Tag Archives: Guerrilla Software

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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December 6, 2024 · 12:09

Early Christmas for Guerrilla Software

Yes, that happens. The moment that we hand someone an early Christmas. The fact that Guerrilla software is not Microsoft related and the fact that they inspired this idea made me want to give me the idea to them. In this it all started on November 9th when I saw something that woke up a spark of innovation. It got me to write ‘The Easy Lesson’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/11/09/the-easy-lesson/) and when I read the statement “Reports suggest that development on Vision Pro began in late 2015, and from that time until WWDC, Apple filed for over twenty thousand worldwide patents and spent about $130 billion on R&D.” I tasted a massive hint of negativity there. I forgot who wrote it, but the idea that innovation was slapped down because it costed a little (130 time a little) threw me off. I thought, what can I do to make it a stronger success. I get it that reporter was all about being cozy with the place where ‘free’ money is (aka Facebook) and I decided to counter that and here is the result, all freely available for Guerrilla software as well as Apple who could use a rather large win at this time. So here it is and have at it.

The idea
The idea is not a game but a visual exploration based on the game. You see, no matter how excellent the game is (and it is really good) true emersion is seen when you are in the middle of it all and as such Apple Vision Pro makes it’s introduction into the world. The idea is to use the setting of the game to show the vision holder on how immersive the Apple Vision Pro is. In this narration you are a traveller from somewhere else. You start in Mother’s Heart. It gives you a lesson in how the narrative works. You are an ‘inventor’ of the camera and as such you can set the stage. You can walk freely in Mother’s Heart see the people and interact with them. The game gives you tasks and that gets you credit coins. If you complete all tasks you get a red marker from an elder. The red marker lets you travel to another location. It also gives you a shelter. You get it randomly, but the shelter is in your name. If you do not have a shelter in that place you get a bunk in an inn or place (depends on where you are). So lets have a look at the locations.

  • Mother’s Heart
  • Freeheap
  • Sunstone rock
  • Meridian
  • Sunfall
  • Mainspring (option)
  • Ban-Ur (option)
  • Song’s edge
  • Longnotch
  • GreyCatch

Mothers Heart has one new location (still random), all others have 2-3 locations

When you are in your location you get tasks (of a sort). You are given a ride (mostly striders in first part) and the narration is set to your proving your camera. You are given an escort a son or daughter of Aloy. AshTone (Daughter) or BeeSneeze (Son). They will escort you so that the ride will ‘stay’ in the right place. Each location has rides out of town to locations where the machines are. They will have an old location to visit, machines to see and more of that. The important part is that this is not a game. You see the machines, but they are all docile. You will be able to photograph yourself with the machine in the background and you haven’t seen anything until you see yourself with a Thunderjaw or a Storm-bird in the background. It will be to get the good shots with machines or distinctive locations in the background. In this we could also enable to locations with a holograph in view and the views they had in the game. There will be the need to add a few hundred tasks in the game so that any location will have dozens of tasks but per ‘play day’ you only get 10. When 10 are completed, you get a red marker and in the first location (Mother’s heart) you get an assigned location, via a raffle bag, which will have stones. Each stoner is engraved and  signifies a location. At that point you will be able to travel to another location and start anew.

Each location will have a specific task, like only Mothers heart will have the option to see Devil’s Thirst. And each location should have a tall neck assignment. The idea is that the Tall neck and other large machines will show you these large machines through the Vision Pro making them seem a lot more impressive than on the PlayStation. All machines are docile and will not harm or attack you. There is however a setting with corrupted machines making the machines attack them on sight, the chance of that is a mere 1%, making it a rare setting. All these options make for playability and a long term entertainment setting. I wonder how long it will take for the Game map to be transferred to Vision Pro. And at this point I have enough setting to get Horizon Zero Dawn transferred including Frozen wastes. And in this the Forbidden West as well. I reckon that if this could be completed there would still be time until the third game is released. 

The towns should be near exact (wherever possible). Several ruins and old cities and each locations will have Chargers, Striders and Broadheads that can be ridden. As I see it, from the Mothers Heart (location one) Striders are used. From location 2 onwards Striders take you back and Chargers and Broadheads take you forward to another location. And after location 2, you can see the glyph on the machine to see where you will go. The locations you have already seen will be readable, the scribbled glyphs are indication that it is a new location and your focus hasn’t learned it yet. After the second location you will have 3-5 rides to chose from. And every 20 tasks after the first 10 give you an additional place to live and show off your created artwork. I have more on this, but that is for the eyes of Guerrilla only.

