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Games with a sense of "home"

This generation needs some more love! I didn't play much of the original Mass Effect but the Normandy in ME2 really felt like home to me... (especially when Tali was on-board :D)

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Skate 1: The Community Center
The demo pretty much established it as the reference location for the game, and as it turned out, I always came back to the spot over the years. Great design, high variability in terms of lines, recognizable from any PoV.. Home.

Forza 3: Fujimi Kaido, starting line
When I start up Forza 3, the first race I do is on FK. When I shut down Forza 3, I squeeze in one more race on FK. I just love that track. And the feeling when I'm approaching the last corners before the starting line is like coming home.

Ultima V: Lord British's castle
Don't think I need to explain this one.

Leisure Suit Larry In The Land Of Lounge Lizards: The bar
Turns out that first locations in games tend to evoke home feelings for me. With some games, it's stronger, with some, it's less strong. Probably related to identifiability.
 
GamerSoul said:
This was the DS game right? If it is then definitely. Good memories.
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Playstation one. I snagged it off PSN some time back and just haven't ever really sunk more than a couple hours into it, but damn is it gorgeous. It's also a great answer.
 
Labadal said:
Suikoden castles. Seeing all your 108 stars gathered in one place.
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Came to post this. Seeing your own castle grow from a dilapidated ruin into a huge stronghold filled with all the characters you've met along your journey... In every Suikoden game, I always used to just run around the castle every time the story progressed just to see how things had changed.
 
enzo_gt said:
Pretty much every GTA 3 series GTA had that feel. I loved the beachside house in GTA VC. Ocean something rather it was called.
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That's true, it just was more pronounced in San Andreas for me since you were spanning such a larger area. But yes, I loved the different safe houses in Vice City too
 
Fafalada said:
SilentHill 4?
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What the hell man, haha! The room in SH4 was super uncomfortable and I wanted to get the heck out of there asap! :lol
 
The sensation described in the OP is what we wanted to deliver in Bastion. We love the feel of Diablo's Tristram and some other action RPG towns that serve as home bases wanted to add to that by giving the player some control over the home base's development as well as making it more central to the story. Also, little tricks like passive cosmetic updates and changing weather patterns to give the impression that time is passing between your adventures and that the other characters there are busy doing their own stuff.

But yeah, I love having a sense of "home" in games.

Demon's Souls did this nicely with the Nexus. Also, and this is old, but the Tiger's Claw and Victory space cruisers from Wing Commander 1 and 2 are really memorable examples of this for me.
 
The GTA thing — well, you had to go there anyway to save, and when you started the game, you were at one of those spots by force. So that came naturally. Which is great!
 
Yup the Suikoden games do this very well. Really satisfying seeing your castle go from being empty and useless to being lively and full of useful characters, and you can even do pointless fun stuff like take baths together.
 
I didn't really like the Normandy. I know it was designed that way on purpose, but it just seems too sterile to me, not at all like the workspace inhabited by humans that it was. Would have been better if there was equipment, utensils and things strewn about the place for me.
 
Labadal said:
Suikoden castles. Seeing all your 108 stars gathered in one place.
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This was going to be my answer as well.

My brother and I had separate saves, and we would always compare recruits/castles. Can't remember why, but I never managed to recruit Fu Su Lu, and he'd always rub it in my face. Remember coming home and seeing him in his castle. DAMN YOU!
 
My village is number 1.

Lahan from Xenogears was very homey. The people within all knew you and your story. Even the mountain path and Citan's home where that said path leads felt like it was a part of your world.
 
Adzin said:
Although it wasn't strictly a 'home', Final Fantasy VIII's Balamb Garden always felt like 'home' to me. The residents, the decoration and design, the bright colours, the music; I get very nostalgic just thinking about that place!
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I frigging LOVE Squall's dorm room. Damn, that game had such awesome art direction.
 
Berksy said:
The lack of Vampire the Masquarade: Bloodlines surprises me.
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You're right, that one's pretty obvious.

On a general level, I like choice, but the home spots really should be enforced in games. I hate it when it's a useless home, or just a bunker for your items. There have to be things bound to the place. Quest starts, progress-related decoration, characters to pick up, vendors with better prices, shit like that. Force me to go home once in a while, it's fine.
 
Another obvious one! The cat and Mitsuda-music contributes a lot to the home-feeling!

(Chrono Trigger)
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In Final fantasy VIII, coming home to Balamb Garden was always so pleasant, as was coming home to this music.

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Eventually even (minor spoiler)
being the boss of this place was so cool.
 
The Bethesda games are always good about it (haven't played skyrim yet, though). ffs, I spent real life time organizing things in my virtual home.
 
Linkzg said:
The Bethesda games are always good about it (haven't played skyrim yet, though). ffs, I spent real life time organizing things in my virtual home.
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For me, in Bethesda games, it's less the actual homes, more the cities I tend to revisit, or the ones that came first in the game.

In Morrowind for instance, Seyda Neen is my home (ignoring the fact that I'm just a guy from a ship for the villagers, of course). I just go there and say hello from time to time.
 
Yoshichan said:
I know you already mentioned it but as soon as I read the thread title, I thought of Harvest Moon (SNES). The best home of all time... especially during hurricanes and rain...

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First thing I thought of when reading thread title, and yes :)

Also Firelink Shrine in Dark Souls, Nexus in Demon's Souls, Aiedo in Phantasy Star IV, the shack in the second half of FFVI, cribs in Saints Row, the house Shion starts off in Wonder Boy in Monster World, Bastion's hub, etc
 
Yoshichan said:
That must definitely be it! And the fact that you're always safe in these rooms...

This is an obvious one but I might as well get this out of the way... the home you start in, in LttP. You hear the rain pouring outside and you really don't wanna go outside... God damn it, Zelda, don't make me go out!

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I don't think it counts very much since you never have to go back there... like ever
 
I'm just glad Harvest Moon was mentioned in the OP :)

There is another one on the tip of my tongue, can't seem to remember it though. Maybe Suikoden, does your castle count?
 
BramVD said:
I don't think it counts very much since you never have to go back there... like ever
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I find myself going back to this place all the way ._.
 
I loved the home element in Dark Cloud 2 and Bastion to a lesser extent. They persist throughout the entire experience, have customization and deliver context and downtime from the action. The Suikoden series too does an awfully good job of this.
 
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harvest moon is the king of making the player feel at home

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alexandria in FFIX always felt like home to me when I was playing IX. i spent so much time exploring this place
 
I like the Mog house in Final Fantasy XI, grew kind of comfortable it since I use it so much, like getting my gears, changing jobs, getting ready, and usually people meet outside of the mog house for trades, teleport, gathering, etc.
 
Even though you can't control when you go there, I think your airplane in MGS4 really felt like home. While the cutscenes in MGS4 were often cliche and corny, the intermission scenes in your plane more than made up for them. They felt so natural and fluid, and really helped immerse you in what was going on.
 
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