What If…
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
What if.
This simple two-word sentence is the staple of nearly all writing, be it fiction or journalism or anything else. Those two words open up a world of possibilities to any writer worth their salt. What if ________ (you fill in the blank) happened; what then? Every action or happening in our lives causes a reaction which then leads to another action or happening. It is an endless cycle that promotes thought and action in any writing.
Here at HSM we have meetings to discuss this wonderful project we are all involved in. During these meetings, we also discuss story ideas and basically have brainstorming sessions to add fuel to the fire we all have in our bellies for both writing and for Home itself. This helps all of us to maintain a certain level of both professionalism and also strengthens our resolve to keep this boat afloat and the friendships we all have with each other. Some of us are close friends, some are more like occasional friends, but we all like each other and are resolved to work together in this magazine microcosm of Home.
During a recent session, the “what if ______ happened” came up and the ideas just flew. There are so many what if’s in Home that it boggles the mind. Here are a few examples I came up with. Once I am done I would love it if those who read this would come up with a few of their own to add to the comment box, or at least add answers to the ones I proposed.
First clubhouse for everyone.
What if Sony finally started charging for the use of clubs? This is something that has always been stated in the original club description. Lots of changes would happen with this one. I have a thriving club myself, but we rarely use the clubhouse for anything; it is simply a place for members to hang out when they choose. We meet mostly in public now, as we outgrew the clubhouse a long time ago.
How would Sony even accomplish doing this? Would we get charged each month even if we didn’t have an active club and bought the skins to use as personal spaces? I know a lot of people who do this already. Then there are those who own only the basic one and never use it at all or even have a club at all. Would people have to start charging membership dues? How would that even be done when the only money we have is PSN cards and the smallest one is $10, if you are lucky enough to even find one. Would disbanding the club end the subscription service? I believe all of these things are the reasons it has never really happened, even though it says it might in the description when you buy the basic.
Too bad Home trolls aren’t this cute.
What if Sony decided to really penalize trolls? Instead of just a few days’ suspension, what if they gave them a month the first time out? Would this really change anything? Would the perpetrators continue their harassment, or would a month off make them rethink their strategy? I think it would be a deterrent for many, especially if the second offense gave them three months and the third was permanent. But there are people who create throwaway accounts just so they can do this. I think in the cases of truly bad behavior Sony needs to trace the IP address and MAC-ban the console itself. That would do it for sure.
And don’t get me started on freezers; that should be an automatic lifetime ban, at minimum.
What if developers worked together on some of the different projects they do? I already wrote a piece on this, but I think that it would be a great idea because some are really good at design and artistry, like Lockwood, while others are better at furniture and locomotion or active things, like Juggernaut and Game Mechanics for example. Then there are the masters at technology: LOOT. It truly makes me wonder what they could come up with if they pooled their collective resources, at least once in awhile. The catch is that it would create a three-way revshare situation, meaning that the end product would have to be something so fantastic that it would fiscally justify such a partnership.
What if some people in Home stopped whinging about everything and started to be grateful for what they have and have been given over the past five years or more — for free in many cases? Now that would be a welcome change. I would think that the developers and Sony get tired of hearing all of this; I would. If it was my toddler, they would be on a permanent time-out.
I am not saying that we shouldn’t let the developers know when there are problems, but we should do it without the attitude. Home is a beta, so issues and glitches are par for the course here. I do agree that there has been some lax QA lately, but we have to remember that some of the focus has shifted now for Sony (PS4) and others to different projects outside of Home.
So what can you come up with? Use what if ______ as a sentence and Home as a reference point and see what you can add to this train of thought. Like Home, the possibilities are endless.
August 26th, 2013 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.
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IF Sony start to charge for clubs:
I might disband mine. I wont ask the 2 sub club owners to pay for it and I wont choose among friends who stay and who get deleted. IF they do charge, and I can see it can works. Couldn’t be more than $5/month. Unless major chage are made like the 32 members cap and more. The club feature is really neat and I love it. But it does’nt worth more than say… PS+.
If Sony start to really penalize trolls:
I dont think we need an automatic minimal 1 month suspention. A week or even a few days can be a very effective warning… IF Sony start to really penalize trolls… and specifically haters. I agree a week or 3 days suspention to someone who been doing that for months is laughable. Of course alternate can be created. But that give a good warning to “high profile hater/fam”
About the whinners… Sometimes I ask myself where do you guys hang out? And I spend a LOT of time on the forums even if I don’t post much. They are few and known. Just ignore the trolls you know. In my PsHome experience I really don’t see this as being an issue. Not at all. The vast majority of users are nice, always ready to do their part to make Home the best experience for all.