by Kassadee Marie, HSM team writer

We humans are great at getting our point across without saying a word sometimes.

Occasionally, all we need is an expression on our face or a subtle movement of our head. A lot of times we use our hands and arms to make gestures, and sometimes we use our whole bodies. While some gestures are universal, some are unique to their countries of origin. In addition to the original 31 default gestures, we have a lot of new gestures available to us on Home lately from third-party developers, such as Atom Republic, nDreams and others. Even between the time that I write this and before it’s published there will probably be new gestures to consider buying and perhaps another developer will be offering their own gesture packs — so this will not be a list of recommended gestures, but a guide for what to look for in your gesture purchases. As with anything you buy on Home, I recommend that you shop carefully to avoid disappointing purchases.

Think ahead. What gestures do you really want and which ones will you also continue to use for some time? They’re all great when they’re new, but the novelty is likely to wear off eventually. And if you give it some thought, this is the case for some gestures much sooner than others. If you’re one of a dating couple you may want a romantic gestures bundle. If you’re troubled by trolls you may want a pack of gestures that gives them an idea of your feelings about them. There is more than one “rude” or insult gestures pack that you’ll want to check out. If you feel like showing off your avatar a bit – and why not? — you may want muscle, exercise or fighting style packs. There are even every day conversational gestures.

Try to see the gestures in action before you buy. Gesture packs are not as commonly showcased in videos by Home users and posted on YouTube or the Sony Home forum as dance packs are, though it’s possible to find these videos occasionally. So I suggest that you try to preview them in a video made by the developer themselves. They may post them on their own website, Facebook page or YouTube account. In addition, you may find some are showcased in Sony’s “What’s New” announcements – the Sony Blog – that comes out once a week. People do love to buy and use their new items, so if you go to popular “show off” places like the Acorn Meadows on Wednesdays, you should see people with the new packs there.

Check pack contents before buying. Some developers offer packs that combine dances or poses and gestures, and this can be a great idea, but it also may not be what you want. There are some packs available that contain only gestures, if this is what your looking for. The pack name will usually give you an idea or clue as to the contents, but they may just be called a “gestures pack”, so you’ll need to review the descriptions provided. Not every pack lists the number or name of every gesture included, however. It’s a good idea to ask someone about the contents of any packs they have purchased.

Compare pack prices. While dance packs seem to have a fairly average price of $1.00 a dance (with some variation, of course), gestures do not seem to have an established average as yet. One set of the same gestures is offered for $1.99 by one developer and $2.99 by another developer, for example. If the gestures are included with dances or animations it is even more difficult to establish an average price. As always, you must determine the value (cost to worth) for yourself, as you would with any purchase.

Quick notes:

1. Gestures are the same for males and females at this time, but this could change in the future. Always check to be sure you are buying gestures for the gender you are using, in case this does change.

2. Just as dances are listed in the “Sidekicks” store, gesture packs can also be found there under the Animations and Dance Moves tab, when they are not still under the “New and Featured” tab. They will be located under the individual developer’s store tab as well, if they have one of their own.

3. One nice thing about gestures is that they usually fit with whatever you’re wearing at the time. You may want to change your outfit to enhance the look or meaning of your gestures, however.

4. Know how much animation you want in your gestures. Are you looking for something subtle, such as a hand gesture or perhaps you’re more interested in a full-body gesture? There are both styles in the various bundles available.

5. Last but not least, if you enjoy gesture packs and want to see more of them, let the developers know. You can contact them by email, Twitter, on their FaceBook page, or in the monthly suggestion thread on the Sony Home forum.

The lines between gestures, moves, animations and even dances often blurs with most of these packs or bundles. Something can be listed as a gesture, that may seem more like a full-blown animation in your opinion. What one developer calls a dance, make look like a simple move or animation to you. Remember that gestures are mostly of short duration and do not repeat on their own, and to be most effective, you need to use them at the right moment. Have fun!

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