Tag Archives: Elsweijr

The new you

That is at times the setting. It the you you see the old or the new one? As a relic of the past, I tend to remain the old me, but that is still not always a given. You see, we (you, me and all others) tend to hold up a mirror, so we can show others what we see, but we tend to not look at ourselves. It is perfectly natural to do this, there was one person in the past who did just that, but he was but one (and his name was Narcissus) but one is not a steadfast number for any level of comparison. So why are we so driven to compare ourselves? That is a question I had when my mind went back into comparison mode reverting to game design. I had the idea in the past to create an RPG game mostly based in Olympus. But I wasn’t given my mind towards game mechanics. That ends to be a waste off space, because if we design it now we tend to fall into the area of Bethesda and that is a losing field. This is not on Bethesda, their engine is now 2 decades old and for any game to stay standing to this effect is quite the achievement. No, I was contemplating different matters, storyline matters. Because I truly believe the slogan that FX gave us “the story is everything” and most of us can live with that thought, especially gamers and that is also the hidden trap. How can you create a storyline that holds you in place for over a decade without grinding? It is an honest a question, because after the umpteenth time I play Skyrim that is exactly the setting we face. I created the setting of Elder Scrolls VII (now VIII) and in my mind the setting is still enticing. The map of Skyrim is almost the same, but to do this we need Cyrodiill to be about 900% larger so if the map is 5 by 5 miles, it will now need to be 15 by 15 miles. It all make the imperial city almost 900% of the original size and they need connecting. For the setting then I came up with Elsweijr and Valenwood being connected, so consider that setting. Playing a Skyrim side of game with these three parts connected and now whatever Bethesda is creating added to all that. And that becomes the main stage of what Skyrim used to be.

So, now we get to the ‘now’ and we consider that Olympus is that overwhelmingly large, but the larger buildings are the buildings of Zeus and Poseidon, with buildings connected to it all for the other gods and only Hades has his own place in the underworld. So the Olympian gods were Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus. So, they do not mention Hades, which is the lovely attached place and that place has fallen into disrepair. So here you are (yes you) entering a place you know not where and you have to figure it out and in the meantime The story evolves and that takes a new kind of storyline, so whilst you think that they are your size, that is not really the setting because Ares is (almost) 9 foot tall and these three big cats are larger than that, so you need to adjust your way of thinking, So we get layer upon layer of gameplay and there is where we are and we are thrown into a game where classic works are the setting of the time and it is not just the Olympic gods you need to worry about, because the had incarcerated the Titans in Tartarus and this is the setting that you face. They are about to realise that their ‘slayers’ are no longer there and whilst we might ‘rally’ behind that thought, but their release will wreck whatever works you have now. So how you have a ‘gameplay’ that favors stealth a whole lot. And the defence setting are about to wake up and that is the setting we get and whilst all are doable, the idea is that they are not the same way and as such you get a diverse setting and in this game your gender is closer set, because the man can not openly enter the worlds of Hera, Athena, Aphrodite or Hestia. Except when you are Hermes (the mailman no less and there is no two knocking, but it does allow for some leniency in the game, and that is where the stealth comes in, but getting it all up and running again is the key and also the hindrance in the game. As such the messenger has a solemn side and also the thing not the whole game, because the game is not about my being clever, it is about creating a game that is true to life (as far as that is possible) but for now it is my conundrum to figure out, because there is no gem of “Just like” the other settings and that is the challenge for me.

