adding a dungeon, and then a royal bedroom to the keep proper.
Now Heavy Water is bringing us Hexalon Village, a large medieval public space with a lot of interactivity. It consists of floating islands with houses and other structures built on them, consistent with the floating Avalon Keep universe we have seen in the private space. There are several NPC characters in the village, with both text and audio dialog interactions. The Gem Hunter game from the Keep will be here as well, with some nice crystal rewards everyone can earn by playing. You will turn your gems in to the shopkeeper in town, just as you do at Avalon Keep. 
There will also be a VIP area in the village, which will only be accessible to people who have purchased more than twenty-five dollars in Heavy Water merchandise. Bundle packs are counted first, and all of the items within them are only included with the pack’s price toward the total. Having access to the VIP area will also give you access to the sweetest game in town — you will be able to ride on a dragon! Not only that, but you can shoot fireballs and they will burst into flames on anything they hit. People who own the Golden Dragon bundle will have their dragon turn gold.
There is also another game in the area, called Hexx, in which you lay numbered tiles next to each other. This looks to be an interesting take on dominoes.
The Dragonfly Automaton will be here as well, so you can fly all over the village. As in the private space, this is always a good way to collect the crystals in the gem hunter game. Some additional games will be released in the future.
Another thing coming in the future is the release of Avalon Keep as a clubhouse. This makes a lot of sense because of the sheer immensity of the space. I think it will be one of the most popular clubhouse skins once it is released. If you own the Keep already, as well as its dungeon and bedroom expansions, you will also receive a new crystal companion.
I have been looking forward to this new public area since it was announced months ago. This is an exciting time in Home, and I look forward to seeing what new and exciting things Heavy Water will bring us next year.
December 18th, 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.
This might be a more proper way to bring medival taste to home than Mercia was. Looking forward to see that one.