by Estim20, HSM Editor

It can be said that every developer on Home comes with a theme. If you are in dire straits for specific items, you can count on certain developers producing them.

Granzella, for example, produces a catalog of anime-inspired fashion, as well as other culturally Japanese figments for the creative soul. Anyone who knows me will know I’m a purveyor of their products, when that itch needs to be scratch – and I do have the occasional anime itch. The only downside is the lack of licensed material, but that is unsurprising seeing as procuring the rights to create franchise material isn’t always guarantee (or, perhaps more importantly, cheap).

Lockwood, on the other hand, is a jack of all trades. When you simply cannot go without an ensemble that comes together nicely, Lockwood’s digital menagerie has your back – and with numerous clothing lines forming their lauded foundation. As stated before (and in various degrees of verbiage), the more you buy from Home, the greater the chance you will buy something from Lockwood. In fact, one can feasibly state that you will own something from its catalog, one way or another. They are that indispensable and they are quite aware of their talents.

And with January receding into the background (with winter gradually following its lead), Lockwood continues its ensuing 2014 production update with more for the fashion-conscious – and horse conscious.

2014 is the year of the horse after all.

From Lockwood’s copy:  “The first needles were made out of animal bone around 30,000 years ago. In Ancient Rome, only people of high status could wear purple. It was once taboo to wear black outside of funerals. Boom. That’s the kind of science Lockwood be droppin’. Erm, as in, fashion-related.

Look, basically what we’re saying is, Drop Science has a new range, and the clothes are really awesome and brightly coloured and stuff. Like the boots in Gritty, an eye-popping lilac, or the giftable version in Squash Beef, a fresh lemon shade.

Galloping through the Prairie, several of our horses have got a new look too. They’re daubed in war paint – powerful symbols to aid them in battle. Obviously they’ll need riders. Mount up and help them out!”

Drop Science

Drop Science may be a mystifying choice for Lockwood, perhaps even unwaveringly disquieting depending on how you view it. It is a company built on mondaine, sophisticated showcases with the likes of Drey and its litany of fashionable necessity – when it isn’t stocking up its gaming magnum opus, Sodium (or its sister line, Iron Fusion). How is a line dedicated to hip-hop streetwear being set alongside ballroom attire?

It is fashion, though, and when Lockwood isn’t reminding everyone why Sodium is entertaining, it is building a collection of basic attire and extras. By the time it’s done, Drop Science will be (and is) another base Lockwood has you covered. What more can a budding avatar fashionista desire?

Gesticulations already made the grade in earlier updates, so this update focuses on more clothing and an extra feature for the masses: boom boxes. Boom boxes are no stranger to Home – just ask anyone who has visited the Playground – though they may seem slim pickings with the direction Home has taken lately. This should be a great reminder that Home isn’t just about LMOs – and that music plays an important role in social gatherings as much as dancing does. In fact, the two go hand-in-hand.

The new clothing is definitely what one expects from Drop Science. The brightly colored tops (combined with the boom boxes in a mix of colors) present a line perfect for the 1980s, if not 1990s, providing a good time-locked sentiment dripping with nostalgia. It really reminds us that we can apply clothing across various time periods if one takes the chance.

War Horse

Anyone up for a history lesson? No? You’ll get a brief one anyway.

According to the almighty Wikipedia, horses went extinct in the Americas around 10,000 years ago, leaving it to European conquerors to reintroduce them upon colonization. Spanish conquistadors, in particular, introduced their horses, leading to such descendants as the mustang. It, in turn, leant its name to a car, which is a tangential note.

Indigenous populations began using cavalry at least as early as the late 16^th century, continuing the trend throughout the history of warfare. The Great Plains proved a great nest for cavalry in North America, with both indigenous groups and European descendants adapting the style throughout the 19^th century. Today horses aren’t necessarily the go-to source for transportation in war, save for those cases where motorized means cannot readily access where horses easily tread. Even then, many horses are used as a holdout from the past, as well as reenactments and ceremonial purposes.

As for Home, horses are (like Drop Science’s boom boxes) familiar territory. Lockwood itself produced the range and ranch house alongside their horse locomotion items, recreating the Wild West in its frontier glory. Now one can add native American war horses to their stable, completing the historical account of the Wild West in digital form (at least as far as horses go).

With LMOs still riding high from last year, these should see some sales. If they perk up, they will undeniably stir more interest in the range and ranch house spaces, as well as create more interest in Wild West machinima production. As with the previous horses, these will be available in the store and in the gift machine.

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