Tag Archives: God of War

June 15, 2026 · 23:51

Merchandise

That is the stage and the setting. You see I have been replaying the God of War games, because in the near future God of War Laufey will be released and I needed to get back into the lore of the game, which is nothing short of miraculous. So, as I was playing the game. I was considering merchandise. And I have seen several things in the God of War range, but never these ones and considering that God of War has over 76 million copies sold and therefor the fans run into the tens of millions. People have made wagers on a lot less. So lets take two examples.

The first one are these chests that Kratos smashes his fist through and Atreus uses his bow to smash (bad use of a bow) they have goodies and that is it, but what if there are three options. The first is a small one and fits on a desk with storage for office goods (paperclips/memo pads) you know the usual suspects on a desk. Optionally open holding pens and pencils. Then there is the medium version which could hold your treasured PS games, optionally 4k/Blu-ray too. Open the box and your favorite games are there for the selecting, for perhaps you have a urge to keep your Star Wars movies in a separate space, all options that make a room look cool, then there is the large version and that one is debatable. A small chest, an actual chest. We don’t think of them, like this anymore, but in the 60s/70s we had hope chests. A hope chest is a wooden chest or trunk that would store special items for a bride to use when she got married. Although, over time, the tradition has changed. My father altered a fruit chest (painted it too) to keep all my toys in (he called them my personal rubbish bin) So we get a supercool looking toy chest, or for whatever reason you want to use it for, the setting is that a chest like that might find a rather large interest and as the game carries love and favour of the gaming community, so will the merchandise. 

The second one are the coffins that are ‘freed’ (read: looted) by Kratos and company. These would be just in the small version and would hold pens, so your office or private office gets the cool stamp all due to the efforts of Studio Santa Monica, I reckon that they will act on this as it is their IP, so nothing for me (alas). But a good idea should not be stopped merely because it is not mine to wield. The idea is still sound, so I wonder why I have never seen these items in places like EB Games, JB Hifi or whatever localised stores you have. I reckon that there is coin in this idea and with millions of fans and the upcoming Laufey plus the setting that we are getting closer to Christmas and Thanksgiving, Santa Monica Studios wanna run like Santa to get in on this action. The simple reason that it is an almost guaranteed success and they already did the ground works for their games. I have no idea how this will play in Laufey, so there might be more, but that is up to Santa Monica Studios to cash in on. 

Merely putting the idea out there. Have a great day, almost Tuesday and my tooth is hammering in pain, so it is close to my highly needed overdose of Paracetamol, Codeine and Oxycodone so I can get some sleep. Life is not always feeling like roses, sometimes the thorns sting.

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June 10, 2026 · 18:34

Tally Time

That is what I see, because 13 hours ago we were given ‘Trump vows to respond after Iran shoots down helicopter patrolling Strait of Hormuz’ (source: ABC news) so I was thinking (I did that at times) where did Hamas get the idea to talk until reinforcements and rearmaments arrive? So lets consider that “President Donald Trump has claimed that a deal or agreement with Iran is imminent or close to finalization at least 38 times since late March. Despite these repeated assurances, a finalized agreement has not materialized.” (Source: Google) So where did Hamas get that setting? From Iran, that’s who and it seems that the Current President of the United States is also falling for that ruse. At least my conscious is clean. I gave the military IP to both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, so whatever the USA does is on them. I saw the fallout and did something about it, or at least that is what I believe and the United States with their $26 billion dollar invoice for the damage they did to Iran, weirdly enough merely 4 refineries were ‘properly’ damaged. We are given “Strikes concentrated primarily in and around the capital, with at least four major oil storage facilities and petroleum processing plants bombed in the Tehran and Alborz regions, including the Tehran refinery” (source: Al Jazeera) I set the motion to damage all ten of them, so at present they are still getting revenue, but at best less than what they had coming in on on a daily basis. Still they damaged the Saudi and the UAE revenue, as such President Trump has a problem. He is falling for the old Iranian ruse, his strategy started on 28 February 2026. It is now 100 days later and Iran is making a fool of the United States. A setting many saw coming. And the stage that something had to be done is still out in the rafters. We see the accusations with words like ‘expectations’ and ‘suspected’ and so far no direct location is given other then ‘suspected to be underground’. As such the ‘suspected’ score is Iran 3 – United States 1 and this score is biting the United States and President Trump, because he is coming out as the loser, but no worry, he will find a way to blame it on Pete Hegseth and his army of Generals. Still the setting is that there is a larger stage where these generals seemingly did not set a proper war frame (or that is how I see it), you see it might seem nice to claim “Iran is bombed back into the stone age”, but after 38 claims of imminent deals and now that a $52 million Apache helicopter was shut down, Iran is getting more and more confident. Not a setting that the United States could use, yet only 37 minutes ago we hear that the United States responded in kind. So whilst we are given “Khatam al-Anbiya vowed that there would be further “devastating and more wide ranging strikes” to follow if the U.S. continued to attack Iran.” We need to accept that there is a plan in place and that the United States is following through on that plan. The question becomes what is the plan? (No answer is expected). And whilst last week we were given that ‘Pentagon must divulge cost of Iran war under House proposal’ (source: Military Times) with the part that matters “The measure, which has bipartisan support, was added as an amendment to the House version of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, a massive defense funding and policy bill. After more than 14 hours of debate, the committee sent the bill to the full House, where it’s expected to go to the floor for a vote in July.” It is the timeline that is worrying, because there are parties that do not agree with this ‘clambake’ and they will scuttle what they can and a lot can happen before July, but this makes short work of any timeline and plan and that is also part of the tally, no matter what others think. This administration is dealing with ‘enemies’ local and abroad. And whilst no everyone sees it that way, these local ‘adversaries’ might be playing right into the hands and the plans of Iran. So whilst I am not ‘in the loop’ (neither do I want to be in), my sole setting was the security of Saudi Arabia (because of Houthi terrorists and Iran) and the UAE (due to massive bombing attempts) and I am a guy with a certain need to direct action and taking out the infrastructure of Iran (at a fraction of the cost that the United States spend on it) seemed good business and my business is taking care of the enemy with whatever I can muster. Not the worst setting, but I a neither Emirati nor am I Saudi, so my hands are limited to what I can do, but no matter what, at least I am trying to make a difference and I am not falling for the Iranian/Hamas delay tactic. As such I created IP that could remove Iranian harbours and Iranian railways (and I handed it to both Saudi Arabia and the UAE). All set to tactics already used an now it has a 21st century IP coating. Still, the tally is continuing and soon my way might be all that is left to the Gulf States, but that is up to whomever is wrecking whatever plan the United States might have. 

