Tag Archives: gaming

March 8, 2025 · 01:05

Remake

That is what we think. In movies, in TV series, in books and also in games. Yet the question becomes have we ever considered an evolving setting? 

That thought came to mind when I was considering the political settings we currently face. So in comes an old acquaintance all the way back from 1985. It was the Balance of power. I had the Atari ST version, but it originally came from the Macintosh. It was created on a system with 512Kb of RAM, all whilst the Atari ST had 1024Kb of RAM. These were simpler times, but the software was remarkable, even for those days. So now we have PC’s with a lot more (4000 times more). The PS5 has 16GB of ram and the BlueRay can hold so much more than a 800kb floppy. 

That was merely the hardware, the setting of 1985. There no longer is a simple setting of bear versus eagle. The world is a lot more complex. Big corporations have global power, The simple setting of Russia versus America is gone. There is now the Commonwealth, the Arabian nations and there is China. It is governments versus corporations and all versus chaos and anarchy. So what happens if the game gets updated to include all these parameters.

So the ‘media’ is all about whitewashing using sports. So what happens if these parameters are included? What can we see when these thousands of elements are included? There might not be an actual AI yet, but the LLM’s with deeper machine learning could set a proper larger stage to test and use in the new Balance of Power. All set on actual premises. So what happens when this game actually include the extremists and what could the game dish out against the user who decides to become a president, a monarch or a CEO of a large company?

What can we make in the complexities of media and political charged players? Consider parts of the CCG Illuminati, created by Steve Jackson Games in 1980. What if the game has both elements so that any choice could evolve? The question becomes is there a market for this game. In 1985 the game sold over 250,000 copies. It was a time when almost no one had a computer. So what becomes of an evolved setting? I have no idea, in those times there were little games, the thousands of games were only starting to get developed  in 1985. So could a game like that work? I am merely one curious gamer. The connected setting is not merely can it be done, but could it work to a larger audience. 

A game where we can set the stage and can see if something is set in stone, or could it evolve if certain political players are not included? How could we consider if a technocracy could not exist, or the reverse. Could it become the only way out?

All questions we might ask and what happens if there is a game that gave you a likelihood of certain evolutions. 

All nice questions, but there is a larger stage. What happens is that LLM is in the cloud and you merely download a copy of the evolving parameters. In this what happens when we add a second game (for example) the setting of a game like the 4th protocol, based on the movie/book with Pierce Brosnan and Michael Caine. What happens when we add an MI5,FSB,CIA element? We try to remake the wheel, but what happens when we create an element that uses the same data file? We could look at different stages all based on the same data, so the second game would have all the people in place, it merely adds the names the other game doesn’t use, but it all fits the nearly same pattern. You see, all these players (Microsoft, Google, IBM, Amazon) are creating their own ‘AI’ version. But what happens, when we do the reverse? One data set allows for evolutions in games? It was never done before because these systems were not in existence. Now we have the power, the data space and hopefully the inclination to create a new type of game, and this could fit all the formats. It is merely an idea but there is a larger need to create a unique game. At present we largely get more of the same and someone needs to think out of the box and create something new. 

So, this is just an idea and perhaps the idea might not work. Yet I believe that systems like this allow someone to totally create something new and never seen before in gaming and it could lead to a new level of RPG games. I made mention of this 2-3 years ago. What happens when NPC’s in games create their own intelligence? I gave the setting in them, but there is a larger need. Something needs to learn NPC how to become more intelligent, so that we don’t get the laughable AC Unity crowds. NPC’s that keep on walking in the wall and intelligent responses in a game. You can either create a more intelligent NPC, or you can let the NPC evolve through LLM’s and that is where we need to go. An evolved remake of the Balance of Power is merely the setting that could work and create another game in the process as you prototype solutions. It is just a thought to have the weekend.

Have a great weekend, it’s Saturday now and 7 hours until breakfast (for me).

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February 16, 2025 · 03:56

The added parts

A little over a year ago I had an idea. It was founded on the God of War 3, not a game copy, not some replica wannabe. But a full grown RPG, based on the foundations of Olympus. I saw what I initially had and I decided to give parts a rewrite. You see, we can only be as unique as we make ourselves to be. The game wasn’t a copy, but it lacked a few sides. I thought that this needed adjustment. The first setting was good, but I wanted more, an introduction outside of Olympus. And that was where I had an idea. The original story was ‘It was this simple’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/01/15/it-was-this-simple/) and I wrote it in January 2024, a little over a year ago. I considered the stage and it was too predictable. As such I wanted to add an intro level. After you go through the mirror, you get to a field with houses, these houses are meant for the upper slaves of Olympus. They had a little more. The houses are in a circle and there is nothing more to see, yet as you enter the houses, they will seem to have security active, these systems have been dormant for millennia, but once activated the become active. I want to set the stage that the upper slave of your deity is save to enter and as such you will learn to interact with objects, you will see the security drone ignore you (in one house only) so you can practice stealth. As such you will have motion, observation and interactions set. You could also enter the other houses, it is not essential at this point but the houses have part of the lore of the story. And you can always revisit the circle of houses when your rank goes up. There are 11 houses for the 11 gods, the 12th house is in Tartarus (in the palace of Hades). The second play through you can select Hades as your deity. 

