Category Archives: Gaming

May 20, 2026 · 14:25

An ignored setting

There was a thought pushing itself into my brain, it came to me (weirdly enough) whilst I was rewatching the first Harry Potter movie. You know, that one where Daniel Radcliffe is still young and innocent. So whilst I was watching the movie, I was combining a few things together. First a Nightmare on Elm street (the one in Toronto) and then the idea went to the Hellraiser series. So, I was combining the original works of Myst (the game) and my mind was combining the cube from Hellraiser where the lament configuration is merely one of the options and each will open portals into other dimensions of hell. The idea that the graphics of the cenobites will get more than a few into Myst, there was nothing wrong with Myst, but the creators could create new worlds in a much higher resolution and the setting of horror set puzzles are pretty rare in the gaming world, as such it could gain a rather large following. Considering the appeal that Lovecraft satire have on the world as a whole and the connections to horror that the Clive Barker stories have had on people since the 80’s the game is destined for a decent level of success. So whilst we seek new IP, there is nothing stopping old IP to rear its head and give the audience a place to stay and have shivering fun. Now as we combine the works of Clive Barker, the Hellraiser comics and movies, we have enough materials to make a sizable game and considering the materials that Lovecraft gave, which requires some Cenobite rewriting (to avoid plagiarism) we get a large enough materials to fill a game with several missions and a decent amount of puzzles. Taken in account the other setting I proposed on relaunching the 7th Guest in the last month, I have done my duty to protect the power of gaming. Anyway, it is always nice to create non-military IP even if it is for the UAE and Saudi Arabia at zero revenue for me. The creation to protect these countries  (against Iran) and whatever is trying to hurt them, I believe that a soul needs the creation of peaceful IP to grants the soul peace of mind and the blissful setting to remain creative (it is not a saying, I merely belief this myself). So whilst there is a stage that we need to consider that there is more to gaming, I believe that it gives the player the stage to consider other paths of the mind and puzzles tend to open the thinking of the player, especially if it is not the usual way that person thinks. So whilst others have made their way into valid and valuable creative IP, as examples I would like to raise Subnautica, Skyrim, Elite Dangerous and a few others. I would like to contribute as well. And this is my contribution to it all.

So let the developer who creates this game be smitten by the IP of Myst (perhaps even the Myst creators themselves) and see what the gamers can gain by playing that game. I get that it is all in the mind, but when you consider that games tend to be all based on some shooting game with flaccid stories, the idea to gain creativity and originality from an original game created in 1993 over a quarter of a century ago and create something unique and new and combining that with original storylines that others have not set into some combined IP is a little disappointing. But here I am trying to balance the scales once more. 

So you all have a great day and feel free to create some original IP yourself as well. Perhaps next I will find another IP that will serve the defence of the UAE, as I already created enough IP for them to take out their harbours, railways and roads and also now (after the attacks on Barakah) I gave them my idea (and IP) to take out their nuclear reactors. I tend to have a vindictive mindset and I does not give way (I still have a healthy hatred of Samsung, even after 40 years) But after the created IP, I feel rather happy with myself, even after I also created the new 7th Guest setting. But that is for another day, for now the creators of Myst should consider that 1993 had 40-60 self pronounced gamers, in 2026 we are at 3.5 to 3.6 billion, it is almost 100 fold, as such there is a much larger audience and at best, there is a setting of 100 times what games in 1993 would make and that is what game makers seems to overlook. These original games are allegedly the stuff of legends. And even if we do not consider them great, with added graphics they could reset the moulds they were originally based on and that is just the start. Games like Millennium 2.2, Chrono Quest, and several others were what they seemed, original concepts and original games tend to be mind blowing in the very least, as such I saw this stage evolve years ago and as I see it, some are getting on that page now. It was the stage that could have propelled streaming solutions, as such the stage now belongs to Nintendo (Switch2) and Sony (PlayStation 5 and 6) I let these so called captains of industry decide on where they want to go with that, but the stage is there for all to see. 

Have a great day.

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May 19, 2026 · 00:08

Right out of the left field

I had a mind blast a few hours ago and I don’t know what got me to this. Well I kinda do, but I was not giving it much thought. So as I was enjoying a few moments (a moment is an hour) on YouTube, I saw a video about the Epic Universe, which until President Trump decided to go the way of the Dodo, it was my ultimate intent to spend a vacation in Epic Universe, but as things are, there is no way I am going there in the next decade (optionally the rest of my life). Now my mind is set to the theme park world of Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. So as I saw the YouTube video I suddenly had an idea. This is not something I can do, but after all the idiocy settings of HR people relying on AI settings. It struck to me that these people could use a ‘simulator’ several settings from stores to amusement parks. 

So consider that HR is set to a skill level as it tends to be, but how do you hire? What triggers are you considering? That is the stage of the simulator. You are given a pool of people and the DML/LLM of that system creates the letters, the person goes through them and selects their top 5 or top 10. Then the interview and from there you get 2-3 that go through the final round. Just like your average job setting. So, as you go through the settings of HR, the simulator gives you a rank, but more importantly it shows HR what staff needs additional training. So this would be an actual simulator to improve the HR setting of a company. 

