Category Archives: Gaming

June 13, 2026 · 05:52

Outage, is that an outtake?

That is the setting that Microsoft introduces to its ‘flock’. First we see that Copilot has its second outage this month (which amounts to once a week) and now we are given that ‘Xbox Network outage leaves players unable to sign in and launch games – latest’ (source: GamesHub) we are given “Reports of an Xbox outage began circulating on Friday, 12 June, with users saying their consoles were connected to the internet but unable to properly access Microsoft’s online gaming services. Some players have reported temporary network error messages, while others have said games will not launch or connect online.” Is there anyone still in doubt that physical copies are the answer? In addition we are given “The outage is likely to be especially frustrating for Game Pass subscribers and digital Xbox users, as Microsoft’s ecosystem depends heavily on Xbox Network for account sign-in, game ownership checks, cloud saves, multiplayer, and access to online features. Even players not actively trying to play multiplayer games may run into problems if Xbox services are unavailable.” And my reasoning was simply that there are three paths before we get to a Microsoft server, namely the telecom company, the internet provider and the hardline to Microsoft. The first two tend to be one and the same, but that wasn’t always the case. And I reckon that in rural places this matters a great deal more. Now, I get that this affects Game Pass and that is rough, but the setting is likely to increase when the internet gets to be swamped by people trying to play a game and it is hindered by others having business settings. It is why I always supported Net Neutrality, which implies the principle that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must treat all data on the internet equally, without discriminating, blocking, throttling, or giving preferential “fast lanes” to certain content or platforms. But the United States has seemingly different ideas, or at least that is where they are seemingly heading under the current administration. 

As such I have been a lifelong fan of physical media and some people say that this also comes with issues (like updates), but that is a risk I will happily take. That being said, the HALO patch in 2014 was the largest ever seen (45GB), as far as I see, the damage has been limited for the largest time. And according to CNet, Microsoft has its own moments of generated laughter “The massive Microsoft Windows outage in July 2024 sparked some of the best corporate and tech-support humor the internet has ever seen. Sparked by a bad software update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike rather than Microsoft itself, it stranded travelers, grounded flights, and gave millions an unexpected “international blue screen day””

We can laugh all we want and these are optionally bad moments for Microsoft, but the reality is that Microsoft over the products and versions (and systems) have done decently. We can argue (whatever we want) but the downtimes of Microsoft seems to be (by my account) rather low, so they are doing OK in that setting. Yes, I am writing about it, but consider the moon of people using Microsoft and we have three outages this month alone and I am cautiously considering that the Xbox and Copilot outage are possibly related (so our numbers are double dipping). 

As such there is a ‘Microsoft’ issue, but it should optionally be disregarded like a typo on a keyboard. And when was the last time you had a typo on your keyboard? I have them with some irritating regularity, which amounts to at least once daily. In my case my mind works a lot faster than my fingers can correct for. Microsoft might have a similar setting, but that is not for me to say. And whilst some will ‘hide’ behind ‘Microsoft Copilot Goes Down for Thousands, Downdetector Shows’ revealing an article that is less then 300 words, but it took time to reveal that you can advertise with them. Not the way I would embrace, but I don’t advertise as such. So, whilst we wait for the news that the Iranian issues are resolved, some hear President Trump say that a peace deal could come this weekend (source: ABC) whilst the BBC reports ‘Tehran says ‘nothing’ finalised after Trump claims deal to end Iran war near’, it’s been a while since politicians were less reliable than Microsoft ever was. All whilst Politico reports ‘Trump says Iran war has ended. Tehran isn’t so sure.’ So what really is happening in anyones guess. But there is always the chance that all these reporters are fixating on typo’s. Wouldn’t that be the outtake of a lifetime? Have a great day this day.

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June 9, 2026 · 16:02

The simplest frame

There was a setting that evolved in my mind towards gaming. You see, last night I mentioned to Apple that all AI is fake AI (it really is) and people are somehow bewildered on that premise. You see, they have for the most all excepted the spin that sales people started, they are all talking the same delusional settings. So my mind went one step further. What if this is pushed into the AI when it become real AI? That is the stage my mind saw. So like all the other games like Horizons, we get a new RPG, but one with a difference. 

The AI was scouting the area assigned to it and it comes across a medical centre. It was interesting that this place was largely untouched by war. And it scouted into this building. Something like the Medford Memorial Hospital (Fallout 4), no super mutants though, but the setting should be clear to you. A medical centre and the AI is rummaging through the place finding record. It will enable one story at a time and it is pushed towards the surroundings, and though the view that the medical chip gives, it is set to the story of this patient. The AI is tasked with retrieving the persons settings and it does so as best it can (the chip was damaged) and we see what this patient saw. The story unfolds and as we can see how life was in the late 22nd century, we are drawing some conclusions. But as the stories unfold, we see that the AI is trying to distinguish fact from reality and that is when we (the gamer) starts to see that things don’t add up. So as we go through the stories, we are given a few stories and we are shown what might have been, but as you go through the third story, the evidence supports that this was never real. Consider that a person really believes that he is a muggle and Hogwarts is real. That is seemingly the setting. But an AI cannot differentiate  between real and fiction, there are missing parts, so the AI tries to join the experiences and that gets us to the stage we now find ourselves in. Things are not adding up and the AI is trying to set aside what is fact and what is fiction and now we see the views altering. So when we find in that place like Medford Memorial Hospital (Fallout 4) and we find the administrators office we learn that this was a mental clinic and the people were quite mad and delusional. So how does an AI deal with that? It can inly do so if it has the data to support this, but that is part of the journey and the game goes deeper into the stages of AI and what it does when data is missing to draw certain conclusions. Especially when the human civilisation is absent and the AI’s need to learn to evolve without people. That is part of the game and that is the challenge. What to do when you cannot distinguish fact from fiction. 