But it also favors the solution. You see, the realms of Zeus and Poseidon were impacted by pollution and as such we get a new game, one that prefers the settings of are environmentalists and conservationists. A side we never contemplated before and Hades is surrounded by the billions of dead souls, so it is wrecked and in all that we need to set a stage where their souls are the fuel that gives them all power and that becomes the challenge and whilst we look at that we ar creating new (optional epic) storylines according to the works of Homer, Virgil and Dante Alighieri, but there were others and that is the challenge to stay true to their course and incorporate it into the game (luckily for me their works no longer fall into the realm of IP protection) but I wanted to create an idea that does evolve according to how YOU play the game, which is an almost unheard setting before and whilst you wonder on how the world of Bethesda impacts this world, consider that between the elated and the damned is a setting of servitude and that makes the game settable to your hand and whilst you want to consider that, the game has an overreaching interaction (like it is its own god) into the gameplay that you embrace making you do things over and over before you get it right, it is the Olympic version of guiding the player and that is the challenge, finding the two sides of the same coin and letting that play out, so whilst you see changes, the game is also impacted by the pollution that has gone unchecked (until now) and that is how the gods could reemerge (except Hades who is bogged down in souls) and whilst we get to become a ‘SIM’ to alter the game the ‘SIM’ gets to become self aware and as Olympus regains its own setting we can create a game here the gods return and these are levels of achievement that the game ‘rewards’ to create a setting that evolves Olympus and as such the world as a whole. I still haven’t worked out all the details, because I am driven towards a totally new engine and that is the challenge, because that unique challenge will entice gamers (optionally millions of them) to correct others into trying these settings. But that is my challenge and perhaps one for the record books, into a streaming RPG that holds the key to a lot of new players.

And I reckon that if you know something of the old gods, the world of Hephaestus and Hades are adamant in creating a new Olympus. And it is not about merely creating a new game, it is a way to hold everyone in front of a mirror and saying this is how YOU achieve this and I reckon that this becomes the setting for what is now ‘regarded’ as PS6 terrain.

So have a great day and it is time to create a new setting regarding whatever rules the sense of reason in the United States (according to the Sydney Morning Herald) whilst we see “The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the consumer price index climbed 3.7 per cent in September from a year earlier, exceeding the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg and leading Wall Street traders to boost bets that the Federal Reserve will need to lift interest rates again before the month is over. What’s notable about the report, besides the fact that it shows inflation is accelerating, is that it reveals consumer prices are rising faster for rural America, gaining 4 per cent over the past 12 months, than for city dwellers (up 3.6 per cent). This has been the case since right after the start of the Iran war in late February. Not only that, but the gap between rural and urban inflation this year is the widest since 2022, just after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” This is important as it kinda reflects on the ‘Hoekse en Kabeljauwse twisten’ (Dutch) where we consider  “The conflict between the Hooks and the Cods was a struggle between various factions within the elite of the County of Holland. Both the nobility and the towns were involved. The conflict raged intermittently from the second half of the 14th century until the end of the 15th century. Events that took place between May and September 27, 1350, led to the first phase of these “feuds.”” This is what a class war feels like and the United States is seemingly heading that way, but not to worry, that event lasted from 1345 until1492 and as I see it, the United States has a mere 10 years at the most (if even that much) to sort out its mess, at that point there pointless way of life comes at an end and I think the people who want to avoid that could be playing a game on the shaping of a new Olympus. When people want to correct me on all kinds of matters that it was not based on classes, and they would be right, because it was not a class war in the modern Marxist sense, though social and economic tensions played a role and a big one, making it (in my view a class war) and whilst some adversely react, the setting lasted almost 140 years and a lot of the document that mattered are lost, but now consider that as given “the fact that it shows inflation is accelerating, is that it reveals consumer prices are rising faster for rural America, gaining 4 per cent over the past 12 months” and as I see it, this is a class war. The meteorites versus the rivals and in the 1400’s the metrolites were considering extreme hunger as the ruralites had growing the foods. Doesn’t that sound familiar? But in this day and age LA has 3,869,089 and New York has 8,584,629 people. Over 12 million, so how will you feed them? You either meet the difference and split that, or you go hungry and I reckon that this US administration has absolutely zero intent (or experience) to split differences and as I see it, they are losing allies a lot faster than they are ready for. And as we now see (to hours ago) ‘Trump pauses new Russia sanctions passed by Congress amid deepening row with Ukraine’ there is a larger setting in all this and whilst these people are ignoring the real threat to the United States, they are playing footsie with Russia? In my (possible wrong) look, it seems that the United States is losing several grounds of funding it has and it is about to get worse. I get there by the Guardian text “Donald Trump has put on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause on the legislation passed by both chambers was in the national interest.” Since when is a pro Russian setting national interesting the United States? The only thing that makes sense if the United States is about to enter a state of Insolvency, but I am telling you upfront that this is my view and it could be incorrect, but when we see these class wars come, we could face other settings, but the setting that the Commonwealth and the EU might be safer with China in the mix is a lot more safe than anything the United States could falsely promise (something it has done so a few times in the last year)

And I merely wonder if we aren’t better of playing a video game until it blows over, or until the electricity runs out. Because at that point, your memory is all that remains, it you could feed it that is. It becomes a simple setting of the new you and that will be a hard pill to swallow, because we were pushed into consumerism for all the greedy reasons corporations had and that is now coming to an end. Have a great day today.