What I tried to envision is an original narrative with the locations all Horizon players loved and now a lot more ‘realistically’ seen through the Apple Vision Pro. As for the ‘creator’ aka ‘het Grobbekuiken’ Mathijs de Jonge. Hier is het idee, als je denkt dat het wat is, zie het als een ‘early Christmas present’, Veel plezier en een prettig uiteinde. 

Have a great day, it’s Friyay!

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October 25, 2024 · 15:20

When future and past are similar

I made a jump today, it was into the past. Somewhere between the release of Battlehorn Castle and November 2011, I had an idea. A set of quests to ‘automate’ defences and infrastructure in magic. It use actual NPC’s but beyond that, nearly everything went. It went nowhere (as it was not my IP). Yet the idea stayed in my mind. And today I ‘remembered’ the idea I had. 

It can be applied in numerous ways. It might be a DLC for Guerrilla (the Horizon IP), it could be added to any number of non-Microsoft IP’s and it could be added as a simple structure to anything. You see, the IP is sound and versatile as is any good given DLC.

So how did this idea come to pass?

As I revered Elder scrolls (for a long time), the setting of adding to Castle Battlehorn became overwhelming. I found myself wondering how any castle could be without guards. So I set out and created a magical oven, with at the heart the device it replicated. There was a blunt oven (maces) a sharp oven (swords), a range oven (bows) and a guardian oven (Halberts). And every oven needs to be create a few times. Then there was the issue of what materials as used. Iron, steel, or more advanced materials. You needed a forge to create the bars of material and the wood blocks to create the handles. As such, nothing is really made out of nothing (initially) but the setting applies. As you create a more advanced weapon more time per weapon is needed and the machine places it in the basket. A simple weapon (iron, or wood) is about an hour with a maximum of 6 per oven. Getting the weapon in Silver, or gold take more two or four hours. I didn’t want rely on Bethesda weapons to not get them on my back. And as such we now had a near automated weapon system. You needed to be able to forge the master weapon like a iron sword, steel sword or silver sword and the rest was made as long as you had the metals. In the upgraded version I upgraded the machine to require less materials whilst the manufacturing remains the same after that the next upgrade required less time, as such you added to the machines and had a abled guarding setting to your castle.

Then came the kitchens and there the stoves could set out food in bulk for the troops. And with every pen you had, you would add to the specials that the troops would like. A chicken coup, a cow pen, a pig pen and as such the foods would enable much stronger and more resilient troops. The option occurred to create a vegetable patch and as the troops grew, so would the need for more food.

I played with the idea on a few levels and in the end Skyrim was released and I buried the idea in the back of my mind. For some reason the thought got back to me on my morning walk. But in this setting I made a crossover between the bank job in Thief and Horizon Zero dawn (as this is released in 5 days), You see e have the foundries in Horizon for one reason, but what happens if there is a DLC that gets Aloy into a secret location where all is automated. There isn’t a kitchen, but all else remains. Sentries, guardians, servants and the place was all forgotten. Aloy would have to rely on stealth to get things done and that changes the game. She would have to find materials to create hidden paths. And that could be a more sinister task at hand. In the end there needs to be  great reward (like advanced stealth armour) and more powerful weapons. Optionally a more rewarding boon so that the DLC could be in any Horizon game.

I like to think that Guerrilla might like the idea of that DLC to hand to their respectful fans. There are a few other thoughts that I am considering, but out of all of the optional issues is the fact that I created a dozen ideas, all whilst Ubisoft is dropping stock (or better stated their stock dropped). And whilst we see “AJ Investments to go private after Star Wars Outlaws” I merely created over half a dozen IP ideas. Sucks to be Ubisoft. In other news Microsoft stock dropped 7%. They blame their cloud revenue. I say that mediocrity never leads to high praise. I reckon that Oracle largely protected a landslide sell off on Microsoft cloud issues. The creative people rule in almost all IT sides and Gaming has been largely responsible for better IT design from the 90’s onwards. BI people need to realise this and not play the blame game. If they need to blame someone they need only look into a mirror. 