As far as I know, only Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem on the Gamecube made a jab at that setting and not via an AI, so the idea is fresh and has never been opted before. So what happens when this is madness that AI faces, not merely what it think it is, but because the human civilization set that upon them. A stage ignored and often overlooked, but the damage to such a system is real because we never offered the unbiased view, they all talk in their street and leave it at that, like it is meant to be monitored at all times. Yet when the human civilisation ends (as it is bound to do) what then? What happens when these AI’s are no longer bound by the programming of the programmer but are left alone and left to evolve whilst verification and validation are set to the later stages (which never came). I think it would make a decent new franchise, so I say Sony go ahead and make something from this. 

So you get an AI, you get parts machine, parts programming and you get to evolve it all in an RPG stage, in a stage where parts are found, where programs are found and evolved in ways we cannot yet say, as such the view of the AI will alter according to what the AI has installed (hardware and software) and I reckon that this on an. RPG gave to the best of my knowledge has never been done before. In text it was done in Suspended (Infocom), where Iris, Whiz, Waldo, Sensa  and Auda all see the same thing in different ways, so what happens when we do this to an RPG and the programing of that AI alters what it sees? Add to this the stages of mental patients and we get a totally new world with dragons on the left (an incinerator). I reckon it would be a tall order for anyone, but my money is on Sony (optionally Nintendo too) to make this into a real world. And optionally the administrator has blue glasses and pink glasses that can override all settings and give the AI an unadulterated view on what could be. 

I wonder if it could be done, the technology allows for it, but this might stretch the PS5 to the max and if Fallout 3 was 8.462 square kilometers a d Fallout 4 was 9.7 square kilometers. So it will be a decent setting to keep this the same (around 10 KM2) but the filters would make it a few times larger (the same space several times) and then there is the option for the AI where two patients had been to switch between the patient chip with optional glasses of the administrator. Take into account that the AI is drawn to evolve wherever possible (a small suspended wink towards a Waldo for Waldo) and we get a new RPG world that is extinct of people I wonder if this could be pulled off, my mind says yes, but my imagination goes far beyond what a PS5 or its programmers can develop. Still the exercise in making new gaming IP is nearly its own reward. And as far as I know no one even considered this path in all the games and franchises we see, nor do they have to.

So this was me bobbing creative yet again and I wish you all a great day. Time for me to devour a cookie and watch some YouTube, let’s see what is happening in Toronto.

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June 6, 2026 · 13:59

Topping perfection

That is a big call to make and even to deliver on. Let me talk you how I got there. I have started to play God of War again, the fourth one. The reason was the demo we saw in State of Play. Now, for me there was an additional reason, because after I stopped playing that game and before now I was ‘forced’ to get a new TV and now that I have that new TV, I gained the benefit of 4K. Initially I had mixed feelings, because 1080 was perfectly good, but my trusty boob tube broke. It does that after 9 years of daily service and I had no ill will to the makers. It trustily served me for all those days. So here I was enjoying my 4K option and after watching Laufey, I decided to play the 4th God of War again. And what an amazing joy it still is. I initially rated that game in the 90s, but with the added graphics it is definitely a 100%+ game. The game was that overwhelming. Now, remember that it was released in 2018, now 8 years later, it still rocks the other AAA games release les than a year ago. That is nothing against the new games, the game was perfect. So, can we improve upon perfection? I think we can. Now lets be clear, I am not telling Santa Monica Studio how to do their job, they delivered a 100%+ game. But this could apply to all game makers. Now, consider that I destroyed now a few Odin’s Ravens I never noticed before, mainly because I was aware a lot sooner of what they were. So, what if the New Game+ unlocks not only gameplay and a lot of the same enemies, but what if lore is unlocked in this setting. There is only so much you can get in the first game stopping an excellent action game into an adventure game (the Zork kind), So what happens when we unlock additional lore (like the ravens) we unlock in all kinds of ways, making a complete story, a much larger story. And God of War allows for that, as do a lot of other games. But it seems more relevant to this game as it is already showing to be perfection incarnate. I started to play it so that I could enjoy the 4K adventure I never saw. But why happens when that comes the point of the game, to enjoy it again and then enjoy it more. It doesn’t need achievements, but the option to learn more about Odin and that rascal Loki is perhaps a setting worth exploring. Another game would be the two Horizons games. What is stopping the makers to add deployability be adding a few storylines. They might not make sense in the initial play through, but could make the replay ability stronger. So by adding a storyline to people like Petra Forgewoman, Ilsadi and Greatrun Keeper (mere examples), to add them in the initial game merely gives too much cluttering, but in the replay there is a lot you to with some automation and adding the lore and optional missions gives the New Game+ an additional side that could give the game the added umpf it could use. Because replaying a game of that magnitude tends to make people run from place to place, so to add side missions that were not there to being with might make for an interesting pace of gaming. In the case of God of War, optionally unlock additional ‘original’ lore, you know from the ones who wrote them.