Then there is the lore of the story. The lore of the upper slaves lead to the lore of the slaves and to scrolls, tablets and jewelry that enables you to select the houses. It was here that I considered another side. As a female you would have the diadem of Aphrodite. But as a male you cannot enter her domain until you have a much higher rank and as such you could gain the bracelet of allegiance to Aphrodite or the Diadem for men of Zeus or the trinket of a god equal of higher then Aphrodite. This comes down to the jewelry of Zeus, Poseidon or Hades. I have yet to create a structure on this. There is Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, the rest are nearly all equal except Athena, Apollo, Ares and Hermes. So they have access to nearly all others (except three) Hades, Makaria,  Zagreus and Melinoe. 

The lore is set to stories on scrolls and tablets. I need to see if it is an IP violation if I use part of the stories of Homer, Hesiod, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Pindar and Apollodorus. If it is, I need to write passages in their styles to give the feel of authenticity. 

So whilst we are about to put ‘life’ bank into Olympus, I need to consider a few other sides. I considered that this might have an alternative use. And if that works it would be some feet to achieve it. But that is for later. 

For now I have to look at what I am seeing not. You see the Guardian gives us “The US vice-president was hypocritical and insensitive, but bracingly clear in his resetting of relationships” You see, we are given a story that fits the need of the Trump administration. And when you take the tariffs and this “Vance portrayed a continent that had lost its way. Why was the security conference talking about defence budgets when it was not clear what they were actually defending? he asked. It was clear “against what” they were defending, but not clear “for what reason”.” This set may mind at work. You see, it is about money (it usually is) and America has nearly none left. America has $36.22 trillion in debt and last year the US budget deficit tops $1.8 trillion in fiscal 2024, third-largest on record whilst they got $4.47 trillion in collected taxation. And the bad nows here is that they had a decrease of 15.5%, a drop from the 14.3% increase we saw between 2021 and 2022. So they are getting less tax dollars and they are borrowing more. So how can that continue? America wants out of NATO because it can no longer foot the bill and the Trump administration has 4 years to go. So when America starts handing out the IP in their patent offices to foot bills, American businesses are up for a massive panic attack. 

That is how I see it and I could be wrong, but after the tariff wars (still ongoing) and their attempt to annex Canada, is the idea so far fetched? Add to that the entire DeepSeek dilemma and whatever they tend to achieve with their StarGate is my idea so preposterous?

As such whatever ideas I have I need to hand to Japan, Saudi Arabia, or the UAE whenever I can, because life in the Commonwealth is about to become nearly unlivable. And the media is still not covering the massive debt that America has and how that is fueling their actions. Is it that hard to see? I reckon that a stronger unification of the Commonwealth will be required and a lot sooner than some non-Canadian politicians imply. And now as Australia gets the tariff bill, there is a chance that Anthony Albanese might seriously reconsider finding solutions with Canada, India and the UK. Ah well, perhaps living under the Greek gods was a lot simpler. 

As such have a loverly day and consider what YOU can do to support Canada in its hour of need.

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February 13, 2025 · 04:10

The enemy of fun

We all hate advertisements, we do. We merely have been lulled to sleep to accept that these things happen. My initial setting for the new IP was to benefit in game-line advertisements and now I see that ‘Valve Doubles Down On Banning Forced In-Game Ads In Steam Games’. As such I say “Yes! Someone else figured it out too”. It feels like some level of vindication. You see, I thought I was alone in this, but Valve is not a simple gaming location. It is the original place of Half-Life and that is the game that set the tone in the two thousands and is now worth billions. 

They set the tone and are now doubling down on “Banning Forced In-Game Ads”, which fells me feel vindicated, and it is the fourth element that I heralded in my IP, four parts that set my console setting apart. Games, social media, no ads and collective cohesion. All parts that make any console great. So I am feeling mighty good (a little less as I never was able to see it), but the overwhelming feeling that I was right all along makes it up to some extent. The article phrases it as “a customer gets blocked after a certain amount of playtime and has to pay to continue and keep their progress. These types of monetization are considered predatory and are not allowed in Steam games.” Exactly how I felt about it. I’ll be honest there is space for some advertising, because it allows for unification of people, but not on time lines and not in games. I was adamant in this. And lets face it, to set the space to unifies one group of over 500 million gamers (among others) was the idea I tried to sell Kingdom Holdings. 

You see, to get access to over 50 million Muslims in past one and up to 200 million during phase two was overwhelmingly appealing. You see Kingdom Holding had in 2022 $13.6 billion and my solution allowed it to speculatively grow it by 50% in phase one would be appealing to any investor and whilst they are in whose main interests are financial services, real estate, tourism and hospitality, media, entertainment, petrochemicals, aviation and technology. To grow the setting of entertainment by that much in what I see 1 swoop and gather the view of millions would be seen as interesting to people like Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud would seem interesting (apparently I was wrong), and in that same setting neither was Andy Jessy seemingly interested to grow his business by an expected 50 million consoles during phase one. So I must see things wrong. Yet the vindication now shown by Valve gives me the idea that I was right in more then one way and such there is a doubt within me. What am I missing? 

So on one hand I saw what Microsoft missed all along (they miss a lot) and others (like Google) stepped out of that field, so I am wondering what I am missing. The numbers are speaking in my direction, the elements are in my favor and as Unreal Engine 5 gives rise to the option on one branch we see a near complete setting. In that same setting we would see that there are 32.5 million small businesses in the United States, and a growing number are Muslim-owned. I lack specific numbers as I do not even know whether they are collected. Yet in this one source gave me that around 2020, Muslims around the world spent a total of two trillion U.S. dollars across the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, fashion, travel, and media/recreation sectors. The largest market for Muslim consumers is the halal food and beverage sector. It expectedly grows from 2 billion to 2.8 billion in 2025 (Source: Statista). As such the growth of that nature is nearly unprecedented and I tired to handle a level of unification and here was my solution that enabled it. So I am in doubt, on one hand my predictions are coming through in several ways and on the other hand it seems to be missed by the two (optionally three) people who are on the forefront of it all (Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud and Andy Jessy/Jeff Bezos), so what am I doing wrong? Oh, and I went through one of the purest players in the world, the gamers. You see gamers can ‘infect’ their enthusiasm on the audience around them, I have seen that happen for over 30 years. 

