Tag Archives: gaming

March 18, 2026 · 18:39

Adding the plus sign

It started the day before yesterday. I was looking at an image of a plague doctor, a back leather mask with it’s raven beak. I remember the scent of garlic in the beak, it was a clear image I was seeing. It caught on and my mind decided on the setting of the ‘plus’, not in the Game or New Game, but to set this plus on the NPC characters. OI would go as far as to ALL characters. As I see it, it has never been done before as I see it and there is a side that it could grow the game in its entirety. 

The trigger would be a ‘mundane’ and personalized object. An image, a piece of clothing or a tool and when you grab it you will get the image that you cannot let go of the object, it isn’t evil, but it seemed important. That would be the setting of the ability. To get to that stage you get to sleep. Sleep is the activator. You normally sleep for whatever time you need in a game, now it becomes the start of another part of the game. There you wake up in the body of whatever item you had, if you have more than one item, you will be assigned a random person. As that person you will have mundane tasks. As a farmer you will tend the fields, as a butcher you will tend the meat and carve animals, as a stone mason you will form bricks and so on. The setting is that you get to up the game from that point forward. The farmers as the game is will produce more and better crops, resulting in higher health for you and the NPC. The stonemasons will result in better houses (over time) and better settings of the homestead. These are the mere tread stones of the game. The stage that a better smith will make stronger weapons, more impactful weapons comes with this and more. The fact that an RPG has never set the strength to the NPC’s as a game is oddly ‘discouraged’ as I see it. But better settings is the evolving base of any game and in RPG games it is not ‘heralded’ as a ‘wanting’ prospect. But that is where RPG games need to go, they need to go into new terrain, added terrain and this is one way to get there. We all herald the creation of Horizons and Forbidden West is the current horizon for the RPG game to follow, but there will be more. I have no idea how Guerrilla does it, but they will. They have created two games in perpetuity that are RPG games of awesome quality and even as I didn’t like the end of it, I get that it was done, but what drove me was the fact that the first thing after the finale, I went on finding more. That is the making of a near perfect game. The near perfection of this RPG game gives clear desire to upgrade RPG games, make a more perfect game by setting the stage to new frontiers. It doesn’t matter whether it is Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Red Dead Redemption, Horizons, Mass Effect or Baldurs Gate. They all need an upgrade, although I am the first to admit that the niche that Mass Effect created is near perfect, it merely needs a better story and backdrop. But in all this, they never resorted to upgrade the NPC’s and that is the new frontier. I already added stories in the past to upgrade the game, but to set the stage to upgrade the NPC themselves does not seem to be considered. Why?

It was a natural escalation of any RPG game and this possibility was clearly possible from the stage of the PS4, now we have the PS5pro and the PS6 will be coming at some point, so to get to this point, we need to upgrade games as they stand. When we ignore the perfection of Guerrilla games, we see that the others need serious work. And why not? Bethesda created Skyrim 14 years ago, and for the most it still does the job. A game doing the job after 14 years is almost unheard of. Consider that in 1987 Leisure suit Larry was released by Sierra on line. And it was excellent gaming, but it faded within 5 years, newer versions were created and the storyline faded. It was the way things were, but were is yesterday what comes next is tomorrow and even as Guerrilla and Avalanche Software might rightfully feel safe at present, but there is space for more and whilst there is nothing wrong with these two games, the RPG gamer wants variety and someone will pick this up. Whilst Bioware is seemingly going on the same track, when its storyline disappoints, their stage will be set in an instance, not one they would hope for. We can assume that it is ‘all’ going according to plan, or we can push the boundary of gaming and as such several  evolutionary steps were suggested (by me) in 2024/2025. Now I am getting to the stage of advancing NPC adherence. There are plenty of tracks, but the the one they will use will remain a secret until they are ready to give us the Alpha version of their game. I honestly wonder if Bethesda will make the cut. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know where they are going and I have the greatest admiration of Skyrim, but where they are going no-one knows (unless you are part of the Bethesda higher echelon).

So all the others, the Indie developers, the newly wannabe’s? Where will they go? Follow in the tracks where the other games are, or will they seek out the new boundaries and create a game that creates a setting of long term playing and in this economy having a game that keeps you happy for over a year is the way to go. I reckon that soon we will see the merchandise cloth us in the setting we desire, I reckon that 2027 will be all about that and as the money becomes more and more stringent of out money, we will need an escape and gaming is a justified escape. That is the setting I see and I also see that gaming will give release to the people. Nintendo does it the way it does (they always do) but the setting of Sony (PC and streaming decks too) will need a game that they can enjoy not for a hundred hours, but for a thousand hours. Development firms don’t want to do this, but they have to. Consider that the price of oil now is $101–$102 per barrel, it was $55 a month ago and it will go down again I reckon, but in the meantime all costs are going up and they will for some time, so take that into consideration when the costs are rising, jobs are fading and costs of living are exceeding what people find comfortable. They need an escape and gaming is one direction that is open to all. Not everyone needs that escape, but the amount of people that need that escape is rising and it is rising fearfully fast. And as we look at the options, we see a mere 100 hour escape, now consider an RPG game that holds a 1000 hour trip. This is the direction I see and there is a much larger population that is ‘demanding’ the escape route of gaming. I reckon that Microsoft had this in mind all along and like the setting set by Don Mattrick with his disastrous statement “Fortunately we have a product for people who aren’t able to get some form of connectivity, it’s called Xbox 360” he called the play too soon and also in the wrong way, now as Microsoft is a fading setting, the others need to be cautious and consider long term playing. Because the setting for 3 100 hours games might seem nice, the setting of that one 1000 game will hold a much larger population and that is the stuff of legends. I reckon that Bethesda is still in the running, but others can joint that setting too and I am kinda hoping they will. The RPG range needs enlargement and that is the drive we need to face and we might want to try other sides on RPG that will be offered and perhaps you will enjoy a change of taste (without forsaking the other games). Yet taking all the elements I wrote about in stride and giving it a face in these RPG games, we will see a new generations of gamers and a new generation of play.