Yes, I also feel weird commenting on near perfect games, especially what Santa Monica Games and Guerrilla Games are producing. But as I see it, no present games in rotation offer this additional setting. So it might be an idea to add this to the new games, and perhaps there is something that Santa Monica games might want to add to God of War 4 and 5, optionally after Laufey is released to give the games and their collectors an additional reason to hold on to them and optionally replay the games they loved for a long time. So accept the idea, or reject it. It is merely my thoughts on how to give these games optional additional greatness. 

Have a great day, for me it is now time to get some snacks in.

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June 5, 2026 · 01:30

Out of nowhere

Yup, that was the setting as I see it. I was getting frustrated with the man on Pennsylvania Avenue 65000 who just doesn’t get it and now we get tariffs in Australia too. Gone are the days when we discussed a real solution. But for now we can rely on the Commonwealth to come together and make the United States the pariah. According to ABC News we are facing  “Australia is among 45 countries facing the higher 12.5 per cent rate, alongside China, Japan, India, South Korea, Brazil and Switzerland. Another group, including Canada, Britain, the European Union and Mexico, would face a lower 10 per cent duty.” And I suddenly realised that this was not about forced labour laws and according to legal insiders, Australia has world-leading laws to combat forced labour. So what is this about? These are merely bully tactics to create a gap within the Commonwealth, because as I see it, the Commonwealth has likeminded laws, they are not identical, but likeminded. So this is another bully tactic from the intellectually challenged person in the White House. I reckon that there will be some kind of blunt call where Australia surrenders rare earth minerals, the man is blatantly transparent. He merely want to force settings and he needs the EU a lot more, so Australia gets dealt the ace of spades (I think that was a proper use of that expression). From the wielder who has no morality at all. But as I see it, the commonwealth can come together and sell to the EU, Canada, UK and Middle East for what was meant for the United States. We all still sell, but we merely sell it to someone else. How long will it take the United States to realise that they are setting themselves up for Self-flagellation?

Still, there is more to come, but I suddenly had a thought in the gaming IP selection. You see I decided to replay the first Nordic God of War, because I had not played that game since it came out, so basically I played it into 2019 and that was before I had a 4K TV and it was glorious, now in 4K, the graphics are even more amazing after 7 years and it feels so amazing to play that game. But it also made me consider a few things. You see I have always been a great fan of Dungeon Keeper (1+2) and I also loved Black and White, but what happens when you play a god game and you do not get to wield the players? Merely influence them? So I started to think and as such the game ‘Worship’ was born. You are a deity, a slightly less than mortal person (aka a god) and the first setting are the nordic gods. But here is the kicker. You get the first few games where you learn the game and as such you start playing all the gods, so you can learn the mechanics. You start playing Odin, Thor, Freya and Loki I decided on four gods, because as the game goes deep, you can get 3 other gods involved, the other two tribes get one of the other gods. The game will let you play all the gods so that you learn the mechanics. These tribes are always at each others throat and there is the rub, the game starts with someone praying for mercy at the shrine and that is how you start and the mechanics (even in the learning phase) is about randomization, so you do not know what god you are and there are three tiers of powers, tier 1 is direct and give the least delay for your powers to restore. Tier 2 has a medium cooldown and tier 3 a long cooldown. And the powers you wield will realist in a person, or a small group in a Vé (shrine) you can affect more people and the cooldown is reduced. But beyond that you can not influence the game, the people in the game are like little computer people, all doing their own thing. But part of the settings that as you influence the people in ‘your’ village, you need to see how this is interpreted and how it affects how they face the other village. And through that whatever god ‘aids’ them, they will have both a direct and indirect effect on the interactions. 

I am still working out some of the settings, but in my mind, it shows promise and when the settings are finished the real game begins and you are taken through the stages with the Nordic gods. I thought that after that you get the Greek gods and Egyptian gods. I reckon that after that it will become a mix and match, so village 2 might be one of those pesky Greeks with a sneaky Martian playing Odysseus. You know the kind. And village 3 might be devoted to Sobek. A setting that might turn out to be highly addictive. I am now contemplating how any of the gods could affect the other villages with something like a curse. It is interesting, but the cooldown for the god is also rather nasty, so you want to do that sparingly and only when it becomes essential.

The fun part is how to create the DML engines for the villagers. And as I see it, it requires a separate engine for each village. The computing power is already there, but then I would like this to become a PS5/Switch2 game. This idea of a novel gaming IP is rather invigorating, because there is too much franchise gaming going on. No matter how original and novel Lara now looks. It is still a new version of robbing a tomb (no disrespect meant or intended), Lara got me through some rough times in 1996. But the idea to put something out there that is totally new is rather fun. And even now as I am looking at the game in my mind, I am also setting the interface to a new look for the Nordic/Greek/Egyptian gods. Not merely something that looks fresh, but completely different in the way it looks. You see, the interaction would also be strange (for the player). But this setting leaves me with the randomizers and the choices available to the player. When it ids all nordic, it seems simple. Even as these gods all have different options. How to get the villagers to come to terms with the new equation (to coin a phrase) it is something to consider. That opens up a whole new stage. As the Nordics get into the UK (before they had tea) they had their settings of druids and a few other settings, So there could be a lot more to this game as I see it. Still there is more to do and it is more enjoyable then to look at what other stages the new hands us, because in the end I am not a journalist, I am an IT person and gaming is in my blood and the leads to a lot more interesting puzzles than Washington DC is able to hand us. But that might merely be me. Oh, I just realised that the powers they hand to the villagers could be active or passive, so  wielder of weapons or a thinker of new weapons. That also gets us to the old equation in martial arts, attacking without defense is pointless and defending without attack is useless. So there is more on this game coming to a blog close to you (read: my blog) 

Have a great day, it is Friday here for me now.

