Trophies — But No Platinum
by Jin Lovelace & Phoenix Storm, HSM team writers & filmmakers
Phoenix Storm: It seems Home has arrived as a game after all in some minds at Sony.
Residents of Home started receiving trophies as they signed into Home. These trophies were retroactive, and many received the same ones, depending on your past and recent activity in Home. A trophy for returning to Home was given in the form of a Welcome Home trophy; a trophy is received for visiting your first personal space in Home, the Harbor Apartment, and various other are immediately forthcoming to most of us.
As I signed in I received six trophies on the first day. I have to admit I was okay with it. Though I had never thought of receiving trophies for Home per se, since I hadn’t considered Home as a game. Sure, there are games I play here — everything from Killer Plants and the meta-game of interior design to Sodium2, but I only thought of having trophies for the first and the latter games. I never thought of Home as a game.
Now that it is receiving trophies I may have to rethink that — maybe. So, if I think of Home as such and trophies are now a part of Home, I am concerned that there is no sign of the pinnacle of trophy hunting. For real trophy hunters, the accumulation of trophies is a serious mission. The time and effort it takes to meet a challenge and earn that trophy is sometimes long and hard. Each trophy is a symbol of accomplishment, with key trophies being acquired along the way; those trophies are bronze, silver, gold and finally platinum.
Ask any trophy hunter and they will tell you the list is incomplete without the platinum trophy to cap off all your triumphs. With the current lineup of trophies, it would seem as if a valid argument will arise on both sides. This brings us back to my original thought: is Home truly a game? It looks like a game, it behaves like a game and it has game-like characteristics — but is it a game? By virtue of the powers that be, assigning trophies to Home appeared to be saying that yes, Home is a game; but by not adding the platinum they stop short of truly branding Home as game.
My final thought on this is that if for no other reason than because there are now trophies in Home there should be a complete list of trophies, including platinum. My reasoning being there are too many incomplete projects in Home already. Platinum should be added. True trophy hunters will argue that there is nothing in Home to compare in effort or time consumption to equal the player skill set of a platinum trophy acquisition.
They may be right, but that can be remedied: that trophy should be connected to an almost impossible task for Home users. It should be something that can’t be accomplished by signing in on 50 days, or owning a set number of clothing, or taking ten photos. No, for platinum in Home, it should be a combination of the hardest challenges Home has to offer, and yes it should involve Home related things. Trophy hunting is, as I’ve said, serious business for most, and it should receive the same accolades in Home; every level should be represented. Otherwise it’s just a it’s more of a joke. So yes, platinum should be included.
Jin Lovelace: I agree on a few points when it comes to trophy hunting: it is serious business.
As a trophy hunter myself, it does take patience, skill and time for every achievement to be met for each trophy. Having poured sweat, tears, and the very essence of my soul into the tracklist that I have, one can understand the labor input into acquiring the accolades in most games.
Home, however, isn’t that at all. I’ve debated with many denizens that would revere the social platform to be a game, and some held a few points; some that are based on the games within Home.
Would’ve been cool if this came with a trophy…
Aside from receiving a few Home trophies for using the default dance moves and a few gestures, there are three trophies that will require time. “Grand Explorer” requires visiting twenty unique spaces. “A Documentary” requires the user to snap a photo on ten different days. “There’s No Place Like Home” entails visiting Home on fifty different days to earn a gold.
From my perspective, those are the more time-consuming trophies. If this is your first time logging into Home, however, then you’ll see the rest of the list will be a bit of a project for you. Nothing that requires any sort of skill, though.
So: why would I need a platinum in Home?
A platinum is the prestigious reward on the list. In Metal Gear Solid 4, one of the trophies requires that you beat the game on Big Boss Mode and earn the namesake, replay the game on that save, and obtain a particular item to receive a gold trophy. Whether you’re nearly finished with the collection or are still in the cleanup process, I can tell you from experience that it is a challenging task to complete — but it’s one achievement away from that sweet platinum. It’s a rewarding experience.