And that sets the creative people apart. Not everything is a sure thing. Nintendo showed us that with the WiiU, it also led to the Switch which blew Microsoft out of the water in half the time that Microsoft needed to make minimum revenue (or more clearer stated, it took Microsoft from 2013 to 2017 to create the revenue which was surpassed by Switch within 18 months) That is the true sign of innovation. I believe that Microsoft is trusting its own spin, all whilst the creative will shoot any spin to smithereens in half that time and there is more to come. As Guerrilla will release the third game somewhere in 2026-2028, whatever Ubisoft or Microsoft had will be reduced to nothing in no time flat. Horizon was the latest true innovative IP in gaming and everything else fades next to it. This also holds true to whatever BioWare will bring in the shape of Mass Effect 5. Even there I had some idea (somewhere in my blog). The problem isn’t merely the bugs we faced in Andromeda (mostly PC) the design was shoddy. There were real moments of brilliance, but I feel that the wrong people tried to make a name for themselves and that went wrong. I set the stand for 5 to include 4 (or Andromeda) to give the fans something to bite into. And that would have created a much larger wave (my personal imagination). Now as we are given that it will not (speculated) come before 2028, people like Guerrilla will get a free reign with optionally gaming fans giving up on their Xbox (yay me). In any event, the set stage as I gave it in 2022 is now more robust as Microsoft has given us too little and Ubisoft has seemingly cancelled more than it released. Now the streamers will have their moment in creating the setting of a lifetime with the optional Tencent or the established Amazon Luna to create a new niche of millions of fans. I foresaw a first phase release of 50,000,000 consoles. With Microsoft only having sold 58 million there is a real state of transfer of gaming fans on a global stage. I envisioned a setting where that streaming solution could grace 150-200 million homes. The Microsoft BI group might want to say that this isn’t realistic, but as I didn’t fight the excellence of Sony or Nintendo. The streaming solution could be next to it, not replacing this. The very first mistake Microsoft made. And now as I have been correct a lot more than I was wrong, I feel certain that the ‘larger’ software houses seems to be ‘placed’ with the Microsoft mindset and we are now shown that it was the wrong mindset from the very beginning. Should Guerrilla also grace the streaming niche I reckon that some players might be going the way of investors of 1929 (read: jumping out of a window, not to be mistaken for a Russian suicide streak).

How wrong am I?

The interesting and valid question. The problem is that the media is not to be trusted. It is filled with stakeholders who need Microsoft to do well and they will downplay the drop of Microsoft. But the truth of the matter is that Microsoft and Ubisoft are seemingly run by Business Intelligence. It makes for a solid core, but excellence (in gaming) is never found that way. It is the creative mind that does that and not to forget the story writers as well. These elements are less seen in the games of today and again Guerrilla is the exception that establishes the rule. As such games of today, software houses of today are grasping back to yesterdays games to make up for that failing. There is also the need to replay the old games (a drive that is not to be underestimated). Yet as far as I can see the horizon, I believe to be correct and should Tencent decide to buy my IP, I will be able to prove it.

Have a wonderful Friday (Vancouver gets to see that in around 3 hours).

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February 8, 2024 · 20:38

The indirect path

I talked about this before. At first to fit the larger station of Elder Scrolls: Restoration, but as they are part of Microsoft. It becomes no way Jose, so I instilled it in a new RPG called Generation. It was not some Bethesda clone, it was totally different and I put a lot on it on this blog (go find it if you care). So here I was pondering a few things. And as I was setting a few thoughts out which flows from the setting of cogs and balances in gaming (a previous story) I gave the indirectness a new side.

Consider that this game is too large to play in one lifetime, so we get a second and even a third generation and that is the start of a new corner of RPG IP. 

So lets take a look at the next generation, the daughter. The offspring gets the mean of the parents. As such it is ((30+20)/2), but with dexterity something else happens. It is still ((15+35)/2) plus 50% of the difference as the woman is stronger in this field. So the daughter gets additional Dexterity, Intelligence and Creativity. The son would have gotten additional numbers in the other field, neither get additional agility as they are both the same for the parents. So there is a balance and over time these traits go up. In other fields like mapmaking it is about creativity, art and leather skills (original maps were created on vellum), this also allows for new settings to use creativity. You can have a McGyver and that allows for weapons (basic weapons) to be created in the field. And until your creativity is up, you will see and collect rope and leather, but until your creativity is high enough, a sling will never be the result. This allows for other weapons and it helps to season other skills too. Scribe skills are there to infuse map making, allow you to recognise books of value and read lore. But in this the skills of the parent will to some degree transfer to the child, something never done before. So over three generations you will have created a much stronger character if you marry right. And here is the kicker. I believe in checks and balances. Getting a too strong character limits the play, but a partner that is not all out in those fields but is an awesome butcher or fisherman allows for food to be gotten easier, as well as get more value from the skinning of a fish or a deer (I love my Bambi burgers). 