And believe me, I have seen my shares of flaky scammers (so, not HR), HR that flatly deny you, and those who seem to believe that a new starter requires 5-10 years of expertise. There are all kinds of HR and as I see it, when the AI bubble bursts, whomever will be unable to hire the right people, will go under in that AI bubble and they will not be heard of again. The setting is that the truth of the matter is that any firm will need the right people. Who that is tends to be up to HR, but how to get them seems to be unclear. As such my mind came up with the simulator setting. Based on a pool of people with DML/LLM letters so to get a mingle of types as the simulator expands into construction, retail, consultancy we will see a while range of options and there is no immediate release. To add the styles and settings will take time, but consider that the United States has approximately 36.2 million businesses and the European Union has approximately 33.5 million active enterprises across its business economy. That is a pool of almost 70 million potential customers, the retail sector is still a lot less, but it is a start and when the simulator gets the power it needs to get, the simulator gets the finance and attention to grow into something serious. So, it was just an idea and if a dedicated IT HR programmer is out there, this idea is for you. I am not getting involved in a work I have seemingly no clue about.

Anyway, that was the idea I had today, I reckon that it could use the setting of localization down the road, especially with over a billion people in India, but as I see it, the USA and EU are a decent first bet. Have a great day.

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May 14, 2026 · 20:34

About that game

I am an RPG minded (lost cause), just started Skyrim again for the umpteenth time. I played that game on XBox360, PS3, XBox one, PS4, PS5. I never regretted any hour in that game and it must have been over 3000 hours now. This time I noticed a few things. Like a sword and shield floating 25 meters in the air before I got to level 3. So there are glitches in the game, whether it is from continuous gaming or whatever reason it was, but there is no anger, no frustration. This is 2010 technology and it has held up for 16 years. In gaming that pretty much amounts to an eternity. 

But it is not about the Elder scrolls or Bethesda. It is about gaming requires an update, or more games and at present I do not trust Microsoft to have the need of the gamers in mind, themselves, their investors and their bottom line. The gamer is at best a 5th priority. And I saw this  evolve with Subnautica 2 allegedly only coming on Xbox and Windows. The first one was quite excellent and original, as such Sony (Nintendo too) will need additional RPG challenges and there is a need to go beyond Bethesda. They are now part of Microsoft. It is legit and all very valid. Microsoft was able and did the ‘better’ thing for them, not for gaming and not for gamers. 

But I draw the line at ‘replicating’ the same idea. It is plagiarism. I voiced an idea about 10 years ago. If Sony makes a deal with Richard Garriott and acquire his Ultimate IP. That in a 3D setting could become a great franchise that could be the fiercest competitor for Bethesda and the Ultimate fanbase is a decade older than the one Bethesda has and as I see it, there are millions of gaming fans that would love to walk in 3D through Sosaria and live its lore. There is a need to adjust some of the gameplay to make this a fist person game, but that is manageable. What is important that between 1981 and 2003 Richard created a massive amount of lore and now that could get a second life, through the eyes of Mondain and as such there is a larger consideration to weigh. How to create an IP that would support Sony and Nintendo. They are not alike and I would be happy to get it on my Sony, but I feel for the Nintendo users, they need something too. Perhaps Richard will have his own thoughts on that. 

The second setting is Subnautica, there is no copying that. It is original and they deserve the laurels that come with it, it is alas one the wrong system. So I started to mull things over. When it comes to water, the only IP that is set n water is Bioshock. So what if 2K changes the storyline and the challenges, but largely follows the graphics (to some extent) and the views on the matter. Take away the ADAM and you have the beginning of a new RPG and as the Bioshock games are almost 20 years old there is a valid case of reusing that setting is a stage that 2K should consider. On the other hand, setting this in space and you get too close to System Shock and that shouldn’t happen. So we get a third option (I was steering towards this from the start) a new RPG that is Arabic driven. I would accept that, but how to set the lore? The idea is to map out Hegra and AlUla map the entire region and set the 1001 Arabian nights stories as a backdrop. Find all the stories and the characters in these stories. A game with an educational character as an RPG. When was this done before. I am certain that it has been done. I can’t be the first to consider this. 

And AlUla has an approximate 60K population, so there is enough options for NPC collaboration. But how to make it realistic and entertaining? Well, the idea is that as you start the conversation with the proper NPC, you get to switch and become one of characters in the story and then the store plays out, you play out the story and as this is done 1001 times, there is a chance that this game comes in parts, the main part and over time the DLC’s add the other stories. I reckon that would be first and this setting could be release on Sony (Playstation) and Nintendo (Switch2). It is an option and I wonder how this will reverberate in the Arabic countries. A game that brings to life all 1001 Arabian Night stories. I wonder who could pull it off, I don’t want to offer it to the usual suspects and as this largely concerns Saudi Arabia and as they have this gaming setting, perhaps they can give the world this RPG game. And that is how it is done. A brainstorm with a population of one. I reckon that this is where I slowly turn gaga (nyuk, nyuk, nyuk).

