Special Items from Select Developers
by Kassadee Marie, HSM team writer
In addition to the third-party developers that I’ve highlighted in other articles, Home has a lot of small developers that didn’t meet my criteria for their own article — that they have at least one personal space in the Estates store, and offer at least three other item types, such as furniture, clothing, companions, games and musical items. But these developers offer some fantastic items you shouldn’t miss. I have mentioned some of them previously, but there are others I haven’t had a chance to write about until now.
Bigyama seems to have come and gone in Home, and I’m sorry if that’s true. Their six small bundles of furniture items were well-designed and well-priced at $1.99, with three items in each pack. (Or unbelievably, only $4.99 for a bundle of all 18 items.) I liked them so much, I actually wrote an article about them, which you can read if you’d like more information, called “An Overlooked Bargain”.
There were four creature sculptures that I had to pick up for my Planetland personal space from Capcom. These items are very weird looking and I have to admit, definitely not for everyone, especially at $1.49 each. They seem to fit into another world theme very well and I like them, hidden among all my trees there, for guests to stumble cross.
Codeglue B.V. also has a furniture pack that I love for its style and its price. This is the nine-piece “Oriental Decor Bundle” that I’ve mentioned several times previously. If you like Asian themed spaces, you’ll definitely want to pick up this $3.99 bundle. I also love their adorable Jurassic pets. There are eight of these brightly-colored and endearing companions for $2.99 each for the Rex series and $2.49 each for the Plates series. My personal favorite is Trixie Rex, because she is so cute and she’s yellow, which is my favorite color. These pets also come in pink, orange and blue. I made a friend on the beach once because he had Perfecto Plates and I wanted to get to know a guy who’d buy a companion like that.
I am not a horror fan at all, but for some reason I enjoyed Dead Island Central Plaza, and I had a lot of really fun times there with friends. Under the Dead Island furniture tab, you can pick up some items matching this theme from the developer, Deep Silver. They did a great job with these five wall items. All are chilling, and great for Halloween decorating. There are three blood splatters for $.99 each, or for $1.99 for all three in a bundle. The other two items are a “window” with a zombie reaching through it, and a wall item that looks like part of the wall has been torn out and a zombie is coming through to get you. These two items are priced at $1.49 and $1.99, respectively, and are offered for $2.99 in a bundle.
One of our new developers (and a personal favorite of mine) is Game Mechanics. I’m not all that much of a racing fan, but I do adore themes. And for those of you who are racing fans, you’ll enjoy their Contender Line of items; be sure to check them out. I adore their Elegant Line, myself, especially the Elegant Dining Table for $2.99, which was one of my favorite items for 2012. This medium-sized round table can be changed in two ways. You can change the table cloth color from pink to red or to green or to blue (and the flower vase changes to match), and you can change the number of place settings from four all the way to none. I love their innovations!
Jam Games also provides racing items, as well as clothing and a personal space for you racing enthusiasts. But what I love best so far, are two items from their Winter collection. These are the ice fireplace with moving blue ice flames and the Winter window frame, with snow falling softly past the frosted panes. These are are $.99 each, or you can pick them in the $4.49 “Ultra-cool” furniture bundle of five items with a table, chair and sofa. I hope they do more seasonally-themed bundles, and that there is a window for each.
I think it’s possible that the people at the developer mydeco may be a little strange; I mean this in a good way, of course. They have some of the most unusual items to be found on Home, such as the Toe-to-toe dining table or the water splash chair. If you like the unusual, be sure to check out all of their items. They seem to price everything at $1.49, and there are some items that are more than worth their price tag, in my opinion. Two of the furniture items that I like especially well – and aren’t strange at all, by the way — are the Thai-inspired bed and the black animated fireplace. The bed looks great in any space; it doesn’t have to be Asian-themed. While the fireplace is a nice addition to spaces without a fireplace, such as the Harbour Studio apartment. I’ve used it there in December, with the musical stocking over it, when I decorated for Christmas.
Speaking of strange, Relentless Software is the designer of the Blue Toad Murder Mysteries and the developer of Home items with this same theme. Where else would you find a sheep chair or a cow sofa that really are shaped like a sheep and a cow? My favorite item from them is their Blue Toad Hot Tub. This unusual item looks rather like a pond on the surface with its lily pads, bright yellow flower and cattails in the water, and it has rock formations all around the wooden tub, which include a stone toad sculpture. It looks great at the Sunlit Meadow and for only $.99, it’s a steal.
Sony has a great themed item that is sold at Cutthroats, and this is the Piratical Cannon. If you love pirates (and who doesn’t?) this is a great addition to any pirate-themed space, such as the new Cutthroats Hideaway or the Pirate Galleon from nDreams. This large item is only $.99, and it adds a great look to these spaces with its rusty iron cannon with lit fuse, on a wooden base with wooden wheels and skull-and-crossbones design on the front.
Finally, SquareEnix sells a wonderful item that they call the Chinese lion statue for $.99 under the Kane and Lynch button. This item is also known as a Shishi or Imperial guardian lion in China; as a Foo Dog or lion dog in the West; and as a komainu in Japan, where it can be found guarding Shinto shrines. It works well at several estates, such as the Mahjong Apartment, Plum Tree Pavilion, Japanese apartment, or anywhere you’d like a touch of the East.
I often wonder what these third-party developers would do if they expanded their repertoire in Home. What kind of personal estates would we see if they developed them, or what sort of locomotions would they offer to us? I hope this is something we’ll find out in the future from at least some, if not all of these innovative developers.
January 24th, 2013 by Kassadee Marie | 3 comments
Home is endlessly entertaining to this California girl. Kassadee has been in Home for about four years, and loves almost everything about it (with a few notable exceptions). She spends way too much money there, and perhaps too much time... Someday she will travel the world and write about the people she meets and the places she sees.
Share
| Tweet |
Whatever they are doing I sure hope they look over at my side in Asia and sell some of their stuff!
I like the variety we have to choose from in Home for furniture genre and themes. If you can’t fine something you like in Home furniture I don’t know what to tell you. Nice read as always Kass.
The Game Mechanics elegant tent item has got to be one of the best single items in Home. All those outdoor spaces can be furnished now!