The indirect path has never been optimised and it is a niche in gaming that is screaming to be explored. And when you combine the elements you get to see that none of the others have any of this in their games. Over half a dozen gaming IP added to a blog. I give Guerrilla software a pass as their series is all new IP, never seen before and the others? I will let you decide.

Have a great day, my Friday starts in 200 minutes, in Vancouver it isn’t even 2am yet.

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October 20, 2023 · 23:36

Elle Tea Gee

LTG or Long Term Gaming was today’s topic. It was a tweet that brought me to this point. It wasn’t entirely that tweet. When I created the foundation of Restoration replayability was the setting I focussed on.

As such the image made me giggle but then I considered the impact of what could be and that is going to be all the rage in streaming games, or GaaS as some techno dudes set their cap.

You see, would it not be an idea to have a blend of iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 when you play that game in 2024? And I am not merely talking cosmetic. You see in a game like Watchdogs 2, the phones could have additional power and optionally additional protection. Sneaking into a parking lot (one of the WD2 missions) could make it a lot more challenging. That setting is overlooked. It is not the fault of the creators, this setting was never an option in gaming. But now it is possible. For example in Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, some of the elite guards could in 2024 be sporting Body armour by manufacturer XTEK. You see, games never had the additional parameters, but the new streaming consoles will be different, gaming will be taken to a whole new level making it essential that games are upgraded, as will be the need for more and better equipment. Before you start going on ‘that’s too hard’ consider that we see now what was never an option in the Commodore Amiga or the Atari ST. Games and systems evolve and now we get a setting where one system (a streaming system) will add new dimensions of gaming. I will not part with my PS5, I love it too much, but having a streaming system next to it will become more and more commonplace. Now these evolutions are not a given. Assassins Creed Mirage will not be impacted, it plays 1200 years ago. But there are plenty of games where if COULD apply. Newer speedboats, new model cars, new model nearly everything and there is a larger setting.

On February 13th 2022 I wrote “Just like the stage of combining deeper machine learning to a lens (or google glasses), a camera lens that offer direct translations, and the fun part is we can select if that is pushed through to film, or merely seen by us, now consider filming in Japan with machine learning and deeper machine learning auto translating ANY sign it sees” (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/02/13/looky-looky/) in the article ‘Looky Looky’ Now we see advertisements by Google iPhone doing that very thing. Another example where my creativity trumped a big tech company, in this case Google. Gaming was about pushing boundaries and it could do so again, not at the behest of Microsoft when they finish some new piece of software, but ahead of that software. People like Sid Meier danced on the edge of the CBM64 with Pirates in 1987. He did what even Commodore did not consider possible and he was not alone. We need to push art back to that stage and streaming systems are the most logical choice here. A setting where long term gaming could evolve and for the streamers (Amazon and Tencent Technologies) that stage needs to be explored sooner rather than later. When gamers see that they get a new dimension in gameplay. They will come and tip their toes in the water. Gamers always do and that is why Sony was scared of the SEGA Dreamcast. 

Soul Calibur was something that no one had, not even Sony. SEGA pushed the envelope and of course Xbox360, PS3 and PS4 had their own innovative successes. Now it is time for a new level of innovation and it is my believe that streamers could be holding that trump card. How players like Ubisoft will go about it? This is anyones guess, but I reckon that a player like Guerrilla Software and Santa Monica Studio are looking into that chapter right now, because the first one in will get the larger slice of pizza, that has always been a given and it is one of the reasons I oppose Microsoft invasion of the safe space that we gamers had. It was not about making gaming for everyone, it was pure and simple greed and greed will diminish a game EVERY TIME. There is no exception to that rule, which is why I am making a lot of my thoughts public domain. I hope to inspire and spark independent game makers. Yes, I had a dollar sign on my head as well (a person needs to eat and pay rent) but a lot is already PD here, so I will never see a penny of that myself. 

So, whilst I am ‘evangelising’ Long Term Gaming, the setting in a GaaS (Gaming as a Service) is not new and it will exist and it should exist. Game Pass was a brilliant idea. It was Microsoft’s decision to not include several games until 2024, but there could be a legal reason (I do not know). 

What matters is that I just had an additional idea that no game is sporting at present, that is not on those games. They were limited by hardware. With streamers it is a lot less limiting on deployment and physical copies. It is a different animal where we get a new stage, a new kind of food and a new kind of animal, but not one we have ever seen before and that makes it exciting.