And this solution could be applied to both systems, but with the Nintendo, you might have a smaller view of the world you are in. And in the end it will be about that game, that game the opens up a whole range of new games, ideas and copies. It happens and perhaps now it will happen for Saudi Arabia and the progression of Arabian lore. Have a great day.

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May 12, 2026 · 11:16

Reprising a good idea

An idea just struck me (Ouch). I was remembering an old game and it wasn’t through graphics. They were the words ‘shy gypsy slyly shyly tryst by my crypt’ and ‘two sticks and two stones, the rest is just icing’, they are still in my brain after 33 years. The game the 7th guest had an impact. And the puzzle with that many ‘Y’ included was impossible for me (as an original Dutchman) to solve. I wasn’t angry, I was delighted and there were a several more puzzles, but the idea formed into my mind. 

What happens when you upgrade these video streams to 1080p? The graphics can be transferred to 4K almost too easily. The idea of a sequel where after a few puzzles you get the option to recap the original game completely and now there is the option to give a sepia view (for the recap) or go into the game completely in 1080p. The original preserved as it was a game changer in 1993 and now we get a new story with attachments to the original and the world has almost thousands of puzzles, so what stops the owner of that IP (originally Virgin Interactive Entertainment/Broderbund) to do this? I have no idea where the IP lies, with them or with Electronic Arts. And if the IP is no longer protected, buying the original 7th Guest might be a cheap option to get a totally new IP rolling. It could be a new gaming consortium, it could be an indie developer or another path could be open. 

The original puzzles could spark part of the new sequel. I had a partial idea in the past as a game like 7th Guest could be a streaming game, as such now the Tencent handheld might be the next option. What matters is that all these ‘wannabe’ innovators and they set aside original ideas and this took me less then an hour to consider. It could be set to the summer cottage (or beach dwelling) to Henry Stauf (the original protagonist) and this mansion is also full of puzzles and solving them gives us the next stage in whatever setting we see and these puzzles form a totally new storyline (which is for the designer to figure out). That sequel would lead to even more puzzles through the stories of Brian Dutton, Hamilton Temple, Julia Heine and Martine Burden. All DLC’s that can be added and they will add a whole new range of puzzles, first through the storyline and as you complete puzzles and get past the storyline, they unlock these puzzles and alterations of that in the main screen as the separate option is revealed. There is no denying that people are partially obsessed wit puzzles and they might not like all puzzles, but there is enough to entice the biggest puzzle fan. All unlicked through game and that sets up a whole new IP for the designer. Consider the Sudoku or Nonogram. Once the puzzle is completed that part of the designer comes online and you can have thousands of puzzles in that style. All out in the open, but never combined in one game, In one challenge that boggles the puzzler in all of us. 

So why didn’t the other ‘gaming greats’ consider this? It is not innovative enough? The best ideas are not in front of you, they are behind you and that setting gave me the idea I am typing now. I leave it up to the makers of actual games to make something new and enticing and the 7th Guest gave us that in the style of a game (by those times ‘hi res gaming’) we know better now and even as the graphics are surpassed the idea never was and it is out for anyone now to capture the minds of all. I still advice to own the 7th Guest to design past that but there you have it, a novel idea. Not new but novel enough to capture the minds of thousands of gamers, because when you are on a bus or a train, you can look out the window the entire 40 minutes, or solve a puzzle and get those grey cells exercised. I think the second option has a lot more appeal and consider that this could also be added to your desires of a Sony playstation portable, Tencent Handheld or a Nintendo Switch 2. It is up to you to decide but as I see it, this game could entertain all three systems. 

So where are the others? Where are their innovative ideas for a new gaming world? I am merely asking. Have a great day and entertain the idea of gaming the evening away on the couch, or on the bus/tram/metro/train to work and home. 

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April 30, 2026 · 22:50

Out of my mind

Yup, this happens. We sometimes lose it and after a few days without sleep. My mind went bah bah too (a black sheep reference) and as such I was driven between the Ubisoft setting (and Article in UK Metro), the options that Saudi Arabia has in entertainment, the NEOM setting and a few more things. As such lets start at the beginning. 