So what was I doing wrong? Are there players who are walls around these people? If they cannot get a slice, no-one can? Well there is one player they never thought of. It is Ma Huateng, CEO of Tencent and Tencent is hungry for more markets and America with their anti China sentiment played (hopefully) right into my hands. The idea that I am that much right cannot be a simple ‘delusional’ setting as some say. To much went my way of thinking in this. 

So what does it take for some people to see that there was more than laying off around 14,000 managers to reduce costs and improve operations, I get that trimming is at times required, but what do you do when you are offered a simple upgrade of billions in the first phase? Tell me, and I see if I can around that. And now there is another path (hopefully granting me my coins) and I have been brooding over this for almost three years (one does what one can).

But in the end, my blog has had the goods that long, so there is no setting of “You are telling us that now?” There was a clear indication (mailed to them too) and the blog has the three years of stages online. My only defense so that some cannot make claim to “other sources” I feel that I did the right thing, but did I? The is the question I ask myself. You see, if only I see it, it can be called delusion, but more and more things out there (also in print) show that I was right all along. Now that we see the Valve story out there in Hot Hardware (at https://hothardware.com/news/valve-bans-ingame-ads-steam) and several others show that my train of thought was correct all along. 

That was the little nag that was keeping me awake this Thursday (at 03:00). Try to have a great day today. Me? I am walking into Mordor as a challenge, so how happy could I be?

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February 11, 2025 · 04:32

There is always a script

It seems that we are decently obsessed with series and movies based on video games. And there is plenty to be seen. In 2024 we got the first setting of the serialification (this might not be a real word) of the game and now applauded series Fallout. And there is plenty to applaud on this series. You see, this first season got 12 wins & 73 nominations. As such it was recognised on a global scale. So Fallout has broken the mould on a few levels. We will soon see a second season of The last of us. And there are a few more coming. There are mentions of Beyond Two Souls, a game based on the exploits Ellen Page (now Elliot Page) and had contributions of Willem Dafoe, Kadeem Hardison and Eric Winter. The game was quite excellent and I look forward to seeing the result on TV. 

And what else?
That is what this blog is about. You see, there is a game that was released in 2014, the title was Infamous: Second Son. I rated the game as average. I still do. Yet it was gameplay that hindered the high score. Metacritic gave it 80% (I gave it 75%). The game starts really good, it is after the first fight into Seattle that the issue starts. The game is too linear for a game of this style, there was initial an issue with the side missions, something that was fixed, but the linearity and the fact that the second power was too strong that made me give the rating as low as I did.

Still, the game had amazing sides too. The story was amazing on nearly every level. The power that you receive in the beginning was awesome. The other powers are really good too, but neon (second power) was overly strong. I would have switched Neon and video around and adjust the story (more like tweaking) and it would shape into a massive hit for the Sony studios. The funny part was that when the game came out I had never heard of this person named Banksy, as such the graffiti could be a nice edge on the storyline. 

Is that it?
Well yes, it is the recognition that the game had amazing properties that could easily turn into a TV series. For the horror/terror fans there is the notion of Prototype where Alex Mercer (you) is the target and the goal is finding out what happened. I particularly liked the achievement to drive over 65536 infected people and that is quite the grind. The story is captivating and the presumed special effect could be next level. There are legions of other games that could glue people to the TV and as ‘Hollywood’ seems to be running out of ideas the gaming solutions could propel them further. And as Sony is also streaming programs to the people they might look into the games they have. As I see it, plenty of options there. And that is the golden ticket for some. These games are propelling the stages to TV for a lot of actors and actresses. A setting that seemingly have been overlooked. And me? I am still watching whether Shogun will come to Blu-ray to Australia. (And a few more). So we should expect a new level of interaction between TV and gaming. I wonder who will bring it and what they will bring.

Have a great day.

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February 10, 2025 · 12:11

Time is on my side

That is always the question, that is until you set the records up for public viewing, then it tends to go your way nearly automatically. So even as I gave you all the setting that I was right, there was more. You see, more then two years ago I wrote ‘Girdle your loins’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/11/30/girdle-your-loins/) and that was AFTER I wrote part of the solution to a few people. I wanted to give it to Google three months before this, two days before they cancelled the Google Stadia. OK, they had that right and whilst leaving billions on the floor they walked away. Amazon (Andy Jessy) had the email less than a week after that and he never got back to me, which is also his right to do. Then whomever it got to (at Kingdom Holding) got the message and they never cared, or saw it as important enough. But now after more then 2 years (more like three years ago) when I saw the shift of sands changing a moment arrived (this morning) when I saw that I was right all along. So whilst people like Tim Cook (Apple) and Satya Nadella (CEO Microsoft who was never invited) are complaining about the harsh options are left with. I say, you left billions on the floor, so stop complaining. I gave that very same ‘warning’ to Sergey Brin, but he at least had a decent excuse when they dropped the Google Stadia.

So what is bringing this about?
Well, this morning when I was reengineering (in my mind) certain CBM64 greats, my mind fell over a message that I never saw coming. You see in 1986 I bought a Commodore 64 game named ChipWits (by EPYX), it was a great program with the option to program a robot with instructions and whilst the programing through icons wasn’t terribly new, on a CBM-64 it was at the very least innovative, as such I loved it.