Enjoy the weekend. Down here Saturday is a mere 1827 seconds away.

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October 8, 2023 · 09:52

The preluding thought

This started a few hours ago. I was in a conversation when a thought occurred. The idea would have merit, but I was amazed that no one has acted on this, not in years. The first culprit would be Ubisoft. They are so caught up in what they perceive to be innovation that actual innovation passes them by. They might be the biggest one, but they are not alone. In less then an hour I had the setting maturing in my brain. So lets take a look

This is the selfie system. A gamer can upload a selfie into the gaming portal, from there it goes to a server side processing module and from there it goes into the game. We have all these photo options. Yet, I reckon that millions of gamers would want to see themselves in Whiterun, standing in front of a dead Thunderjaw, standing in Gotham, being in Cyberpunk and some of these games would allow you to buy the postcard in the game (in Cyberpunk) and that postcard of you in the City Center could be ‘mailed’ to your game account, downloaded and you could put it on your social media. The funny thing is that this approach was an option 10 years ago. There are of course the funny flaky moments (an 21st century image of you in 9th century Bagdad), you name it, there are options.

The server-side processing module would be the IP of the gaming company and it could be applied to EVERY game they want to, and that one server-side module would be applied to EVERY game, so one module only and as the stage evolves that module just gets better and better.  The portal might alter per game and per console, but there are already options with Sony, Nintendo likely too. PC had these options decades ago. The portal is the only one that might need adjusting for every game, as such every game will have a portal part, but that is actually the smallest part of all.

What baffles me is that no one has put this in place. Perhaps there are reasons and I reckon that there would be a need to set the legal premise that every uploader is legally responsible for WHAT they upload. Yet I do believe that this is a minor adjustment. It also corroborates with a thought I had years ago. To upload your image so that the character you play represents you. Wouldn’t it be great if you are the photo mode? I know that this cannot be done with every game, but a Nord in Solitude that looks like you? Skyrim has sold 60 million copies, that implies that well over 30% would want this. That is almost 20 million social media posts and those on multiple channels will show it everywhere. So why has no one considered and acted on this?

I refuse to believe that I am the first one, but the lack of actions on the other side (game developers) seem to imply that no one has seriously looked at that part of gaming. You see games can only exist as they cater to the gamer, that much has been a fact for decades. So what gives?

I will let you ponder that, for me Monday is only 14 hours away, enjoy the day you have.

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September 7, 2023 · 10:03

Media Markets

That was what stuck in my mind when I saw the Guardian view of Starfield. The writer Keza MacDonald crying like a little girl, giving us view and “Along with several others, including the greatly respected games publications Eurogamer and Edge, we were left waiting until the game’s early access release last Friday to play it.” Yes, there is seemingly some cherry picking happening, but that has been the case for years. What does matter is that Starfield is not that great release. Some ratings are as low as 70%, that is a massive miss for the budget and alignment of stars. Skyrim with one exception was a 90% plus all across the board. There is a reason that this game has been heralded since 11.11.11, not because 11 is the crazy number (yo figure that part out). Skyrim is no matter how critics see it mind boggling. It still rocks the current generation hardware based on a previous generation console specifications. So when the Guardian gives us “It is very much like No Man’s Skyrim, as much about menus and mining and navigation as it is about finding interesting quest-lines and exploring planets on a whim”. For me this is funny as both Skyrim and No Man’s Sky are ‘earth’ shattering products, they are both unique in their own way and it seems that Starfield is neither. The reviewer gives us “Starfield has had a mixed but broadly positive reception so far”. The article reads like a cry song on how the Guardian is not one of the chosen few, but does it give a good view of Starfield? Nope, it does not. No we are given “Negotiating all this is part of the job for games journalists” all whilst the title ‘Bethesda chose not to give us early access to Starfield – and it’s readers who lose out’. My view? Nope, the readers lost out as you whined like a little bitch. So when we are given “I am reliably informed that this is one of those games that might get its hooks into you after the first 10 or even 20 hours” with the added “though, the forthcoming fantasy Elder Scrolls 6 might be a more worthwhile investment of time” and that is a review? Go cry me a river. Oh, and before I forget the new Eder Scrolls 6 is (for now) not expected before 2026. Does that mean you will whine another 2 years? So the Guardian shirked their duty (as I see it), when the floodgates go away they could have given us the goods. What is good, what is less and what sucks. No, we get a ‘I am not a chosen reviewer cry song’. 