But the tally I am running is telling me that any nation who is seemingly using $25 billion to do the damage that we see, is running on empty and as I see it, the setting is weird, too weird for words. Now, I might be wrong, because I am not informed, but the setting seems to be off, what damage did anyone expect for $25,000,000,000? Only 4 refineries? My solution got the Iranian crippled for less than an expected $70,000,000. As such what is the real tally? When we look at the tally we see numbers, but the setting of what N is, that represent the numbers seems to be missing and I know numbers. I have been looking at them for over 3 decades. So whatever you think you get. The numbers are not making sense and I have military training, I saw the crossing at Rafah (1982), so I know what certain things are, not all things mind you. But the tally is off and whilst I know what the reason is, that part is making no sense in a so called ‘clambake’ (they pretend it is not a war, so why get called into a naming thing and merely give it another label).

And the press for one is ‘merely’ reporting on events and they are seemingly not asking the right questions. To be honest I do not know what to ask, I can merely see that the numbers do not add up.

So have a great day and watch yourself on this day of Wodan. (Odin’s day), a side effect from replaying God of War: Ragnarok in 4K, because at present I can. I merely forgot I had the game, I’ve had it almost 4 years.

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June 6, 2026 · 13:59

Topping perfection

That is a big call to make and even to deliver on. Let me talk you how I got there. I have started to play God of War again, the fourth one. The reason was the demo we saw in State of Play. Now, for me there was an additional reason, because after I stopped playing that game and before now I was ‘forced’ to get a new TV and now that I have that new TV, I gained the benefit of 4K. Initially I had mixed feelings, because 1080 was perfectly good, but my trusty boob tube broke. It does that after 9 years of daily service and I had no ill will to the makers. It trustily served me for all those days. So here I was enjoying my 4K option and after watching Laufey, I decided to play the 4th God of War again. And what an amazing joy it still is. I initially rated that game in the 90s, but with the added graphics it is definitely a 100%+ game. The game was that overwhelming. Now, remember that it was released in 2018, now 8 years later, it still rocks the other AAA games release les than a year ago. That is nothing against the new games, the game was perfect. So, can we improve upon perfection? I think we can. Now lets be clear, I am not telling Santa Monica Studio how to do their job, they delivered a 100%+ game. But this could apply to all game makers. Now, consider that I destroyed now a few Odin’s Ravens I never noticed before, mainly because I was aware a lot sooner of what they were. So, what if the New Game+ unlocks not only gameplay and a lot of the same enemies, but what if lore is unlocked in this setting. There is only so much you can get in the first game stopping an excellent action game into an adventure game (the Zork kind), So what happens when we unlock additional lore (like the ravens) we unlock in all kinds of ways, making a complete story, a much larger story. And God of War allows for that, as do a lot of other games. But it seems more relevant to this game as it is already showing to be perfection incarnate. I started to play it so that I could enjoy the 4K adventure I never saw. But why happens when that comes the point of the game, to enjoy it again and then enjoy it more. It doesn’t need achievements, but the option to learn more about Odin and that rascal Loki is perhaps a setting worth exploring. Another game would be the two Horizons games. What is stopping the makers to add deployability be adding a few storylines. They might not make sense in the initial play through, but could make the replay ability stronger. So by adding a storyline to people like Petra Forgewoman, Ilsadi and Greatrun Keeper (mere examples), to add them in the initial game merely gives too much cluttering, but in the replay there is a lot you to with some automation and adding the lore and optional missions gives the New Game+ an additional side that could give the game the added umpf it could use. Because replaying a game of that magnitude tends to make people run from place to place, so to add side missions that were not there to being with might make for an interesting pace of gaming. In the case of God of War, optionally unlock additional ‘original’ lore, you know from the ones who wrote them.

