Hey community! I want to get your feedback on companions. What makes a good companion? Is it the style? The animations? What price points are good? I have seen $1.99 and $2.99. What makes a companion worth more to Home users? I would also enjoy feedback about our Peep companions. Do you like them as a companion? Did you find it more economical to buy a bundle with the Active and Furniture items? Thanks guys!!
I want a full size "pool boy" companion and he has to be a real "hottie". I'll have to get back to you on the animations but humm....
Hahaha, thanks Jo. Noted. What about the other stuff I mentioned? haha. You have been a go-to gal for me! I really value your feedback. Although the pool boy might come from the Dev that is pumping out those flying stripper companions
Class act only hun... I will come back with more input promise. And I do want a Malmute puppy companion. I always wanted a puppy like that and i suppose typical doggie animations but real cute ones would be nice.
Personally, I'm getting a bit tired of all the 'cute' companions. Give me an adult lion / tiger / wolf / elephant.... OK, maybe a baby elephant. What about normal house pets...... cats and dogs that actually look like cats and dogs. Huskies would be my choice. And a few more animations..... maybe even interact with other avatars.... give them a bit of a personality. But please.... cute has been done to death. (But a cute Husky on the other hand.............hmmmmmm)
Yeah a cute little Malmute Puppy. A real looking one like this one. Not a stuffed toy looking one. On my... just for Joanna! Purty Please!
I think the companions have been over-done personally. I might buy ONE more if it was a really well done dog like Binx in EU (or better). And more inter-activity with the user would help too. As for the peeps... they are cute but so small its hard to appreciate the detail, even on a big screen TV. The price point? That's a little more difficult. I can appreciate from the dev side you need to to turn a profit, but from the consumer side, why pay $3 for something you don't use that often? $1.99 might be generate more sales. My two cents.
As mentioned a "life size" pool girl companion for me would be nice. I would also really like a Lion or the tiger in the mansion as a companion to give a little more seriousness rather than a "cute" puppy or squirrel or tiny robot thing. I would like it to be realistic as far as look and texture if it is going to be an animal, and not like blue or something. Flying Devil/Angel would be nice. As far as pricing I would like it to remain in the range of $1.99-2.99 since it has to be turned off when you sit. I would pay up to $5.99 depending on how well the animation is, the size of the companion. Maybe some examples (Tiger) $2.99 (Lion) $2.99 (Snake) $1.99 (Bats) $2.99 if there are multiple and has good flying animation, simple $1.99 (Realistic dog) $1.99-2.99 (Devil/Angel) $1.99-2.99 depends on size (Horse) 2.99-3.99 depends on size, like mini 2.99 big 3.99 I assume size of a companion has a regulation for developers, so some of the bigger ones might not be possible. If I have any more ideas, I'll post them.
well mystik i like the companions idea alot but to be honest there are just a little dull. i mean it would be awsome if when i was dancing the peep i have is dancing also or like if you are sitting down the cat or dogs rub up against your leg. as for other types well i guess let kim and jo have there pool boy (even though they already have hopper lol ) but like others have said lions,tiger, bears, and other animal you would not really have as real pets. but also you get from games like a little sackboy,sonic, or for halloween little vampire, werewolf, mummy. also you could have some like a dragon that shoots fire and have the options like guard or friendly where when you stop it acts like it is keeping people away from you or not lol . as for prices that is the tricky part cause you have to be fair to you guys that make it but can't be to much cause then no one will buy them lol. i would say lif the are small and move like the ones now same prices you have but pending on the size extra things it does a little higher. well that is all i can think of for the time being lol ( i never put any thought in this stuff as you can see rofl ) hope i gave you some ideas to work with
Like Crow said, it would be nice if they also included actions like defend or guard. Ones that would allow for "sit" "stay" "run" "roar". Controllable! I would pay more for ones that I could. $3.99. It would be awesome if maybe battle robots got released, maybe like customizable and allowed for fighting against one another gaining experience points. Could revolutionize a new way of playing home. I was thinking like metabots (lol, long time ago)
now you are talking apollo lol i didn't even think about having battle bots and you could have*tournaments with them also talk about fun lol
Great Ideas !! Those are some great ideas. We've been testing the limits of Home 1.5 and maybe some of those things will be possible. About battling companions, it might have to be a personal space. Would you be willing to pay for a space that allowed battling and pay for the companions/ fighters? Or we could do a public arena... Hmmm. My boss had already toyed with the idea of battling companions, so we will see what comes of it and what is possible.