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February 26, 2026 · 14:54

Just for the fun though

There is a new player in town and they are ‘ALL’ banking on the success of it. I remain skeptical because I gave the setting of its success over three years ago (in this blog no less), which would also have given an upgrade to malls and several other places. All due to a set of glasses. Now as I see the ‘pushed’ importance by wannabe influencers who are all on their ‘critique’ setting, I have to warn Apple, lead by Timmy the Cook in my usual way by gifting him with a gaming idea. One I thought of on the spot. And it comes with a setting that might work (still doubting that). You see the setting of Pokemon go where you frantically move your mobile phone in every direction to capture them all. The setting might be ‘transferred’ to the glasses where the image is shown on the glasses where you focus on the creature and you simple whisper ‘capture’ and the creature is transferred to your mobile where the capture event starts. And the fun part this setting could be used to capture Fantastic beasts (Harry Potter) and a whole range of other targets, like Droids for a futuristic setting and so on. So that engine could be fueling close to half a dozen games. 

There would be a setting where it might be possible to include an app on the Apple Watch to give signal when you are close to a capture target to optionally become a radar if it is possible to set the Apple Watch to a radar alerter (if that is possible) but as the Apple Glasses are supposed to get to the audience in 2027 it is important to get started NOW. Just for reference I believe that the absence of entertainment apps might be a larger reason why Apple Vision failed. And you might have your own reasons for not doing something but two billion gamers cannot be wrong. And as the Pokemon Go is owned by Niantic, Inc. Apple should talk to them now, not when it is too late and Niantic might come up with an upgraded setting to include Pokemon, Harry Potter/Fantastic beasts, even options lie Star Trek or Star Wars where you are a temporal agent trying to capture convicts. The idea tends to be the same but it is set in ‘that’ atmosphere.

And in this same I used the village of Sydney (no idea why) and I placed two worlds there the alphabet gives one and the numbers give the other and it is all managed by one setting. I reckon that Apple now gets the idea on what they need to do and they might think that it is not serious enough, but Niantic has used the idea as Pokémon GO has generated over $8 billion in lifetime revenue since its 2016 launch, consistently earning around $1 billion annually. So when was the last time any company walked away from a billion dollar plus? And that was merely Pokemon’s, now add the other worlds and perhaps create a few more and what is possible then?

Just an idea, I leave it to Timmy the Cook to wake up and watch the others capture the idea because pole is not alone in this field and Niantic could set this to an Android/Google setting and a iOS/Apple setting, they can capture both worlds, so where does that leave Meta? Not sure and I actually don’t care. I gave this wake up call to Timmy the Cook.

So you all have a great day and those game designers who want to ‘capture’ their game to the glasses, good luck. There is nothing more magical then trodding in new waters. And if your game can live there, it is all up to you.

Time for the munchies now, I’m hungry.

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February 25, 2026 · 00:55

The old premise

That is what I am confronted with. I saw several articles regarding Ubisoft including one (that is not part of this discussion) about a person who opened critique about an RTO (Return to Office) setting and was fired. Not sure if one validates the other, but there you have it, as I see it Ubisoft is in serious danger, which is after I basically handed them IP making them up to a speculated billion is rather weird. But there you have it, Ubisoft is in not yet in peril but it feels like it.