Early access is marketing and I get that and Bethesda, Microsoft and pretty much EVERY game developers will hand over their cherries to the best source of gaming news, which is in this case anyone with the right following that will sing praise of their game. A YouTube reviewer called Parris gave the game four out of five, which translates to an 80% game. He gave us the goods why it is great, on things that are not great and things that need improvement. His review (for a lack of better term) was stellar. That is the review that makes me buy a game and that matters to Bethesda, that was their goal and he delivered on that with  (what I believe to be ) a honest opinion. I see and in this case saw way too many reviews. Plenty of haters there too (not sure why). You see an RPG is rather specific. It is a niche game which grew from small to huge in less than 10 years and Bethesda has been the major driving force in that growth. I believe that they opened the floodgates with Oblivion and the flood never stopped since 2006. Bethesda pulled that off and the added water damage that Fallout 3 brought just kept on going. So we all might have set our views to high after Skyrim, a true crowning achievement for any developer. 

So what went wrong?
I believe that the media is part of that problem, the digital dollars made for a new kind of writing and games are not part of that equation. The media now relies on self proclaimed hypes and that does not sit well with the current developers. Portkey games is a mere example (Hogwarts Legacy) and now Bethesda. So will the media adjust, or will we see another cry story when Guerrilla Software selects their reviewers for the third Horizons game? There is no indication, but that might come before Elder Scrolls 6 (speculative wishful thinking). In the meantime there is a lot more coming and it is not on some developers. You see, I have been trying to keep tabs on the new Tencent Technology handheld console which they are doing with Logitech and how much media have we seen? Not that much. Is it an anti-China thing? That new console will bite into the marketshare of Amazon and Microsoft for sure. It will support Microsoft gaming and as such it will grow fast, but the media seemingly ignored it to the largest extent. I keep tabs on it as it could facilitate my IP and if Tencent wants the 50 million new subscriptions, it can. Amazon seemingly doesn’t want it, Google dropped it Stadia and now Tencent has the option of getting in excess of 50 million new ‘gamers’, surpassing Microsoft within a year, just like Nintendo did with its Switch. Should this come to pass, Tencent technologies will come close to Sony, closer than Microsoft has EVER been. This all matters because the media is keeping gamers in the dark. So when we reconsider the headline part ‘and it’s readers who lose out’ it is not that, it is the media who changed the way they wrote, to adhere to digital dollars, to adhere to emotional flames and that is what most readers are a little sick of. It drive me to create an IP that pushes Facebook and others out of the way. Gamers want to game, but the console has other options too and with streaming that now comes to the surface and a player like Google should have been on the front lines there, not dumping their stadia, but that might merely be me. 

So there will be an upside for Bethesda/Microsoft. Even as their console is no longer the bees knees (it never was), Tencent Technologies could fill a gap that Bethesda might assist filling. Yet I do believe that they need to have a very hearty conversation with reviewers like Parris Lilly (gamertech radio) to upgrade Starfield to ‘Starfield More’. It could propel Starfield from a average 70%+ game to the game that it needed to be (85%-90%) and that would be a massive increase and gamers will applaud that setting. What is funny is that streaming allows for this and for Bethesda to push that envelope to a new setting might be a way to go (merely one of a few) but the crying Keza MacDonald (at the Guardian) didn’t think that through. No, crying and waiting for a 2026 release was the answer that the reader was given. Within an hour I offered a new destiny, a new horizon and a new hope (yes, a Star Wars reference) which in this case applies in more than one way. 

And for me? Well if it comes to the Tencent handheld I might actually play Starfield as well, it might even be a reason to get that handheld (My Switch just died). And that is the gamer field, the gamer field is forever in motion. We might hate Microsoft, we might hate Sony, but we are always looking on that next fix that gaming provides for. All gamers seek it and we are minds forever voyaging (yes, a gaming pun). 

So what next?
Well to be honest, I had closed the Starfield book, mainly because I am not playing it. Yet the Guardian opened that door again with that pathetic article and blood needed to be drawn (I sharpened my Yanagiba knife for the occasion). As stated in earlier articles, I believe in fair play and being honest with shedding blood and tears. Simply put, I will not shed a tear when shedding Microsoft blood, they did it to themselves, but the media doesn’t get that consideration. The media market changed and even as it is not always visible, it tends to be overly visible in gaming. Gamers are a funny lot (I am one of them), pushing their buttons comes at a price, which Don Mattrick learned the hard way on May 21st 2013, now a little over 10 years ago and Microsoft is still bleeding from that event. More-so if Tencent surpasses them by December 2024. Still it is not merely Microsoft, it is the media spin that is pushing gamers into new fields and even as Starfield was to be that force, it is not to late for Starfield, they still have options. I believe that Bethesda has a hidden diamond there. Am I right? I am not certain, but a game that took this much time, energy and resources cannot die on an average setting, Bethesda has created too many great titles for a new IP just to sizzle and that is my view on the matter.