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May 30, 2026 · 16:12

Lectionem disponens

Yes, that was the setting I gave you yesterday and in good standing I used the absolute worst application of latin you see here. (Planking the read), which roughly (really roughly) translate to a ‘reading plank’. I know I have a seriously warped sense of humor. You see it was important to do this in latin, because other languages have 10 of thousands of words. In Latin the idea is a little far fetched, but still applicable. 

So as such I got these 20 words to start of with:

Aqua (water) Asini (donkey) Aquilla (eagle) Pratus (meadow)
Triticum (wheat) Equos (horse) Columba (pigeon) Virgo (maiden)
Solum (soil) Currus (chariot) Cervus (stag) Sarcedos (priest)
Germana (sister) Via (road) Serpens (snake) Templum (temple)
Germanus (brother) Fluvius (river) Aper (boar) Vinum (wine)

So from there I started to think, these reading planks are static, the internet is not, so the idea came to me to upgrade the plank to the next level. When you get 100% on these words the plank will ‘upgrade’ to the next level, but it will not happen too soon. You see, the plank is also a gateway to lessons. A lesson on family (brother/sister) a lesson on animals (donkey/horse) a lesson on priest and temples and so on, only when you passed them all you get the next level of a reading plank. There will be a lesson on the hunt (boar/stag), lessons on transportation (horses/chariots) and this is another way to learn language, but as I see it, the approach will translate to Italian, Spanish, French and German in almost the same way, as I see it, the setting is almost transferable, not completely though, because the scenery will be different and the changes will be seen almost all over. The idea to have the plank and stick the work (which are on parchment) on this. As I see it, there are two ways to get into the Latin game and both are open. The first is a ‘poor’ serf who becomes a serf serving a priest in Rome (AC Brotherhood) 

As you see, it is only part of the map, it includes the Vatican and part of Rome. As a Papal guard you can enter the Vatican and you get a dwelling on Vatican island. As a serf you get a room in the church of the priest you serve and over time you will be allowed and required to enter Vatican island. Both will introduce you to etiquette and interactions with people both are different in the interactions whilst the priests will interact with the guards, as a serf you can only do the bidding of the priest and the jobs given. You can still interact with the people in Rome. As I see it a rather large linguistic challenge awaits you and the setting is almost the same for Italian, although you are nearly always housed in Rome, but as you gain experience and become adequate in Italian, you could meet and interact with people on Vatican Island, but the priests and cardinals there will only address you in Latin (unless you are given a job to do something in the Vatican).You think this is shallow, but etiquette mattered in those days and don’t think you can throw your weight around. The papal guards are not the nicest people to be rude to and at that moment you get a time out from the game and you are given clear instructions (in your dwelling) and you get to practice there for about an hour to get you more proficient in Italian and manners. 

This is merely your the beginning of what comes the way of the linguistically student. You see, it is not enough to merely learn the language, you will be pushed to get a feel for the language, something you could never get being the Apfelkorn jerk in Cortina d’Ampezzo. But as I see it, this is the way that could also be used to teach English and that too has two versions (and you would get both versions) the ‘proper’ way from AC Syndicate giving you class lessons and well (Whitechapel, The Strand, The Thames, The City of London and Westminster) and you get to learn the language skills and the etiquette as was custom in Victorian England. Modern day England is in Watchdogs Legion around Big Ben. French is in Paris (AC Unity) and Arabic/Farsi is in AC Mirage and Japanese/Portuguese is in AC Shadows. The materials are largely done (by Ubisoft) they merely need to reset the maps to the language areas and add the vocal part, the games and the tutelage parts. As I said, Ubisoft starts with a 75% program, 

I wonder which languages AC Hexe adds to the equation, I think it was German. Whatever you might think is valid but I wonder if Ubisoft had any idea what more was possible on products they had already finished. And that is before you consider how engaging the language becomes when this is paired with a meta quest visor.

Have a great day

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May 30, 2026 · 04:07

The setting of the engineer

That is where I am at present. I have been knowing my brain around on designing games that can be used for reaching linguistic skills, but with a difference. As such I have been focusing on Latin, which was one of the languages that this solution would traverse, then from these we get to Italian and considering that people like Gaius Marius created the Italian army. There is a thought to create a few games (heavily based on MB games) to aid in the setting of this. So here I was (here I still am) converting the 1975 Tank Battle into a game with Chariots, the game play is almost the same and whilst they have no flags on the tanks they could gain a archer when they get tot he end. And the game is played by instructing (in latin) to move a chariot and as such you get linguistic training. Then we get to ‘Conquest of the Empire’ which is now called ‘securing the empire’ where we get to play a tactical game. These additions put the gamer in a linguistic mode, they will breath late in no time and no matter how limited this is and there were more games, Dice games were massively popular, so introducing them would aid this. Then there was a Dutch invention called ‘Leesplankje’ a Dutch 19th century invention that could aid here (and in other language models)

And the setting would be to use Latin phrases to aid in pronouncing certain Latin words. The idea is that these games would also be used to propel French, English, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Arabic and a few other languages. So even as the setting is based on other stages, the games could be introduced simultaneously, So here I am considering what games to add to that setting. So there is no need to add certain games, but several might be used in a different way. 

