It came to me yesterday, but I was uncertain what I was looking at. It was not a game, it was at best a stage, but the idea is set in the environment (sort of). We (most of us) are all about extremes when we game and I wonder why that is. As such I got the idea of ‘The Shallow sea’ the stage is set on a train depot, the water has risen and the trains are under water. A mere 3 meters under water, so when you stand on a cargo cars you are up to your shoulders in water. You would be dry on double stacked containers and there are some, but not all. So here we are in a place called the Santa Fe Freight Depot (the place I initially chose) you see, this stage could be a mere stage, but it would be a game in itself. If not for looting, then it would be to find stuff to keep your community afloat so to say. You see, these stages are nice, they are big and they have a whole range of options. But that is the nice part of Streaming games, you can make them a lot bigger than any PC or console game. This setting was done to emerge ourselves into the water life around there and as the trailers would have been there for years, finding goods is a bit of a challenge. Small sharks, barracuda’s, turtles, plant life. A place that evolves over time that you play this level (or game). You see, I was a little irritated with Far Cry 4. Far Cry 3 was awesome and they tried to replicate this. The scene is beautiful, yet well over a dozen times and hour to hear ‘eagle, eagle’ and to get that irritating budgie take another health slot and the irritating ‘heal on my screen’ ALL THE TIME was getting to me. That fictive place Kyrat has more eagles than the nation of Tibet has people. Add to that all the other ‘predators’ and you see why that game has no real setting for a long life. These parts matter, because in a place like I just described, a small shark might appear, but it is really rare. A stage where we can admire the sea life and have a story as well. And the larger setting is not whether this is a game, but what game could achieve the close to impossible when this is merely a level and that is what we forget. Gaming and RPG is not about milking and farming. It is about enjoying the sights. Bethesda and Ubisoft took that away from us and it is time to create games where the people can enjoy the sights again. Yes there should be a conflict and ‘challenge’ side to this, but it should not take away from the joy of gaming. The joy of lore and the joy of going somewhere. I believe we lost parts of that and the streamers could give that back to us. Consider The Horizon games (Zero Dawn and Forbidden west), would they not be even more fun if you can walk through these worlds (after you finish) the games? A stage where the machines are diminished by 90% after the game is completed so you can enjoy the art, the looks and the amazing graphics that the game brought? Restoration might no longer become a Elder Scrolls game, but the sentiment and the setting could be a nextgen. Whilst people game more of the same with Hammerfell/High Rock another developer could bring out a while new kind of RPG gaming and there is space for more, there really is. The new Horizons is likely to come in 2025, A new Elder scrolls with a speculated date of 2028 and that is pretty much it. There is a lot of space here and the Streamers (Amazon and Tencent Technologies) could create amazing new IP by early 2025, with Horizon 3 being to only opposition for years. That is what I tried to tell developers. And if they aren’t getting that, they will be complaining on the side roads. A few more ideas came to mind, but that is for another day. You see, the population of gamers (those who aren’t focussed on some Call of Duty clone) will change and with the tablets forcing advertisements down their throats, it is likely to change a lot and that is where the streamers came in. All paths Microsoft ignored and now there are other options and Microsoft will not be invited (the joker isn’t allowed in bridge). You think I am joking, but I am not. You see gaming for the joy of the game is a forgotten art and those shouting ‘their fragrance’ are about to learn that not listening to gamers comes at a cost and they will go where the joy is, that was why my IP had the appeal (a speculated shine). And that was why I was trying to sell it to Kingdom Holdings. A business man like Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud would know what the power of 50 million subscriptions brought. There is every indications that Amazon and Google overlooked that part and Microsoft was not invited to that party. So there we are in the shallow sea. ?The water up to our shoulders and the question becomes. Would you nag, or would you see what beauty below the surface of the Santa Fe Freight Depot could be brought to life? I leave it up to you.
Enjoy Sunday.
Lawrence van Rijn - Law Lord to be 