A Hotel Becomes a Community

2002 · COMMUNITY By 2002, Habbo was beginning to feel less like a simple virtual chatroom and more like a world of its own. Furniture was becoming central to the experience, and players were developing their own ways of decorating rooms, collecting items and trading with one another. The year began with Love furniture and gifts, followed by Easter furniture in March. Plants received their own catalogue section, new furniture collections appeared throughout the year and previously unavailable pieces began finding their way into player inventories. Habbo's catalogue was becoming an increasingly important part of the experience. In October, the original Finnish Hotelli Kultakala officially became Habbo Hotel Finland, bringing the birthplace of the project into the growing Habbo family. Around the same time, players gained the ability to wave, a tiny feature that seems insignificant today but became part of the classic Habbo experience. Then came two particularly important moments for collectors. In November, the Camera was introduced, while Holo-girl became the first furniture item sold as a designated rare. This helped establish the idea of furniture having different levels of rarity and value. And in December, Habbo Club — HC — was introduced. Membership gave players additional features and became one of the defining parts of early Habbo culture. By the end of 2002, Habbo had developed something much more powerful than a catalogue of virtual objects: it had created a culture around collecting them.