The first article comes from Tech Power Up (at https://www.techpowerup.com/346598/ubisoft-ceo-spills-beans-about-2-far-cry-projects-several-assassins-creed-games-both-multi-and-single-player) and gives us ‘Ubisoft CEO Spills Beans About 2 Far Cry Projects, “Several” Assassin’s Creed Games, Both Multi- and Single-Player’ where we see “Similar is true for the Far Cry franchise, in that Ubisoft currently has two Far Cry projects in development, although Guillemot declined to specify any further on what those projects were. One of the upcoming Assassin’s Creed projects is almost certainly the much-rumored Assassin’s Creed Black Flag remake that is slated to launch sometime in 2026.” So whilst we are given “This interview and the promises of new Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed games comes the same week as Ubisoft confirmed a round of layoffs at its Toronto studio as part of its heavily criticized company-wide restructuring and cost-savings plan that will likely see up to 18% of the company laid off in order to save €200 million in five years.” Well, that is the setting and whilst we can all argue the validity of actions, it comes across as being mere Monday quarterbacks. I merely handed them up to a billion in IP and let it go from there (of course I would never deny myself a very nice bonus, but that requires evidence and I don’t have that and should they consider my thoughts, the evidence of it are on my blog. But as it seems, Ubisoft has a credit rating issue and usually it is found by cutting costs. There is a second setting which you saw above. It is see in “2 Far Cry Projects, “Several” Assassin’s Creed Games, Both Multi- and Single-Player’” You see, when you try to appease everyone, you merely ending up pleasing no one. So to illustrate that we get to the next article. It is seen in the adjusted title ‘Ubisoft has ‘multiple’ new Assassin’s Creed games in development’, which is seen (at https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/ubisoft-has-multiple-new-assassins-creed-and-far-cry-games-in-development/) where we see “Ubisoft has been attempting to branch out its biggest franchises into the multiplayer realm for more than a decade at this point but so far, nothing in the Assassin’s Creed or Far Cry universes has managed to stick the landing. However, this week in an interview with Variety, Ubisoft CEO, Yves Guillemot, has confirmed that more attempts are in the works, alongside the usual single-player games.” And when you consider that €200 million is cut, the setting of “more attempts are in the works” as well as “been attempting to branch out for more than a decade” (adjusted) the premise becomes a little stale. When you try to appease everyone, you merely please no one. And it has been tried in several ways before. Sections of prince of Persia added to AC 2, and for some parts it makes sense, but the setting that someone has that feeling that “it feels like I am playing game X” becomes a disappointing feeling and that is the setting that Ubisoft keeps on believing in. It is almost that some spreadsheet BI people are looking at the results of 4 projects and contain the most lucrative parts in game 5, a setting that as far as I am concerned never ever works. A game is a story, a story you play and that is why Far Cry 3 was such a success. It is why AC brotherhood worked. And by the way, the Black Sail was decent, but it was no AC game. It was merely the only game on release date of the PS4 that was outstanding (in its own right) and that part of the metric is likely overlooked. So when I see “the Assassin’s Creed games in development are said to include the Black Flag remake” I wonder why, doesn’t that PS4 game play on the PS5? I actually never tried it as I finished that on my PS4 ages ago. Beyond that, the idea of running after a sea shanty was not my idea of fun, to much like some Prince of Persia parkour. I get that you might ‘find’ these sea shanties and that was fine, but running through the trees passed the guards (who will chase you) is just utter BS. Still the game had highlights and a few nice surprises, it was not a bad game, far from that, I merely never saw it as an AC game. But that might merely be me.

To be honest, after Origins I left AC alone and I tried Mirage later (which was awesome). And there is some interesting in Hexe, but there are mentions of restrictions. It is not an open world. I am in dub there, because it could still be a really good game, time will tell.

And there is one other side that Ubisoft is seemingly forgetting. These lay offs could become a new competitor and create hidden traps to what they are trying to achieve. It is the trap of creative corporations. It takes one ignored person to be discharged and when that person creates new IP, Ubisoft is out of that part of the game. That is merely how I see it. 

Have a great day.

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February 7, 2026 · 23:45

Where is the edge?

That was where I was, I had no idea what to write about for the first time in 11 years, but fortunately the BBC helped me out in two occasions. The first one (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkrkd2xlx6o) gives us ‘YouTube’s $60bn revenue revealed amid paid subscriber push’, which his not surprising. The people who initially turned down that offer must befitting themselves over the head with this. So when we see “The figure, which totals the money generated through advertising on YouTube as well as paid subscriptions, far surpasses streaming rival Netflix’s $45bn revenue. It appears to be the first time Google has individually highlighted its video platform’s yearly revenue since acquiring it in 2006.” I reckon that all these data centres require Google (aka Alphabet) to show that they are doing well in regards to other expenses. So when we see ““YouTube is one of – if not the – most-used of all digital offerings, with over 70% of international consumers using it weekly, and over 50% using it daily,” she told the BBC, citing Midia consumer survey data. Kahlert said the different ways the platform makes money – such as through adverts, or charging a monthly subscription to remove them – means it can “capitalise well” on its large audience.” And I reckon it is a way to thwart Netflix with “Netflix has recently sought to ink deals with content creators, including popular YouTubers, in an effort to boost its own offerings.” I reckon that a company getting 33% more revenue than their competition is a decent way to thwart that setting. But what am I thinking? You see, there is more in play here and I reckon that Google will let us now that as soon as they are ready. Perhaps they might be considering the stage I gave with Augmented Reality in malls. You see, malls need an overhaul and rather quick. The eyes of the consumers are too adjusted to malls and at present one mall is as good as another (with the exception of Harrods and the Dubai Mall I think) but outside of these two, they are nearly all the same and an overhaul is required. I think that there is a new level of revenue coming from that, but what do I know?

I think that the optional damage that Netflix might bring and the Data Centre setting is reason why we now see YouTube revenue and that also brings a decent danger, because stable isn’t sexy and the revenue require an annual boost, but how? That is the setting when you make $60,000,000,000 per year and when you consider that this is $500M per month and when that falls down with an expected quarter not being reached, the game changes and that might have been the reason why Google never gave that number, so either Google is stretched too think with the Data Centres, or Netflix is making headway into YouTube content creator. I don’t know which one and it might be both to some degree. 

What is a given is that Google needs to look into new areas of advertising and digital awareness creation. I gave then (via my blog) more than one solution for over two years, so it is up to them to pick up that ball. Pretty simple, not?

But there is more to consider, you see Nintendo just announced (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckglk543x3go) that ‘Nintendo Switch becomes gaming giant’s best-selling console in history’ with “The Switch is now the best-selling Nintendo console in history, having surpassed 155 million sales since it launched in 2017.” As such, Nintendo is just short 5 million from the Sony achievement and Sony had 25 years to get here, Nintendo did it in only 8, so it is a given that the Switch will break the PS2. That is not a bad thing for the PS2, it was surpassed by the PS3, PS4 and PS5. It had its day, for me it was more important to see Microsoft fall down to a lousy third place with nowhere near the numbers Nintendo or Sony had to give ad I am still ager to dwindle it down to 4th position, but that requires a few people to move their asses in gear. And with Tencent, the chances are that Microsoft will end up in 5th place. They would be the worthy winner of the wooden spoon (I have a nasty sense of humor).

