Tag Archives: Games

May 29, 2025 · 05:01

The secondary drive

That is what some have and it is not always in the field you expect. I was contemplating a few things whilst playing the remastered version of Oblivion. I am playing me second character as I am stuck (due to a bug) in the first one. It gave me pause to consider a few settings. These settings I can convert to the game I already had in mind, but I can spice things up now (now is a word as the default setting is not entirely accurate). You see, I created the game to counter Bethesda. The operative word might take a little tweaking. It actually started yesterday when I saw a list of upcoming Playstation games, 15 of them this year and I kept on hearing ‘soul type gaming’ (way too often). You see making more of the same is not more gaming, as I see it, it is the introduction of blanded (just more of the same taking away gaming hunger). As such my mind kept on revisiting settings (and movies) in all directions. It also brought to mind a game named Fable (Microsoft title) and it had great ideas, especially the first and second game with the second being a vastly improved IP over the first. It also made me realise that I had created a dislike for the word ‘Chicken-chaser’ (a word EVERY Fable enthusiast remembers). So what happens when we ‘cross-pollinate’ ideas? And moreover, what if we set this per guild, house or location? 

That is merely the first step. You see, most people have ‘accepted’ the use of nick names and when capture this in combination with the SNPC (smart non playable characters) concept I put in here last year a RPG game could really be spiced up. I see it as a setting to create passive achievements, achievements you will have to work for, but they don’t have any real controllable action and as such you could get a real setting that controls you and you do not control it to that degree. You see when you play an RPG over and over again, you get to be blanded, a blanding like setting that takes the joy out of the game, it will take it out of any game, but when you can divert that feeling by adding ‘soft-achievements’ I predict that this feeling diverts somewhat (it will never take it all away). Added to the changeable setting of dialogues and missions, the game gets to be a lot more rewarding for a lot longer. And today’s consoles can handle that challenge. 

I already set some parts in ‘motion’ in my mind as early as 2022 and up to now, no one considered the ideas I had (or never enacted them) and in my mind, the reengineered idea that originally came from Vint Cerf might be a game changer in RPG gaming. Such directionality will up the game for wannabe ‘fighters’ and ‘assassins’ quite a lot. I get that in the past these ideas were not really possible and now we can do them all, perhaps Bethesda is enabling these ideas in the new Elder Scrolls game, but that will not be known until 2027. What is clear that there is a risk that we will see too many things that we saw before. In the YouTube video that game me the list of 15 that I saw in under an hour I had at least half a dozen time things that I had seen before. To be honest, the only real cracker I saw was Code Violet, not ragingly new, the style of gaming is known to stealth game preferred players, but in the setting that we see, is a new fresh paint of a horror classic and that is at least something. Go see the trailer if you are curious. Anyway, that gave me pause to another setting. You see some will remember ‘Knight Games’ (CBM64), and Bethesda has a ‘sort of’ version in that called Arena, but Arena is a joke to stealth players. Most of the rounds I have no opposition. With a bow and stealth I go right through the opponents in seconds. So what happens if all contestants have Candlelight (Skyrim) cast over them? It takes away the stealth advantage, come to think of it, what if the security of a location ‘auto casts’ Candle light over the trespasser of a location? You need to get close to the cast location and perhaps there is a workaround on that too, another thing you have to elude, now breaking and entering comes with a little snag. 

You might (not entirely incorrectly) think that this brainstorm setting only sounds nice. But tell me, when was the last time that you witnessed true gaming innovation? I reckon that for me it was Horizon Forbidden West (2022) and as such I am trying to blend new ideas (at times re engineered old ideas) to add to gaming and to offer a solution that looks in more directions than Bethesda (not that Bethesda is bad, far from it) but a choice of one, is not a choice.

Well, I need to rethink a few more settings (which I already am), but I think better during breakfast and that is roughly 183 minutes away. So back I go, back in my design shell and watch what others are missing. Have a great day.

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May 16, 2025 · 10:00

Insectum

It is time to talk bugs. As I see it there are three kinds, there are the actual bugs, these are settings that crash a game, or make it non-working. The other two are glitches and systemic glitches. Glitches are merely a hindrance they are flaws in a game of program, but they do not dissuade from the joy that the game brings. I saw all of these settings in Oblivion remastered. Let’s be clear. I am not a doom speaker and heralding the ‘Messy setting of Oblivion’, I am (for the most) a game and before I start this article I will say right now, up front, that Oblivion brought the sense of joy I had when I played the game 20 years ago. That is as I see it a massive achievement, 

Virtuos brought their A game and it shows in everything you see and play. This game is 20 years old, as such plenty of laurels for Bethesda as well. It was the reason I bought me Xbox360 and I never for one moment regretted doing that. Yes, I have had the red rings of death and in the end I have had 3 Xbox360’s. But never was there any doubt that it was a great machine and a worthy contender to the crown that the Playstation 2 won.

Still, we were talking about the game. As such, we have glitches, persistent (or systemic) glitches and bugs, there is also the fatal bug, but I haven’t seen that one in Oblivion.