Yes, I also feel weird commenting on near perfect games, especially what Santa Monica Games and Guerrilla Games are producing. But as I see it, no present games in rotation offer this additional setting. So it might be an idea to add this to the new games, and perhaps there is something that Santa Monica games might want to add to God of War 4 and 5, optionally after Laufey is released to give the games and their collectors an additional reason to hold on to them and optionally replay the games they loved for a long time. So accept the idea, or reject it. It is merely my thoughts on how to give these games optional additional greatness. 

Have a great day, for me it is now time to get some snacks in.

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June 3, 2026 · 16:02

The brain jostles

That happens, in my mind there is an eternal struggle for dominance (not in a bad way) but the back of the mind saw something and it is trying to work it out, whilst me, myself and I are also in need of that grey matter. The back of the mind saw a DARPA challenge of ‘Triage Challenge (DTC)’ with the subtext “Transforming how medical responders triage in mass casualty incidents by advancing scalable, timely, and accurate tools.” But the brain (mr Grey) saw that the bottlenecks is not a setting of operation, it is one of adherence. It doesn’t make sense. But consider that a nation has 15 million people and they all trusted Microsoft (there’s a thought) , but as they trusted AI (for whatever reason) and now we have 15 million unresponsive people. So, Mr Grey decided that the setting is not that you need to get to people, you need a solution that can be deployed at any place in that nation and from there the settings come calling. So Mr. Grey decided to employ a call centre and treat every person like it is part of a call centre. Confused? I thought you were, I was too. But consider that you have two stacks one with medical personnel and one not. The call centre setting makes every doctor important and that is the call. So whilst you have a doze doctors making calls and only a higher doctor can overrule a lower doctor, but then you get a new call centre where the pool comes from Nurses-Doctors-specialists and you refrain from bottlenecks you get a new kind of triage. So stop getting a dozen beds because you only have a dozen doctors, you get 60 beds because all the medical staff can determine casualties and disregard initial low calls, these low calls are not dismissed, but the pressure to get the important casualties are not restricted to these 12 beds. What does happen is that this call centre approach needs to work differently and that takes a logistical side, A new medical call centre approach so whilst we are given that there is a new consideration. So out of hand, consider that a hospital has a dozen forms, but instead of dispersing these forms, each doctor has all the forms, they are collecting an storing information and they print out a QCode, which has all the information and is attached to the person (like a Pandora chain on the wrist) and when there is more than one QCode charm, higher people look at this what might be required. And as this is all read on the spot, all whilst the tablets read and collect everything now, the equation changes. This allows for mass collection and triage abilities to move forward. It requires a great deal of discipline, but those in triage tend to have an abundance of those, but as I see it, triage tends to rot; l with the punch and the overlay of suddenly thousands of people needing access to triage makes for a weird situation, as such my brain works out in seconds that this requires a different approach, so whilst some need more nurses, we get the setting that 50 nurses record what needs to be and every doctor has its own nurse making judgement calls on people part of this was seen in Pearl Harbor (the movie) and they worked with what they had, but now we have and can deploy QCodes in seconds, so the track of the bottle neck changes and as these QCodes are deployed, people can be moved to a better site for treatment rather quickly. From there we get. New setting that power is less of an urgency and if these tablets have replaceable batteries, the downtime becomes very low and these batteries can be charged in a hospital and one box could contain 50 batteries, resetting the bulk of all tablets in seconds and DML allows for a much faster deployment of forms and most technology is already there to scan these forms and make them digital. No we merely need to traverse this setting to a QCode answer and the triage setting is near complete. You might have to add forms as one setting (like Pearl harbour) is not the same as another (Esso Chemical Rotterdam), they all have there own settings, but burn forms, respiratory forms and blood form have a near global setting, Doctors tend to have the same global talk and their writings all lead to a free ticket to a museum (small joke). So that was what Mr. Grey figured out in less then a minute. 