Now back to today I considered that it was a great way to introduce this and add Machine Learning icons (and optionally LLM icons) to this game and give it a fresh start. So as I was thinking about a few things, I looked up the cover (see above) but what I found was also a reference from the original programmer Doug Sharp, and together with Mark Roth he is making a reboot.

Now this part is important as he probably started this around the time I made mention of this option (in my blog) that some true innovative minds got there all on their own. So Tim Cook and Satya Nadella take notice. This is what ACTUAL innovation looks like they got their on their own and they created the next iteration of gaming. They didn’t have to buy it for $100,000,000,000. They got there on their own $0.02. 

So why is this?
Well, in the first it was about me (it often is) and I foresaw this coming three years ago. In three years what ACTUAL innovation have you seen coming from Microsoft? I created a picture that left the ‘buyer’ with a starting revenue of $5,000,000,000 a year. So that is what. I recognised the field, I set the markers and I seemingly came out on top. The second phase would have been at least a fourfold of the first phase of my solution and If you look at all the great old games, you see that a lot is now coming. My favorite was Elite that on the PS4 is almost a thousand times bigger than the vector images of the CBM64 with a fleet massively bigger with billions of star systems (against the 256 planets on the CBM64) that is true innovation and David Braben deserves all the credits he is due, which is a lot as this was the very first serious game I saw on the then great BBC Microcomputer System, and I didn’t have to sob for long as it come to the Commodore within 2 years after. 

So when my mind went spiraling into reengineering mode, I got the idea three years ago for a bigger stage and I reckon that 10% of over 10,000 games that were published on Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, Atari 600/800 and Atari ST should make farming for games lucrative. I got to 10% of 10,000 games with 50% reduction for IP protected games left me with 500 stellar choices, the best of a great gaming era and those captains of industry (Brin, Jesse, and Cook) never saw it, as such they left optional billions on the floor. I negated telling Nadella as there is no use in breathing life into a near extinct Dodo. They made their grave of mediocrity on their singular motion, or perhaps multiple motions of failure.

As I mentioned there are still a few options for Kingdom Holding but that is up to them and perhaps they are already pursuing this with Tencent Holdings Ltd. The next new player in the gaming sector soon enough. I reckon that is the moment that Microsoft either abandon its gaming platform or sells it to Tencent (as I personally see it). So that $100,000,000,000 anchor around their neck will be a lot less comfortable than a silk (road) tie.

For me? I doubt there is anything in it at all for me, but as I said, the realization that I was correct all along might help me to feel my other idea’s for a few coins to afford a new retirement plan. And the feeling that I was correct all along is just too satisfying (especially when seen against the Captains of Industry who never seemingly saw it). Even if I never end up with anything. This is a clear win to me. Others will state that it is always like that on the hindsight. They would be wrong, as I documented this and other ideas going be to before 2018, there are records. So there 😛

Have a great day and enjoy the stormy weathers I see happening overhead now (actual rain).

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February 8, 2025 · 19:08

You should have read the warning

That is what we are prone to do. Not to read the warnings. It helps if you are the expert on the game, but when you are not. You get to say “You should have listened” or “You should have read the warning”, which in both cases beat the saying “Told you so”, you can grasp that option when you are a recognised authority on the subject, but I am not one of those. I am not an economist or econometric guru and I have no degrees in economy. I have three university degrees, which basically makes me a dirty old man (you get bonus points if you get the reference). Yet I know numbers. I have worked with numbers for basically all my life. And the numbers never added up. Not for over at least a decade. So, what do I do? Let the media give you the numbers when they have filled their measure on hypes, stakeholders who filled their pockets? Or do you start a blog (with multiple options to put to writing thoughts) and create a timeline showing the media has become too corrupt to consider a viable source? I chose the second and in that meantime have published 3350 articles on all kinds of matter, starting in September 2011. 

As such today CBC (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-trump-economy-summit-1.7452748) gives us ‘Trump’s threat to annex Canada ‘real’ and motivated by access to critical minerals, Trudeau tells crowd’ this is an interesting side to it all, I made mention of this in a kinda sloppy way in ‘A call to arms’ on January 27th 2025 (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/01/27/a-call-to-arms/) there I wrote “America has to find ways to raise its economic awareness of go under. And the oil and forests of Canada are not the way.” I merely mentioned oil and forests. I had no real idea Canada had other critical minerals. Yet this sets another dangerous precedence. I have been warning that America is going bankrupt. I was not the only one and some of the other people giving these warnings have much better economic qualifications. Yet I know numbers. And when you consider the US debt being at $145,800,000,000,000 that was January 2025 and in February 2022 they passed the $30,000,000,000,000 for the first time, that means it took three years to grow the debt by $115,000,000,000,000. As the debt is now ‘set’ to 852% of the country’s GDP, which is close to impossible to solve. I saw this setting (not to that degree) come to our front doors almost a decade ago. As such I saw the abyss America was heading to and the media was silent on most of this and the economists who predicted a similar event were trivialized by the media. 

And in this matter there is circumstantial evidence. You see if America needs resources, they have construction firms in the world and they start digging. And here we see the setting. If America is not able to pay for it, what they have left is merely annexation. 