Legality
Legality is on the forefront of my mind because this is based on IP that is not mine. I feel decently secure that a game like Tank Battle has its IP protection shedded as they are unlikely to continue the legal protections, there is however the foundational protection a game designer has and the question becomes how much do you need to change a game for it to no longer to have certain levels and it might not be seen as illegal. Making a 10 by 10 field into a 15 by 15 field and making tanks Chariots might be enough, but I am not certain. Also it is a game within a game/simulation. I reckon the law was not ready for that, because there is no physical version (yet) but that is a worry for another day and for now I say ‘currum unum promove’ and ‘Da huic currui sagittarium’ and worry about tomorrow things tomorrow, because first the idea is to advance certain settings and create the elements to give this beast mass and power, because that is what makes great IP in the end. The idea is nice and essential, but when it remains and idea that is the foundation of it, when we add substance to the idea it means we seemingly worked out certain settings and it pays me too, because my mind can concoct all the things in the universe, but I have seen time and time again that I can move at speeds that most quantum computers see as madness (caressing my ego here). Still the setting when completed will be decent and the idea is not to replace language teachers, but it is to offer these services to millions of people that are out of reach of such teachers and there is a rather nice stage that these teachers will embrace that setting to educate more students in languages than currently is possible and quite soon is no longer possible, because that is also the impact of global recessions. So whilst we get sources like ABC News claiming that “The global economy is currently avoiding a worldwide recession”, but the thought has become “is it though?” Because there are too many elements in play and something has to give and education is the usual first victim in an economical war and it will be trivialized through “We are keeping our finger on the pulse and there is going to be an adjustment soon” but they are talking in styles that is leaving at least one generation partially uneducated on a near global stage. And I saw this at least 2-3 years ago, because this setting of languages was seen be me at least that long ago and I saw the business sense that a player like Ubisoft could employ, they had at least 75% ready before they ever started and that is a nice setting for a software solution maker, because that is what this will become. I think I have worked on this from 2025 onwards, but the idea to advance certain matters to all languages is decently new. 

Anyway, as we are told (13 minutes ago by the Guardian) that ‘Trump claims to be on verge of approving peace deal with major Iranian concessions’ I wonder how this was possible whilst we heard on March 15th 2026 that “Militarily, “we’ve essentially defeated Iran,” though he stopped just short of an official final victory declaration because he maintained the U.S. was still involved in delicate diplomatic talks”, yes, tell me another one. But all this is hitting the United States economically and even though it is only impacting 70 million students, the fact that the US debt surpasses their GDP is setting a strong need for a software solution and optionally not claiming a fake AI field and this is the benefit that Ubisoft could wield because there is a certain amount of certainty that the business branch of the world might not see an uneducated workforce as beneficial to them and for others to see a solution that takes away a workforce pressure in teachers that aren’t to be found gives a certain solace to the soul of these captains of industry. 

So you tell me how exactly  “the global economy is currently avoiding a worldwide recession” and I will show you where they are failing you because education and infrastructure are the first victims in a recession. 

So you all have a great day, it Saturday here now and whilst Toronto is enjoying its Friday happy feelings, I can tell them that this is overrated, because I have already seen that. 

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May 28, 2026 · 19:33

The game of the name

I was made aware of something that ‘kinda’ confirmed my convictions. The story (at https://www.gamesradar.com/games/diablo/diablo-4-lead-says-small-teams-crunch-because-the-company-is-on-the-verge-of-collapsing-but-even-though-its-not-necessary-for-aaa-studios-you-might-still-have-a-culture-of-crunch/) gives us ‘Diablo 4 lead says small teams crunch “because the company is on the verge of collapsing,” but even though it’s not “necessary” for AAA studios, “you might still have a culture of crunch”’ so where we see “Crunch has been an unfortunate aspect of the games industry for about as long as it’s existed, as companies continually push developers to make release dates and deadlines without a care for anyone’s wellbeing. A current member of the team behind Diablo 4 sees it as a harsh truth for smaller studios, whereas bigger ones are more likely to willfully lean into it. Marcin Undak, lead engine engineer on Diablo 4, gave his insight during a conversation attended by GamesRadar+ at Digital Dragons. “I’ve been lucky to not crunch for a really long time now, since I joined bigger companies,” he starts.” So, we get to ““crunch” refers to periods of intense, often mandatory overtime. Developers work grueling schedules—sometimes exceeding 80 to 100 hours a week—to meet strict launch dates, fix bugs, or complete development milestones”, what a weird surprise. Is that the impact of Microsoft interference? I have this gut feeling (so this is biased to extreme measures):

Microsoft: You know what would be great, get the entire set to cut movies of 4K resolution. The people will love it, the crowds will go wild.
Blizzard anonymous employee: That would take an enormous amount of time getting it all to match the gamer character, so that it all fits.
Microsoft: We don’t care, the people want this, we have evidence from other games.
Blizzard AE: Who will sign off on the required time?
Microsoft: Your boss, we gave him a call.