I was still in play mode and whilst I am not surprised that Sony tends to overwhelm any person who enjoys gaming, I still was blown away with what Sony produced in its state of play. You see I like racing of a kind and perhaps I was a little attached to the settings that Sony gave us with Grand Turismo (1-4) and Need for Speed underground (GameCube) or Project Gotham Racing (Xbox360), but today Sony blow the cover out of all of them with Stuntman Hollywood. A racing challenge with a difference. It looks good, but will it play awesome? Time will tell, but I didn’t see that one coming, so I got my wow factor. And as icing on the cake there was God of War Laufey, new character, new gameplay and new graphics. Everything a growing player needs for his or her diet. Still as I got the joules from my grey cells, mr Grey decided to consider a few more options in the situation he obviously is seeing as resolved. The QCodes go on a chain and the chain is also a data carrier and goes around the neck of the patient. The qcodes are added to that chain, but as I see it, the chain copies all the qcodes that are added and that chain might also collect physical setting, like an elongated smart ring. And it can all connect to the tablet of the doctor who is then getting additional knowledge and give the chain a code that gives it a colour. All setting a new conditional setting to triage and when triage is given in a remote location it merely enhances the information the doctor has access to. Where the qcode was added, where the person has been and from there we get a new kind of triage, because triage comes from the 1700s by Baron Dominique-Jean Larrey, the chief surgeon for Napoleon’s army. He started to sort the wounded, but we now have sort abilities that do not need a doctor, a nurse might do and even then there are some parts that need no medical staff, it merely needs to be recorded (hence the smart chain) and as the QCodes are added, the picture becomes more and more complete. Some need to get more tests, but if you consider that the goal is to reduce the severity of the wounded, we could walk a different path, a new path, not disregarding what we have, but what we can do. And battlefield triage is a lot dependent on what there is. So if we can find the category 1 people and reduce these to level 2, we are already winning. So consider we have:

Level 1: Resuscitation (Immediate)
Level 2: Emergency (<10 minutes)
Level 3: Urgent (<30 minutes)
Level 4: Semi-Urgent (<60 minutes)
Level 5: Non-Urgent (<120 minutes)

And from there we get to save them all (just like a Pokemon game), so the smart chain and the QCodes could enable that path, all whilst the doctors look at treating the level 2’s whilst looking for the level 1’s, a setting that comes through new logistics and automation (I refuse to call it AI), because DML will help here, will it be enough? That is for a doctor to decide. 

My ego is happy that I met another challenge by DARPA and one that is good for the medical sector, my ego is doing just fine. I wonder what my brain will mostly for tomorrow, time to get some steps in. Have a great day all.

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July 16, 2025 · 23:22

Message to a boss

Yup, there it is. A message for Sergey Brin, big boss (aka fearless leader) of Google, aka Alphabet the leader of a firm from A to Z. And the message starts with “Wakey, wakes, its day breakey.” It is 05:53 in the morning in California now and it is Wednesday over there (I am not that early, it is 22:53 here in Sydney) even if we are on the same day, there is a difference. So I went on my merry way this morning and I forgot to charge my Google Watch 2, so I started my day with a watch on 25%. Now there is no bad ending, but it gave me an idea and this idea is meant for Sergey Brin, so he can upgrade his warez.

This is a magnet connected charge point for the Google Watch, Considering that my Google Pixel 9 Pro can share power this device could be used to charge my watch whilst having a coffee, or when sitting behind a desk. The benefit of this is that it could connect to wireless charging the phone and/or the watch using a wireless power bank, as such there are several solutions to make. There is the benefit to add it as a direct connection to a power bank, but the versatility of this as a separate device might be the better solution as this would enable the customer to choose their own power bank, or as seen as a versatile solution in other directions, even as a new third party solution. 

As such this might seem like a short story (it is for Sergey), but as I was on a roll, I decided to look at something else, basically I was stuck in season 3 and I had a hard time getting progress in the series Engines, but then I remembered the game Chains of Olympus, which I never replayed on the PSP. But a thought came to me and that was connected to the Furies and in specific Orkos, but there is a link to the Hecatonchires. As such there was a new cog in the story and I was considering the approach to start in season 2 but that is basically as far as I got, but there is a new stage added to Engonos. But more on that soon, as long as I now set aside Resituam Vitam and take a new look at Engonos and transform the stories that I had put into my blog and set the papers to create the scripts for season one and two, so I reckon that I have plenty to do in the near future. But more on that later. 

As such, my day is done, but there will be more options to consider tomorrow, so have a great day.

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January 16, 2024 · 22:33

Early days

This happens and I know it has happened to me as well. I see a path, I see a direction, but I am seeing it too early. You see, as I am learning more and more about a programs called Final Draft I see more and more potential there. Their YouTube step makes perfect sense. 66,000,000 active YouTubers and all needing direction and organisation in narration makes perfect sense and the fact that Final Draft wants to get a piece of that pie is logic. Yet for some time I have seen that Final Draft is also starting to become important in writing the narration of games. RPG especially but it is not confined to RPG. As gaming franchises evolves that connection merely strengthens. There is one problem, the numbers don’t support that move yet. As such a player like Final Draft might back off, correctly seeing the fact that it is still too early. Yet the larger station isn’t merely that they are too early, the optional station is that they are the only one available and as such the game makers need to see that Final Draft might be the only real solution.