But this could also drive Googles ‘revenue’, or at least a more global awareness. You see, what I saw as a Sony setting (which they never pushed for) is now up to Google. The option for your Google account to link a secondary account, a gaming account where the gamer decides whether they are openly linked or not. With the secondary account that gives the goods on your gaming settings to an account site and connecting with your friends there so that you have complete communications with them (or not) and show off your achievements in that page and it could connect to all your consoles, so you get a Nintendo account, A Sony account ad a streaming account. (Amazon Luna, Tencent) so now you have your abilities online too, and it is one directional, from the console TOWARDS the account. The same account, but a distinguisher whether it is Nintendo (1), Sony (2), or Streaming (3). And you can set a singular connect (Sony people only see your Sony dealings) and you can add the other accounts to that, with the stage that they are connected over all the devices or not. This gives Google a large benefit towards gaming advertisement and so on. And as Google gets more and more data, the gaming setting becomes more and more important. But it should be left to the gamer if they want that connection open or not. No matter what is done, Google wins and so do the gamers. Because the gamer is central in this. I am weirded out that Google seemingly never considered that, especially as they left billions on the floor with the Google Stadia. But that isn’t really my concern.

What does matter that with the publication of the YouTube revenue, more players will come because they want to capture their grains for greedy purposes. I am considering that like the revenue display, the advertisement revenue and gaming revenue will enable this isn advertisement too much, It is becoming a behemoth of revenue and these ‘princes’ of advertisement (lets call them Mad Men Wannabe’s) are too willing to strike into anything that they can exploit, but that might be merely my distrustful personality. So you all have a great day today. I am melting in the evening with 30 degrees and no relief for me in sight until 06:00.

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January 28, 2026 · 11:13

As the gaming sense enters

That was the setting I faced yesterday. I ‘suddenly’ had an idea for gaming IP. This setting was for Sony, Nintendo and the streamers Amazon and Tencent. The idea is to separate the parts of a game. The story, the stage and the character. It can to me as I was watching Battle of the 5 armies and that gave me an idea. The Lord of the rings gave me the settings of Osgiliath, Minas Tirith, Helm’s Deep, Lake Town, Dale, Mines of Moria but also Acre, Antioch, Jerusalem, Plassey, Buxar but also more ‘modern’ wars like the the war in Leiden and Rotterdam these are mere stages, but the characters are the ones you define from some of the lord of the Rings characters (based on, not characters as is). During the movie my mind went into the setting what an one man do? So you could be stealth based like a ranger (or elf) a close quarter knight like templar or saracen, German or Dutch resistance. The idea is that these settings are separate, even though they can net er ‘bleed’ into other areas. So, the first character is YOUR choice. LOTR, Crusades or WW2 and you select warrior or ranger and that is your first setting, when you get to a higher level (3 or 5) you get the option to get to an exit and ave your upgraded character. At which point time you get the other character in one of the other levels (or your first choice was an LOTR character you will be able to select the Crusader/Saracen or German/Dutch resistance) and you will ALWAYS get the other type, so if you selected stealth based in the first instance you will be forced to select the warrior in the other timeframe, but you get to select the timeframe. 

It force a more open setting and after that you get to select the next iteration. Whilst the safe will give you more health, a passive attribute and more weapon abilities. The control are slightly based on For Honor. It was not my choice, but it was a whole lot better then what we had before, but the sticks are for the left and right arms, and this will enable more agility for left handed players, whilst  the adaptive trigger is the action for that arm and movement are done via the buttons (triangle, Square, Circle and cross) and their Nintendo equivalents. It will through over the world of the button masher and beyond that I haven’t worked out all the knacks that this brings but I reckon that the left directions are for abilities/tools and the shoulder buttons will have another function.

So as we set these worlds there are more settings to come, but the variable worlds gave me the idea to have some kind of story which only opens up after you enter the second world the it will become enabled and that I got from:

It seems that this might open up other settings too, and whilst you are trying to find things in the worlds you are visiting, it might give a clue towards your goals. You see, the goals that are always tied to your mini-map are merely traverse points whilst the setting becomes the joy of where you are (an RPG quirk I guess). But that setting will be another level of acceptance and whilst this game could start small (merely three maps) a startup company could add the other maps over time (like three maps per month) And the setting of the character you ‘envision’ yourself as might be another setting entirely. I have some ideas about the story but I will not put them here now. And as I set out the game possibilities in under two days I feel pretty proud of myself. It beats having to read the BS the media gives us on what President Trump is up to now and whilst I do not agree with the setting that Secretary general Mark Rutte is giving the world and he might just be ‘appeasing’ president Trump, but as far as I can tell, NATO is pretty much ready for whatever non nuclear solution Russia is pushing down their throats, but that might be merely the delusion I am seeing. Still when I see the Danish parliament howling with laughter on what President Trump was sending them, I feel pretty much correct on my sentiments. It is also the first time a foreign government is howling with laughter on what any president of the United States is offering them, so it is not merely me who is seeing him as a joke.