UK Metro is giving us (at https://metro.co.uk/2026/04/30/assassins-creed-doesnt-need-remakes-needs-a-complete-overhaul-28169243/) where we are given ‘Assassin’s Creed doesn’t need remakes, it needs a complete overhaul’, I have had a few thoughts on that in the past, especially when anger hits me as you approach your first fort and tornado’s swirl around that fortress (until you destroyed its canons), it gave me the rudest most violent thoughts (I’ll spare you the details). You see, I know it is a game and not a very realistic one. My largest issue is that it is not really an Assassins Creed game, it could have been a legendary upgrade from Sid Meier’s Pirates, it never went there. And beside the excellent graphics there was a lot more, but there were annoying parts too (like running like the Prince of Persia after shanties), it was the setting that I gave the phrase ‘If you want to appease everyone, you’ll end up pleasing no one’ it came to blows there and more afterwards. Then we get “The original Assassin’s Creed failed to live up to this promise. It was highly repetitive and pretty shoddy despite its visual splendour, while the sci-fi Animus twist largely got in the way of the 12th century hijinks. The series, however, executed on its original promise with Assassin’s Creed 2, which replicated the Italian Renaissance period with a dynamite (and still series’ best) protagonist in Ezio, who led its two sequels Brotherhood and Revelations.” I disagree, there is truth in all that, but Assassins Creed delivered originality and a stellar script. Running around in Accra and Jerusalem was a boyhood dream come true. Yes, there was repetition, it was originally release on the PS3 20 years ago. A system with 512MB memory with a 20GB hard drive. There were still limitations in those days, but the game gave as good as we can expect from any system in those days and AC2 surpassed it beautifully. So whilst I created the setting for new updates in usage for the Ubisoft titles, Metro also gives us “Assassin’s Creed games aren’t known for their bold narratives, but maybe a radical, unexpected shift in setting could spark some creative verve. Go more contemporary with a Second World War spy slant, or lean into the sci-fi premise and shoot forwards in time instead. Fundamentally, surprise people with something fresh beyond the swords and sandals.” A setting I disagree with, don’t get me wrong. They are partially right with that view, but there were only three greats in RPG like story telling. There was Bethesda (something about scrolls), there was Bioware with Dragons and Mass Effect and there was Ubisoft. In those days these made the hits and the lines. As far as I know there was nothing like Assassins Creed and I never got all the flags (at least three attempts were made playing from start to stop) and I never regretted any hours I played that game. Could more be done? Perhaps, but then I would have to do this. I don’t hod anything against the makers of the first three games. They delivered. 

So a rewrite of the entire Assassins creed is possible, but where? Consider that the Playstation and Switch2 are there, so is the PC and whatever console Microsoft has. An entire overhaul would have been possible on streaming systems, but that is wet stuff under the bridge (I believe they call this water). The next part of the disagreed issues is given with “Assassin’s Creed is one of the biggest franchises in gaming, and was once a creative force in the realm of third person action games, but Ubisoft has allowed it to coast into an outdated and predictable mould. It’s about time it stopped dredging up the past, and gave players an exciting, rejuvenated reason to be excited about its future.” I agree with this, but there is some disagreement. Especially the ‘outdated and predictable mould’ yes they are outdated, but they were good, there is a reason heart beat faster at the sight of the Ezio collection, there is genuine love for AC Shadows and that is not outdated. And as the predictability, there is a partial agreement, but I want Stealth games, I want that rush of  sneaking up on a person (in a game mind you) from behind and use a karambit to give him a necktie red colouring scheme (those who know, know). 

An overhaul might be called for to get rid off the prince of Persia parts. I don’t mind the shanties, which makes for a lovely pirate lore, but they should go about it different. Including buying them from entertainers, buying musical instruments in general stores and a few other places (like in a commanders room in a fortress). All options and the difference of the attempts gives us the diversification. As I have been replaying Black Flag the last few days (I only opened 70% of the achievements), there is a need to get more of them, although I do not think I will get them all. 

So I agree with the overhaul, but not because of the ‘outdated and predictable mould’, I believe that if Ubisoft slams (and deletes) the setting of ‘If you want to appease everyone, you’ll end up pleasing no one’ because that was the undoing of that franchise. On the other side. I already handed Ubisoft 2 directions, one with the language approach as over 3 billion people are learning languages and the next one is the creation of immersive storylines, making it a collection of books and that can be done with a whole range of locations in Assassins Creed and Watchdogs, although 1 and 2 are in the United States and they haven’t spoken English in decades, so there is that. I placed in my blog the Idea for a Watchdogs 4 which I placed in Kyoto, it was essential to do it there and have a hard mode which would stumble the gamer in Japanese, but there would be glasses, like smart glasses and I did that somewhere in 2018/2019.

But for Assassins Creed, there are a few other settings, but the bulk is OK as far as I can tell, going all the way back to the first Assassins Creed, which was in 1191 (sorry, a Dr. Who joke). The part that was stellar was the storyline, the entire assassins/templar setting was never given to a gamer before, no one ever had the ‘audacity’ to give us the combination of reality with storyline before (as far as I know), so when we look at an overhaul we tend to agree, because the game has taken such a large setting over the last 20 years that everyone agrees with one of more games. I reckon except the ‘Ezio’ games, they are close to perfect it had a 90%, a 87% and a 82%. Revelations made the mistake of too much Prince of Persia, but I could live with that. The only part I disagree on was Brotherhood, the stealth was more demanding and better and whilst some ‘complain’ the tasks were much more on par and defining, I haven’t touched this game close to a decade, so I might pick it up again.