So what is missing?
That is harder to explain. You see it isn’t merely the narration, it is keeping track of ALL the interactions that Final Draft is currently missing that becomes the centre axial in narration software. You think it is easy, but it is not. A prime example is Horizon: Zero Dawn and Horizon: Forbidden West. Now they have a new problem, the passing of Lance Reddick last year is leaving them with a gap, one that will be monumentally hard to fill. In addition Lance is one important reason that made the game great. So now they are looking at what could come net and now a program that shows all the interactions becomes a lot more important. 

This is not for all games and not for all options, but it is a strategic part that is not available anywhere. Consider A game like Assassins Creed. 2 and Brotherhood are all about Ezio, but what happens when another renaissance times game needs to come? Having the interactions would become essential. We can rely on other sources and that makes sense for now. But as franchises grow, as games make it past game 2 having clear records of these interactions become important. I reckon that there is another part I saw (optionally) missing is also applicable to gaming (but way beyond that stage). We need to see where we go next and that also implies that developers of resource materials (like Final Draft) need to see and scan a much larger stage of deployment. Gaming makes sense on several fronts, but not initially and not if the numbers don’t support it. Consider one game Hogwarts Legacy. You might think ’So what?’ What is important is that this game sold over 22,000,000 copies. They can make a second game in a different time (and that makes sense), but having the interaction stage will opt these developers to use Final Draft to keep track of all interactions and seek what would be required down the track. Yes, we can scan, we can ‘remember’ but in the end having a record is the best and that is where Final Draft could also shine. The larger stage becomes that gaming and Hollywood are more and more intertwining and as such there is a natural path for a player like Final Draft as it holds 95% of all scripting solutions. Yet this number changes when we consider that gaming crosses borders like no other and now that the Middle East and China is coming to play n this field as well gives us the light that another source of development materials is required for gaming developers and as such Final Draft is pretty much the only serious resource that needs to grow beyond what it currently has. It is natural to think that it doesn’t have to and that is fine. 

There is also the basic and natural thought for Final Draft to think ‘Why should we have to?’ and I get that. Yet consider that Final Draft is also presumptively responsible for a series like The Big Bang theory (12 seasons) and so many others. Now seeing all interactions in some display starts making sense. I am not talking about the Character Navigator. I am talking about a graphical display on a character and all the characters they interact with, with the added stage of two characters and where they interact. For some characters in 12 seasons it becomes important to light that up, but in gaming it becomes important to the narration stage. What characters did Kratos (God of War) interact with over 5 games. For a lot it is limited to one game, but that is also often because there was nothing to keep proper track of things. I reckon that the future of MMO and other RPG games will see a massive shift in streaming games, it becomes important. As such it might be early in some cases, in other cases a player like Final Draft can remain the only player in town, or relinquish the field for another player to grow a market segment. Final Draft has nothing to fear from any contender for a decade to come, but what after that? Microsoft was in the same stage. One source gives us “Windows has dropped to a historic low of 57.37% market share in the U.S. desktop OS market, a far cry from its all-time high of 92.37% back in January 2009” this was march last year. In less then 15 years it lost a marketshare of 35%. Now the circumstances are very different. But what the setting is in 10-15 years is unknown to me and most others. So a developer can head of the danger, or take a chance. For Final Draft it is unknown. I am not playing some fear card. The simple truth is that for games the numbers aren’t there yet and I would agree with that. What no one knows (and what is being silenced) is that a new player like Tencent Handheld also needs to grow and it will find the tools for all the games they need. Narration is the next big thing in gaming. Look at all; the games you know and optionally love. They ALL have narration. So how many of those have become franchises? Now wonder how important narration and proper recording of narration becomes if there is a part three in the making (or more). The bigger the franchise, the more important the narration becomes, that is a simple truth and lets face it. We all want to be ready for when the game becomes a success. Hogwarts Legacy is an example. It was the first game and it sold 22,000,000 making it the most successful game of 2023. So a second game is a natural thought. Where it goes from there is up for speculation. What is important that there is a gap and Final Draft is the natural choice for anyone taking narration serious. The other part I saw missing was time lines (I will let you figure that part out yourself). I shouldn’t do it all, should I?

Enjoy your day, my midweek is about to start.

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January 15, 2024 · 21:11

It was this simple

As I wrote 22 hours ago, I had an idea. To see this idea, I need to give you one of the few images I saw.

It is an image of Olympus. The intro of the game God of War 3 gives us a little more, as does the game. Yet in the intro stage my first thought (my day one of the game) how awesome it would be to actually walk there. So no doors, no hindrances just walking around Olympus like one of the servants, that sparked the idea. 