Enjoy the day.

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September 4, 2023 · 01:40

Ding, ding, ding, meltdown.

Normally I let things slide. There are a whole range of reasons why I would stop to proceed. Yet Starfield is a two edged sword. It is the larger setting for Microsoft and it is a new IP for Bethesda. Now on the surface it might seem nothing new, but the meltdown I just witnessed on Twitter (I refuse to call it X) is another matter. Gamers are dodgy to say the least. They love innovation and new RPG, but certain settings need to be open, but a choice for the gamer. So here it comes.

The view by Dan Vasc (at https://t.co/b1m0tt4ib2) is something to behold. And all this is just in week 1, before the official release of the game. And now the media has a go. There are low performance issues, there are apparently audio issues and a few other issues. Now, I get that there are issues, this is new IP. But what I am reading is that these issues should have ben captured by Alpha test teams, they should not exist in Beta editions, let alone early access, yet this is MY personal view. You see Freeze issues are not something you leave to the New Game + solution, this should not exist at this stage. And the list goes on and as the official launch starts, there will be even more issues. Another source is talking about Major Accessibility Problems all whilst yet another mentions that the inventory screens need a massive overhaul. All issues that should have been brought to the front of any limited Alpha test release. But I see again and again a mention like “least buggy Bethesda release” almost like it was spoon fed to the reviewer, but that could be merely me seeing things that are optionally not there, almost like I froze for a moment because my visual scanner was glitchy, but I do not have a New Game +, when I die that is it. There is no new life and no rinse and repeat. That is why PROPER testing is massively important. The stage given to us by Dan Vasc might be merely him, but that might not be the case. RPG gamers are a strange bunch and when Guerrilla Software release Horizon Forbidden West they saw how loyal and how strange some RPG gamers can be, yet the bulk loved and embraced HFW. After the colossal blunder that Redfall showed itself to be, Microsoft (Bethesda too) had the duty to take extra care for Starfield (and maybe they did), but the voice of Dan Vasc tells a different story. You see emersion is nice, but the people need to accept that emersion and making his claims to emersion an option in the game might have been the best choice. I cannot tell, I am not touching Starfield (its an Xbox only product). But his loud voice is making me wonder how much trouble Bethesda is in now, because no matter what Microsoft will claim out in the open, if this game does not bring home the bacon, Microsoft will prune the Bethesda tree to the largest extent and that gives me the idea that developers might want to get on the RPG train now. If a place like Bethesda is rejected there will be no one to champion the torch of RPG, for that new IP is needed and my articles over the last 2 years will give a new developer (for Amazon and Tencent technologies only) a brisk handle of raking in the profit, because gamers need a place to be and it is way to soon to tell where they go, but if Dan Vasc is to be believed RPG gamers will need a new destination and the 60,000,000 copies that Skyrim sold, implies that there are a few million out there panicking and seeking a new refuge. Plenty will be happy in the Sony camp with its offerings, but not all are Sony minded, that is fine, there will be options for Amazon Luna and Tencent Technologies if makers of games wake up, because the wake up call I just witnessed was a loud one. Was it loud enough? I reckon that by the arrival of next weekend that will be a lot more clear for all to see.

It turned Monday 96 minutes ago here. How is your Sunday going?