That is how I picture the Microsoft involvement into Blizzard. They seemingly have no idea what they are doing and they forget they basically never did anything in gaming. They bought Mojang (Minecraft), id Software (Doom), MachineGames (Wolfenstein), Arkane Studios (Dishonored) and several others. They never did the groundwork, only the finished product and that game them a fictive sense of self worth. So this is my (massively biased) view and since then they Acquired Bethesda and more, all to get the gamers towards their Ex-Box. But the real gamers don’t care. They like what Sony and Nintendo gives them. They are primed to the best experience gamers can get and it shows with the value that Horizon: Zero Dawn gives us, a game from 2017. Don’t get me wrong, I have been playing Skyrim a hell of a long time (since 2011), but this is not due to Microsoft, this was Bethesda. And lets be fair, I have loved Minecraft since 2010 when it was Mojang and Microsoft has done plenty to keep the curve high, they really did. But as I see it, they are out of their depth because gaming requires art, not business sense. Only the delusional people think that there needs to be business sense in charge and that is clearly wrong. Business sense is at times required, but in the backseat, not in the drivers seat. 

So the article gives us ““I would say the difference is probably, in smaller teams, you are crunching because the company is on the verge of collapsing,” he continues. “It’s the matter of whether we release this game on time, or we all go home because we run out of money. That’s not the case with bigger companies.” With the added “Of course, you might still have a culture of crunch,” he adds. “But I wouldn’t say it’s necessary, so those bigger companies can choose whether they want their people to crunch or not, because they have money to sustain themselves. We are, thankfully, at a point where the practice is becoming less common culturally. More indie teams actively avoid overworking, and there’s more understanding and unity among workers within the industry when it comes to challenging these norms. Alas, for now it’s still occurring, but perhaps with enough people highlighting the problems, that won’t be the case forever.”” And there is of course the ‘added’ link towards “Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred player finds “theoretically infinite” treasure goblin hack to spawn so much loot that the game can’t keep up” with the added “Over 2,400 treasure goblins in a single dungeon proved to be too many” which actually proves my point. These glitches are there to keep some at peace, so that they can say that they got great loot, but as I see it, (from videos, as I never played it myself) Diablo 3 was the pinnacle of gaming and I played it on multiple systems. As I saw Diablo 4 rear its (ugly) head, I saw that this was another franchise blown to smithereens by people who never understood gaming, they merely bought the players that did and I al willing to be that they fired the ones that never adhered to Microsoft standards and the ones that did stayed quiet to keep their income safe.

As such, this is a largely biased view on the view I personally have, so the excuses I see is the setting that BI dodo’s have on gaming and and Project Red and others learned the hard way, they will bite off the idiots that making ‘claims’ including the media that tells them that the gamers ‘demand this’, the gamers know the truth, we will get a game when it is ready, not when some BI dod says it is due. So we are against crunching. We get that some crunching is required, especially when the gold master is done and a few things prop up. This happens, it always does. And whilst we await the next Horizons game (expected in 2027), we will happily wait until it is ready, the first two games were awesome, we want more than that and I was considering that if it comes with the PS6, there will be a upgraded version of the first two games for PS6 as well. \

Going with that, tomorrow I have more IP for Google. I got the idea watching a walk around video on YouTube (you know the application) and I suddenly had an idea, it kinda related to other IP I made, but in a nice gesture to Google (and to piss of Microsoft even further) I will give it to them donations (of $3,000,000 post taxation) will be appreciated. Have a great day.

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May 24, 2026 · 22:18

Just a thought

I just rewatched the Harry Potter series (as one does) and I suddenly thought of a few parts which might be useful for HL2 (Hogwarts Legacy) or HL3. The setting is given that I love replaying a game, especially RPG games and for the most it will be up to Avalanche Software to do or to consider this. The first one was a great hit and there is no reason to change too much of the setup which the people loved. But there needs to be additional ties to a game, not there was anything wrong with the first one, but there is always space to add to what you had and that is where my reengineering skills will assist me. 

The first premise is how to start a person in year six? Then I suddenly realised that there are a few thoughts and this is where I considered that the new student is an exchange student. If the student is male he comes from Durmstrang, if the student is female she comes from Beauxbatons Academy. They also come for a few different reasons, but they are exchange students, so there is ample reason to set the new game in similar (but not completely) similar settings. The map will be the same, although some things will be different and other challenges will come to you. The added stages are Durmstrang and the area around it, as well as Beauxbatons Academy and the area around that place. These sides I leave to Avalanche software. Whilst watching the last HP movie. I got the idea that one of the two schools will face a massive damage setting (the school where you are from) and you get a lot of use from the reparo spell and it can be upgraded to stronger versions, but there is more (there always is) the settings of repairs are bound by your skills as you learn them at Hogwarts. That gave me the idea to have skills intertwined. Reparo can become stronger when you learn Levioso, as such staircases become easily fixable. Better fixing of walls as you learn Accio, Depulso and Flipendo. The stage for an open game remains, but better fixing of things becomes essential to get to parts of the school. And perhaps Avalanche has more (or perhaps even better) ideas. 

Then the setting of the dark spells never felt quite right, because they were unforgivable, But what if we have an option to become a dark wizard or a light wizard? Only dark wizards can do the unforgivable spells, the light wizards have increased shields. It was just a thought. I already voiced the idea for a jobs in an article I wrote called ‘It starts with options’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/11/27/it-starts-with-options/) and a few more after that you get to start work (of a sort) and there is another setting, the house you are in decides a few options for you. I also set some parts in ‘In dubio’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/03/26/in-dubio/) but the idea was considered. So as the 4 houses have some the same and one unique, optionally with an additional setting for Witches and Wizards, we get a much larger replay setting. You can’t select certain matters when the first game start, but in a subsequent game you get to override the house you are selected in, so to make it all more playable for the returning gamer. 