Now we get to the ‘now’. You are a greek in the Byzantium empire. I made mention of these places yesterday. The stage is not merely that you are a person. You are shaped by your house gods and the game starts with an old woman. She is travelling and she passes near the village where you live and she sees you. She is an oracle of Dodona and she beckons you over. Then you get the questions on ho the house gods are. This decides where you end up, that field is close to that town. She hands you an old heirloom, it was always meant for you (the key to the game) and she ALWAYS tell you to go in NW direction (and it always leads to a small cavern). As you enter the cavern, there is a small alcove that opens due to the heirloom (but it could look very different game to game). And in that small opened niche leads to a small bronze mirror. With the heirloom that mirror turns into a gateway straight into Olympus.

Now this is where things changes. That mirror is always in the same place. Some atrium for servants and beyond that it is all dark and silent. You can wonder for hours (Olympus is big) and you can start to make inventory of what you see and learn. 

The heirloom will only react to one place and that is where the first god comes in, one of the house gods. Male house gods will be seen through a ring or bracelet, female house gods through a necklace, bracelet or earring. It depends on the gender of the character you are playing. 

In that room you get the first steps. The waters will always run, but the place still has some kind of protection (against intruders), the place has oil reserves (for lighting) and over time as you get a better grip of the place, you will learn about how Olympus ticks. As the first stage is completed Olympus comes alive. You will get to learn how you how to re-engage automatons and as you activate more automatons they get back to the job of repairing, cleaning and adjusting. 

In the game you will learn about EVERY god on Olympus, but due to the house gods, not all paths are available to you. There is a Zeus, a Poseidon and a Hades part of Olympus. And the gods have chosen sides. There are fewer on the side of Hades, but he also adds additional parts to the game. In the game you will ‘recover’ art, you will recover books and writings and so on. It has RPG sides and a massive learning side. I am contemplating to add the setting of adding the ability to learn Ancient Greek in the game. When you consider all the elements you can dismiss it, or consider that this has never been done before. And with that we create history. The concept of learning through games is not new, but on this scale and in this way has never been attempted before. And consider that the God of War Franchise has sold over 66,000,000 copies. I feel certain that every gamer at some point considered walking on Olympus themselves. Now consider that we have one path, but when you finally get to Heaphestus you can unlock an additional path as well as the path to the sections of Hades and the gods aligned with him. I reckon it is meant for streaming systems, but I am not writing off the PS5. A game never seen before, would it work? Haters will say no and now considered how many new IP Microsoft made. I placed 3-4 in my blog, that is the second part of the equation. The haters and the pretenders all claim and do not deliver. I have been delivering ideas and concepts non-stop. Some will work, some will not, but the spark of creativity gave you all that was. What muses could they rely on? I am not sure which muse is watching over my back, but I will share what my mind sees. It is the only way to make progress. A lesson Microsoft never learned, that is why they will lose.

Enjoy the first day of the week, my second day is less than three hours away.

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January 14, 2024 · 22:25

Creating new gaming IP

That happened to me today. I think it started yesterday. Yesterday I watched the walkthrough of God of War 2. I hadn’t seen that since I played the game in 2007 on the PS2. I might have replayed it in 2008. I am not certain. I do know I played the game more than once. But since then the PS3, PS4 and PS5 came and I forgot about it. I replayed the God of War 3 on PS4 (remaster) as well as the original release and watching GoW2 set something in motion and it came to fruition with GoW3. To be clear. This is not some GoW clone, or sequel setting. I believe that would be Santa Monica Studio IP and it would be theirs. I suddenly thought it through as a new IP. More of an RPG but set in ancient Greece. Set in Byzantine Greece (around 400AD) we get a shifting setting but that could benefit the story. I am not revealing too much here, as I am still working things out. But consider what we know, important is also what we do not know and we get the optional setting for a very different IP. An RPG that involves the Greek gods, Greece, history and events that are often overlooked or forgotten. A new kind of educational IP with optional slash and sneaky sneaky (I was always up for sneaky sneaky). Now consider that setting and with two options. Normal and VR play. I do not know too much on VR play as I never played it, but I reckon that if we get this right the interest might be enormous. Even now I am thinking outside the box. Making the player optionally learn ancient greek in the process. There is so much out there and so much to be included that it almost boggles the mind (almost is not always a given). Did you know that it was Aristotle who came up with the Aristotle’s Hole. A pinhole camera in 500BC. There was no film yet, but the foundation of the Camera Obscura is that old. So what happens when we twist that in another way? What happens when the journey is not slaying, but educational? What happens if the game is about repairing (or breaking and repairing)? When (apart from the movie Wreck it Ralph) did you see a game that was about fixing stuff? It doesn’t seem to appealing, but it could be. You merely need to twist the setting on what is broken and why it is broken. 