So compare my words and the presented evidence (which is all over the place) to the words of Kevin O’Leary who was seen by others as a traitor to Canada whist we were given “Kevin O’Leary’s support in spurring on Donald Trump’s quest to merge Canada and the U.S. is nothing short of traitorous to his country and indicative of a complete disregard for his homeland’s desires.” It has the added “Canadian multimillionaire and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary has taken it upon himself to negotiate on his country’s behalf in support of Trump’s twisted vision. O’Leary’s support of a U.S.-annexed Canada seems to be motivated by a strengthened economic union between the two countries — in other words, it will likely mean more money in his pocket, even if it comes at the expense of what everyday Canadians want for themselves including access to universal healthcare.” We get this from the Brock Press (at https://brockpress.com/kevin-oleary-is-a-traitor-to-canada/) on January 9th 2025. I wrote on January 27th “There is no opportunity as that weasel Kevin O’Leary states. America has to find ways to raise its economic awareness of go under.” I admit that comparing these two settings, I was not as eloquent, but I am not a journalist, so I have an excuse here.

There was no opportunity for Canada, there was one for America and Canada would suffer under the debts of America and go under as a result. This is one of the reasons why I wrote ‘A call to arms’ and now that I see the CBC article, I was more correct n a few ways then I expected. You see, I thought America would be clever in this and perhaps with President Trump calling (to some) weird decisions make sense in this setting, but the media never gave us this setting did they? 

So the Woke people are going under at present, for the simple reason that you cannot eat Woke, you can eat Wok but that puts you in Chinese waters. 

As such the tariffs were a prelude to something more and we see the optional reason with CBC. I made mention of the fact there was more, but I had no idea what as I do not have access to that stuff and to be honest I am most of the time more interested in the gaming universe than in real life. I real life I work make money pay the bills and play games (in a delusional world where I am a god, Laura Vandervoort is my goddess and yes I know she is engaged). 

As such we can conclude I am slightly delusional with a healthy amount of admiration for the ‘fairer’ sex (I just hope that didn’t sound too creepy). 

We are all driven and I am not different. I look at the new ideas for gaming, I redesign games as they are (mostly in my mind and a few are in my blog).

So why this?
Well that is partially simple. If I was correct about all this, then it stands to reason that I am mostly correct about some of my other IP (which was revealed in part in my blog too) and the setting of my evolution for the Amazon Luna would also be on target with an additional 50 million consoles on the pre-sale pipeline. The idea of a new setting to advertising which is partially coming to view by Meta, but the part they haven’t considered is what more it could do (in the near future) and that sets a new ramp to over 150,000 malls. And that comes with untapped advertisement money and awareness creation all over the place. As such I feel pretty happy. It is more than “I was right” or “The others were too stupid to see this”. It is a sense of the feeling being the right person and the actual innovator of retail goods in the long run. It is a very satisfying feeling, let me tell you that. So when I saw the CBC article all the bells and whistlers started to make sound. As it is a sort of validation of what I have done for over 14 years.

As such what every Commonwealth person needs to do is to buffer strength to Canada as they will need it. You see, when this all comes to pass and we are nearing that moment It doesn’t matter how many Mexicans try to be smuggled into America, we need to worry about the tens of thousands Americas trying to enter Canada, because if this 51st state garbage continues America is running out of options. And I tried to warn people for that as well. You see, $145,800,000,000,000 implies an interest of at least $4,374,000,000,000 and as they are getting through taxation (as speculated by certain sources) $4,920,000,000,000, which leaves America $600,000,000 for everything else. Infrastructure, pensions, assets purchase (military) and that is the larger setting. Funny thing, I wrote the article ‘The accountability act – 2015’ where I set the notion that tax laws had to be rewritten and I did so on June 19th 2012, almost thirteen years ago. I did so (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2012/06/19/the-accountability-act-2015/) they had that much time to revise what would have delayed the moment that is seemingly about to happen. So I’m feeling just fine. It was not the only warning I had, my blog has plenty of of those too. So wonder what the media kept from you for at least a decade and consider who the stakeholders of the media are. Now consider whether you can trust any media source at present. Don’t worry I haven’t trusted them for years. The ugly truth is that they do not lie to you, they merely present another side of any story that allows digital dollar exploitation and it is a global problem. So when you figure out just how far America is leaning over the abyss of bankruptcy, then consider where you are and how safe your future is, because as I see it, the Commonwealth needs to come united or becomes part of something else. Who that is, is another question, one I feel less certain to voice opinions over.

Have a great day and consider that the coffee (or tea) you drink today might be as good as it gets.

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January 31, 2025 · 20:44

In the mind of creativity

It’s always fun to show the shortcomings of Microsoft and others (Not Sony or Nintendo) and as such my mind created a new piece of IP. In this case I had to make a selection of sets (literally) And that setting took a little flight. In the game you start the game as a child (boy or girl) to make it more than cosmetic the boy and girl will have different abilities. Some will be alike, others decidedly different. Both have a disability. They cannot resort to violence or killing. As such stealth is your only weapon. 

I am still deciding if the first level is all in black and white (for the most) and as I saw it (in my mind)  when looking at important items, they become color when you focus on them. 

In the first mission, the intro mission you were taken by hoodlums, the have your sister (if you play the boy) or vice versa. They want you to steal something and only a child can get passed the blocks that would stop a grown man and it would make then visible to all.

As such the mission is simple. Take the item(s) and get out. Of course there are hints that this will never end, so you have your work cut out for you. This sets out the game and is not very remarkable. So lets add the stages. In level one the setting is the location for Rear Window (1954) with James Steward and Grace Kelly. In all it is close to a perfect reflection of the movie with all the people and as such you have your challenge. Stay out of sight of James Steward with his camera and avoid all other people. The achievements a few per level makes you the envy of Hollywood. As such you need to find a way to imply the criminals and you need to set the police on them (another challenge). So whilst you learn the game, we get to see the setting of observation icons (what others see), and we need to set the stage of where Jimmy is looking at. 

