One thing I've been thinking recently goes along with that "charm of different conflicting ideas", but instead from a sort of homeowner-versus-HOA perspective if that makes sense? Like, when I look at the house, especially from the outside, I just instantly think of those often-gated "communities" of nearly-identical houses often under an HOA if I'm not mistaken (sorry if I'm not wholly clear, I'm just a student from rural Ohio, so I don't have a whole lotta' knowledge about housing lol). And so, to me at least, the essence feels like that conflict of what "you" as a "homeowner" want in a home and what your idea of home is, versus the idea of what an HOA would impose, and its idea of forcing community through restriction. Part of this comes from how little customization is done in some games, and part of that comes from how much I'm just reminded of those HGTV house-flipping shows. I have some other thoughts about the essense in the back of my mind but they're not as clear at the minute.
- Lightling