Building a home in an open-world RPG provides a sense of respite like no other. Not only does it allow the player a place to relax, but it also gives them a place to store their items and can serve as a hub for future adventures.Avowed’s potential for home decor could expand on this in a way few games have done before.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimalso had home decor mechanics, found mostly in the form of the Hearthfire DLC. Though it provided a new experience toThe Elder Scrollsfranchise, it was found to be lacking in many areas.Avowed’s iteration of home decor could showSkyrima thing or two about immersive player housing.
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Avowed Can Do More Than Skyrim’s Hearthfire DLC
Skyrim’s Hearthfire DLC was certainly a welcome addition, although it was devoid of many features players would have preferred. For example, the location of the homes as well as where furniture could be placed in rooms were all predetermined. This lead the interiors to feel somewhat lacking in personality, so the homes didn’t really feel like they truly belonged to the player.Avowedcould both learn and stand apart fromSkyrim’s home decor mechanics, creating a system that infuses the player’s creative spirit with the game’s homes.
Avowedcould amend the issues of player freedom by first allowing the player to place furniture wherever they please. Also, doing away with predetermined locations for housing may not be possible due to certain limitations. Just having more locations thanSkyrim’s measly 3 would help fix this issue, as it allows the player more to choose from and thus complements a free experience. With that said, there are also ways thatAvowed’s RPG featurescould diverge from this formula while also managing to attain a positive reception from players. This would be in the form of more interactivity that allows the player to really own their home.
Homes can also act as a recording of the player’s previous adventures, such as by displaying arms or armor they have found in the past.Avowedcould take this one step further by allowing the player to collect more types of trophies that record their experience. One form of this could be parts of beasts or monsters they have slain and stuffed and are now on display in their home.Avowed’s reimagining of craftingand trophies could lead to further player creativity in how they present their homes.
One of the biggest waysAvowedcould enhance the home decor experience is through functionality. Home functionality typically involves player storage, as no inventory is large enough to carry everything a player will find on their journey. However, it could extend far beyond that. For example, inSkyrim, enchanting and alchemy stations could be added to one’s home, but they didn’t vary from the ones the player could find anywhere else. IfAvowedfeatures a magic systemsimilar to this, with some of its crafting stations, then the variety found in homes could be more effective than the ones the player finds in towns or cities. It would give the player something worth grinding toward, while also making the home decor experience more worthwhile.
While players aren’t surewhat to expect fromAvowedand Obsidian Entertainment, hopefully, improved housing can be found on the list of priorities. Not being able to personalize player housing inAvowedwould be a big missed opportunity, and oneSkyrimfans may not be happy about.
Avowedis in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