A glitch can be systemic, but does not mess with gaming fun. An example is that when you go from the rain into a ruin, or a cave and you still hear the rain. It doesn’t stop you from having fun, but it is a glitch. Then there is the systemic glitch. When you’re cupboards are too full, because you (me) is a hoarder, the system gets a little confused and will not show everything in your inventory. As such I could not move my sigil stones from the inventory. The solution is to sell off a lot of junk you were holding and that fixed it. There there is the setting that you can not control. A setting where things go a little haywire (because of a dozen reasons), which can mess with the storyline, but the simple solution is to reload the last autosave and often it is fixed. When dealing with these knights of the thorn idiots, I had to reload half a dozen times before I got the mission done (in different places). There is nearly no saving an idiot who thinks he os gods greatest knife fighter whilst surrounded by two Xivilains, loudly engaging them calling in two more. There is no stopping stupidity, it tends to get you killed in the battle field. Then there was the first time I went into the Rockmilk cave. After the first reception area, there is a path down where three spiked traps are. The stage to the left could not be entered, whilst it had enemies. I think it was a glitch, and it was ONLY the first time I entered it, subsequent entries were good. It is my place to collect free arrows and in earlier levels that matters, later too (I had over 400,000 gold), but it is a assured way to get ebony arrows and glass arrows, which are not sold. Apart from the bounty in there, it is a clear way to make headway. Then there are several persists glitches, but the one in Sancre Tor was fixed by waiting at the opportune time (where there are 4 people) and that worked. These settings happen. Anyone who thinks that bugs/glitches on a game this big doesn’t happen is beyond stupid. And for the most part it never bothered the game. Perhaps one setting which was beneficial to me was that the Rumare Slaughterfish were bouncing on the waterline, so in clear view to kill them. For the most, this game is utterly awesome and I never regretted spending the money of the 125GB download time on this. I will be playing this a few times over as I never played a high elf mage, but that was on me. 

The fact that even after 20 years and after Skyrim, this game shows just haw amazing gaming can be and that is never a bad thing.

So don’t call everything a bug, because some games are just too big and a bug tends to have fatal issues on a game and yes, I did crash a few times, but I just reloaded the game and I merely lost a few minutes in its worst scenario. Yet it is not all bad. It made me realise the settings I redesigned for an RPG and as I saw the stage also saw why my mind set a few things the way it did and it makes sense to do so if replay-ability is your goal. I think this should be the mindset of any RPG developer. As such did you consider the soft architectural stage that Diablo (the first one) offered against the planes of oblivion? When you connect the ideas that certain games had and incorporate them into a plane of oblivion? When you aren’t set to a mere version of a game, but when the towers can be radically different, how much more fun can you have exploring? 

So have a great day and when you hear the screaming in the night, that would be the sound of Daedric Princes as I have entered their realm and they fear for their life now. 

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May 6, 2025 · 21:35

Creating a plus plus game

Yes, there it is, but not in the way you think. First off, I have always loved RPG games, even before I got into Oblivion and Skyrim. These games are the best and as I am replaying Oblivion (now on the PS5), a thought got into my mind. And I created a new RPG IP. I summarized some of it in ‘Recap to the intro’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2021/09/25/recap-to-the-intro/) so the ideas have been brewing for 5 years. And today I had another idea. You see, we have a plus game where we continue or replay with the achieved gameplay. This is nothing new, but then I thought that some of the replay gets dreary (to some degree) and I just had the idea. You see, in my game there are 4 classes of magic based on the elements and these magic casters have a massive difference among themselves and it suddenly hit me to set certain missions in a different setting, as such, dependent of the magic class you play you get a mission, this is not new. Yet when you replay the game, when you select another magic class certain missions will have a new premise. Optionally with an altered intro to the mission. This has as far as I know never been done in any game.

So in the first mission you get to assist a smith to set the new forge with required cokes (or coals) and when that mission is done, the second time around another part of the mission comes clear. There is no setting that it all repeats, though some missions are an optional replay but with other sides. As such we get the option for other classes to add to that mission. So we get more than one plus game, giving the games additional sides to a mission. I wonder why the current RPG makers never considered that to amp their gaming experience. A setting that has the ability to create new lore, new experiences and now challenges. It got to me as I was going an Oblivion mission, so what is stopping us to push the envelope? I got a few ideas and that is a setting a simple setting, I reckon that in a much more complex setting it could create a new form of RPG game (I am not brave enough to give it a name). 

So as we set the game to a new frontier, we can create games with at least 4 new game playthroughs. A setting that has never been contemplated before in gaming. I wonder why not. Games nowadays need to entertain longer, so we can create more games or more gaming time (preferably without making the game lose gaming quality). 

As such the setting is changed. Consider the game Hogwarts Legacy getting an overhaul and the game needs to be played 4 times (not optionally played), which unlocks other parts of the game. It does not matter which house you play, and as different houses unlock missions for the first house, but what if the house is the second or the third house? The lore needs to be set to have one cosplayers (like Poppy for Hufflepuff, Sallow for Slytherin, Onai for Gryffindor and Thakkar for Ravenclaw) be the other contributor, so if you are one house, the other comes into play (via a message) that gives you the option when playing the second or third play through, I doubt that it is needed for a 4th play through but for completion it might be added. 

A new setting I an old concept, the RPG gaming experience (of a lifetime) that could add a lot more to the same game. I used the Hogwarts setting to illuminate the perception, but it could be added and part of this can be seen in Jackdaws rest, where each house gets a different alert to the same mission. So what happens when a mission gives us the 4 different missions to complete the mission overall? As such, I have been contemplating the same setting but in a slightly different way. Its just fun that the big boys (Bethesdas and Ubisoft) never got that far. Especially as Ubisoft has 18,666 dedicated game designers (big smile from me).