Still, the creation of new gaming IP is more value by me and as such I got to this and setting this game in a 4K setting makes it ready for Sony, Nintendo (Switch 2) and streaming solutions. The idea I had with the 4 ‘time frames’ Tolkien, Crusades, British India and WW2 is important to the story of the game, but not essential. Optional a 5th setting which gives us Khartoum and Battle of Rorke’s Drift, Falkland Islands, Invasion of Darfur and at least two more are needed but that is a matter of a later day. Consider that these settings could be played almost anytime (when all regions are unlocked) it feeds the gaming need when people can play the battle of Dale or Osgiliath after they watch the movie. It is a strange presence all gamers have and I reckon that this approach might be the next setting in gaming because when the characters are ironed out, including a WW2 character with the wars in Iraq or Yemen would be relatively easy as the architecture would allow additional maps. A game that feeds the next war in the setting of gaming is one that has not been considered before (as far as I can tell) and it allows for a stronger presence on these platforms, all whilst whomever does it for the Switch 2 might gain 10 million fans overnight, but that is a worry for the maker not for me.

Have a great day as I am relaxing now with some ice water as it is 28 degrees now and 31 degrees in my living room.

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January 25, 2026 · 14:37

A sense of self

That is at times the setting and we accept that, but have we ever truly set that in gaming? There are examples. There is The Talisman by Peter Straub (Stephen King too), there are numerous other examples and I even wrote that setting in a previous blog, a basic setting that is. So consider an altered example. The image below

Shows 13 areas, the middle gives us the start. Now consider the setting that the start region is WatchDogs 3 Legion, it gives access to 4 other regions, they are in the background. Now one of these regions is AC 2 (AC Brotherhood) and that gives access to Areas 1,2,4 or 2,3,6 or 4,7,8 or 6,8,9 and so on. The object is to create a giant puzzle and the setting is to give each regions it own set of rules. So whilst I am looking at the series Caprica, we can see how the alternate reality gives a more docile or less docile setting whilst ‘throwing’ concepts like gravity, time, behaviour and classifications of people and of positions are thrown into the mix to be altered in each region. As I see it, the goal is to set a more distorted sense of self. That is the one side that gaming never explored. But the stage where we all throw it into the wind remains seemingly untouched, all whilst devices like the Meta Quest 3 could open that up to a much larger extent. We tend to reflect on what WE are, but not on how we manipulate ourselves. We play RPG, Minecraft all whilst Ernest Cline in Ready Player One opened a larger stage as early as 2011, now that we have much better technology, no one seems to be heading that way. It is not about the VR setting, it is how we see ourselves that is not addressed in gaming to any real setting. (OK, the real is debatable). And that setting is overlooked time after time again and as I see it, there has been 15 years of technology and no one thought of that approach to give the gamer the ride of their lives? When we consider a cross mix of technologies, the setting to hand the setting over a larger place is also overlooked. You see with the Meta Quest 3 there is the setting of streaming consoles and an ability to set both gaming realities in some kind of overlap would help. I reckon that the last time that this was done to ‘some’ extend was the game System Shock, but actually to set these linked technologies to real technological puzzles is missing. That same setting is partially seen in a game named Portal (Rob Swigart, 1986) and it seems that no one ever. Considered the next step in what makers like that would have seen impossible in their time, but now this option is ready to be explored. I actually placed a story here somewhere where I addressed that setting (too tired to find it now as it is 100F at the moment) So whilst we all go for the ‘cosmetic’ in today’s gaming, the larger setting is to take a leap and make some changes actual and yes there is a drawback to program to the Meta Quest 3, but I already handed several setting where the device would be an actual asset and it sets the setting to much more intensity when we alter that perception, and I for one think that the visor with a streaming solution like Amazon Luna or the TGP (Tencent Gaming Platform) Box. I reckon whomever get in first will get the larger following and I recon that It also pays (for me at least) to let this evolve with the console setting I saw over the last three years. I reckon that there are 50 million consumers just for starters who will embrace this and that would be merely phase one. In the later phase I have no idea where it will end but 100-150 million consoles in not out of the realm of possibilities and after that I get hesitant. I would love to be the one guy who get this to 200 million plus, but I am hesitant to get overly ‘confident’ I am certain it will work, but to see the one solution that Google and Amazon can’t see makes my confidence shaky to say the least. At least I got to imagine another Gaming IP even if it is based on other settings, but that is merely cosmetic in some form. Whoever designs the new IP will have a strong sense of achievement and here I reckon that Ubisoft has the inner track and after they just sacked dozens of people all over the world, they might be thinking on what to do next. Well, they need to not look further at present.

So have a great day and as I am melting like the wicked with of the witch of the west in this heat, I will take the slow lazy setting to avoid heat getting to me.

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January 20, 2026 · 11:11

The wrongly seen direction

That is at times a question and at times a statement. Now consider your PlayStation (or Nintendo) and I think that Nintendo has a small advantage here. So consider a business setting (for the exercise) There is a given that “Project statistics involve analyzing data related to project performance (like budget, timeline, scope) and project management success rates, with common metrics including cost performance, progress, and stakeholder satisfaction, while tools like R help in complex analysis for academic or business research. Key figures show many successful projects usually have strong sponsors.” So consider this towards the upcoming PS6, isn’t it time to give the users that ability to see where they spend their times on? Like Nintendo with a calendar and a setting where you can see app use per user (so you can have a guest account for others if needed) and a setting where you see usage of apps like YouTube, Netflix and others, whilst also seeing games and now it gives a timeline optionally per game or per gaming house, per gaming style. I am certain that some are already doing it for themself but as I see it, it has never been offered to the users. Consider that ‘your’ online shop like Nintendo or Sony Store could crush those numbers and say ‘Hey, you spend a lot of time in this style of game and these games are now in the budget range’ this is not always a welcome setting but for a lot who have to mind their pennies, the setting of a similar game like the one you love to play is a welcome sight to your wallet. The other setting is that you could export your statistics on a game, or on anything to your memory stick and then spread it to your online presence. It is a small setting that I have no seen on the PS3, PS4, PS4pro or PS5. I think that this is an almost mandatory next step, especially as the gamers in the world will have a better understanding if the optional benefits of Business Intelligence when applied to whatever matters to them the most.