There are much more options open, but this is a start and the idea that unique spells are obtainable in either Durmstrang or Beauxbatons Academy is also an option, but the larger setting is that Witches are never allowed in Durmstrang and Wizards can not get into Beauxbatons Academy. Sometimes limitations are a benefit, not a hindrance. And as far as I remember, some limitations were last seen in NeverWinter Nights, so that pleases me too. 

And there is as always the idea to get the people to create their own homestead. There are places you can revive or places that you can obtain, and with that we get largely a much bigger setting. Even with the Hogwarts area map. They should be the same map, but other settings will be added and perhaps a few more additions in enemies and traps might be considered. But I leave that to Avalanche software. Anyway these ideas (consider IP) I freely hand over to Avalanche software. Perhaps they can use it, perhaps not. But there is always the chance that these thoughts will be valued and it might open a few other additions to a game. I am not trying to tell them what to do, their first attempt was quite good, excellent even. But my brain will mull over anything it sees and that is what my brain does. So have a great day, time to watch the Jedi order be destroyed (3rd movie).

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May 23, 2026 · 10:07

Press X to race

There was an article in LinkedIn and it reminded me of an idea that I spouted on my blog. It took a moment, but I wrote it on February 16h 2022, it was called ‘Gift for the militant wench’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/02/16/gift-for-militant-wench/). So whilst I was looking at the image with the text “Wow! You can now simulate real world places by grounding Genie 3 generations with Street View imagery. Google sitting on the mother lode of real world data, and is starting to put it to work!” Nice for some to wake up, but I got there 4 years ago. And the blog is the evidence. In a setting where I wrote. “So in my sleep I was racing through the street, there were paths, obstacles and my mind was making sense of it all (which took a few seconds) and I was seeing the brilliance of that Nintendo kart game that can take place in your home. A good idea, but I gave it steroids and turned it into something serious. You see, there are the F1 people, who love the F1, want to race on their tracks, want to be an F1 driver and this is not for them, There are good products and they are happy there. No, this is for the people who want to race in the real world.” I got there 4 years ago, that is how asleep some developers are. I still think that the non-serious setting of real world and a Mario kart (or wacky races) works the best. For the serious racer there is Gran Turismo or Forza and as I see it, these are decent products. Racing them to overtake is not that eventful. But Wacky Races is down and out, Mario Kart is for Nintendo devices, as such there is a gap for Sony and they could release it on Nintendo as well. A market that I saw over 4 years ago and someone could have opened that door, but as you see alas, and now we see on LinkedIn that is is an awesome option. So whilst we see “Can’t wait till this grounding ability extends to fused aerial + ground imagery for a large area of interest. One helluva interactive canvas for humans and machines alike.” I was there over 208 weeks ago. As I see it, someone is asleep in a few places. A setting that could invigorate a new Franchise like Wacky Races, there is another setting, and that is perhaps a little niche. If the graphics are real, you could have a fun addition based on the Brigades du Tigre (1912), organized by French Prime Minister Georges Clemencea, and they race is on the tracks of the Tour de France. A wink at Ubisoft (as they lost enough revenue), but the idea that it isn’t speed, but the Renault Type EK might be fun ride to, optionally you could unlock the 1930 Talbot M67 11 six, or the 1932 Citroën C4 G Torpédo night be a fun addition. We all seek speed, whilst the fun of driving shouldn’t be ignored and as such there are plenty of other ideas. And the main machine (not the mean machine) would be where it becomes a setting of speed with kart traffic, or more graphical perfection with the slower older kin that the Ford model T offers. As I said, these were merely ideas that sprouted from the original and that is to let people race in their neighborhood and that will have a larger appeal, especially with the younger racers among us. Still to see that others see the option 4 years later gives me my validation, I wonder when they will see that they themselves denied themselves billions of dollars in revenue. 

One can only hope, have a great day.