Another level is Petra which was used in Indiana Jones and the last Crusade (1989), but at that point both genders have additional powers. So that is what I ended up with after 2 hours of mesmerizing on what could be. Just a larger setting of gaming. So if you are an indy developer and you do NOT develop for Microsoft feel free to use the idea I set out here. In other thoughts I came up with locations. There is Salzburg, Nijo Castle in Kyoto, Grand Budapest Hotel in Görlitz, Duke Humfrey’s Library at Oxford, Ischia island in Italy, Café des Deux Moulins in Paris, Savoca in  Italy, Bruges in Belgium, and a few others. The idea is to set them in sets for of the age stages of the children. 

In this case I haven’t worked out the details yet for powers and the storyline. I want the storyline to have a twist of some kind and let the story unfold. As you are unable to free yourself from the hoodlums in level 1 you will get different missions and locations than if you are free to see the world. The additional setting if you lose your brother/sister you are more likely to become evil. That gives the game a few iterations to replay the game to get the achievements that you might want to get (some completionists are bound to for that goal) and that is all I got in 2 hours. So do you think that some game makers are innovative (not calling out the one I should). There is a business upside to buy it all, but it is murder on creativity and innovation. And the sneaky one (me) thought it was a good idea that after Microsoft bought some company for $69,000,000,000 (all cash), as such I would hand out free IP to others, so that they do not feel deserted (or ignored). that is my sense of humor in action.

Have a great day

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January 28, 2025 · 03:17

No stopping the reengineer

Yup, It is as we see it. When you are able to reengineer there are a lot of issues that your brain is trying to work out. I started yesterday and in a few hours I thought through a new selfie stick. The one I have now is good, but it was meant for more, for the selfie filmer and as such it is a little too bulky for the noob selfie maker that I am. I reckon I have about a dozen selfies collected over the period of 3-4 years. Not much to write home about, yet I feel the a selfie stick is essential for nearly anyone, as such I came up with a new selfie stick. And in the gaming section I reengineered Infamous: Second Son. The game has issues and a few more seem to crop up on the PS5. I rated the game as average when it was released. Let me explain.

The game starts AWESOME. It hit all the right spots and the smoke power was pretty unique to say the least. It doesn’t show it’s tail until the second act comes into play and the laser power comes into play. That power was too strong and after that the game becomes too linear and slightly dreary. And it was a shame, the elements of the game are awesome, the storyline is good and the setting (Seattle) is also a strong setting (My introduction towards Seattle). The game has a great setting, it was the linearity that mostly got to me.

The second setting (a mere idea) was the switch of power 2 and three switching. So the TV power first and Laser third. When the larger fight starts (concrete) the game sizzles. The idea that the power is used to repair the city and make it like before the conduits (Bio-terrorists) came to Seattle. 

It requires some switching in the storyline but for the most the story lines could remain in the act the are meant for. The smaller issue is the linearity of the good and evil powers and to mix them up all over town. There would be a little more requirement for the game, but those were the heart-line of the matter. There is the additional setting that with the TV powers you would get a larger setting towards stealth and that was optionally missing in the game. The setting that after the first act you could subdue your opponents in stealth and there would also be the added tension that the enemies would be massively more powerful against the TV power and that could spell problems for the gamer if they rely on stealth too much. All small things but it would set the game from a 75% (I think that was how I rated it) to a solemn 92%. As ‘glitches’ go, the fact that the troops at tomes seem to merely run back and forth and not much action from there. The second thing I noticed (now) was that you see troops with blazing guns (when they are a little further from you) yet no bullets and no tracking (of ammunition), but this is a minor glitch. 

I think it pays to do this as the game is worthy of the update that comes and to get the rating that much higher would be worth it, it would also mean that it optionally gets a streaming update for the Amazon Luna and like kind systems. 

The Banksy part of the game is awesome and still fun after having completed the game at least three times (I only learned of Banksy after I had completed the game). I also ‘thought’ through a setting for a 4th Infamous which I blogged about a few years ago. There I also set a new premise to the powers. You see, I grew up with the teachings of Mendel and as such I thought that the game could be set to two phases, the first is that Delsin gets his powers (like you play), but now he get a girlfriend and he gets busy (as mentioned in the Incredibles) the setting is that he has the choice of 4-6 girlfriends (three good and three evil) and the child will be the 4th game and his or her power will be based on the powers of the parents and that gives us a whole new range of replay choices. And as the child selects good or evil will also set the powers the child has differently as well as the karma settings of the game. It was a thought that kept me awake for hours, but in the end I found the setting that would be a productive one. I also set the stage that the New Second son would also set the premise of the meet and ‘greet’ and the actual sequel would be in Vancouver (as It is close to Seattle) the game would be close to be playable but now we have a new goal as the child will have predestined powers and as such the game needs a second antagonist to make sure that certain game elements would remain possible and that takes a few cogs to work overtime so that the inherited powers are usable and an interaction with the second protagonist would still be a challenge. 

Just my skull making the candy for gaming. Well that is it for now have a great day.

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January 23, 2025 · 23:37

The ability to create

That is at time the question is ask myself. You see, I can reengineer something in seconds, that is my brain does. It takes a little more to type the idea (usually in hours) and as such I wondered today if I still had it in me. I created a set of RPG games, from almost the ground up and they could be united in creating a completely new game. But in this case I wanted to create a new ‘action’ game. I really prefer stealth games, but to cleanse the pallet I need to revert to something new. It is hard to make something from the ground up as my brain contains the hundreds of CBM64 games I have played and they tend to get outside of my train of thoughts. Yet the idea of combining these games has merit as it becomes a totally new game. Not to mention that the CBM64 had massive limits and getting those lifted could send a new piece of IP to streaming systems. 

