Sony Home - The official thread*

[Titanio]

A first report from the GDC Home session with a bit more info on items and such:

http://www.psu.com/GDC--PlayStation-Home-Tools-and-Details-News--a0002832-p0.php

*Update (30mins into presentation)

For a quick update, one key feature that the new PlayStation Home tools will allow for is the ability for developers to create custom clothing, furniture, and avatar heads for Home users. An example could be having an unlockable Sweet Tooth head from Twisted Metal for your Home character. Although, any heads created by developers will be static and will not be customizable by users. Other features shown include scene tools for creating private and public spaces and how to create a menu system for Home users to jump from Home into multiplayer games.

Update #2

Developers will be allowed to create Home Interactive Items. The first item shown was something called a "Bubble Machine" which users can pull out using their in-game PSP menu and drop on the ground. Other items talked about included a virtual camera, tv remotes, and footballs. Developers can produce items to both sell or giveaway. Also items in the game can be interactive (such as the football which uses Home physics) and be picked up and dropped. Items can have animations, collision, and audio. (Developer shows images, inlcuding a scene with 20-30 Home users dancing with Bubble machines all around)

Football would be awesome...

There's some pics there too, I'll link a couple in a sec..

Bubble machines, hehe:

Points of some kind?

edit - article has updated with a video of a game launching sample shown.

Article also says they showed how to create menu systems for launching gamers into multiplayer games from Home.

On another technical note, the page shown briefly at the end of the video shows that mini-games are scripted using Lua.

 

[Titanio]

Talking to a guy on neogaf about the presentation, he says they were cagey about any points or the like..but that bowling thingy is an achievement/accomplishment for that minigame.

He also said that developers can create apartments for users too..presumably opening up the possibility of more fantasy-based apartments perhaps..

 

[slider]

That's a fairly significant upgrade. Still no idea on dates/open betas and so on...

I want to see some decent quality screenshots too. Titanio and patsu posted some new screens a while back (probably in this thread!) and I was slightly underwhelmed. Still not sure if this...

We now use an HDR approach to lighting and bloom so the glowing halos around bright objects have been toned down and things should look sharper overall.

...accurately described the effect to me - but in theory it sounds like progression.

 

[patsu]

THAT is actually a very sad photo. There is no, zero, nada, zilch woman in the bubble party. Sony, I am not kidding when I say you need women to grow a mass market community efficiently/effectively.

 

[Npl]

THAT is actually a very sad photo. There is no, zero, nada, zilch woman in the bubble party. Sony, I am not kidding when I say you need women to grow a mass market community efficiently/effectively.

You mean Sony should turn into a virtual Pimp? On a second tought if you are right this would be an interesting business proposition - virtual escort ladies ftw

 

[patsu]

You mean Sony should turn into a virtual Pimp? On a second tought if you are right this would be an interesting business proposition - virutal escort ladies ftw

They are traffic magnet in the cyberspace. I guess they'd show up once in a while like the Loch Ness monster. Sigh~~ We may have to settle for the "hairy type" for quite a while.

 

[function]

Video gaming has always been a "sausage fest" activity. It's probably not going to change in a hurry - at least not in terms of dedicated gamers.

That screenshot is simply representative of an occupational hazard of online gaming.

 

[Npl]

They are traffic magnet in the cyberspace. I guess they'd show up once in a while like the Loch Ness monster.

Seriously, I dont think we`d find woman in the closed beta, thats much to geeky. There are a few chances though that we`ll get a healthy dose of them one Singstar goes "home", think of a cross of myspace & youtube. Currently theres little that would draw girls/woman near a PS3.

 

[betan]

Cell powered ALICEs in girlfriend mode would create miracles for nerds.

 

[DJ12]

There is at least one for sure, in the middle in the red top.

 

[patsu]

*Phew* I think you are right.

It's a leaked photo anyway. So, Sony is off the hook. Getting SingStar, Buzz and other casual games to be on Home is a big deal. Knowledgeable community managers and early adopters are also key in setting up a pleasant environment.

Looking at how things pan out, Sony is probably going to take this one step at a time. Might be a l-o-n-g beta.

 

[-tkf-]

THAT is actually a very sad photo. There is no, zero, nada, zilch woman in the bubble party. Sony, I am not kidding when I say you need women to grow a mass market community efficiently/effectively.

Female beta testers.. they are like sex, not enough around.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Foreground on the right again in a red top is also female, or an oddly proportioned guy with girly hair. But as Npl points out, you wouldn't expect many women in a closed Beta. When the system is opened up and shopping is implemented, you won't be able to move for 'em!

Besides which, what's to stop blokes creating female avatars and vice versa? AFAIK that's common enough in MMOs.

 

[patsu]

But as Npl points out, you wouldn't expect many women in a closed Beta.

True. If they are shooting for mass adoption, they need to do focus test and beta test on young women too. It's important because they are very sensitive to the environment, and they form a large/core part of social gaming dynamics and experiences.