So there is much to agree to and even more to disagree to. Even my stuff is subjective and I get that it might rub people the wrong way, this is simply as gaming is highly personal and we all have our own cloud of gaming in mind, I get that. So am I against the article in Metro or in favour? That’s hard to say, they touch on issues that are real, but it goes against 20 years of programming and the fact that we all play according to our desire in play, so overall I am is disagreement on the article, but it touches on a few very real settings that we all agree with and with a franchise this big that is to be expected, one last part is that I haven’t played AC Shadows for a while and I haven’t finished it as I never beat Joken Hokkyo, after a dozen times I just gave up. That happens too. I am not always in the best headspace for some moments in time. The open fight at the end was too taking and not very Assassins Creed.

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April 29, 2026 · 20:57

Reselling is the art

Is it? Or is the art of reselling the game? And they might sound the same, but they are not exactly the same. Confused? That is not the goal, but it comes with the territory. To get this setting, I have to take you back to last September when I gave you (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/09/09/one-thought-of-many/) ‘One thought of many’ I gave that seeing at least twice more, but that might be one of the first times. You see, I was replaying Black Flag and it got me thinking and for some reason I was thinking of some corny advertisement of a romantic novella setting. I never read them, but in the Netherlands they were famous.

I reckon that every nation has these in their local language, optionally they are translated, but that is a fact I have no idea on. What does matter that this series has appeal with over 2.5 billion female readers. There are also these novella’s for the male, optionally they are pirate, spy, Jetsetter stories. What matter is that there is now a 5 billion target area. And Ubisoft ha the inner track on this. So as I was playing Black Flag and walking through Havana and Nassau the idea hit me. So when you take away the assassin setting and you keep the places the same, and it would be limited to a location (like Havana/Nassau) and optionally other locations in other games and you can only walk in these places and optionally through a Apple Vision Pro/MetaQuest and you don’t read the story, you play and live the story. I reckon that you can have 5 stories per location and optionally the eagle vision shows the people you need to talk to and progress through the story. You could make more of it, but at first we have the storyline and the way to proceed and that is the story. The story is the live played on the places you normally read about. The next step in novella’s and Ubisoft already has the locations. Consider Jerusalem, Florence, Venice, Forli, Rome, Boston, New York City, Havana, Nassau, Kingston, Paris, Versailles, Alexandria, Memphis, Heraklion, Bagdad, Kyoto, Osaka and several more. This needs no creation, Ubisoft already made the locations, made the art. Now you only need the engine to be altered to let the story flow and you can have 5-9 stories per location and even there, there are short cuts. They merely need to use one location to see if it has the appeal. My voice goes towards Rome with stories for the masses regardless of gender. And with DML and a small investment in these novels you can make  several of them, all unique and perhaps with a creation system and it is all additional revenue for Ubisoft. It becomes what matters in a new direction, not what it was meant for, but what else can be done with this and I reckon with the MetaQuest, it becomes a lot more engaging, the nice side is that there is a massive lack of innovation for these devices, so Ubisoft could enjoy a much larger share of that attention. As everything is due to evolution, why not how we read stories? An engaged form of literature, brought to your eyesight. And when in Rome, you could always consider The Golden Ass (Metamorphoses) by Apuleius. From modern, to classic and educational. This is the age of reinventing the idea that already is and Ubisoft has a tremendous advantage here.

Just my idea on how to go next. And whilst Ubisoft get another version of the same in a new coat with a new audience, they might consider even other paths. Paths I never thought of. So this was the third setting that started messing with my mind two days ago. I have not completed that journey and made you aware. 

Have a great day. Still three hours to go until I wish myself a good morning.

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April 24, 2026 · 19:43

Perhaps pirate plow?

That is the stage we see and we can go in any direction you want. I am not being mean or negative, because I have not played Black Flag Resynced and that should be the operative setting if you want to judge it. I have the original and I got it on day 1. So when I saw the ‘reviews’ stating that it is the most ‘successful’ AC game ever released, I went “wait a minute” there are a few facts that are ‘overlooked’. I got the PS4 on opening night and I got 2 games. The first one I returned the day after. It was the worst game I ever played. It was Killzone. It wasn’t my choice in gaming, but the choices on day one were exceedingly limited. When you looked down at your feet, they dance the jig, there were a few other issues, but it was not the game of choice. So a few weeks later AC Black Flag came out, so I used the cash to get that game. I reckon that is why Black Flag did so well, it was out in the first month and it was good, we can argue how good, but it was more than a head above all others games, so it had an excellent timing schedule. That benefit is no longer here. That does not mean that it will be a bad game, good games usually end up well. 

I had a few issues with the original (like music sheet chasing) and a few other settings. You see, I never regarded it ask AC game, a good game, not an AC game. But overall what I just saw is that the graphics are definitely improved, if it was originally 80%, it is now a definite 95% and that is just the graphics. There is not much more to say. I reserve my feelings towards changes made. I see that part as mostly ‘presented views’ on the parts that might not have been seen as great. I have the issue that there is too much fighting. A real AC game is taking out the enemy before they are aware you are there. But that is just me. 