I myself have always been a huge fan or replayability. As such the RPG has a little snag. You need to create allegiance and throughout the game that allegiance is the guiding star in the game. But what happens when you replay it with another allegiance? What will you fix then, there will be overlap, there will be some similarity, but consider that one part is never seen again for each of the directions you chose. Also, we need to hit other snags. Not complications, merely the outcome of choices you make in the game. So you could replay the game several times giving you optionally other outcomes and other challenges. To this degree a game was never created because those in charge wanted 99% coverage on one game. That time has gone and passed. The impact of Skyrim is making that clear as day and the fact that some people have well over 1000 hours invested in that game is ample evidence that there is space for such a game. I would say that this is up to Santa Monica Studios, but they have their own IP (and they are busy with a new game). So this gets to go towards the non Microsoft indie developers. I still think Amazon is the best choice, but a case now could be made for Tencent and their handheld. I am not ruling out Apple with their Arcade. Yet Apple tends to ‘hide’ in niches and that is not a place where truly great games are made, good games yes, great games a lot less so. And I like my IP to grow beyond expectations. As such I am not ruling out Apple, but I am not holding my breath. That being said Ultima III (by Richard Garriott) was released on the Apple II in 1983. That game got me hooked on RPG games (I had the CBM64 version). 

The moment you think with blinkers is the moment the gaming world passes you by and that is what I did. I removed the blinkers (unintentional) and my mind created the foundation of a new game. One never done before (as far as I can tell) and it is not a small game either. Alexandria, Antioch, Mystras, Ephesus, Mesembria, Reggio Calabria and several other places. That could open a door to a whole range of other games too (not sequels). 

A stage one walkthrough opened the door to. Whilst Microsoft is making new waves (and adding things to Windows 10) whilst we see more issues, what did I do? I created something new. Whilst we get ‘FTC Demands Microsoft Unveil Plans for Ubisoft Amid Activision Blizzard Scrutiny’, I came up with a novel idea. Whilst Bethesda is still releasing patches to a game they released in September 2023. I came up with yet another gaming IP. 

The $0.02 question
You see, what I claim and what is to become can be very different. I think this will be a success (if executed properly), but that is no guarantee that it will be, I do know that. What I also see is that I have come up with several pieces of IP, all whilst Microsoft buys its way to an early grave (with not much to show for it in the end).

Am I right? Am I wrong? That is for others to decide. I know what I have and what I am placing here is a setting that is now public. Over time I will add a lot more and that is also evidence on how those larger players keep on failing. Alexander Hamilton once said “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything”. In this, I stand for innovation, I stand for the pathways ignored. It doesn’t make me better, wiser or wealthier. But it does make me more creative and with cleaning data and gaming that is an edge you should never ignore. It cannot be bought, it could merely be borrowed for a time and the person who has it is the real gem in any crown. Feel free to disagree, but the evidence for well over 2000 years have shown that to be true. 

So here I am feeling happy with another piece of IP I need to work out (still working on a script) as such I might not be posting part 2 of this in the next few days, but it will come.

Enjoy the day, For me Monday is now 100 minutes away.

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January 13, 2024 · 01:01

Something really new

That was my thoughts at some point today. You see, I have heard the news that there would be coming a remaster of the very first three God of War games. I have no idea how true it is, but I started to think of a different setting. You see the first game scored 94% and was pure gaming heaven (or hell depending of your point of view). 

The game was excellent and checked pretty much every box on what makes a great game. As such I very much doubt whether Remake or Remaster will do the trick. I think it is time to add the Reengineer term to the equation. They should go (if possible) with the same cast. They did a magnificent job and this was on the Playstation 2. 8GB is pretty much the best you could get and that was in a system that only had 32MB at its disposal. Now the picture changes. And it goes way beyond the ‘expected’ settings. Yes to Unreal Engine 5, yes to the enhanced audio. But what more? Well, how about adding another track to the game with environmental settings by Bear McCreary? So we have one score, one basic music added to the game, but depending on where you are the Aegean Sea, Athens, the desert, the temple of Pandora, the realm of Hades. That music alters with musical instruments and perhaps some rhythm. Added, not replacing the original music, which was awesome by the way. Now we get to the story. The story was perfect, yet more could be done.

Books
To give the gamer that little bit extra. The 5 games, all get a book. As you complete the games the story remains the same, but with added findings the books get embossed with additional materials. The books in the styles of Homer, Aeschylus, Hesiod, Euripides and Herodotus could be created in game (sort of) and when the game is completed you can read it on the PS5, or export the PDF file. So if you find all the secrets and optional side missions a book is 100% complete. The book will show you how complete it is. 60% is the main story and the 40% could be added as you find all the eyes and feathers. Why? This has never been done before and to get a new stage, we need to add things, we need to give the gamer who did play the original a game that is more than mere better graphics and music. 

Items
Like in the third game there was an option to find things to make the new game plus a more rewarding event. That could be done in the other four as well. The same items from the original remains. But what happens when you find the Dolphin bracelet of Poseidon? Perhaps in water you regenerate. Just a thought. I am not telling Santa Monica how to do their job. They have shown mastery several times over. But my mind went spinning on what more could be possible.  