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Upgrades

Upgrades, we all know them, at times we desire them or we hope to be around to see them. For the most, no upgrade was every loathed (except Windows Vista). So where can we take gaming? We have one stage, w have more stages and we have the ability to connect stages. Now, lets take Skyrim. The anniversary edition was a welcome edition, beside the glitches there is not much to tell, and focussing on the glitches with a game this big is utter BS. For the most I have had a hell of a time. But the mind keeps slipping, and it is not needed, I want to wait until Hogwarts Legacy is released to see what else is possible. So far I have created two new gaming IP, yet the mind is struggling to find a third. This matters to me, because that IP will focus on a separate station. Something that might not be unique, but this version has never been done before. A Greek RPG, that focusses on the three Olympian gods. You must choose between Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. You align with them and as such you will be instilled with the powers that align to that god. So we get basically several worlds. Olympus, Earth, the oceans (earth too) and Tartarus. A world where the gods have missions, they play games and you have to steer your ways into diplomacy, battle and conquest, and subterfuge. You will need to resolve issues, collect evidence, clean messes up and at all times you are rewarded with Ambrosia. Very small items and you need three full cups to become a genuine deity. So could you do that? It is not merely can you do that, can such a game be made? In this it makes sense to look at Skyrim. Now consider that I had the setup for TESVIII: Restoration, that setting had the map of Cyrodill, but now at 9 times the size, connected to that was Skyrim (about 50% larger) and for the main story Valenwood AND Elsweijr. Now consider that the map for Όλυμπος would be well over three Times the size of Όλυμπος and it would encompass the entire Mediterranean, Spain, Italy, Greece and north Africa. That is beside the setting that Tartarus would be massive as well, and mount Olympus would not be too shabby or small either. 

Why so big?
This is easy, to create a biodiversity, a larger setting for natural combat and survival, the need for interactions. The larger the map the more natural could feel. So this ends up being not a console game, but a streaming game. This leaves us with the Google Stadia, the Amazon Luna and optionally the Netflix console as well. And the game needs three main quests (three gods, three paths, three main quest lines), that is bedside the side quests that will take up a massive amount of time, there are two versions, the one you have as an aligned player, or an unaligned players. So you will need to consider what you can get away with and what you need to drop. That is the part we forgot about in Skyrim, is it not? We can do everything and there is always time to do everything. So what happens when time and alignment becomes a hindrance? We forget the oldest setting, we need to consider that some things cannot be done and that is before the people intervene. 

Not everything can be done, not even as a god, doubt me, then ask Hades. He’ll tell you when you die and he always has the same joke “So where is your wine now?” And that is before you see the impact that happens when the game-map is not static, it is actually dynamic. The Mediterranean map that goes from the beginning of the game 4500 BC – 2000AD, and the map will evolve and you can watch, travel or participate. A game setting that has never before been done. There would be a real consideration that this generation of streaming consoles cannot deal with it at present and that is fine. Yet should we stop developing to the fringes of hardware in the future? I believe not. 

And this is not a small project, it has never been done, so it is appealing, the stage where we can traverse this area over 6500 years, and as a god you are immortal, but the stage is still finite (reason classified for now). Consider mapping out the Roman Empire and the impact it had, an impact you can watch yourself. A stage where we need (beside the quest lines) well over 300 quests per alignment, well a lot can be replicated and aligned challenge versus unaligned challenge. And as you become more olympian and as you lose your humanity you might lose options and you might lose links but that is part of life and we forgot to add life to the RPG’s of the last decade. There is no blame, it is no ones fault. It is a mere setting of what the computer can deal with and now that we have the hardware that can deal with it, ignoring that much of a leap seems trivial. 