So, will I try the new game? It depends on how the play throughs are shown. How stealthy is it? That matters to me, perhaps for others too. Then there are the settings of the new missions, the ‘altered’ views and the improvements to the Jackdaw. I get that a 100% transfer his unlikely to work, no matter how the graphics are. But the original game had promise, so it has the inner working for it to be a really great game and after 13 years there are all kinds of people who never played that game. So if you want to plow pirates, there is enough to make the cake delicious.

So whilst IGN gives us “Much remains to be seen of how well these new additions will be integrated into Black Flag’s original content, and how the game’s existing missions may have been tweaked, too. After years of leaks, though, we now at least have a better idea what to expect — and that July 9 release date on the horizon, which is now just three months’ away.” I personally have two issues. I personally believe that these so called ‘leaks’ are tempting data collectors on how to get a game more for ‘everyone’ and I have always believed that when you try to appease everyone, you will please no one and that is a setting I fully believe. As such there is a problem within Ubisoft. Either they have no security on their games, or they are testing the waters (for years) by feeding some people the parts and this puts the game at the test. But consider the rule I set as the most important one “when you try to appease everyone, you will please no one”, so when you see the ‘improvement’ to parkour running, what are they setting? How is that a AC game? It could be, but I merely wonder. As for the best game, we see the publications that AC black flag is the most popular one, personally I like AC Origins the most, closely followed by AC Brotherhood and AC2. Of course others might have another view and that is fine. We will see in the second week of July how the game is accepted and how others see this game. 

Will the game hit home? I am curious to see what comes from this. No matter how it is seen, I wish Ubisoft the best of success, because luck is not a factor here. 

Have a great day

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April 15, 2026 · 09:48

Playing the 5 tones

That is what is happening g, but how did I get there? Well, I was considering a few things, all at the same time when the idea hit me. We all want to give the ‘complete’ solution. But how to disperse that idea is another matter. So here I was contemplating a few options when I thought that games are the novel and most useful setting and it doesn’t need to be merely one game. What happens when a nation (like the UAE) sets a new station, a station of games and these games might be old, but they are entertaining and considering this also take in heed that these games merely scratch the surface of a mobile processor. So what to do in the meantime? And at that point I remembered the SETI screensaver and that project uses millions of computers to get the data parsed. So what happens when we get a game which in the background checks that computer for viruses and invasions? The UAE Cyber sections might like the idea that their work will be partially done by simple games. The bulk of that 11.6 million people that travel by bus, sit in coffeeshops or do whatever they do when their body are at rest. And in that time when they play a game, the background is used to scan their devices for incursions of a viral nature. It seems like a slam dunk setting for safety, I wonder why no one else had that in mind to keep their citizens safe. Leaving it all to commercial solutions? That is not a bad idea, but there needs to be a reason to do this and perhaps a detector might be enough of a reason to do just that. So whilst Trump is attacking the pope stating “In a lengthy social media post Donald Trump said the pontiff was “terrible for foreign policy” and was damaging the Catholic Church.” I don’t know the pope and even as I was baptized a Catholic, I know less then little about Pope Leonardo da Vici or anything involving the Vatican and still I reckon I likely know more of catholics than President Trump does, especially as he states that the pope was “terrible for foreign policy”, I wonder where he got that idea? I personally think that the last one validly got accused of that transgression was Pope Pius XII for all the right reasons. So whilst we see this, I casually created an optional solution for the UAE (and other nations) to detect that there is a problem. You see, there are those who claim that there is a problem and there are people getting the problem being unaware. This solution will detect that there is a problem and at that point you might want to do something about that (sooner would have been better), but considering that “The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is currently facing a significant surge in cyberattacks, with daily breach attempts tripling to approximately 600,000 as of early 2026” there might be a need to see where they are and what is being hacked. As I see it, this solution might get actual numbers of transgressions in play and then something could be done about it and these games could be distributed on mobiles, tablets, PC, Mac an other devices, but this part can see how deep it goes and it is only about detecting. When something is found the border of the game could turn red, giving the user the idea that he (or she) has a problem.

That took less time than President Trump taking his insults to the Vatican. What next? Well, the idea is here and I reckon it is up to the rest to act on this. It could be something simple like a Puzzle game showing images of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, games using the same images and other games what are easily created, optionally based on a CBM64 classic, requiring no computing power or memory and as they are free the entire audience would love to play them. A simple setting that is easily replicated and gives the notion if there is a problem. Seems like a dine deal the moment my words hit the mind of the reader.

Have a great morning, it’s almost 10:00 here.

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April 14, 2026 · 23:23

Learning from the lesson

I recently replayed ME3, it was because I have had the legendary version for a long time and I decided to play it on the PS5. It was a fun time, and it made me remember the idea’s I had for Mass Effect 5 about two years ago. After I played Andromeda (long after it was released) and because my funds were limited, the amount of negative press stopped me from buying it at release time (or soon thereafter) it wasn’t until I saw it in a bargain box for $5 that I picked it up, I was after all still curious. And I saw the resentment most players had I was oddly in agreement. The game was to some extent rushed, I saw other flaws. But there was a shining light in that game and the game illuminated a lot of it. As such I started to design the 5th game. To make it more appealing I decided to combine it with Andromeda, so the larger play stayed. I did get rid of the memory triggers. They made no sense. The idea that a trigger on an unexplored world would be the key in something essential. There are more setting, but that was the one that made the least sense. 