The benefits are that most data is already captured for the gamers, optionally per game, so there is not much reengineering required. The calendar is a welcome addition and game makers can add (as per request of the gamer) the upcoming release dates for games they are announcing and that will be in the interest of most gamers. Now consider that the use of Achievements and other setting can now be set outside of the games they are chasing and for that there are many consideration to be made. For Sony this would also give a new handle of appealing to players on a global setting. Because let’s face it, they are driven to success and to see where that success is captured is as essential for Sony (Nintendo too) as it is for the gamers. You can ‘hide’ behind the hours played on for example, Hogwarts Legacy and it goes beyond the 150,000 hours played in weeks x, The idea that we have 15,000 gamers who spend 1-2 hours on it (still an important metric) but it is the rest of the 120,000 hours played by 600 gamers in week x, that is where the real treasure lies and offering that to the gamers has benefits beyond measure. Optionally it could be linked to cosmetic rewards like a ‘house’ outfit that Avalanche could spread like the one Colin Farrell had in Fantastic beasts. Optionally with the house colour replacing the white.

And for the lady players there is a nice dress that Queenie Goldstein had, it is merely an idea, but you get the picture. 

There is a boatload of ideas coming from that area and I reckon that most game studios already have that in mind. Epic Games in their Fortnite has spewed close to hundreds of ideas in the time they have been active and gamers love unique rewards. I reckon Epic Games have a truckload of examples there, so why not use that setting to promote the PS6 and Sony’s drive to success. With Microsoft out of the running (as I see it) Sony needs to up the ante to keep up with Nintendo, because that is becoming the issue that is next. Because as I see it, gaming is warfare and Nintendo is showing to be just as equal as the one and only Sony and there is the thought that they are already lacking in that respect. We always saw the fight between Microsoft and Sony as the one that mattered and Nintendo won that a few years ago and the Switch 2 is merely adding to the distance it is gaining, as such it is time for Sony to move towards a better position in that race, because running by yourself without a real opponent is nothing to smile at, it merely makes you go contempt in your race whilst others are passing you by. As such we need to consider that Nintendo Switch sales with exceeding 154 million units globally, making it one of the best-selling consoles ever. Surpassing anything Sony has had in the mix and as I see it, Microsoft being a distant fourth in that equation. But for Sony there is a need to being better and they can do it, as such I see the metrics to be added to the fold will give the gamer a much better understanding on where he spends his (or her) time and the goes a long way towards promoting their shop and their titles. 

Have a great day today and never stop gaming.

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January 8, 2026 · 20:37

Our lull moments

That happens, we all crave it, the option of bliss, inactivity, moments of calmness and we find it in different ways. I for one have this with a video game. Not some edge of seat Epic setting, but the Horizon setting, Skyrim, Oblivion, fall out, the list goes on. And yesterday I saw a list of two dozen games coming to the PS5 and some woke me up. There was off course Wolverine by Insomniac. I will be waiting for that one, but at that point one game turned up that I never expected The game STYX has as far as I know been a Xbox game and it is a excellent game, Stealth of the better variety. And you better rely on stealth as you are a 4’ goblin with his trusty knife. What drove me to this game that any level had several solution to solving it and you got points for completing other ways. It was a lovely time. Now its coming to Sony Playstation and we can rejoice. More important there are a few other settings we could consider. One of them is RYSE, son of Rome. The good parts is that the graphics were really good and the storyline was amazing. The two downsides were in the first was that all combat is massively repetitive. And the second one was that you had too defeat several bosses twice, after the first time he completely reset his health bar. I don’t like this, but that might just be me. So as I see it, when you redo the battle setting of Marius Titus you might have an amazing Playstation winner. So when we consider the funny part, who thought that Frankfurt had more to offer than Frankfurters? Crytek GmbH might be the next great thing coming from Germany, go that is an exaggeration, but the truth is that RYSE might have dies too soon and too small a death, so whilst some might object as it was released 12 years ago, I say ‘be still’ good games overcome systems and generations (example Mass Effect and Oblivion) and those are merely two who made the system generation jump. I think that Ryse could do the same (if the two weaknesses are dealt with) As far as I see it, everyone is looking at what might be (I do that too at times) but at times I look behind me what we left and there is plenty to be had in that direction too. I gave some of this ‘life’ in an IP solution I offered to Saudi Arabia and I still believe it can work, not merely for the games, but for the two sides of that equation that could propels Saudi Arabia’s gaming and other settings a lot further. Don’t be miffed Amazon got the same option, but they decided to ignore this whilst they are banking on AI (good luck with that).