Why streaming systems?
I believe in these systems to entertain people for at least another decade and when they accept Unreal Engine 5 apps, the entertainment level goes straight through the roof. You see in the past I united Iron Helix and Murder on the Zinderneuf to create a new challenge a new game. I had the Amazon Luna in mind as it was the most likely contender, especially when Google dropped their Google Stadia. Then I considered another edition (a highly upgraded version) of Seven Cities of gold. From there I went to boggle my mind and consider a new version of Covert Action. With more memory comes more options. Then there was a setting to create a ‘Where the hell is Carmen Santiago’ with real mappings of wherever the game takes you. So where Microsoft failed and got mediocre games out of, I created a wave of partial originality. And now?

Now it is time to flex the brain one more time to set my (I think) ninth gaming idea to my blog.

So let’s combine Archipelagos (CBM Amiga) and Sentinel (Atari ST). These games were in its time awesome. It had all the trimmings of an addictive game and with the amount of levels quite the long play time. Yet the game was bland, in 1989 that was fine, but with streaming solutions we can have a lot more. So as I see it, the foundations are fine, but there are changes. The idea of an egg leading to an obelisk is one thing, but what if we changed the premise that the Obelisk is still the goal, but there are several ways that we get to that goal. There is the egg, but that leads to a bird (large) and that one needs to be defeated. When we take away the time limit of 90 seconds and we add more challenges as you proceed in the game. Devouring elements like trees (wood), blocks (stone), Ice (water) and fire we get a new setting. As the game grows we get more elements and more issues to resolve. It is in part reengineering, but that was merely one part of it. As we have Water, Wood, Stone and Fire we can get more elemental challenges. Water and Stone gives us the mud challenge, Fire and wood gets us the charcoal element, Water and Wood leads to forests and so on. Wood and fire are insensitive to each other, but mud and fire can interact. As such we get a wealth of new challenges to any archipelago. The trick is to find the right solution to get new options. It isn’t as single dimensional and simple as that. But this is a start and as I work out a few more kinks and alignments, we get a new game. Will it have appeal? Archipelagos did and that was 36 years ago. To add graphics and music isn’t enough. The game needs to be playable and should appeal to a niche of gamers and that has to be enough for a while. You see, players like Ubisoft want a game for everyone. I still believe (and have always believed) that a Game that appeals to all will please no one. That is the flaw Ubisoft never accepted. So as I align more games to make one niche more appealing I feel certain it will work. So how long did this take? Less then an hour. So as 20,100 worked on a few dozen of games. I thought of at least 10 games within a month of considering them. Would they all be successful? I do not know. I merely thought of the game (the RPG is completely unique). And as such I feel that it would hold up as it isn’t a copy of anything created. And they were all created around streaming systems. I believe in that solution as a console. I have nothing against my PlayStation and I will keep ion playing that system, but it cannot survive by itself and Microsoft is losing the edge they once had. So a new contender is needed. I still have faith in Amazon Luna. There is now the Tencent Handheld. It seems to be great, but it is a contender for Nintendo whilst harming the Microsoft market share they have. As such the Amazon Luna is likely the system to have as a streaming solution. 

So what about a unique game? That might take a little longer and there are contenders. Sony has Horizon, Microsoft has Fable and Nintendo has all things Mario and Pokemon. There is still space for more, however when you consider Horizons, the drive and ability to create totally new IP (like my RPG) takes time, effort and some luck. I think I got lucky and whilst I decided to focus on the storyline, there is more to it all. Is there space for a ‘simple’ single playing shooter, or non-RPG is possible, but between the CBM64 and the CBM Amiga over 10,000 games were created between 1982 and 2000. As such the option to create completely original games that fits the mould is rather rare. It becomes possible when the limits of these two systems are surpassed. Yes there is space for reengineering and that would become the first setting for any new game. We could go for ‘Defense of the Crown’ and set the premise to a Muslim side with ‘realistic’ challenges. We could unite games, get us a more challenging version of Covert Action and now not a 1990 Max Remington in the lead, but a more 2100 (year) version setting a more Tom Cruise minded person in this. A game with more electronic events, mobile events and there would still be the need to invade embassies, but we could add a few challenges with a 3D need.

Whilst all are focusing on their IP (which is not bad), Microsoft decided to focus on its system (also not a bad thing), but as the console wars go on with their IP on the forefront of their minds, more is needed and as such new IP (or reengineered) with a more open setting is as I see it a first. You see, gamers want more and as such the streaming systems have a unique perspective to add Sony and Microsoft gamers to their arsenal. Tencent seems to have figured it out and is going for all four systems with their Tencent system. The problem for me is that I have no idea where Tencent is going with their solution. As I saw it they have the option to add 50,000,000 ‘gamers’ and that puts them far ahead of Microsoft. How that goes? Time will tell. 

So whilst I am still focussing on creation, I will have to do that behind the lids of my eyes for now. So have a lovely day and consider what I could come up with in the next day.