A game that is a challenge and educational in several areas, a game that has never before been made, because until recent there was no hardware to support a stage that big. 

So what do you think, would you try such an upgrade? 

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an Intellectual Property example, Part 1

There have been some messages regarding my claim to IP, fair enough! So let’s take a look at a few parts (it’s not all in one part) on creating IP. First off, this is no longer my IP, I gave it to Bethesda, yet as a creator I still get to work with it, especially as I never received any acknowledgement. That is fine; I do not blame them, as they are always busy. Anyway, I created this after the initial Skyrim release on 11/11/11, it came to me after I had completed the game twice, this was created late 2012 and it took me less than 2 hours to think through and several hours to type it all (around 10,000 words). I will spread it over two blogs and it not all the IP I sent to them will be there, but it will have a fair bit.

Introduction

It was a nice evening; the sun was starting to set on a farm that was on the border with Valenwood, half way between Verkant Hills and Ein Meirvale. The boy looked out over the garden, he saw that the crops needed a little more watering, yet there was no rain in sight. His parents would be away for another two days and he knew that he was supposed to water the garden. He got up from his chair to walk to the well and started to lower the bucket and fill the bucket, as he felt the weight of the water added to the bucket as it sank he started to turn the lever to get the bucket back, it took a minute when the bucket was back at the top. He grasped the bucket to put it on the ledge and suddenly his foot gave way a little, still holding the bucket he lost his balance and down he went, straight into the well, as he hit the water the cold water revived him and then he hit something hard and he lost conscience.

When the boy woke the first thing he realised was that it was not dark, the light that went down the well showed the water, but in the well he saw that the well was a lot larger. There was a walkway around the well, more important, some of the stones in the wall were luminescent, lighting up the room ever so slightly. He looked around and saw 4 doors. He relaxed for a moment and tried to get his bearings. As he walked in the shallow part of the well he looked up and was able to se the top of one tree, he realised that the tree was to the north, so the four doors each was in one direction. He decided to explore and saw that only one of the 4 doors did not have a lock, he entered. The room was relatively small with a table with a lock in the table; on the table was a book, and there was a piece of metal. He opened the book and saw the text. The book was about locks and it explained that he was looking at an iron lock pick. it told him that the lock pick could be used to open simple locks, as the lock was made from the same metal the pick would only damage to the smallest degree if he did something wrong and not be hurt if he did things right. He looked around and saw hat thee were much more light giving stones in this room, he could see decent details. The room was filled with symbols that he did not recognise, and there was the lock. The book showed several locks and made reference to steel, Dwemer metal, orsinium steel, Elven silver steel and Oblivion picks, more important on how some picks can only be used on some locks with the exception of magical locks that required arcane glass picks. He tried to apply the knowledge and on the second attempt and the lock it opened and he heard a sound, he looked on the floor and there was a steel pick on the floor. He looked around and saw nothing else. He left to return back to the well. He looked up and there was a lot less light coming down now. He looked at the room and noticed that as he stayed close to the wall that the room was more visible. He looked around and inspected the 3 doors, all showing the same lock. He opened the second door on the first attempt, it opened, yet he saw that the iron pick showed marks, he pocketed the iron pick and kept the steel pick ready. In the next room was merely a chest, a locked one and the steel pick had no issue opening it. in the chest was an outfit, the outfit was meant for a woman, so he left it, what was interesting were the bright green colours and the weave was really pretty, he had never seen a dress this pretty, not on his mum or one anyone, so rethought his action and pocketed the dress for his mum. There was also a chain, a necklace. He pocketed that one as well. The next room was the same, but now the outfit was for a man, It looked really nice and it also looked brand new, which was odd as they lived on the farm with their grandparents, they never had anything like this before. There was also a small knife which was not iron or steel, it was more orange and really sharp, he attached the knife to his belt and left the room. The last door was the same but the room was different. It was more like a long corridor. He walked through the room whilst observing it, at the end was a trapdoor. The trapdoor had a text “you will fall twice your height and you cannot return, it is the only exit“, he considered a few seconds and decided to take that fall, waiting two days in a place without food was not a nice idea. He landed on stones and the fall was not hard as he knew what had been coming. In this room there were all kind of weapons, there were swords, maces, axes and bows. There were quivers with arrows and on the table was a small box and there was a note, the box only had a ring and when he touched the ring he felt weird, he felt more, and more important he sensed a level of confidence. He read the note.