As such I can go after Bethesda too, but they created some of the greatest RPG settings, so they get a pass on this. It’s just fun that after I did the Melvin to DARPA and created three weapon systems (they dob’t have these) and I created IP that Google missed (Amazon too) I still found time to surpass Ubisoft and Bethesda. I am feeling good today. Still, I have an idea that could get me $3,000,000 from Matt Damon (he gets a script for that amount of money). Not sure if Matt is up to it, but as I see it, I have been plenty creative today and I am not done yet for today. 

It is a lovely day to get creative, so have a great day and get ready to dream big.

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April 27, 2025 · 14:51

Dynamic lore

Perhaps Dynamic interactive NPC’s is a better if not a little incomplete at this time. I have been loving every moment that I have been in Cyrodil, yet some of the missions are bland, redone over and over again and at this time (as there are more options), the setting seems a little absent of electricity. This is not the fault of Virtuos of Bethesda. I have over 1000 hours (perhaps even 2000 hours) in the game, so for the most I have already seen it. Still roaming the sights of the province is a delight. All the sights I forgot about over the 14 years that Skyrim graced my computers (PS3, Xbox360, PS4 and PS5) and there is more, but at some point I started to set out the idea of Dynamic Dialogue.

You see the first game you play remains always the same, but the subsequent versions, there could be a setting that some of the dialogues will be somewhere else. As such my mind set out the stage that at this point has never been done in any RPG.



Could be set to 
Pers001ArdantNadia
Location01BravilBravil
KindofPersonMerchantBeggar
ActionRumorRumor

And this is merely a sample. So we get a key part of information from a merchant, but this information could be from a beggar as well (not always an option), but the system of Dynamic Dialog will have within itself what the definition is. As such you can run to Bruma and ask the same person again and again, but what if the mage changes? Optionally you are given the name, but that is not a given. 

It changes the game, as the subsequent play is more of a setting that sets a new premise. A game  altered to the gamer who loves the challenge, not merely running the distance. In this there comes a second setting that loot in houses could alter, books might be in different locations (after the first play), It gives shine to a game that was good to be great over several play throughs. With the optional setting when you start the game of activate Dynamic Dialogue. As the database is set correctly the game could be reset to original when a new game is started. 

A setting we have never seen in RPG, but this is now possible, as such, I though of including this setting. Loot can always be randomized, but the people usually aren’t. Then there is the setting that a mission could get another parameter as well. Like the weapon shipment could give the added premise of saving miners and that is set to a clock within the moment you give the weapons to the three mercenaries. So there could be the option that you get a 10 minute timeframe to save a number of miners in that level (like 6 miners) and that gives the player a new chase. To get to the people in time. I am not saying that it should have been done, but when you get the second play through, some missions get to be a bit of a milk run, as such I devised the setting to add Dynamic Dialogue and optionally added achievements. 

There are places when that is not possible, but given the option, we have a good stage to improve RPG gaming, and in this case merely the additional times you play the game. I reckon that my mind will concoct a few more iterations of this in the near future as such I will keep you informed of the hair brain schemes I think of. Perhaps in the near future I will add to what I wrote yesterday, there was a lot more to be had.

Have a great day, time for me to close another Oblivion gate.

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April 26, 2025 · 16:51

Rejuvenating Love

Yup, we’ve all been there and it is not the love for a partner or spouse (I have no experience in that regard). It is the rejuvenating the love you have for a hobby or interest. For me it has been Photography and gaming. In this case it is about gaming.

You see, last week Oblivion was launched. The 4th game in the elder scrolls and in the mean time I downloaded the 116 GB and got to play it for real. The initial setting was of course ‘old stuff’ the prison, the escape and the inability to protect the emperor from getting his throat slot (poor Sir Patrick Steward). As such we get to the outside world and my first achievement. From there I went straight to the Rockmilk Cave. I have played the game before, so to ‘hone’ my archery skills I go there as it is home to the black bow bandits and a warring party, as such plenty of things to pick up. And there I got my first glitch and first bug. Darn! No biggie, I merely got around it. The bug was that when you enter the cave, you go right down the cave where you also get the glitch, The bandits (all 4) go back and forth (a few steps) cry “Why won’t you die” and so it goes on. The archers on the right were easy, the ones on the left were the problem. There was an invisible wall preventing me to get to them and slaying them. I didn’t go any deeper at this time a little afraid the bug would become worse, but I got 50 arrows and a few black bows, so not a trip in trouble. Then I wandered around to see some spaces and two caves I never saw before (at least that is what I think). Then off to Chorrol and from there to Anvil where I joined the fighters guild. So I am now a journeyman in the fighters guild. And now I am about to meet the fighter guild master with the next mission. It is also an idea to try and get into the mages guild. I still need to kill an innocent to get into the Dark Brotherhood, but that is for tonight. All in all this all sparked a renewed crush on the game. And after 14 years in Skyrim, it is time to renew the settings I have loved for so long and this devotion needs to be recognised. You see, some will cry like a little wiener and shout bug. But it is merely one in a setting of over a hundred of hours and so far no bugs seen. A few glitches but they cannot spoil the fun I am having. Still I have now enough money to buy the waterfront dwelling, which is nice so I can offload the stuff I do not want to sell. 

