Phil Harrison's GDC keynote - Home, LittleBigPlanet & more

I know details are very slim right now but my first impression of Home is that it needs to be a 'game' in and of itself or at least have some gameplay aspects. Otherwise i cant see myself spending time walking around a little virtual town to see a friends achievements little virtual trophies, or to chat, etc. If thats the case, after the novelty has worn off i'm certain i would be looking for 'the button that just gives me a list of friends' (TM). If theres no other incentive to explore the town anyway, itll be a waste imo.

Id also like ot get more of an idea on how theyll manage what will eventually be millions of people on here. Probably only your 'friends' will show up in your town? (Along with the requisite places to spend money of course.)
 
expletive said:
I know details are very slim right now but my first impression of Home is that it needs to be a 'game' in and of itself or at least have some gameplay aspects.
Click to expand...

Yes. I think so too. I understood it as some sort of meta-game (e.g., comparing and competing for achievements/trophies) and non-games (e.g., personal expressions). As someone pointed out, usability, simplicity and load time will be critical.

Otherwise i cant see myself spending time walking around a little virtual town to see a friends achievements little virtual trophies, or to chat, etc. If thats the case, after the novelty has worn off i'm certain i would be looking for 'the button that just gives me a list of friends' (TM). If theres no other incentive to explore the town anyway, itll be a waste imo.
Click to expand...

My guess is we have the minimalist XMB for quick access. Someone (me2 ?) pointed out that there are hidden features in the network profile of a PS3 user.

Id also like ot get more of an idea on how theyll manage what will eventually be millions of people on here. Probably only your 'friends' will show up in your town? (Along with the requisite places to spend money of course.)
Click to expand...

Agree ! This is where the beef is. I would like to know more too (especially LittleBigPlanet).
 
In theory, based on all the discussions on the Cell, distributed computing, and so on - I'd assume that your PS3 acts as a host and everything is some kind of peer-to-peer thing. But of course it shouldn't be too hard to host a fraction of the data online on central servers somewhere. Will be interesting to see how they implement it.
 
With all of the mention of improving the PS3's image and justifying its worth, has there been mention of, or already a remedy for the problem of lack-of background downloading?
 
Supposed to be in the coming firmware update. It's more akin to "auto-resume download" since people were told the download pauses while in-game, which is fine by me.
 
patsu said:
Supposed to be in the coming firmware update. It's more akin to "auto-resume download" since people were told the download pauses while in-game, which is fine by me.
Click to expand...

In an online game or any game? IIRC, the 360 only pauses downloads when you go play online. Any word on queueing a few downloads?
 
expletive said:
In an online game or any game? IIRC, the 360 only pauses downloads when you go play online. Any word on queueing a few downloads?
Click to expand...

No idea but I think it will pause for all games. You know as much as I do regarding this feature now :)
 
expletive said:
I know details are very slim right now but my first impression of Home is that it needs to be a 'game' in and of itself or at least have some gameplay aspects. Otherwise i cant see myself spending time walking around a little virtual town to see a friends achievements little virtual trophies, or to chat, etc.
Click to expand...
I can't see myself doing that either. However, perhaps this isn't intended as an 'appeals to all' feature, but an 'appeals to a specific and necessary niche'? Like SIMS. I don't play SIMS as it has no interest for me, but millions of people do. There's also social MMOs where people just be sociable. You won't catch me on them, but you will find plenty of others on them. Offering such a service, especially if in ways unique and tailored to the desires of those who really like this things, is another string to PS3's bow.

As for creating a game within the community, I'm...skeptical. The idea of ordinary Joe's potentially messing up my gaming experience does not fill me with relish. It'll have to be something utterly amazing and unique if it's to work, IMO. And for PS3's sake, preferable it has huge EyeToy involvement too to promote that device!
 
To Will Wright's credit...

You should try Sims (coz I'm curious :D ). I thought, and still think, Sims is weaksauce, girlie and mundane.

A couple of years ago, I was evaluating marketing channels and wanted to see if I can sneak some product placement into the Sims world. So I decided to get a feel at about 4:00pm that day. I left work in the morning because I couldn't stop playing. That weirded me out. I have stayed away from Will Wright's games since then. :)

As for PS Home, I think it has different goals. The draw will not be the features but the community *if* it gather enough crazy creators. Just like youtube, I find myself visiting it a couple of times a week not because I want to, but people forward links to me. The community is the draw.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Killzone in Phil's Keynote confirmed?
utennavnbf8.png


And Eurogamer's live coverage.
 
Perhaps just a date for a trailer or release. The former seems especially likely. Seeing Killzone given what we've heard so far doesn't seem very plausible, and all...
 
Ladies and gentlemans, the keynote will start in few minutes!

But gametrailers have already posted videos of Playstation HOME and Little Big Planet!!!

204home1.jpg


:oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops:
 
Hey, is there some site live-blogging the keynote?

We should zero in on this thing, it being 7 minutes away.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

iroboto
Square Enix Previous Director of Business Holdings at SE discusses the Games Industry
Replies
3
Views
752
eastmen
E
S
Retro - "We Are Killing Sony" - Leaked Docs Shine A Light On Sega's Ill-Fated Battle With PlayStation
Replies
11
Views
2K
stu11
S
Z
Some PS5Pro and Resident Evil 9 thoughts
2
Replies
21
Views
1K
Zombietoid
Z
L
ARM based Game Consoles on the way?
2 3 4
Replies
73
Views
8K
Lurkmass
L
BRiT
ID@Xbox GDC 2023 Game Demos and more
Replies
4
Views
1K
BRiT
BRiT
Back
Top