The idea was to set to the actual size of the Hyperion to scaled in the settings, then there is the ark (a lot larger) and the other arks will be added over time. The mission games stay at the same level, but trough the Hyperion and nexus we get additional missions and storylines added to the game. There are some limitations that are removed over time (and as the story of ME5 progresses) but that would eliminate the triggers and we get human, durian and the other arks. 

But this is just window dressing. The original did do a good job to transfer the battle settings of the game and as this is enhanced in the new game, we get other settings too. Eos and Voeld will move in opposite directions, as Eos cools down, and becomes more and more fertile, Voeld will warm up and do the same. The setting will erupt when Voeld will get its original life forms evolving in the game. But the setting will give us a few other allowances. But figure this small fat. ME Andromeda was created in 2017, it is now almost 10 years later and still absence from all kinds of revelations? I created this setting over 2 years ago, which does not mean anything. But as I see it, I created over half a dozen games in my mind and set some to my blog for others to create the games and optionally the lore that these games imbue. But the lesson learned is that these so called game developers are set to lose whatever they designed. Others take over these gaming studios for the betterment of profit and as such they drive the excelling powers of game creators away. Electronic Arts, Microsoft and optionally Ubisoft too. As some state “the gaming industry is undergoing a turbulent restructuring, balancing record revenues exceeding $184 billion with intense market correction, including roughly 45,000 jobs lost since 2022”  So corporate greed is endangering the gaming world. And whilst we see some (for now) escape that. One example is Guerrilla Games and optionally Avalanche games. There are considerations that it is now optionally too late for Bethesda Gaming studios, but if they unstrangle themselves from Microsoft they might have a chance. There is all almost unwritten rule that creativity stands opposite greed. Some will come with ‘but there is’, in the end they are either part of the creative cloud or the greed cloud and those do not mix. Consider these studios and see where they went wrong. You’ll see it when the cloud gets a clear identity. Consider the setting I voiced and see how I created some form of Elder Scrolls 6 in 2014, ME5 in 2018 and a few more. Do you think I was more intelligent than they were, or did they get rid of the creative minds that stood in the way of their greed? It is merely a speculative view, but as I see it, it holds water. 

The world is getting more and more aware of the hidden dangers of gaming and that is why the PC is losing ground to Nintendo, because as these gamers see it, Nintendo has forever been about fun and that is what gamers sign up for. It is followed by Sony and the rest of them have become an optional problem. Even the setting of streaming games is now in danger of being warped into something different. 

As I see it, the only solution is to give the indie world the ideas for good games and whenever that happens, the greed driven community loses out. They are too small for the game exploiters (like Microsoft) and when these ideas pay off, these exploiters will have to pay through the roof for an empty shell and I move on giving more ideas to new indie gamers. I might not make anything, the only thing I see is that I created more and more creative solutions and my place in the universe is set. 

Anyway, before I give more thought to the Third Horizon game (I already did, but I am awaiting what Guerrilla comes up with) and there is Bethesda who (through channels) made claim that TES6 was at least 5 years away and whilst that was the case, I constructed the idea of an Elder Scrolls 6 in mere weeks. Technology would take longer, but would it take 10 years? As said “Microsoft finalized its $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, in March 2021” and in those 5 years the gaming world suffered. So what does it take to ‘streamline’ billions of gamers through Microsoft? Well, I for one am not ready to find out. Where Microsoft gets involved gaming suffers and as I see it Redfall (2023) might be the most clear evidence of that. As one reviewer states “Redfall is a bafflingly bad time across the board.” And the setting does not end there, the gaming world is in danger and Microsoft made it so. We might want to rely on Guerrilla games and other s to save us, but they are doing their thing and we all have to step up to secure our gaming world, whatever it is and I am primarily focussing on Nintendo and Sony, there are others, but to some extent they are already under the Microsoft spell and whilst we are ignorant of that setting, we are allowing another US administration to come for our sanity. That springs from the old saying “The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play”, it comes from Star Trek, episode ‘shore leave’ (1967). As I see it, it is one of the clear sentiments that has been part of all our lives. And there is enough evidence to support it. So we can still still until a new game comes along, or we can fuel the innovators in programming and gaming to give them the ideas that could relax our minds, I personally choose the second option. If the stage is set on exchange of ideas, this is the only idea that makes sense to me, as such I will imbue the indie game makers with ideas to fuel our sanity. Life works in unintended ways doesn’t it?

So whilst my brain is contemplating additional settings for Mass Effect: Emerging Worlds and I transformed Elder Scrolls 6 for other uses, there are a few other ideas that could use my time for exploring. I created some thoughts on Hogwarts Legacy 2 and I leave Horizon 3 alone for now, they created 2 amazing games and I will let them create their thoughts in a new game I would want to explore on day one. Still, my mind considered a few steps, so I am curious to see what they come up with. I am not the only creative mind, as such I love to see what others come up with. So let the world of game creators dazzle my mind by showing me what they can come up with.

