Tag Archives: review

October 17, 2026 · 19:56

The new you

That is at times the setting. It the you you see the old or the new one? As a relic of the past, I tend to remain the old me, but that is still not always a given. You see, we (you, me and all others) tend to hold up a mirror, so we can show others what we see, but we tend to not look at ourselves. It is perfectly natural to do this, there was one person in the past who did just that, but he was but one (and his name was Narcissus) but one is not a steadfast number for any level of comparison. So why are we so driven to compare ourselves? That is a question I had when my mind went back into comparison mode reverting to game design. I had the idea in the past to create an RPG game mostly based in Olympus. But I wasn’t given my mind towards game mechanics. That ends to be a waste off space, because if we design it now we tend to fall into the area of Bethesda and that is a losing field. This is not on Bethesda, their engine is now 2 decades old and for any game to stay standing to this effect is quite the achievement. No, I was contemplating different matters, storyline matters. Because I truly believe the slogan that FX gave us “the story is everything” and most of us can live with that thought, especially gamers and that is also the hidden trap. How can you create a storyline that holds you in place for over a decade without grinding? It is an honest a question, because after the umpteenth time I play Skyrim that is exactly the setting we face. I created the setting of Elder Scrolls VII (now VIII) and in my mind the setting is still enticing. The map of Skyrim is almost the same, but to do this we need Cyrodiill to be about 900% larger so if the map is 5 by 5 miles, it will now need to be 15 by 15 miles. It all make the imperial city almost 900% of the original size and they need connecting. For the setting then I came up with Elsweijr and Valenwood being connected, so consider that setting. Playing a Skyrim side of game with these three parts connected and now whatever Bethesda is creating added to all that. And that becomes the main stage of what Skyrim used to be.

So, now we get to the ‘now’ and we consider that Olympus is that overwhelmingly large, but the larger buildings are the buildings of Zeus and Poseidon, with buildings connected to it all for the other gods and only Hades has his own place in the underworld. So the Olympian gods were Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus. So, they do not mention Hades, which is the lovely attached place and that place has fallen into disrepair. So here you are (yes you) entering a place you know not where and you have to figure it out and in the meantime The story evolves and that takes a new kind of storyline, so whilst you think that they are your size, that is not really the setting because Ares is (almost) 9 foot tall and these three big cats are larger than that, so you need to adjust your way of thinking, So we get layer upon layer of gameplay and there is where we are and we are thrown into a game where classic works are the setting of the time and it is not just the Olympic gods you need to worry about, because the had incarcerated the Titans in Tartarus and this is the setting that you face. They are about to realise that their ‘slayers’ are no longer there and whilst we might ‘rally’ behind that thought, but their release will wreck whatever works you have now. So how you have a ‘gameplay’ that favors stealth a whole lot. And the defence setting are about to wake up and that is the setting we get and whilst all are doable, the idea is that they are not the same way and as such you get a diverse setting and in this game your gender is closer set, because the man can not openly enter the worlds of Hera, Athena, Aphrodite or Hestia. Except when you are Hermes (the mailman no less and there is no two knocking, but it does allow for some leniency in the game, and that is where the stealth comes in, but getting it all up and running again is the key and also the hindrance in the game. As such the messenger has a solemn side and also the thing not the whole game, because the game is not about my being clever, it is about creating a game that is true to life (as far as that is possible) but for now it is my conundrum to figure out, because there is no gem of “Just like” the other settings and that is the challenge for me.

But it also favors the solution. You see, the realms of Zeus and Poseidon were impacted by pollution and as such we get a new game, one that prefers the settings of are environmentalists and conservationists. A side we never contemplated before and Hades is surrounded by the billions of dead souls, so it is wrecked and in all that we need to set a stage where their souls are the fuel that gives them all power and that becomes the challenge and whilst we look at that we ar creating new (optional epic) storylines according to the works of Homer, Virgil and Dante Alighieri, but there were others and that is the challenge to stay true to their course and incorporate it into the game (luckily for me their works no longer fall into the realm of IP protection) but I wanted to create an idea that does evolve according to how YOU play the game, which is an almost unheard setting before and whilst you wonder on how the world of Bethesda impacts this world, consider that between the elated and the damned is a setting of servitude and that makes the game settable to your hand and whilst you want to consider that, the game has an overreaching interaction (like it is its own god) into the gameplay that you embrace making you do things over and over before you get it right, it is the Olympic version of guiding the player and that is the challenge, finding the two sides of the same coin and letting that play out, so whilst you see changes, the game is also impacted by the pollution that has gone unchecked (until now) and that is how the gods could reemerge (except Hades who is bogged down in souls) and whilst we get to become a ‘SIM’ to alter the game the ‘SIM’ gets to become self aware and as Olympus regains its own setting we can create a game here the gods return and these are levels of achievement that the game ‘rewards’ to create a setting that evolves Olympus and as such the world as a whole. I still haven’t worked out all the details, because I am driven towards a totally new engine and that is the challenge, because that unique challenge will entice gamers (optionally millions of them) to correct others into trying these settings. But that is my challenge and perhaps one for the record books, into a streaming RPG that holds the key to a lot of new players.

And I reckon that if you know something of the old gods, the world of Hephaestus and Hades are adamant in creating a new Olympus. And it is not about merely creating a new game, it is a way to hold everyone in front of a mirror and saying this is how YOU achieve this and I reckon that this becomes the setting for what is now ‘regarded’ as PS6 terrain.