They are talking about the first three, but we saw the third being remastered on PS4 (and it was awesome) as such getting all 5 done (optional in two master releases called the Kratos, the Greek era) and beyond that I wonder what more is possible. The first two games were released on systems three generations old. So much more is possible now and the added icing on the cake? It is still a Sony exclusive. It Sucks to be Microsoft here. And the idea to see Cronos in unreal 5, to see so many settings in todays graphics would overwhelm gamers everywhere and having optionally two master collection as well as the new concept of reengineered games would open so many other doors too. Too many ideas are entering my mind (some actually very useless) but the idea that I can play almost 20 years of God of War again is overwhelming my senses. 

If all this becomes reality 2025 might become the greatest year of gaming for Sony lovers. I just rewatched (on YouTube) someone doing the first game in 5 hours and change. I took a lot longer and I saw coffers with items in places I had never considered looking. It was awesome to see a 2005 game pleasantly surprise me 18 years later. It made me consider that some changes would be essential. The small shiny star on things to do was all there was in the PS2 era. Now we an do so much more, as such the reengineer option becomes ever more clearly and that has the benefit of not having been done before to this degree ever. Another new stage for the PlayStation. I can only hope I am still alive when these games are released (traffic is a killer in Sydney).

Enjoy your day, it’s Saturday here now.

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December 11, 2022 · 20:33

Gaming Oscars, a chalice of achievement

I was looking for a simple list, but none of them gave it, a simple lit with the game and the amount of awards. None supplied it as far as I could tell and it is weird because the Oscars have done this for decades. The simple stage is that Elden Ring (not my choice) got the Game of the Year win. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that Elden Ring earned it, it really did, it is merely not my game. That does not make me angry, if anything it implies that gaming is bigger than me. The two games I had in that in that direction is the God of War: Ragnarok with Horizon Forbidden West as a second choice. 

So when we see GoW, we see that they won Narrative, Music, Audio design, Performance, Innovation, Action/Adventure, 6 wins in total. My second game Horizon Forbidden West didn’t get any, the competition was too fierce and too good. Elden Ring took home Game of the Year, Best game direction, Best Art direction, Best RPG, a total of 4 wins. Gran Turismo got a win too and a few others 11 wins for Sony, whilst Microsoft has 4 (Elden Ring is on both systems). 7 wins for Sony exclusives. It is a chalice of achievements and it was never in doubt. The exclusives are the system protectors and the system evangelists (if gaming was a religion). 

There we have the larger stage, the larger issue that Microsoft is spinning out of view. When it was all good, they were happy to announce it, now not so much. Even sales numbers are a combination of system S and system X. I reckon the numbers are basically that bad and they are getting worse. No amount of software house acquisition will fix that and the fact that Microsoft is spinning the numbers and hiding them is telling me more, in gaming Microsoft is done for. Not completely, they are the number one ruler in flight simulators and they earned that part, they truly do. Yet life is more than straight forward games. It is about the art and HFW and GoW clearly showed that, in 2023 Hogwarts legacy will show again that love of a subject and dedication to that love will make Hogwarts Legacy shine on any platform it appears on. I personally predict that Hogwarts Legacy will up the mark for achievements in a game by a fair bit. Yes, I saw “a Twitter user wrote: “Hogwarts Legacy got a VERY tepid reaction at The Game Awards… and also did not win.”” Yet that concern was not there for Bayonetta 3, was it? I missed out most of the Rowling debate, in the first because I do not care, in the second that people have personal views and they are entitled to them. If it offends you then crawl under your bed please. She wrote a series of books that captured the heart of two generations, in addition it inspired the creation of Hogwarts Legacy. We see all these people cluster around perfection whilst they have no idea what perfection looks like, perfection to them is anyone who agrees with them and that is the important part of the stage. Gaming is not that. This is why my view on Elden Ring matters. It is not my game, but I saw how amazing it looks and it was a clear competitor to the GOTY and they won, there is no negative thinking by me. Gaming is too big! I have shared my displeasure with Microsoft on many occasions, yet the Flight Simulator was a clear win and they won other items too and they will win more over time (until Microsoft is speculatively no more). You see the wins are not Sony, or Microsoft. These wins are made by dedicated people at Sony and Microsoft. Which Sony seemingly has more of at present. I like the reference to the Gaming Oscar’s, but there is a hidden flaw. A decade ago when Microsoft and Sony were on par, the games were better, now that is seemingly no longer the case. Microsoft games are too often makers like Ubisoft who are everywhere. Yet, we cannot discount Microsoft yet. With Fable, Starfield, The outer worlds 2 and an allegedly new Forza, there is every chance that Microsoft will win big in 2023. I like that idea, because it means that Sony will have to go full throttle in 2023 and 2024. When these two fight, the gamer wins and that is how I like it, gamers winning. So the chalice of achievement might be with Sony in 2022, but there is no assurance that they will get 2023 as well. It makes for great gaming years for all gamers, which is what I particularly like.

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