The Joy of Furniture
by NorseGamer, HSM founder
So Terra and I decided to change the HomeStation clubhouse skin; we’d used the Hidden Oak Retreat since its initial release — we’re both suckers for nature-themed settings — but we both felt that it was time for a new setting to reflect some of the recent organizational changes at HSM.
Thing is, even though clubs are big business in Home, there’s really an astonishing lack of clubhouse selections to choose from, particularly if we were going to stick with the same general nature motif we like to use. The Tropical Island Bungalow and Tuscan Villa were both candidates, but they really do feel more like personal estates than clubhouses; a clubhouse has to have that certain something that makes it feel like a clubhouse, which isn’t easy when you consider that clubhouses don’t come with any functionality above and beyond what estates offer.
Fortunately, there was one setting which met the criteria: the Plum Tree Pavilion. And, as a bonus, it’s Asian-themed, which Terra quite likes. So it became the new HSM clubhouse. If you don’t recall what the Plum Tree Pavilion looks like, here’s a virtual tour:
What made it fun, though, is the subject of this article: the process of decorating the clubhouse. More specifically, doing it in collaboration with someone else.
Home doesn’t make this easy. There’s always a slight delay when chatting via headset, and you can’t talk for too long or you’ll time out. On top of that, there are times when you’re in the furniture browser that voice chat becomes impossible, leading to long tracts of silence. Home interior decoration is a fun meta-game, true, but it can become awfully boring if you’re just standing there while the other person loads up furniture and figures out where to place it — particularly if they’re using a slower connection, in which case you could screen all of Dr. Zhivago in the time it takes to find exactly the right type of potted plant to use from your storage bin.
It becomes a whole different story, however, when you bring in an outside video chat service like Google Hangouts or Skype. Now, all of a sudden, you can chat in real time, select furniture together, and generally make an evening of it. It takes one of Home’s most solitary experiences — the frustration of spending hours decorating an estate, just to have to find people to show it off to — and makes it a phenomenally social and enjoyable collaborative effort. It’s the most fun I’ve had with Home in a while, and that activity cost me roughly thirty dollars (between purchases of clubhouse skins and furniture) to enjoy. Money well-spent.
Perhaps that’s what has me so excited for the PS4. Even with 4k resolution coming up and crazy rendering engines under the bonnet, it’s not like the next console generation is going to be as much of a quantum leap in terms of graphics over its predecessor, the way previous console generations were. And if you look at consumer habits with the current generation, gaming consoles need to be…well, more than gaming consoles. They need to be media hubs. Microsoft’s pulling in hundreds of millions of dollars in XBox Live subscriptions, and forty percent of the average user’s time, according to Microsoft Interactive Entertainment (source here), is spent in social activities that go far beyond gaming. It thus comes as no surprise that at Sony’s recent presser for the PS4, the social aspects of the console experience were so highly touted.
Granted, that doesn’t mean Home itself will be a part of that. Home probably has a few years left in it, and the 1.75 core update strongly implies life for Home beyond just the PS3, but let’s face it: Home was never designed to do something like collaborative virtual estate decoration, even though it’s an activity which clearly monetizes in Home. To be fair, though, there really isn’t any other console experience which provides the same level of social meta-gaming as Home — even to this day — which is one of the reasons why I’m amazed at all the people who are worried about whether or not Home has a future and whether they should continue to spend money on the service. For heaven’s sake, if you enjoy Home, what difference does it make if it’s around for another five years or five minutes? Like so many other things in life, it’s an experience. Whenever it’s gone, it’s gone. If we withheld spending money on all the things we enjoy just because they might some day no longer be around, we’d be living very boring lives.
Go back and add up what you’ve spent, cumulatively, on every console and game title over the decades. Rather staggering sum, isn’t it? And all completely justifiable, even if you can’t play those games any more. Because you had fun.
It’s why I don’t much care that I blew thirty bucks on estates and furniture so Terra and I could enjoy an evening of virtual-reality decoration and socializing: because we’re on opposite ends of the continent and this was something fun for us to do together. And the memory far outweighs the price.
February 25th, 2013 by NorseGamer | 6 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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I get what you’re saying Norse, all good things cone to an end, right? Believe me, I know this more than I’d like to. But I guess most people were hoping their investments in their virtual lives would come with them, rather than be cut off. I know it was always a possibility that Home wouldn’t make it over to the PS4, but some if us were really hoping for it. Not just to keep all that stuff we’ve spent hundreds on, but so we might keep the relationships the same as they have been for the last few years too.
Im surprised at your laid-back attitude to all this to be honest. I’d have thought that if anyone could see a suicidal business move, it’d be you! ; ) Glad to read something from you again though Mr.Norse, hope you’re havin a great time in your new job.
Just for clarification purposes, do you also call spending money on a dinner in a restaurant an investment as well? Because my inner Inigo Montoya is screaming at me right now.
Who’s Inigo!? You should ignore his screams, he sounds nasty! ; )
I’m not so sore about the money Terra, as soon as I turned the money into PSN credit, I knew it was nothing more than Home-fluff. When I say “invested in a virtual life” I mean the time and the friends we have have there, not the moolah. In all honesty, I knew Hone wouldn’t last forever (I think we all did) but if they can carry it across, why not?
I guess I’m more upset about the whole PSN games/purchases thing too. Example: I paid £60 for Street Fighter 2 Turbo for the SNES in the 90’s, and I can switch than on now and play it should the feeling take me even now, about 18 years later. But another game I love, Journey, I bought only a few months ago, will only be playable for as long as Sony decide to keep giving the PS3 server access! What does that say to me as a consumer? Buy this digital copy and play it for as long as they *allow* it, or buy a physical copy and have it forever!
Which one would you say is more *like* an “investment” in that situation?
I believe Home will make it to the PS4, that being said it is a lot of fun decorating with another person, I know, I have done it quite a few times as well. It is good sometimes to get another person perspective, especially if you are stuck deciding what to do with a space.
I have been saving my cash to see what is coming up in the next few updates before deciding what to pay for, but I have always been picky, it has nothing to do with whether Home will be on the PS4 or not. I do like the Plum Tree though and I am glad to see it added to the HSM club skins.
Good read as always Norse.
That film was very nice. Sharing time and ideas can be difficult, but almost always creates something you never really forget.
For a long time I was hoping our Home will make it to the PS$. I’m not so sure anymore. As you pointed out the new generation will open new possibilties, why not take advantage of it?
For my part I consideraly lowered my spending on home some times ago. Not because I’m affraid home will come to an end. But the incertaintny over it’s future will surely not push me to start buying regurlarly again. I don’t think this will be an issue in the short to mid term anyway.
Of course, technically speaking, in the eyes of an accountnant. Spending on entertainement is not an investment. You cant really get a “return on investment” on it But when I look at my LP’s collection I do feel I have invested time and money on something. I enjoyed them over a long period of time and I still listen to them occasionally. Some of them might get a good price on the collectors market but I probably couldn’t make a profit with it. But I’m proud of it and they gave me thousands of hours of enjoyement. I invested in my “life quality” and I don’t regret it.
When I buy a downloadable content I intend to enjoy it over a period of time. Again, technically speaking through the eyes of an accountnant, it’s not an investment. But for my personal benefit, it’s an investment in my hobbies time. Not everything can be quantify in dollars.
There is many things you can purchase or rent that you know will end at a point. But usually you have a precise or rough idea how long it will last. Knowing that can justify to make that purchase/rent decision. Paying $3, $5, or $10 for an item if you know it will last you ovewr two years is not a big deal. But if you have no idea when someone will pull the plug you might rightfully question the same purchase. The market hate uncertainety.