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June 10, 2023 · 17:48

How to ping a delusional mind

You would think this is about someone and you would be right. This time it is about me, all about me. You see, if you read my previous article (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/06/10/without-intro-course/) called ‘Without intro course’ you would see that I am giving a lot more attention to the NPC part of RPG gaming. I have no idea how it is currently done. Yet I suddenly had a spark and I will only lift part of that veil. You see Microsoft is always watching and those losers are out of the game of consideration. This will be only for Sony (Playstation), Amazon (Luna) or the Tencent (Logitech G handheld). I personally would love to include Nintendo, but they would not be able to facilitate this. That is not negatively intended. Their system is awesome, but this is nextgen stuff, beyond the PS5. And then only three remain as I see it. This new system is a reengineered solution that could facilitate up to 25,000 NPC’s in a game. No one has ever done that and I got there in the weirdest way. The first thing my brain gave me was “When is a VOR not a VOR?” Which I got from Die Hard 2 (1990) it started a sea of ideas and as my mind was redesigning what it was designing in the first place a thought came to me and as I thought it through it made more and more sense and this is merely the groundwork. You see as I got thinking I remembered my old classes (UTS, 2011) which got me to the IP of Vinton Cerf. Yet his idea was set to other settings and it as not the obvious of choices, but if I am right, this ‘improved’ patent might fly. You see one setting is “If the improvement is also considered non-obvious, then the patent office would grant you a patent on the improvement”. I feel certain that Vinton never considered this application. The idea of game streaming and usage for the NPC characters never existed and until this moment doesn’t seem to exist. Some issues we see in Skyrim (not a bad word about that game) and the Horizon series never seemingly touched on this. Yet if I am right, my brooding has moved me to an entirely new setting of RPG gaming and that I keep under wraps and add this to my first IP as an optional bonus. There would be more less obvious advantages, but that would be giving away too much of what my delusional mind just set in motion. No matter how this turns out. My imagination engines are running full throttle and it isn’t even Sunday yet. 

Have fun.

 

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November 11, 2022 · 19:25

First of two issues

I had a rage attack today, it was right after some stupid set of saggy t*** decided to attack Elon Musk in a Presidential briefing. It feels like she is from Forbes. They have been pushing the Musk envelope. It is my personal belief that they are close friends with Jack Dorsey, a person they seemingly never asked any serious questions from and ‘the national security danger that is Saudi Arabia?’ Oh, I got her number and then some. But there is time for that and I have seen that death is not the worst a person can experience. It will be my delight to introduce that terror to her. But there is time for that and certain plays are not completed. But then something happened. 

A tweet brought Me back to my senses. This lady is totally nuts about Elden Ring. I get that drive, that devotion, optionally that obsession. I do not agree with her, but that I her right. I did not play Elden ring. I could never finish BloodBorne. I still have it as it is one of the most beautiful games I have, next to Dark Souls 3, a game I equally never finished. Both utterly sublime, but in my lifetime I doubt I will ever finish that. Yet it was about her feeling. I thought I had the same with Horizons: Forbidden West. But then God of War: Ragnarok came. I am taking me time as every corner, every sight is a feast for the eyes. I lost a few lives, but that is OK. The game delivers again and again and the story is magnificent, as is the music. I do not believe that Guerrilla software has anything to fear. There is space to love control of both Kratos and Aloy. Two amazing pieces of faming IP, this was a good gaming year and I am not forgetting Gotham Knights. Three Amazing journeys. Yet at present I am knee deep in Asgardian folklore and epic myths and Santa Monica Studios deliver in ways you cannot believe (unless you are playing the game) it is good that in the twilight of my life I can still be amazed by games. I started gaming in 1984 and I never stopped. I might not have the drive I once had (like playing 167 levels of Loderunner on the CBM64 in one sitting). I did take a sickie for that event. It was a time when you could pause a game, but you could not save a game. Still, 38 years later and that gam is still part of me. Games evolved from CBM64 we got the CBM Amiga, then PC, then the PlayStation range one through five and gaming never disappointed. I might not like everything, but that is not required. There is space for the yearners of Elden Ring, the obsession with Quake, Halo and Bethesda games. It is an inclusive group, the more the merrier. 

There is no hindsight, not a new piece of IP (other than the ones I already have). Many forget that gaming is not a business (to some it is), it is the ones that see games as art, those are the games that get the 90%+ reviews and Sony has a basket full of those, no matter how many ‘opponents’ troll rating into the basement. The gamers know what is what and they are driven to success. To achieve the end of the story. Anyone finishing Horizons Zero Dark can tell you about that. There is a need to finish the story and God of War: Ragnarok is no different. Do not worry, no spoilers here. 

Passing that line yourself is so fulfilling it gives value to a game and you will cherish EVERY dollar you spend on it. Today was a great day for gaming. I wonder if that is why I became angry at Forbes with its BS sense towards an owner and a partner who owns a mere 4% of Twitter. Which is interesting as the China hatred in the US does not give rise to the partnership that Microsoft and Tencent have, not even from Forbes, where is their national security interest there?

I am contemplating words I once got from Frank Herbert “He who can destroy a thing, can control a thing”, he published it in 1965, 57 years ago. Words to live by and I am feeling rebellious and frisky, a dangerous combination in someone with my mindset, but Forbes will soon learn that lesson. I’ll give fair warning a day after I have completed the exercise. Only fair, not?

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