Have a great day.

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April 13, 2026 · 00:42

Redo from start

Yup, I went there, an old CBM64 error message. And it comes to us through the BBC who (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce84rvx0e6do) gives us ‘Great at gaming? US air traffic control wants you to apply’ So, why the error? Well, I had the inkling to go that route. I loved Kennedy Approach on the CBM64 and whilst in communications with the UNSC (posted in El Gorah, 1982) I was briefly ‘involved’ with flight following and in this case involved meant that I was sitting next to Flight Lt Wruck who was doing the job. It seemed simple and he was exceedingly good at it. So, I saw this getting done for weeks and it looked appealing, but then at 19 nearly everything looked appealing. These thoughts overwhelmed me when I saw the message in the BBC with the added “In a new ad campaign, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is explicitly calling for gamers to apply for jobs in air traffic control when its hiring window opens next week.

The Xbox one logo appears at the start of the video before dissolving into a montage that cuts between images of men playing various online computer games and people, including women, in air traffic control towers looking at their own computers.” And I have two reasons for not doing this. First of all it is in the United States and in this political climate and with the current administration it is the last place I want to be, although that job in Canada might still be appealing. 

The second reason is the setting that it is tainted by Microsoft. And with ““You’ve been training for this,” the ad says.” My thoughts go to “Really? How?” You see, in 1985 the message was clear, anyone stating that Kennedy Approach was reason to become an air traffic controller was given a red flag. I have no idea why, because as I saw it, ATC is something you either like or do not. And what games give you the ATC vibe? Fortnite? I can play that game, but I was used to real weapons and real ammunition. It takes the air out of the opponents (as they stopped breathing), but seriously? What makes a gamer a good ATC person? As we are given “The new strategy tapped into “a growing demographic of young adults who have many of the hard skills it takes to be a successful controller”, he said.” I am not debating against it, I merely want to know what makes the gamer a good ATC person. I personally would think that an updated Kennedy approach that gives people the skills to do that job, either with additional coaching or with added explanation, or with added settings and more scenarios. Kennedy Approach was initially a Microprose product and I loved playing this game. Then considering that Kennedy approach was insufficient to cater to this (it was merely 58Kb in size) as such an upgrade would be required. But that field could be catered to for Canada and many other countries. You merely need to adjust the settings of a 40 year old video game.

And if gaming is no longer a red flag, my mind starts cruising to mach 8 to get the adjusted settings to work. Still the idea is decently novel and could be applied to several fields. If I remember this correctly, the US Navy had a similar approach as they used Times Warner interactive to produce AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet, or at least that was what I was made to believe. It was a tactical game and has almost no high res gaming screens, but the tactical screens were most excellent.

And the additional catch was “The ad also highlights the salary on offer to controllers, saying it is $155,000 (£115,000) after three years of work.” I reckon that this will attract plenty of gamers, especially as you see the the graphic card requirements that these systems require now. 

But this is not a novel idea, it has been voiced before, but the powers that be see gaming as a non-go setting, but in this day and age, gaming is different and it is real life that now starts emulating games, not the other way around. So as we are given new stations to jobs that are showing a lack of people, gaming is a way to get around to that and the funny part is that these people could get the gist of that job whilst finding out if this is something they might want to entertain. There are settings that work and settings that are less than stellar for a gaming solution. On that note, I failed the doctor test in 1985 (The Surgeon decided I was never going to be a doctor) And we can consider more pressing approaches but it is all between your two ears (the brain). And whilst we think that Kennedy Approach is a good way to see if you could make it as an ATC’er. There are plenty of other sides. Silent Service is not the way to find a sub commander. 

Yet, seriously, did it take 40 years to go from red flag to gamers are welcome? Or is the need for more ATC’ers now too pressing that they will consider all options? This is a serious question, because the underlying setting is that if there are no ATC’ers, flights will have to be cancelled. That is the real question that is part of that. I am fine with the idea that those who scored great in Kennedy Approach (or whatever is now the closest to an ATC screen) are set for a career in ATC at the FAA. But there are questions, because as this approach comes from 2021 under President Biden and we are given “The FAA said last year that it would be considered fully staffed with 14,663 active controllers. It was at least 3,000 controllers short at the time and said twice that many controllers were expected to leave their roles by 2028.” The setting that airports would be short of ATC’ers and the station that hundreds of flights would be cancelled if this is not resolved is not without its own set of cascade failures of flights required. It would be the next massive joke if ground crews are stopping flight crew from getting the job done. And there are additional questions that people will have to ask, because there is no way that this is a setting anyone would like to be on their front door as they are flying to their vacation spot, only to be stopped because there are no Air Traffic Controllers available. 

Yes, sarcasms slaps you it becomes irony and I am not being the doom speaker, merely a person who wants a clear understanding and personally it is too late for me (about 25 years too late) but I kinda like that gaming could invigorate a class of people to take up a new career. 

So have a great day, my Monday started 40 minutes ago.

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