Sodium Beyond Home
by Susan, HSM team writer
“Internet does not equal sodium pentothal.”
–Drew Barrymore
The other day I was at the doctor’s office for a regular checkup, and she posed the question if all was okay.
“What’s up?” I asked, puzzled.
She indicated that my sodium levels are way down, and I should do something about that promptly. Leaving her office, I began to think on this: how could it be? I work two shifts a week at Scorpio’s, and when I am done there I go and unwind by stomping on helpless scorpions for another hour or so for those much-needed Sodium credits.
When I wake up in the morning I head over to my Blaster’s Paradise personal space and play the mini Salt Shooter game, which allows me to warm up for the Salt Shooter public space. After some time there, I pound a can of orange flavored Hydro Juice, chase it with a shot of VETOXADE and then head on over to the Sodium2 racetracks and make little boys cry. When the day is all said and done, I zoom on over to my Sodium Blimp and fall asleep looking for buried treasure. So to say I was perplexed by her question is what I would call a massive understatement.
But then I thought: I have been off the PlayStation Network for almost two months due to a seemingly repetitive PS3 HDD failure. That might explain the lower Sodium levels the doctor was referring to. How do I overcome that obstacle — not being in Home — and still maintaining the necessary Sodium levels to keep her happy?
…What if the Sodium Universe was also available to the consumer as a set of standalone games, or even as a complete package, outside of PlayStation Home?
This game never gets old for me
Home is no stranger to having large IPs tied into it — but the same isn’t true in reverse. And of all of Home’s experiences, Lockwood’s Sodium universe has probably the best chance of surviving as some sort of MMO world outside of Home. If and when Home closes its doors, and I still want to continue playing these excellent games, what is a person to do? Personally, I think using the Sodium Universe as a pilot project would be an excellent choice; it has in its arsenal several well established Home games, and unlike most of the gaming experiments that have come and gone in Home, the Sodium Universe itself appears to be profitable — and enduring enough to maintain long-term appeal.
Today’s advances in technology have given way to allowing the consumer to play games on their mobile devices, and statistics show that these devices are slowly and increasingly being utilized more and more for just such a function. Lockwood Publishing started dabbling into this area with the release of Avakin (and their upcoming Avakin Life). These are designed as a social MMO experience, much like Home was in the beginning.
What if the Sodium Universe could be a part of that? I do not even dare to understand the complexities of creating such software, so I would just say maybe it is too complex for that. I remember the issues Lockwood had just trying to make Avakin work on a mobile device, and that did not include piloting a race craft five feet off the ground at Mach three.
But what if they could? What if they were able to program something that allowed us to log into Sodium Universe and continue enjoying these games? Would you play the Sodium Salt Shooter on your iPad or Android phone? I personally do not play many — if any — games on my phone. aside from perhaps poker.
I personally just don’t have the time to do that, but honestly, I’m thinking I would find some time to play these if I needed my Sodium addiction addressed and Home was gone. It would be also a plus if, while Home was still available, that any rewards you win are transferable to either account. I don’t think that sort of cross-platform chat is too much to ask, but for the sake of argument let’s say it is. 
How about developing several downloadable games to your PlayStation console via the PlayStation Store? Each game could be sold individually — or, as what is becoming increasingly popular, as a bundle. This could open up even more doors with new downloadable content: a slew of new tracks to be developed for Sodium2 or new weapons upgrades for the Salt Shooter- take your pick. And with it being Lockwood, any rewards might be able to be used in Avakin.
It’s a foregone conclusion that Home must, at some point, come to an end. But that doesn’t mean that some of its more successful games can’t live on as stand-alone titles on the Vita, the PlayStation Store, or even outside the PlayStation suite of devices altogether. Here’s hoping that happens.
October 26th, 2013 by Susan | 9 comments
Susan is a team writer for HomeStation Magazine, co-founder of the award winning media group-AvatardProductions, a PlayStation MVP and a Home Guide. PSNID SCEA/xx96791DEATHxx-SCEE/oXx_EnIgMa_xXo. An avid PlayStation Home user, she is most often found setting land speed records at the Sodium 2 velocity racetracks, sitting at the Pier Park or playing with the R/C vehicles at Acorn Meadows Park.
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Sodium U, as far as I can see, is about the only game/s that could get off the ground on their own without Home. Personally, I find most touch controls are unresponsive and skitty at best on any device so I’d think the best solution for the Sodium U would be the Vita. It has the horsepower and buttons for the job, where as most phones would probably struggle with just a bare bones Salt Shooter game; battery and controls probably being the biggest problems.
I never got into Avakin simply for the fact I don’t do Poker, and that’s all it seemed to be. A mobile version of Scorpio’s, Salt Shooter and S2 Racer though? That’d grab my attention, not just because I’d prefer it but because it’d be a very hard/brave thing to do on mobile platforms.
Well KrazyFace, I believe the next extension of Avakin called Avakin Life will be released unto the public..That will open the door for more types of interaction amongst the community
Its a problem with games within a space within a world within a console that there are too many layers than if it’s just a game within a console. Sodium 2 is really wipeout for home with a freemium business model when you can buy wipeout for less money than it takes to make a decent racer on sodium 2 the game itself doesnt really stand on its own 2 feet. The community and memories of sodium spaces is what makes them special, without that around them they aren’t that good enough as games for the development to be worth it
I think you are just seeing this idea as “a” game. There are actually several games in the Sodium Universe. There’s not just the racing game, but Salt Shooter and the mini games -- scorpion stomping and the bar tending/customer game at Scorpio’s bar. There’s even the mini-game of rewards collecting. And that’s just in the public spaces, there’s a personal space with a game in this universe, too.
I see a lot of chances for socialization here, making this a place to meet friends before and after the games for conversation and “bragging”. Heck, there’s even a dance floor. Also, I could see a lot of possibilities here to expand this world and keep the theme. How about a multi-player Salt Shooter game?
I totally agree Kassadee- I see lots of ideas for some type of franchising this out side of Home. Would you interact with it if it was outside of Home?
Great point Gary160974- The Sodium Universe is special because of the reasons you stated, but what if they took Lockwood took parts the Sodium Universe- Scorpios,Sodium1 or even the Lockwood Yacht and put it into AvakinLife. I would play Sodium2 and the Salt Shooter as a stand a lone game. I think It would be neat to have the Silicon Lounge in AvakinLife tho.
Personally, I think it’d make perfect sense to introduce the Sodium universe to Avakin, or at the very least introduce SodiumOne and Sodium2 to the Vita as stand-alone titles.
Granted, that’s my preference as a consumer. If I put on my developer hat, I know that’s far easier said than done. But it’d be freakin’ sweet.
Hmm…
How does one interpret that?