So whilst we were given ‘Amazon Pulls AI-Powered Fallout Recap After Getting Key Story Details Wrong’ which comes with “According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Amazon is betting AI can identify key plot points for a series to be synchronized with a voiceover narration and dialogue snippets.”” Apart from the settings that are incorrect and incomplete. Amazon needs to realise that this is all programmed and the programmer might not see what needs validating and verification. They might not know, but the fans will pick up on this instantly. And Engadget gives us ‘Amazon’s AI-generated recap tool didn’t watch Fallout very closely’ this relates to games, because when these people get the AI part ‘working’ they will go over games in that same way and that is where the blunders start adding up to the folly of people who blindly believe in AI. Because I mentioned once that 2026 will be the setting of AI court cases and I was proven (yet) again correct as we are given ‘CanLII and Caseway AI reportedly moving towards settlement in copyright dispute’ as well as TechCrunch given us 8 hours ago ‘Google and Character.AI negotiate first major settlements in teen chatbot death cases’ merely two cases in the second week on January. So, how many more will follow? Only seven hours ago we were given ‘Musk lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion can head to trial, US judge says’ and all this relates to games, because last November we were given ‘Ubisoft Reveals Teammates – An AI Experiment to Change the Game’ and I reckon it will merely take one slip up to thwart the statistics of a player and he will be crying in the lap of some ambulance chaser. A setting I saw coming a mile away which a few people have experienced if they are stealth players. 

As such my lull moment gets blown away with some AI character, team mate or not. But that might merely be me, but what Ido remember was call on this setting months ago and now we see two being settled, whilst OpenAI is now entering the dock for what might cost them a pretty penny. Did those shareholders consider that this might become the destination of their investment?

Have a great day.

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December 28, 2025 · 14:13

Are doornails really dead?

I got a nice surprise today. I got a story (at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/2025-was-the-year-xbox-died-130000467.html), the only inaccuracy I think is that the contraption was dead already, for about 2 years. So I got to wonder. What happened to:

Mojang studios (Mincecraft) $ 2.5 billion
ZeniMax Media, Bethesda $ 7.5 billion
Activision/Blizzard $68.7 billion

Which gives us $78.7 Billion and it shouldn’t be allowed to go into a bad bank, that interest is still due. The last purchase was only completed in October 2023. So what happens, sell it to Saudi Arabia? The interest (said to be around 5%) implies that Microsoft is still meant to pay $3.935 billion interest on an annual basis and there is no way it gets to be reflected away, although I might advise Saudi Arabia in particularly Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi that he should not offer a Halala over $50 billion for the entire package. I don’t think Microsoft is allowed any leeway for their intentional stupidity. That being said, they bought Mojang studios in 2014 and they did mighty fine work on their Minecraft product, including the PS5 (which still needs the PS4 disc), but that is small fry. The result is truly amazing and the fact that it is still one of the most popular games on any console is due to the Microsoft teams and credit where credit is due I say. Still, as the optional spokesperson for Saudi Commerce, I think it is essential that the Saudi Fleet of airplanes need to be give to all its Microsoft 2024 Flight Simulator players free of charge the fleet of planes that are part of the Saudia airlines, which consists of Airbus A320-200, Airbus A330-300, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 787-9 and Boeing 787-10, as well as include the King Abdulaziz International Airport (Jeddah) and the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh in the base setting of the Flight Simulator 2024. I think that Saudi Arabia is due some VIP treatment if Microsoft wants to flog away their failures. I think that Saudi Arabia is due that privilege. 

I think if you want the grease the wheels of commerce, you better take out your best effort, but that is merely me speaking. This all started in 2013 when they upset the gaming industry, by thinking they could strong-arm gamers towards the Xbox, whilst they never actually understood gamers (I point to the Don Mattrick, the former president of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business, widely remembered for controversial stupid statement of “Fortunately we have a product for people who aren’t able to get some form of connectivity, it’s called Xbox 360”) my response was ‘Fuck you Mattrick” and I placed a handful of gaming IP on my blogs for anyone not Microsoft. That’s how I react and these people are still welcome too all that, especially as the Xbox is now dead on arrival, a proper vivisectioned console at your local morgue. So whilst the article gives you “Xbox didn’t enter 2025 in a great state, and it’s leaving the year grasping for help, like an Arc Raider player desperate for a revival after being knocked out. Microsoft cancelled the Perfect Dark reboot and Everwild, two of the most interesting games in its weak upcoming slate. The company brought titles like Forza Horizon 5 over to the PlayStation 5, which prompted Engadget Deputy Editor Nathan Ingraham to declare he no longer needed an Xbox.” He never needed one and I did mine away years ago, it was just a dust collection setting and I merely held on to it because of Elite Dangerous and Subnautica, when they became available on PS4/PS5, the fate of my coaster to be (Xbox One) was set. Some regrets, but the Xbox360 was awesome, so not that much and it was my first setting for Oblivion and Skyrim, which I also have on Sony. We were also given “There was a chance for Microsoft to reinvigorate the Xbox brand with the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X gaming handhelds, but the $600 and $1,000 launch prices placed them out of reach for most gamers. It also doesn’t help that Windows still isn’t well-optimized for portable devices with touchscreens, and those systems also aren’t compatible with older Xbox titles like the consoles. At the very least, Microsoft now has a handheld foothold. But a future portable Xbox console would need to be significantly cheaper to compete with the likes of the Steam Deck, which starts at $549 (following the discontinuation of the $400 LCD model).” But as I personally see it, Microsoft tends to lose interests in solutions that dos not make them shine and the Xbox had nearly rusted through as I personally see it, but there was the news which was available for about three days now and I had other matters on my mind, so it was a nice setting today, I was proved correct all along and as Saudi Arabia is vying to be a digital powerhouse, the setting if upgraded to a better shine, what was left of Microsoft games, might get a decent second life, but the additions to the Microsoft Flight-simulator 2024 will be required, although they might include it as a package deal for the nice price of $50 billion, not a penny more, including the Flight Simulator 2024 might make it worth the time of Minister Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, but that is merely my view on the matter. And there is the setting we need to consider, the Xbox came to life (with massive help of Dwayne Johnson) and grew to new heights in 2005, it actually became a competitor to Sony and made Sony release the PS4 and PS5 with the immense upgrades. Gamers rejoiced and then in 12 years (due to Don Mattrick as I personally see it) it went from hightop to basement level bargain value. Still, I am not happy. Sony was better with Microsoft chasing its tail and that needs to be said and the results as we still see every day its awesome and as I see it, Todd Howard now needs to say the words “Elder Scrolls 6 is coming to Playstation” the Sony and the gaming world needs to hear those words. The Microsoft blame game of ‘perhaps’ and ‘we will service all gamers’ is disingenuous at best and not appreciated. 