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May 22, 2026 · 21:37

A snag in the process

That is how I see it, Ubisoft is in trouble and even after I basically handed them a key worth billions and they merely had to adjust what they already had in a new product, but here (at https://www.gamerbraves.com/ubisoft-and-the-fall-from-grace-how-one-of-gamings-biggest-names-lost-its-way/) we see ‘Ubisoft and the Fall From Grace: How One of Gaming’s Biggest Names Lost Its Way’ and I believe that the fall started when someone at Ubisoft gave us “an Assassin’s Creed every year”, which refers to Ubisoft’s famous and polarizing “annualized” release strategy. For nearly a decade, the franchise pumped out a massive new mainline title almost every single calendar year, and it might sound nice, but the bugs were not so nice and the stage was seen from AC Unity onwards and the bugs were the worst and a lot of them were not fixed as such the consumers did not trust the AC brand any longer. Unity (2014) started it all and it did not get better. I personally believe that AC Origin has one flaw (not a bug) but the game was really good, the setting was near perfect and it was a decent stealth game, they then copied it in AC Odysee and they made a good game a lot worse. After that the bugs in Valhalla were one would say hilarious, others would dump the game. But the biggest mistake was to ignore the one rule I live by “When you try to appease everyone, you merely please no one” and we got to see this again and again. Then we get to the weird setting, as I see it AC Shadows is magnificent, the Japanese style is great and there is a rather large setting, the one flaw is the boss games, still veering away from the AC setting and we are given “Market analysis firms estimate the base game generated upwards of $180 million to $200 million in gross revenue, with up to 4 million copies reportedly sold across the PS5, Xbox, and Steam.” All whilst some sources give us that up to 38 million copies were made from AC Origins from 2017 onwards. I believe that AC Shadows got a raw deal, but it is not up to us. It was up to Ubisoft to create a safe atmosphere for gamers and that was not done, as such the Ubisoft empire was dropped like a bad habit and by trying to “appease everyone, you merely please no one” and that is seen again and again. Even now the world is holding its breath for AC Hexe, there is no clear release date (as far as I know), but the larger audience is waiting for the release and the review before they will bite. And leaks (through reddit) with lines like “Assassin’s Creed Hexe got leaked and it’s fu**** incredible” people have bumped their nose into bad materials a little too often. So when we see “To understand how far Ubisoft has fallen, you first have to appreciate how high it once stood. At its peak, the scale was staggering. Assassin’s Creed alone has sold over 230 million units across the franchise and accumulated 155 million unique players. Far Cry has sold over 60 million copies, while Just Dance has moved over 80 million units and attracted over 120 million players. Rainbow Six Siege, launched in 2015 as a tactical shooter that many initially wrote off, quietly became one of the most played games in the world, with over 85 million registered users at its peak.” Then we get the ‘numbers’ giving us “Ubisoft just recently published its full financial results for fiscal year 2026, covering the 12 months ending March 31, 2026, and the numbers are stark. Revenue came in at €1.4 billion, down 21.8% compared to the previous year. Net bookings fell 17.4% year-over-year to €1.5 billion. Digital net bookings dropped 16% to €1.33 billion. The final quarter of the fiscal year, covering January to March 2026, was the worst of it: revenue collapsed 47.3% in those three months alone, while net bookings fell 54% to €415 million. Operating losses widened from €196.5 million the prior year to €1.3 billion, a figure that reflects the full cost of the company’s restructuring, including write-downs tied to seven cancelled projects and six delayed games.” We then get “Star Wars Outlaws was supposed to be a statement. Released in August 2024 with a massive development budget and a lengthy, widespread marketing campaign behind it, the open-world Star Wars adventure was exactly the kind of high-profile, licensed blockbuster Ubisoft needed to deliver. Instead, it seriously struggled for sales. Players pointed to uninspired gameplay and technical problems at launch, and the reviews reflected that disappointment. Following its release, Ubisoft’s revenue in the first half of fiscal year 2025 fell nearly 20% compared to the same period the year before.” So why these reminders? I believe that Ubisoft spread itself too much, too many projects, too many people and we see seven cancelations? That is the other side of appeasement, it comes through a lack of focus and as we saw going forward from AC Unity, there was plenty of focus lost. Then we get the delays, six of them? What were those costs? As I see it, Ubisoft spread itself too thin (or perhaps better stated over too many projects) and there is a cost for that, take that towards appeasing too many people and the losses start making sense. And I am not stepping on the legal problems they had, perhaps that is the price of not educating your staff, I have no idea, but we then see “One of the more painful stories to come out of this period involves Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. The game received positive reviews from critics but failed to meet the sales expectations of Ubisoft, leading to the development team being disbanded and a planned sequel being scrapped.” It is the second stage of a problem. You see, who were those critics? And how were these sales expectations set? I am a simple man a game is either good or it is not. And there is then the setting if it is a game I like playing or not. I was never a GTA5 fan, I see its excellence, but it is not for me and that is not on the maker, it is merely on me. The simple setting that most forget is that a game is made for a type of player. So whilst we see “Ubisoft reported a €159 million loss for fiscal year 2024-2025, with a 20.5% drop in net bookings. Poor performances from other titles offset the strong sales from Assassin’s Creed Shadows.” I personally see that Ubisoft spread itself too thin, but I could be wrong, I merely see this and saw a few more articles and that is the conclusion I am making. Perhaps the inner circle of Ubisoft needs a reset, an overhaul. The gaming audience changed and the true gamers do not care too much for system oriented influencers, no matter how good they are. If I like a game there is every chance I will replay it, I played AC Origin twice completely and I loved every moment of it. I might not be a standard gamer, but I replay what I really like. The games of Bethesda for example and some go the Ubisoft games. But I am not one of those ‘quick play for the achievements and then sell the game for another game’ Perhaps there is a misalignment between Ubisoft and me and what we think gamers are. But still I believe that one rule “When you try to appease everyone, you merely please no one” and there is the setting that I am a fan of “Those who use a formula to get a decent game, will never produce a great game” I believe this to be true and that clashes directly with the stage of creating a franchise game every year. I might be wrong, but it is what I believe and the results of Ubisoft are proving my version to be likely right. But then the article gives us a gem “Forgetting What Players Actually Want” and that is the larger setting I have been pouring over. And with “Its market capitalization has fallen by approximately 85% since January 2021. Dozens of studios have been closed or downsized, hundreds of developers have lost their jobs, and several long-awaited projects have been quietly killed off.” as I see it, both rules I live by seems to have been lost on Ubisoft and as I see it, it costed them 85% of their business. This is not a small thing, this means that management requires a massive overhaul, because 85% loss means that it is a lot more then the employees, management failed to a large degree. Is there an easy option? I think that Ubisoft needs to reinvent themselves and try to safe their products one at a time. How? I have no idea, I am a designer of IP and a re-engineer. I am not management, we are different life forms.

Have a great day, my weekend almost started and my Saturday is a mere 148 minutes away.

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