But the question lingers: why do I feel the need to platinum a social platform? I literally own the Mall, over seventy-five Home estates, and a crapload of free items that constantly remind me why I hate Home’s antiquated storage system. I didn’t see this as a challenge to me, nor as one I would revere as a game “just because.” I believe that if you were to ask any trophy hunter that seeks a challenge what they think of Home trophies, this softball implementation is a bit of a slap in the face.
Would it be interesting to have a platinum trophy in Home? Perhaps, but it’s an incongruous bandwagon to jump onto.
March 24th, 2014 by Jin Lovelace | 7 comments
Jin Lovelace is a machinimist and team writer for HomeStation Magazine, as well as the founder of Twilight Touch Inc. -- http://twilighttouchinc.com and http://youtube.com/twilighttouchinc. When not found in PlayStation Home, Jin studies graphic design and illustration (character design and fashion), gaming, and the culinary arts.
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Personal opinion on this: Home doesn’t have a platinum because a platinum represents a finished state. Once you’ve achieved the platinum in a game, there’s nothing left to do in it. Home, on the other hand, has no ending as such.
Granted, I’m not a trophy hunter. I get the appeal of it, and it’s smart for driving user engagement, but it doesn’t do anything for me personally. So someone who is a trophy hunter will probably react differently.
All of the current crop of trophies are limited to first-party activities which can be done for free. It’s the easiest way to get them implemented, with the least amount of metadata alteration and commerce republishing.
What would the criteria for a Home platinum be, anyway? To me, it relates to user-generated content; becoming a Home developer would be too restrictive a goal (only six users in all of Home would qualify), but since Home’s original FAQ mentions eventual support for UGC, that seems like a logical choice for a platinum — or, certainly, a gold. Granted, that’s sentimentality talking, since the behind-the-scenes logistics required to pull something like that off aren’t easy.
In the back of my mind, I’ve had a pet theory that trophy introduction isn’t just to give Home a shot-in-the-arm appeal to lure gamers back in, but also to introduce Home’s more insular gamers to the appeal of trophies outside of Home. For years, my trophy level hovered at three, simply because all I played on the PS3 was Home (aside from Valkyria Chronicles, which also doesn’t have trophies). That’s since changed, but if trophies can help lure Home whales and their dollars to non-Home experiences, then perhaps it serves a dual purpose.
My take on it is that Home trophies don’t necessarily enhance the Home user experience, but they certainly don’t detract, either. Anything that encourages people to enjoy Home — and keeps a percentage of them coming back — is a good thing.
I’d have said the same thing Norse; a Platinum represents the absolute conclusion of everything to be done, being done. In Home, that can’t happen. There are lots of other, smaller games out there that don’t carry platinum trophies too, generally smaller download only type games.
I’m not a trophy hunter myself, as I’ve said quite a few times here but I do believe trophies in Home are a good thing. The irony here however is that (in my mind anyway) the items obtained in Home via other games on PS3 were supposed to be Sony’s answer to Microsoft’s Achievements. But rather than just being a pointless little icon, you got actual, bragging-right rewards (in Home) for meeting certain requirements in other games;
“Cool outfit man! Where’d you get it?”
“You gotta finish AC3 to 100%”
Rather than just oh, I like his jeans, I’ll go buy some too, y’know.
The two comments here are intriguing.
The two comments were, in fact, intriguing.
As a Trophy Hunter, it would be a slap in the face for me because I don’t see Home as an “ended product” to complete. While it’s just a hobby for me (personal goal, if you will), I do like challenges that most of my gaming collection gives me.
Home isn’t a challenge at all, aside from the social point of view but that’s just me.
I can say, however, the Trophy list did enhance my experience. It depends on the person with creative thought but for the average user, it’s just another trophy collected.
Here’s an idea for a Home platinum (albeit a morbid one):
“Last Call” -- Be logged into Home at the moment it’s taken offline for the final time.
Morbid, indeed. LOL
I’m not a trophy hunter, but I know someone that would sell they soul for a platinum trophy. He doesnt go on home, and without the platinum trophy still dont go on home. At least a platinum some where or some how might get these users on to home. To me the ultimate need is to make home viable so it continues on and a larger user base is a start even if the retention is low.
I would have loved to see a platinum, I even thought maybe we’ll get that trophy room they have been promising forever!
Oh well, I’ll take the trophies anyway!!