The house in Anvil requires silver weapons because of the nasty ghosts and a stronger marksman skill to deal with the thing in the basement. And as we get further into the game, there are more missions and a larger need to get items from these Daedric princes. Not to mention the luscious Nocturnal and her Skeleton key (very nice for opening chests). 

I learned that the Peryte glitch still works, so that will get my fighting skills up in a quick jiffy, but I haven’t been there yet. Still the vibes going through me are unmatched. To play this game in a new coat is amazing and well worth the effort of spending coins to get them and downloading the game as well. I feel a little lost as Skyrim upgraded marksmanship in the game so I need to get higher in bow skills. But that doesn’t take the grin away from the massive boost to my ego as I largely still know where to mustard is. In that setting this game is not to be underestimated. And no matter that Skyrim is ‘better’ in some ways, this version revives the love I had for this game, I reckon that the bugs will be fixed at some time and that is cool, that first feeling of this game came raging in and settled in my soul (like a soul gem) pretty fast and very comfortably. 

It opened a new door as well. As I was looking at the RPG setting that I got for Eder Scrolls: Restoration and as such for a few other games (as Bethesda is now Microsoft) this setting in the last 24 hours gave me a few new considerations for RPG gaming. I still need to reflect on some, but I reckon that it will be in my big soon enough.

Have a great (gaming) day.

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April 23, 2025 · 21:08

Curse you to Oblivion

Yup, I went there. Well not really. I still have to buy the game and I was able to get half of it. Hopefully the other half in 3-4 days. You see, we are talking about The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion remastered. It was the reason I bought the Xbox360 in 2006 and I never regretted it. 

To be honest I spend over 1000 hours in that game (it might have been 2000), Together with Fallout 3, I have banked the better part of 5000 hours and they were wonderful. So when I got wind of a remastered version of Oblivion, I just leaped at the optional chance to get back into that game. So I got up this morning at 01:00 to see the YouTube video and it was marvelous. This version was made by Virtuos, a massive undertaking and a well made one (as far as I can tell). Like all RPG’s, I saw a far amount of glitches in this game. I am talking about glitches, not bugs. The glitches do not matter, the game is a wonderful result. I already saw that there were new looks and parts in the game that are actually new. The environment comes from Unreal engine 5, the voices are mostly the same, but it might have imagined this, but it seems that Sir Patrick Steward added a few dialogues to this and it is well received. 

The artwork has been preserved and is seen in a few places, giving it additional tone to the game. As I see it, you need to retrain yourself as this is not a Skyrim version, so there are differences. I think I saw the PC version, as such I will need to wait for the PS5 version (4 days and counting). There are two ‘issues’ at present. They aren’t really issues, but I need to call them something. The special edition in $99 (normal edition $85), with the hours I spend on the 2006 edition it will be well worth the money and the second one is that the download is 120GB, a little big, but with all the Unreal engine 5 stuff, understandably large. In addition is that this game has been upgraded for the PS5 pro, as such I reckon that this machine will give you additional sides I currently cannot see (I have the normal PS5). And as I see more of the game, I wonder where my memory went, as I do not recall a few issues I see now. 

There are several issues (not bad ones) that I get and it also shows that Virtuos didn’t blatantly copy stuff, they added massively making this more than a worry remaster. This is a clear labor of love, a statement I hadn’t expected to give after Hogwarts Legacy. S I watch the play through of MKIceAndFire I see so much familiarity, but so much new as well. I won’t give you the rundown on that as You need to see it for yourself, it is well worth the view and MKIceAndFire did a good job, although it views like he never played the game (which I sincerely doubt). 

And as I see at least three locations I haven’t seen in over a decade, my memory might be a little glitchy on the subject. No matter how that plays out, I feel my blood rise to the chance of the occasion and that sets the need to play this game again and get lost in the Cyrodiil. It was there that I initially designed the premise (of my) Elder Scrolls VI Restoration. It was set in part before Skyrim and the latter part was redesigned to play at a setting after Skyrim. I had set the story to not one by two provinces, namely Elsweyr and Valenwood. In the story that I designed I added Cyrodil and Skyrim where the area of Cyrodil was 900% the original size, so as the original game was 5 by 5 miles, the new setting was 15 by 15 miles and Skyrim was grown to fit exactly and that was the new stage, on this I added Elsweyr and Valenwood. The premise to allow added places (as some designers were truly amazing and that was a new setting in RPG gaming. A world like game that was a new setting in gaming. One we had never seen before, and that was the beginning. The game was set on a different stage. You see, I envisioned an impeding war between the magical and muggles (sorry JK). This isn’t a copy of the Skyrim setting. I set the premise that there is a massive distrust between the two all over the game. No one is ‘safe’, and that sets the start, but as I really like the replaying of RPG games, there is the setting that one side is revering the Nine as well as the magical settings (Valenwood) where most of the Elves, High Elves and other magical people are (they are still in other places all over Tamriel as well) and that is setting the larger setting we get to embrace. The other side are the tradies and commerce people that are muggles (sorry JK) and they do not care for the magical people. As you get to encase the game, you need to keep the distrust balanced (no spoiler), and lower the distrust between the two. So you get to set another path and at some point you will need to make a choice and that evolves the game. I made the call to exclude the shimmering isles (for other reasons). But in one way we get to set free the princes of Oblivion, we also need to ‘reconnect’ to the nine and as we get the distrust lower, we can give the tradies their own guilds as well and that is all possible no matter which side we chose. As the princes of Oblivion are set to their thrones again, magic in the land starts to reflourish again, which also lowers the distrust with the council of elves. The setting also sets limitations. As you reset the guilds (except the mages guild which is in the imperial city in Cyrodil) you get to chose. You can have one guild per province. So you need to chose between Skyrim, Valenwood and Elsweyr (Fighters Guild, Thieves Guild, and Dark Brotherhood). You can only create one in each province. And each choice has an impact. The fighters guild reduces the mount of bandits in that province, the Thieves guild reduces the wealth of merchants in that province and the dark brotherhood reduces the nobleman and high ranking soldiers in that province. As I saw it there are more impacts. Where you place them will also matter, but only in certain ways, the second setting is that if you find certain books, the places will be stronger and have certain improvements. There are 4 books, one for entry, one for sustenance, one for accommodations and one for defense. The books are a mere extra and are not essential, if you find the books later you can upgrade the guild later (but a lot more expensive). And you lower the distrust of the merchants you get to build New Kvatch. Here the books become adamant, there are 4 books of the gates. The wooden book, the book of Dwarves Metal, the book of Moonstone and the book of Ebony. They decide the gate of New Kvatch and also the general look of the city. And as the city is completed you will get your statue in the town square. The statue will be Stone, Bronze, Marble or Ebony, depending on the gate was. And as I see it, there is a real need for a photo mode at this point (which unlocks now). 