For me there are several factors which make me think prices should be kept low. I'm just coming off a long period where Sony forced me to reevaluate my spending like crazy in Home. Plus it's harder for me to spend since I don't trust Sony with my credit card. And sometimes, PSN cards can be hard to find in my area.I also judge purchases in Home by my memory of earlier days in home, when prices were much cheaper. I remember we all just about choked on our lunch when Diesel (in the mall) first introduced $2 items. That was unbelievable back then. And there were alot of complaints. Even today, many of us are uncomfortable with how Home prices keep going up. there's also the comparisons with Home Japan, and other regions that have given out some cool free companions. you are competing price-wise against that. For me, I want companions to start around $1.50 and work their way up based on the quality of the mesh and the animations.Up to about $3. That's what my opinion of it is. If you want some ideas, I would suggest squirrels, hawks, bats, lions, tigers, stuff like that. If you look at that Free Realms game, their pets are pretty cool. And don't forget, since this is a virtual world, you can make BIG things too! Horses, unicorns, baby dragons. I would also start planning to take advantage of the holidays. You can make turkeys for thanksgivings, or reindeer for christmas. And ghosts, skeletons, and a whole host of pets for halloween! But you don't have to limit yourself to the idea of a PET. You can use that slot to do alot more. For example, you can create a rainy cloud that always tries to stay above the avatar's head. Or you can make fire on the ground that stays under the avatar. that would be a COOL idea. Wherever you stand, it is on fire. The Fire would technically be a pet, but it's an effect. It just follows immediately under an avatar. And tries to stay below him/her. Add some flaming hands, and glowing eyes, and that would be awesome. Or maybe add a whole costume to be the flaming torch from the Fantastic Four. Or following that idea, you can create one of those magic circles with arcane runes that form under a wizard as he casts a spell. that can be a "pet". Just as long as it stays under him. You can have it fade out when the avatar moves. But if the avatar stays still, it forms under him and glows, and pulsates. anyways, those are just some thought off the top of my head. Thanks for reading it. ;D
some more good ideas fire , heavy i think you might be on to something with batlling companions. we could have a personal space and it could be like to help train the companions and you can battle your friends for fun and then have a public space where you can battle anyone in a ring or something kinda like how the dolphy room and hudson gate spaces workes. plus i know people wouldl love them and by them like crazy cause back when ea brought fight night eveyone want to fright with the robots in the ring lol. man apollo just had to say battle bots, now i can see how it would all look in my head and wish it was in home now rofl
Your heavy peeps have always reminded me of mods, I would like to see them released in karts, so they can chase you around For animations, when walking he chases you, but when your stationary he could hit the horn impaitently, do a couple skids etc. You could even do public races, like what crow suggested with the battling companions.
I like this idea for sure, and would definitely boost sales of companions! $1.99 is definitely in the "impulse buy" territory for me, if it's really impressive I'll go for $2.99. Because of the strict 2 active item limit, the more interactive objects can integrate into a personal space the better (i.e. Loco Island has 10 active items built-in). For example battle minigame, heavy cannons, music player, chairs you can lie down, open/close appliances (Luxury Lakehouse), adjust lights / time of day (Sunset Yacht), item noises (cars in Mansion Garage) all add to the appeal. This would still allow us to put other things, such as a couple Peeps in.