So whilst we are given “Its partnership with AMD could easily lead to new handhelds, and it also gives Microsoft a leg up in producing a compact and powerful Xbox PC. After all, why should the company keep trying to go toe-to-toe with Sony’s closed PlayStation platform? Why shouldn’t Microsoft embrace its PC roots to give us a gaming desktop under our TVs? The company has already committed to bringing new Xbox games to PCs immediately, so the line between the two is already blurring. It may be a risk, but evolving into a PC proves there’s still life in the Xbox brand. And crucially, it’s also something Sony can’t easily replicate.” You see, the gamers feel betrayed by Microsoft, even those having an Xbox, they aren’t (don’t say ever in this case) going to trust Microsoft, they tried to play gamers and these players don’t like to be played, they take this personally and that is what Microsoft did in a few ways as I personally see it.

So you all have a good day and those owning a Playstation have pleasant dreams, because Microsoft just bought the bucket from Davey Jones locker. I reckon that this setting is hardest on Phil Spencer, who tried to do everything to make Microsoft gaming work. I think he did a fine job, but Microsoft overhead was ruled (as I see it) by Excel users and that goes against the grain of gamers. Have a great day today, my time for a late lunch now.

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November 19, 2025 · 06:26

Expanding all fallouts

I have had this thought before and I also wrote about it, not sure when a few years ago, but the thought overcame me last week as I was replaying Fallout 4 on PS5, the PS5 edition and it looked marvelous. Off course I knew most locations and had played it all, but the feeling of getting the upper hand over the wasteland never leaves you. And as such the idea of the expansion came calling like a good Vault-tec sales person. The idea was that an export option on the Fallout shelter is added and that is nearly all that is to it. But the tiny stuff (that Bethesda contributes) comes into play now. 

At first I wondered how to incorporate this into the current game. The first thought I had was is how to do this. The idea that a message via a fallout Eyebot is added, when you come within a distance of it, you can pick it up on your radio whenever you are near the Cambridge police station. It will be near there and the eyebolt has up to three keys as you can have 3 vaults in your Fallout Shelter game. Then the nifty part comes. Bethesda has a system to make your 2D map a 3D world. So how to give you a changing challenge? Well I was thinking that if you have only one map there is a 50/50 chance it is P or D (i’ll get to that), if you have 2 vaults, there is a first setting that the first is P/D then for the second is if the first is P you will always get a D, if the first one is D, you get a second chance for the vault of be P or Z. So there is the option of Pristine, Damaged, or Zero. If you have all three used they will one each. Fallout Shelter has 26 levels, as such we get 8 levels per 3D level. So that you have three levels, the last two are added to the deepest level. From there, there is one additional setting. In case of the Pristine version, the Overseer room will have an additional room which is your living room. So the Small, Medium and Large rooms will be set to that exact setting and ‘Bethesdisissed’ onto a 3D spaces. The only other thing is that if you have altered elevators, it will show in the new design as well. So what’s the setting with Pristine?

Well good question, you have up to three versions and it is randomly assigned, so don’t get any bright ideas. Pristine is a shut vault, as such when you open it, everything is new, Damaged and Creatures or Raiders have taken over the vault, the vault is mostly good and you get a new cleaning crew function, when that is done you can add and upgrade the entry point with all kind of goodies (turrets) and you can upgrade the entrance and create a safety entry. At which point the fast travel becomes in the vault. The third setting is Zero. The vault was destroyed (by unknown reasons) and there is an upside. They all have one legendary weapon and legendary armor, in case of the Damaged one, it will be in the boss chest, the Zero and Pristine one will have it in the overseer room (on a mannequin). 

The idea is to use DML to create a changing setting on how the rooms are drawn. So you can relive these settings in Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas and Fallout 4 (and Fallout 5) if they ever get to it). A simple setting to add materials to a game and I am surprised that Bethesda didn’t get there on their own. There is no way that scores of Fallout Shelter fans didn’t think that it would be so cool to have this in their games on whatever system you play it. 

So Bethesda, don’t say I never give you anything because you are part of Microsoft now. Have a good day and enjoy the challenge you are giving to 230 million gamers (Fallout Shelter was downloaded that much). It was a simple equation and I wasn’t doing too much at present, the AI bubble and the American Tourism setting are starting to bore me.

Have a great day, my midweek is starting with a nice cup of coffee. It’s still Tuesday in Toronto and Vancouver. Time to see the day and seek opportunity.

Fallout, Bethesda, Microsoft, gaming, 

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