by RadiumEyes, HSM team writer

With the release of Avakin Life on 14 November, Lockwood Publishing now provides users with a free apartment, and more material on the way; this update allows avatars to actually walk around a space, instead of simply standing in one spot. The rollout came on Avakin’s Twitter feed, with some nice fanfare – one can look to that for some basic information about the new service, and what’s included with the update.

With that, let’s dive in to see all that’s available with Lockwood’s latest offering.

A great starting point would be the apartment itself – a new focal point for socialization and a glimpse into Avakin’s future. The Bayview Studio (an Avakin original) consists of two interior room and two exterior patio sections, all of which can be decorated at one’s leisure. It’s Lockwood in miniature at the moment; with 39 individual slots to fill, and each item taking up several, your choices are rather limited. However, this isn’t the problem that one may assume it to be – as mentioned, this is a fairly small space (particularly when compared to Lockwood’s PlayStation Home offerings), but Avakin is new to the scene; this apartment reflects the company’s branching out, and some modest initial releases emphasize Lockwood’s new social platform. Think of it as the unassuming step into a new realm; with plenty of great items already available on Home, Lockwood’s PC outing has big shoes to fill.

You navigate Bayview through mouse clicks, a definite departure from the joystick-based movement scheme people familiar with the PS3 would recognize; the camera can be controlled through the mouse, as well, granting more freedom of movement. As a contrast, the lounge/bar that we find under the Avakin tab doesn’t allow for that much independent movement – one can choose pre-determined snap points and move the camera, but this is the extent of one’s active motions there. Having an open space where one could walk in is a breath of fresh air, and an indication that Lockwood seeks to expand its service beyond the bar and into an open-world environment where one’s actions aren’t as strictly limited by code.

The apartment itself offers a wonderful view of the ocean, with a tantalizing image in the distance – a yacht floating on the open water. It’s the Dream Yacht, a Lockwood staple, which I’ll touch on later. With Bayview, you have a small space to yourself, a place to relax and get away from the bustling crowd; with small pools, four sections to decorate independently and numerous items at your disposable (several of which do require tokens), it’s a great getaway, a sort of tropical vacation where one’s cares can melt away in a virtual world. Now, Avakin included a video outlining how one interacts with objects in your personal space – unlike Home, where such interaction occurs through use of the X button (a staple in U.S. gaming), Avakin uses the mouse, and one must highlight an item and hold down the left button. Doing so will bring up a menu, which includes the item’s name, a possibility to purchase the item from the shop (think of how Inspect works on Home) and, if applicable, a Sit/Lay Down feature for furniture.

If you’re new to the service, you’ll find that several items can be purchased through the in-program store — and Lockwood shines when it comes to offering great content. This includes not only some familiar clothing lines (such as Drey and Delirious Squid), but also some animation; the “start-up” avatar has few animations to speak of, but that can be easily rectified through a visit to the Avakin’s Animations tab, which one can access in a personal space. These range from emotions (e.g., a giggle or a dismissive finger) to dances, and they’re all well-animated.

All this exists with a bit of a caveat, however – don’t expect the place to be as comprehensive, item-wise, as Home. Before anyone complains, however, keep in mind that Lockwood took an important step here, transferring from PS3 to computer, and that means figuring out how to get the code to work efficiently. Working with a computer framework means adapting to different HTTP trends; whereas Lockwood could rely on PS3 consoles working similarly across the board, this assumption cannot be made for computers, as there exist numerous different models with different operating systems running on it. One must account for these differences when building a Web-based social network from the ground up. Avakin currently exists in that state between closed beta and expansion, and it will take time to incorporate everything they’ve released on the PS3.

But that’s a tangent for another day; Avakin Life contains more than the apartment, as indicated by the handy overworld map. Right now, only one public space exists: a small beach with some chairs and other beach-specific decorations found within; right now, it’s an unassuming affair, but I do enjoy the aesthetics of the place. There’s even a store (located within a nearby hut) where one can purchase some clothing to complement the scenery – it has the makings of a resort, but without any noisy tourists interrupting your stay. The presence of a conspicuous, empty signboard (assuming it will serve as such later one) on the far right leaves a bit of a conundrum – will this be a billboard announcing new releases? Or does it indicate future additions to the beach, and the board exists as a temporary barrier in the meantime? Whatever the case, this looks very promising; Lockwood certainly put a lot of effort into this, and seeing how this will grow in future will be wonderful.

Now, two other spaces exist on the overworld map, but the teasing message of “coming soon” means they’re locked for the time being; one of them looks like the yacht seen from Bayview and the beach, while the other is another building – so new content is on the way, and the island of Avakin (for wont of another name) has room for other content. Who knows – perhaps we’ll see the waterfall cascading into the lake, or hike in the nearby mountains. For now, we have a good amount to play with, and it would be excellent to see where Avakin goes from here; my hat’s off to Lockwood for making a great platform.

Share