Honoured reader,

This is the ring of Mana, the ring still has magical properties even as magic has seemingly waned for the longest time. I remember my life in the Imperial city where magic was common, yet over time as I grew older the magi all lost their powers, magic fell away. I was a mere merchant, yet I was never treated wrongly by those with magic. I once held in pawn this ring who was owned by an altmer named Faelian. There was a rumour that he died, but the ticket is still out, and the ticket if paid the total of 150 coins must be honoured. He was once a nice man falling on hard times. I remain a man of honour. The ring instils a person with magic, now that there is no magic left and the fact that this ring still works makes it very powerful and very expensive. Do what you please; if you are here in this room, it is yours.

I took the ring and the moment I put it on I suddenly noticed a book, it was weird as I did not remember the book to be there. I read the book and as I read it I felt my hand growing warm, I did as the book instructed and from my hand came a long flame, it merely hit the wall but I was amazed, I was able to send flames flying. I looked around and as I noticed the door, I also noticed that there was a plank locking the door in place. I removed the plank and entered the next door, it was no longer a room, it seemed to be a grotto and there was very little light, there were torches by the door. I grabbed a few and moved on. I remembered how to sneak, but I did not know whether I was doing it correctly. I moved on slowly. There was the odd rat down here, they were a lot larger, but the sword was really good at dispersing them. I could see decent with a torch, but it gave away my position. I walked on slowly trying to use my ears as much as possible. It took an hour, the grotto was winding yet always in one direction. I came to the end with no option, yet in the corner of the end wall was a hole. I looked down and saw nothing; I dropped a torch and saw that it was almost the same distance as the initial drop. I listened and dropped down the hole. This was larger, but still going in a direction. It was close to 5 minutes down the new grotto when I heard talking. There was light up front and I dropped my torch losing the flames. It was hard to see anything, but I moved forward. As the voices grew louder I started to make things out. There was a tent with two men, one was wearing a uniform. They were talking about proceeds. There were coins on the table and a dead woman on the floor. They were stripping her of all her goods. The men were laughing and separating valuables. a few coins and a jewel went on the table, the rest was discarded. Then the men separated, they were bad man, one walked to the entrance of the grotto, the other one went into the tent, he was lying down, going to sleep. I sneaked slowly making sure not to make any sound. I also went to the entrance slowly, I had switched to the bow, it felt comfortable and I kept an arrow ready. I moved slowly and then I head the man at the entrance say “You were right there was someone else. Kill him!” I suddenly heard commotion in the tent as the man got up fast. I released the arrow and the man looked really surprised as the arrow went into his skull, I turned around to deal with the other man and he had already thrown an axe. I missed me but made short work of my bow. As he was closing in fast I acted in instinct, raised my hand and let flames rip, he screamed in agony as he was set ablaze. When he was dead I looted what I could and as I inspected the tent, I saw and opened the book the Firmament.

This is where we enter the final parts of the character.

Where we are

Welcome to Elder Scrolls Restoration, in this game you get the option to make change to Tamriel. The world has changed, several generations after magic left us, even more after the age of the returned dragons we are in a world where almost all are equal. The magi are not above us, the imperial city is no longer ruled by the mages guild. There is apparently still magic in Valenwood, but non magic people do not venture there, the rumours are just too awful. We were all given equality by Stendarr, Stendarr be praised, we can all become merchants, artisans and artists. The guards of Stendarr keep the street clean, the brethren of Stendarr kept the people healthy, the give medicine and they feed the poor who cannot care for themselves. It is a lovely world and we can do whatever we want to do.

It is here where you take your first steps and the first option where you can decide what to do next. You just have to go home and get some sleep and tell your parents in the morning.

Unless there is breaking news that is really important, part two tomorrow, where you learn more about how things started.

 

 

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