As I see this remastered game, the ideas that I initially had in 2009 and 2013 erupts in my mind. 

I also gad a few winks to the older games. The merchant guild is now lead by Savonarola  Frasoric (Savonarola after a Christian false prophet) and Frasoric after the former guild master of Bruma. And in this he is not evil, merely (largely) useless. 

The setting as I saw it in less than 48 hours was largely reconnected to as I come to the end of the movie one YouTube. I also saw initially the creation of the mages guild and restoration of the Necromancers, which will lower the view of Meridia has on you, but it will increase the view Namira has on you and as such there are additional missions in the game.

Another setting are the merchants missions, they usually give you resources for New Kvatch and workers, the more workers you have, the bigger and faster the city grows. The first comes from the books for the gates. They will mention quarries for the stones and after you ‘liberate’ these quarries you have unlocked that is where the workers will get the stones. The workers are set to Quarry, transport and masonry. As there are more people, more stones and quicker results in the building. You CANNOT upgrade the city, the book you enact (a specific action in the book) will decide the look of the city and as you decide the city is created. From then onwards you merely get to ‘guide’ by completing merchant missions and get the town build faster, but there is the rub, guiding the merchants non-stop will lower the trust level with the Center of Elves and the Mages guild. The game is about Balance, as most things, balance is everything. And as I set the necromancer side, additional missions were introduced also gives an other setting for the pirate cave under Anvil and that might still be an option, but you need to finish the necromancer missions. In that no undead will initially attack you, unless you attack them (and then, they all turn hostile). As I saw it, more ideas came to mind and as Bethesda became Microsoft, I used the ideas to fuel other RPG games. Well, the ideas came to mind again as I see the remastered version of Oblivion.

Skyrim gave me additional ideas and I reckon that whilst Bethesda is trying to figure out how to connect to High Rock, restoration could add that to the premise, but that is all up to Bethesda. At present I merely use whatever I had to emboss the other RPG games and let that not stop you (or me) from enjoying a remastered Oblivion, because at present that setting is partially overwhelming and I saw almost 2 hours of a game that will be hundreds of hours long. A job well done (as far as I can tell at present)

So get ready to lose a lot of free time and don’t forget to have a great day.

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April 17, 2025 · 21:32

As markets floats a new idea

I was reading up on how the markets were doing. Not that I really have any interest, but the actions of President Trump make it essential to keep notice. The larger setting is important and that kinda gave me an idea. So as Microsoft and Ubisoft are hunkering down on iterating the IP they have, I saw the beginning of another IP coming. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy with the remake of Oblivion. It was great IP, the reason why I bought the Xbox360 and a setting I enjoyed for over 3000 hours of gameplay. Once to do the story, the second time to find everything that was possible to find and I found plenty more and after that I played to get my character at 100% (100 in the properties and skills) I didn’t get there, but I got it to 90%+ it was harder then I thought, but it was fun while it lasted. As such Microsoft will get money from Oblivion and Fallout 3, they bought it, they are entitled to it. Bethesda created two massive blockbusters, so as I heard that we get Oblivion next week the first question I had was “Did they reprise the role by Sir Patrick Stewart?”

So back to the core of it all, I saw “The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 699.57 points, or 1.73%, closing at 39,669.39. The S&P 500 dropped 2.24% to end at 5,275.70, led down by the information technology sector. The Nasdaq Composite pulled back 3.07% to close at 16,307.16. The tech-heavy index ended the day about 19% off its closing high, sliding closer to bear market territory. Shares of Nvidia sank 6.9% after the chip giant said it will post a $5.5 billion quarterly charge related to exporting its H20 graphics processing units to China and other nations.” The loss is seemingly profound (I am not an economist), but I noticed something in the byline. You see, it is the part of “related to exporting its H20 graphics processing units to China and other nations”, so as Americans are so ‘elated’ with their AI, Nvidia moves its H20 graphics processing units to China and other nations. I reckon that is another slap for this in the foot shooting President. So as the tariffs come to a larger setting, how much more expensive will Nvidia solutions become?