The whole place might feel a little off from their perspectives.

EDIT: It's possible that Sony may have already conducted these tests as part of the beta and I am just oblivious to it.

 

[pipo]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=33444

Creative director hits out at "garish" and "hardcore" online experiences

 

[Titanio]

That's interesting, Dave Jones made some similar points in his APB presentation. It's a fair point, but you can't really argue with 'geeky' WoW and its 10m+ subscribers etc

Anyway, I hope the full interview has something more substantial in it (not that it's likely given how cagey they supposedly were on disclosing certain info at the GDC session).

 

[patsu]

http://ps3.gamespy.com/playstation-3/home/854113p1.html

Now, users (we don't know if this applies to the beta testers currently using the program) will be able to customize the clothing on their avatar and make their own designs. Arcade games and mini-games will be enhanced. Avatars can be loaded and saved. Cox also said that Havok will drive the software's physics. It will also become easier for developers to implement web-based content delivery.

I was kinda wary that the web delivery part will get dropped. Looks like they found time to improve it even. More in the above link.

 

[Titanio]

As usual, Watch Impress rocks with a more thorough report of the GDC session:

http://world.altavista.com/babelfis...impress.co.jp/game/docs/20080223/gdc_home.htm

Notable things:

Other interactive items shown in one PSP menu include 'buddy specs', paper aeroplanes, a camera. Other slides show how the camera works - like a traditional box camera, you can place it down, then gather in front of it and take the picture.

There are screenshots of the editors for scenes. One of the lists of minigames includes the usual..chess etc. but also tug 'o war, and a prototype for tic-tac-toe is shown.

Arcade games and mini-games are both scripted in Lua. The article has a nice suggestion of a publisher/developer making their own virtual arcade space filled with retro 2D titles.

Some shots:

(Gorilla suits, showing the kind of stuff devs can make)

More at the link of course.

 

[patsu]

Here's another take on Home from MTV and err... an EA staff:
http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008...-electronic-arts-wonders-why-they-should-care

If you were wondering: yes, that release date remains completely vague; Sony made no mention of an updated release schedule for “Home” at GDC. What we did see, however, was an interesting back-and-forth between an Electronic Arts developer in the audience who questioned the motivation for even creating content for “Home.”

When asked, “Why should I develop for Home?” James Cox, Senior Producer at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, didn’t seem ready for the question, as a long pause dangled in the audience. Eventually, the EA employee clarified his statement, instead wondering what the draw was for third parties without a clear revenue model in place.

Even then, Cox didn’t exactly have a clear answer. Earlier in the presentation, Cox mentioned that publishers have the option of making items pay-to-play, but that wasn’t a requirement, and he simply told the employee to call Sony if he was interested in a more formal pitch on the revenue possibilities for “Home.”

Someone on GAF referred me to info on Dress (which I missed):
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/822/822371p1.html

As Hirai detailed in his speech, dress is an expansion for the PlayStation Home service. It attempts to bridge the the gap between real life fashion designers and the digital fashions that you make use of in the virtual Home world. Sony refers to it as a "premium avatar service."

Dress uses an exclusive avatar system, presumably separate from the standard Home avatars. You can make detailed customizations to hair style, body make, and facial features. The clothes that you select are also precisely recreated down to proper patterns and cloth simulations. Sony is working with both fashion brands and cloth makers for this area of the product.

This is all important, since dress is meant to help you decide your real life clothing lineup by seeing a virtual version of yourself trying on virtual clothes.

Shichisawa explained four areas of the product; these appear to be individual rooms in the Home world.

Dress Town is a virtual space where players experience the world of fashion. Sony is working with fashion brands to create digital shops, where players can experience all areas of their favorite brands through clothing, music, videos and interviews. This area of the game is meant to make you feel like you're actually moving around a shop.

Dress Studio lets you create your own fashion, selecting color, material, patterns and logos. It appears that the game will let players make their own brands. Sony is even looking into letting players send their designs away to have them transformed into real life clothing.

Dress museum is a museum of clothing history. It has some interactive elements where you gather famous scenes from movies and famous characters.

Dress park is a community space that's meant for players to communicate and exchange gifts, including clothing. Sony will hold official events and fashion shows here, giving players the chance to appear as models. Players can also organize their own shows based around their original brands. This is something that Sony hopes to actively support, Shichisawa said.

Dress will arrive in early 2008, hopefully not too far from the start of Home itself. By then, we should have a better idea of how far Sony hopes to go with its virtual fashion business.

"Dress" answers my question of whether Home is going to address the female gamers (beyond game lobbies and short chats). Once enough content and activities are prepared for everyone, Sony can provide further guides and assistance to lead them around in the community (Not everyone is patient/brave enough to explore in an unknown world with no clear indication of where to go next).

 

[-tkf-]

“Why should I develop for Home?"

To sell more games? If Home is an integrated part of the PS3 platform any game not supporting it will lose a bullet point on the back of their case.