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January 16, 2025 · 04:28

Giggling is the better medicine

This morning (around 03:00) I felt the need to check my mobile (a compact version of the invention by James Alexander Bell) or something of the sort. Inaccurate? Perhaps, but everything comes from somewhere. And as we all look towards roots, I looked at the screen and suddenly stopped. You see, I saw a Microsoft header with layoffs pass by. This is nothing to worry about, or new. They are all laying off people, all the big ones, so that is not cause for concern. Microsoft employs 224000 people, so they might cast a few more away. But I had not actually seen the details of the news, as such my trusty Chrome looked at the news of Microsoft and there a few things came up. And the count is important (for later)

  1. We see all kinds of advertisements with the Surface Pro being reduced $300 in one direction, $400 in another. There are all kinds of ‘offers’ but why would you want to discount THAT much? 
  2. Layoffs. We see ‘Microsoft lays off employees in security, experiences and devices, sales, and gaming’ (source; Business insider), ‘Microsoft staff face second round of layoffs as firm continues cost-cutting measures’ (source: ITPro) several sources claim that the layoffs will be small, but no numbers are given. Now this makes sense in light of the ‘redundancies’ at Google, Amazon, Meta (say Facebook) and a few others. Another source gave us “Microsoft plans to pause hiring in part of its U.S. consulting business and said last week that it would lay off less than 1% of its workforce”, still that could be up to 2200 people, when you are one of them percentages really don’t make a difference. 
  3. The information gives us ‘Microsoft’s Gaming Business Falls Short, Despite Activision’, This is fun. You see in 2023 Activision Blizzard had a market cap of A$120.08 Billion. Microsoft only paid 75 billion for the company and in early days I stated that a gaming company is only as valuable as the last game, and in 2022 Activision Blizzard’s annual revenue amounted to 7.53 billion U.S. dollars, as such Microsoft needs this to go on for 10 years just to break even. I warned for that and now we got ‘Microsoft’s Gaming Business Falls Short’, the Information (at https://www.theinformation.com/articles/microsofts-gaming-business-falls-short-despite-activision) gives us also “In the year to June, Microsoft’s gaming business revenue grew 5.8%, well below the 11% target set for the purpose of calculating part of Nadella’s compensation, according to securities filings. (That growth excludes revenue of Activision since its acquisition but includes Game Pass)”, it amounts to the fact that ‘gaming’ revenue is 50% short. Not good news I say. And when others come with complex stories that it has a few more sides. I say revenue is revenue and it is 50% short, that is the part others look at. And Newsweek gives us ‘Activision Hasn’t Helped Microsoft Grow Xbox Game Pass, Says Report’ (at https://www.newsweek.com/entertainment/activision-hasnt-helped-microsoft-grow-xbox-game-pass-says-report-2015392) where we also see “Microsoft was hoping that acquiring Activision would lure other game developers to rent its Azure servers, which hasn’t happened” not surprising. Developers like numbers and with a 3:1 margin Sony is a much more appealing choice for the first stage of any development. And the bad news doesn’t end there, we see at TechRadar (at  https://www.techradar.com/computing/gaming-pcs/theres-one-handheld-gaming-pc-that-went-under-the-radar-at-ces-2025-and-its-got-a-secret-weapon-to-beat-the-competition#) that Tencent now released the Tencent Sunday Dragon 3D One at CES 2025, a setting that was (kinda) clear over a year ago and my IP was set to that device and if successful (here’s hoping) it will cost Microsoft a lot more, well at least they bought Activision at $10 per $1 (OK, not entirely accurate, but I’ll go with that feeling). 

So three points, all relate to revenue. Lack of two, lack of innovation in one (spin stories aren’t innovative) and whilst we are ‘given’ ‘Xbox Game Pass expected to make $5.5 billion in 2025’ expected isn’t something that is achieved and there might be more bad news on the horizon, which will set the spin engines to overdrive. To compare, Nintendo reported in September 2024 a Revenue of 276.66B, can you see why I giggle? Microsoft ‘sickofans’ are elated on the optionally coming revenue of Microsoft Game Pass that is merely 2% of Nintendo’s revenue. And that is next year whilst Nintendo is already slaying the revenue dragon. The revenues of Microsoft are likely to lack visibility for some time to come. Some of the reviews of the 2024 Surface Pro aren’t anywhere near stellar (and it needs to be) as such my predictions for the downfall of Microsoft are still achievable. I reckon that when the first AI milestones start failing the domino’s will take a tumble making Microsoft cut more and more meat of their bones. All this whist more and more people see through the presented spin (as I tend to call it) You see, with the promise of tomorrow you better deliver tomorrow and certain parties bought into that and as such when delivery stays short of achieving. The dice get cast in a very different direction. For me it’s easy. I merely have to wait for the predictions too fall short and Microsoft is lacking in more and more fields and as such as Tencent makes larger gains the stage doesn’t just change, it crumbles. I wonder where Amazon is, because with their Luna they had options. I initially designed for that track (merely because Google dropped their stadia) and should Amazon get on top of the Unreal Engine 5, the stage is seeded with Amazon opportunities. A setting Microsoft totally ignored (also they were not invited to my IP clambake). As such I reckon that there will be a hiatus until Microsoft announces more lay offs. And I have seen that before. They will ‘call’ it streamlining and what I see is an empty egg. The shell of the egg looks smooth, but you cannot eat it. In 2023 we got ‘Microsoft outage worsened by staff shortage’, so before you cut your less than 1%, was your staff shortage secured? And when that happens, where are the other shortages? Where one source gave us ‘Microsoft has published a preliminary report into an incident on 30 August that finds insufficient data centre staffing levels contributed to an outage’ and another gave us ‘Microsoft had three staff at Australian data centre campus’, a data centre with 3 staff members? I reckon Microsoft has a few more problems (I reckon planning being one of them). 

So have a great day and consider where you are now and where you optionally could be.

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