As we continue to get the bad press of the tariffs, as we get more and more bad impacts on the American economies, like tourism, or the USA Today giving us allegations of insider trading (see yesterdays article) people are starting to wonder what the hell they elected in the first place. 

I, one the other hand had a really weird dream and the beginning of a new IP. In this dream I was in a dead town, it seemed to be in the regions of New Mexico. The town was empty,  stripped, and the place looked empty. The people were gone, anything of value was seemingly gone. Seemingly was the right description. I cane to a room filled with people. It was a workout room and it had about 20 people in there. As I came closer they were robots, looking exceedingly yummy in their workout outfits. The men were ribbed and handsome, the women well shaped and some marvel superhero dream of what women looked like, there was even a model looking like Gal Gadot in her wonder woman outfit, and yes, she was complete ;-), or was that ;-)… ? (Yes, that was a sexual reference) When I turned on the lights they started to move like in some exercise routine, the lights went on and then off a few seconds later. A few second later more the light turned on again, but now dimmed. The robots continued their exercise. I looked at them, but they didn’t look at me, they were simply empty glared. I walked on and I got to a desk with an elderly woman. She looked at me and bid me welcome. Was I interested in buying equipment, robots or merchandise. She did not have many merchandise she stared at me and told me “we do have your size” she looked at me awaiting an answer. I merely looked at her for a few seconds, she looked away and looked at her desk with a larger display pad where she wrote things down.

This is the setting I saw and I started to see the setting and I thought that the game Portal (by Rob Swigart) 1986 was a pretty unique setting and worthy of rebooting. I tried to do this in 2011, but three weeks later I got the boot from my boss, and no not because of this, I did this at home and I was planning to reboot the CBM Amiga original to set this to Flash, which would have been more then ample to do this. My plan crashed but the idea never did. So this is a setting where you are an alien who crash-land on the planet and in an attempt to learn where you are, you are the one in New Mexico and the robots might not seem intelligent but their programming is the continuation of the species on this planet. We now get to a Battlestar Galactica setting where the Cylons are the human remains and the game portal is setting up the game premise. Instead of the screen being the stage, the setting are that you open 12 locations (over time) and as you start in New Mexico, you are given more locations over time. The portals you open position you from location to location and as you learn more, you will interface the computers and other ways to a work desk near a portal. As the story evolves, you will interface these computers so that the workstations on any location will have all the information that the original location has. And as you find more and more computers and robots the story evolves. I think that whomever makes this story (and game) should involve Rob Swigart as it is his original IP, even reengineered, I would never steal the original idea. It is his IP that created whatever I had in mind. I merely put it in a 3D single player environment and added locations and as the game gets the 12 locations, you get to explore the location, you get additional requirements and you see a post nuclear era, the stories that are in the computer and the revelations outside of the computer. As such I created a new IP, one that sets the premise of finding explorable locations and investigate places.  

Not a bad day, got myself a new idea and Microsoft seemingly is merely predigesting old ideas. I don’t fault them this, Oblivion is one of the most appealing IP ideas that we have had in 20 years only surpassed by Skyrim which Bethesda launched 5 years later. So it is what I would have done initially as well. Just funny that I create a new idea that could be the next place that gamers seek (when they are not lusting over the Metroid Prime games and their upcoming Switch 2). 

So I feel pretty dandy, have a great day.

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March 21, 2025 · 15:00

A new gaming IP

This is merely my idea. It is not an attack or anything like that on AC Shadows. I ignored the game for now until I get a proper review (a review not made by a wannabe influencer). Ad this setting is important, because an influencer goes where the money is and that is likely blowing the flute that Ubisoft supplies along with the music. It is their right and they are backed against a corner, so I don’t blame them. But like those traders dealing $2 stock, it is likely that you end up with a bag with nothing, or at least you lose your $109 investment. As such I stay waiting. Yet, my mind does not wait, regardlessly it ploughs on. And the setting of a Ninja is interesting to my mind. When I think ninja games I still think of Tench Z, it was da bomb in the Xbox360 and at times I miss it. So what to do?

Well I have my own settings to consider. So I went to design a new game. This game plays in Korea in the ‘old’ days. In a stretch from Hwacheon-gun to Yanggu to Chando-yi to Hahoe-ri. A block that slices through both North and South Korea, in this the idea has given me the idea to tell the story of two brothers, they become opponents through ideology and it is important to differentiate in what is good and what is evil. It is merely a point of view. Both get rescued and and as they end up in opposite sides of the river both think the other brother is dead. In game 1 (yes my mind created more than one IP point) they both end up in a battle school, they both support their side and as they become better and better, their abilities and responsibilities grow. 

One side relies on stealth and range weapons, the other on intrusion and close by sentry killing. And such their abilities evolve differently, they don’t come to blow, but the new game gives you the other brother and you have one game and two complete stories. And as they are separated by geology, they also evolve different skills. The north will be in a mountain area with a lake, the other one in forests. They both have their own weapons and in total you get a range of weapons to play with. At the high points of the games you both get involved and as such you are part of building two fortresses. They are both unique and hand you different settings. There are elements that I discussed earlier when I initially created Elder Scrolls 6, Restoration. Not leaving created IP for duds, especially as Bethesda now is part of Microsoft. They can invent their own IP (and they have). And as the next Elder scrolls is not out until 2026 or later. I can do with my own designs whatever I think I want to do with it. The backdrop is that the early ninja’s are allegedly (I’m not an expert on the subject) from Korea (it is said that: Those roots are found in the “art of warfare” that began around 4000 B.C. in Indian culture, was passed to the Chinese mainland, and around the 6th century, passed through the Korean peninsula and crossed over to Japan) and I accept that as a stated fact. It also pays to keep it all fresh and not be another Japan story. In this setting we can see it all as new and by focussing on other weapons it will feel new too. There is at present a lack of real stealth games, so there is that too, especially as you dive into the oriental world. 

It was my thought that the stealth part is more about actual mission. The Art of war is set on 13 Chapters. As such we can in the first game (whether it is one brother or the other) set these 13 chapters in the first game (also educating the player), and a we build the fortress, we create a larger premise, because we need to engage the villages, the people and get the artisans. The lord of the region is always loaded and can pay for ‘anything’ and set that story to the larger premise. It is also a set that we can incorporate the Prince by Machiavelli in this. The second game we need to do things different to make the game greater and larger. One such book could be The Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan. It could set the narration to the lord of the second place and in that that ninja will do a lot of travel and as we already know the first game that ninja will be able to give support in different ways.

I am still ironing out the parts, but the setting was done in a few hours, so Microsoft, eat your heart out. I wanted to set the north south border, but there were too many political players involved, as such I merely saw one Korea and in the time of Koguryo, Paekche, Silla we have three regions, as such two were used and one might be for a sequel. This gives us the political setting we could frame the game to. 

So ever before I see AC Shadow, I will have created the making of another stealth game. So why does it take some years to get to this point? Well that is obvious, the graphics would take time, but that is a challenge for other IP creators. 

As such I will relax a little and keep the mind ploughing through the sides that are still a mystery to me at present.

Have a great gaming today.

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March 19, 2025 · 20:50

Ubisoft a shadow?

That is the setting. Of course the setting at this moment is that the NDA’s have expired and we get legions of ‘fans’ giving their view on the game. As I personally see it, I will wait until the real reviewers come out to play. As I see it there is a danger from Ubisoft. They lost 75% value and I stated this a few times, the last critical view was on July 7th, 2020 when I wrote ‘Death of the creed’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2020/07/07/death-of-the-creed/) There I stated “I see a game that is shoddy on several fronts, but I do realise that I was watching something that had not been released yet. However, the stage I saw is in line of what AC had become. Yes, it is a game, as was Odyssey, but when you realise that not one fort on the planet had thousands of arrows, their aim was not that great (especially as they cannot shoot things in the night that moves), we see a much larger lag in gaming and a lag in the AC series.” After that AC Mirage was released and that was a good game (I think it was) and I enjoyed every minute in that game. But the AC range has had its failures, or as I would prefer to call it, shoddy approaches towards the wrong setting. I know that is my view on the matter, and not everyone agrees and not all the ‘super glitches appear on every system (as far as I know), but there is a larger setting to wait until the real reviewers have had a go at that next game. I don’t mind buying a game, I mind spending my money the wrong way. And waiting for real reviewers is that first step.

I am not a negativity blaster, I merely want to see the real deal and wannabe influencers and Ubisoft approved reviewers will not get me there, not whilst Ubisoft is on the verge of bankruptcy (losing 75%-80% of stock value does that) and the news in other settings, like hearing news of buyout by Tencent and several other options. I mentioned this in ‘A repetitive bashing’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2021/03/28/a-repetitive-bashing/) where I stated “I also warned all last year that their next two products better be beyond good and Watchdogs: Legion was, the other (AC game) was not” we are now in a stage where apparently AC Shadow is likely to be the last straw they have. As I always stated “A game to appease everyone, is a game that pleases no one”, but that is merely my view. The fun part is that I created several gaming IP, so Ubisoft only had to take notice. That doesn’t mean that my views are better, but I created several original gaming IP’s and Ubisoft is merely flogging the same horse again and again. Perhaps they are out of ideas? 

So, what is the view on AC Shadow? I don’t have none at present. I will take a better stance when the real reviewers have had their look, as such I will know in a day or two if I will buy the next AC game. And there is no AC Harry within me. The games I loved were the First AC, AC2, AC Brotherhood, AC Black Flag (but I don’t consider that an AC game), AC Origin (my personal favorite) and AC Mirage. So will AC Shadow grace my gaming shelf? I will know no later than Sunday.

So you all have a nice rest and optionally run for the gaming shop in several hours (here it arrives in 11 hours). On the off chance that it will be a great game they will house the two game that were required, this will drive up the price of their Ubisoft IP and I saw articles (unproven) that implies that they are about to move certain IP into other ventures, it read like they are about to pull a Bad Bank setting, not unlike Credit Lyonnais (1994) if I remember correctly, there were more and what Ubisoft is doing is perfectly legal and accepted in the business world. As such there is nothing stopping them from doing so. 

How the rest of the month will go? Time will tell and most likely the real reviewers. Have a great day. And try to ignore the hard times we are introduced to news by digital dollar chasers.

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March 10, 2025 · 10:35

After 25 months

There was a need to address the losers at Wired (especially Jaina Grey) who ‘hid’ behind “The game is mid at best, and its real-world harms are impossible to ignore.” I got the game at day one and let week I decided to play it for the fourth time. This time it was up to create a Gryffindor character. I call him Peter Manticore. Of course most of the cut scenes remain the same and again I see that after 25 months the game never waned its magic. The game kept its addictiveness, If anything, it respawned the magic of the wizarding world. This time around my nice reward was the fourth time that I got towards the Jackdaw character and four times I got a adjusted character story. In this case headless nick came to the aid of the main character. As such I got the challenge in a missing heirloom of Olivander (Ravenclaw), a visit to Azkaban prison (Hufflepuff), the graveyard chase (Gryffindor) and Scrope’s assistance (Slytherin). A setting I always wanted in RPG games and Avalanche delivered. As Wired goes, the utter BS of a 10% rating is the folly of a lifetime. This game is ten times any game Ubisoft has delivered in the last 10 years, so there.

After 25 months there is the larger premise that this game still rocks. Yes, a lot of the puzzles are set and the conclusion is the same, so that is not against Avalanche, that is on us. You see, the premise that this game can entice any player is the setting of a lifetime. It is what real gamers love. And the setting of the surrounding Hogwarts is merely the icing on a delicious cake. I never had the limited edition (with the floating wand) and that doesn’t matter to me. I am a little miffed that the free download of a deserted village (PC only) but that is the price of a console. So, I hope that this part will be included in Hogwarts Legacy 2. Still there is a rather large desire (by a lot of people) that this will be placed in France, and I think it is due to the Ministry of Magic expansion in Universal Orlando (as well as the Newt Scamander movies, a true Hufflepuff he is). Whatever we get, the Harry Potter fans (that teenager from Gryffindor) will love it, no matter the setting they get. We are given from several sources that “Warner Bros. has confirmed that Hogwarts Legacy 2 is not only in development but is a top priority”, a statement for fans to live towards. I would speculate that there is a chance that WB is setting the stage not only for the game, but to see this added in the HP world in the opening in Abu Dhabi in 2026. As such the fans will get their Christmas present a little bigger than imagined, optionally with a bucket of cherries lined in that cake as well. But the last part is pure speculation from me.

The fact remains that the game sold over 30 million copies, at $69 per copy that makes a little over 2 billion. And after 25 months that number strikes true to the game makers. As such the wannabe triple A designers are frothing at the mouth to learn what they did wrong (Ubisoft), as such Avalanche software has the inside track to surpass everyone. Yes, the franchise is part of this and that is part of the charm. Millions of fans could suddenly walk through Hogwarts and watch the space as the movies never let them and that counts for something. 

As such my idea was to create a portal (thank you Universal), one that connect these two games. The older person gets to travel back to a younger self and complete the first game (if you only now have it), it would be a little extra stuffing to let Wired know that they had it wrong by 99.9% and consider that this never has been done before. Another reason to do just that. There is an additional idea, what if the first game sets the parameter for the second one? If you were a Hufflepuff student you would be alerted to Helen Thistlewood. As such the Hufflepuff student would get Helen Thistlewood as an ally. In other houses, she would become a dangerous adversary. It would only be fitting that the other houses would have a similar setting on another place with other characters. This too has never been done. 

There is nothing like the spark of inspiration to see what you are creatively be possible to enhance anything and this were my ideas and I happily offer them to Avalanche, free of charge (thank you Kenneth Branagh). It isn’t merely the spark. It is what that enables you to do. To that effect, I also wrote something on November 27th 2022, called ‘It starts with options’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/11/27/it-starts-with-options/) and that is something I can leave to Avalanche software (as well as JK Rowling) as well. The story is everything. This is particularly important to realize in RPG games. Creativity for enjoyment to the gaming community, a setting too much ignored be nearly all. I once stated to Ubisoft “A game that appeases everyone, is a game that pleases no one”, I still believe that to be true, especially in gaming. Ubisoft never heeded my words and on September 26th 2024 we were given “Ubisoft’s board of directors launches investigation into problems in the company” and I gave them my take 2 years earlier. As such I don’t expect a lot to be done. The fact that Avalanche showed them up with a game that blew whatever Ubisoft had to smithereens is enough ‘evidence’ as I see it. And my evidence? I still get a hooting fine time with a game I played three times before over the last 25 months. And it still gets to me. What is what I call a near perfect game and I rate the game 92%, a little higher than most and I accept that it is due to the fact that I am to some extent a HP fan. But the game this large and being this close to flawless takes a massive amount of love towards the game and the developers delivered on this. That is something that should be clear. 

Good games are becoming more and more a rarity. I believe it to be due to these game makers ‘relied’ on their Business Intelligence ‘assets’ and tried to appease their audience. Yet the truth is that true gamers are not privy or aligned with ‘influencers’ they like their quiet gaming world and they are for the most solo players. This game delivered and whilst others are so prone to appease gamers, they forget that their adversaries are creating sound chaos on everyone but them. The safest way is to ignore all of them and create the phonebook where the real fans are. (Not sure how to do that) but that is my take on the setting.

So whilst we wait for Hogwarts Legacy 2, I will enjoy my 4th play through of the first game. I reckon that this will keep me busy for another 50 gaming hours, especially as I know most of the challenges that are coming my way. That too is part of the RPG world, especially as we play the game more than once. 

Have a great day and try to enjoy a game, a book or a movie today.

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