So have a great day and it is time to create a new setting regarding whatever rules the sense of reason in the United States (according to the Sydney Morning Herald) whilst we see “The US Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the consumer price index climbed 3.7 per cent in September from a year earlier, exceeding the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg and leading Wall Street traders to boost bets that the Federal Reserve will need to lift interest rates again before the month is over. What’s notable about the report, besides the fact that it shows inflation is accelerating, is that it reveals consumer prices are rising faster for rural America, gaining 4 per cent over the past 12 months, than for city dwellers (up 3.6 per cent). This has been the case since right after the start of the Iran war in late February. Not only that, but the gap between rural and urban inflation this year is the widest since 2022, just after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” This is important as it kinda reflects on the ‘Hoekse en Kabeljauwse twisten’ (Dutch) where we consider  “The conflict between the Hooks and the Cods was a struggle between various factions within the elite of the County of Holland. Both the nobility and the towns were involved. The conflict raged intermittently from the second half of the 14th century until the end of the 15th century. Events that took place between May and September 27, 1350, led to the first phase of these “feuds.”” This is what a class war feels like and the United States is seemingly heading that way, but not to worry, that event lasted from 1345 until1492 and as I see it, the United States has a mere 10 years at the most (if even that much) to sort out its mess, at that point there pointless way of life comes at an end and I think the people who want to avoid that could be playing a game on the shaping of a new Olympus. When people want to correct me on all kinds of matters that it was not based on classes, and they would be right, because it was not a class war in the modern Marxist sense, though social and economic tensions played a role and a big one, making it (in my view a class war) and whilst some adversely react, the setting lasted almost 140 years and a lot of the document that mattered are lost, but now consider that as given “the fact that it shows inflation is accelerating, is that it reveals consumer prices are rising faster for rural America, gaining 4 per cent over the past 12 months” and as I see it, this is a class war. The meteorites versus the rivals and in the 1400’s the metrolites were considering extreme hunger as the ruralites had growing the foods. Doesn’t that sound familiar? But in this day and age LA has 3,869,089 and New York has 8,584,629 people. Over 12 million, so how will you feed them? You either meet the difference and split that, or you go hungry and I reckon that this US administration has absolutely zero intent (or experience) to split differences and as I see it, they are losing allies a lot faster than they are ready for. And as we now see (to hours ago) ‘Trump pauses new Russia sanctions passed by Congress amid deepening row with Ukraine’ there is a larger setting in all this and whilst these people are ignoring the real threat to the United States, they are playing footsie with Russia? In my (possible wrong) look, it seems that the United States is losing several grounds of funding it has and it is about to get worse. I get there by the Guardian text “Donald Trump has put on hold a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause on the legislation passed by both chambers was in the national interest.” Since when is a pro Russian setting national interesting the United States? The only thing that makes sense if the United States is about to enter a state of Insolvency, but I am telling you upfront that this is my view and it could be incorrect, but when we see these class wars come, we could face other settings, but the setting that the Commonwealth and the EU might be safer with China in the mix is a lot more safe than anything the United States could falsely promise (something it has done so a few times in the last year)

And I merely wonder if we aren’t better of playing a video game until it blows over, or until the electricity runs out. Because at that point, your memory is all that remains, it you could feed it that is. It becomes a simple setting of the new you and that will be a hard pill to swallow, because we were pushed into consumerism for all the greedy reasons corporations had and that is now coming to an end. Have a great day today.

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October 3, 2026 · 00:03

Is there plus plus?

An idea escaped me today. I might have had it before, but it stood in my brain rather still. You see I am playing Skyrim for the (fifth or seventh time) I played is when it was released on 11.11.11 and a few times then. This time was because o wanted to see if it was so much better in 4K (I only recently got a 4K TV) and I am having a ball, but there is a lot that is merely passing the time. I played it too often, as such I know what is coming. But wouldn’t it be great to ave a surprise in this case? As such I was thinking that if you do it again and you deal with Alain Dufont but you also need to deal with the quest by the elderly alchemist Frida. If you have also done the mission that Bothela from the Hags cure give you, you could get a letter from an additional mission (somewhere, somehow) which will be a mission you have never done before. (Like getting 5 Briar Hearts) you could add at least 9 missions to them and optionally a few more. The idea will make you consider every mission you have done and whilst replaying the game, you will get a few more missions. Don’t worry Skyrim had plenty of mission, there is a chance I have never seen a mission (I doubt it, but never mid the chance) and in a game this large the surprise of ‘I never had this mission before’ is a very welcome change of pass. Such missions are also possible in Horizons and I reckon they should be added through the side missions. Consider even one RPG, the idea comes like a merit giving extra in any game. There could be an extra to these missions (for any city you have a house) which would given you an optional bauble (a cosmetic extra) for your place, like extra tapestry (Markath) or a painting (Solitude), the extras that you could receive are numerous. And I am merely giving Skyrim as an example. The same thing could apply for a Fallout game or an Assassins Creed game. It opens up the benefit of replaying that game and it is important to make is as a NewGame++ option. Because as I see it, there was nothing wrong with the original games, thesis merely a little boost into getting the heart pumping towards that game. It could be that Kesh the Clean (Peryite) could given you an extra mission if you became a champion of Peryite and did one additional mission if you had given a gold coin to Lucia in Whiterunb. The possibilities are numerous but that extra will give the player a few small surprises in a game that they didn’t see coming and that is part of the charm or Skyrim (or any other RPG game). 

So as it is now time to emulate a sawmill, I take my leave from you all. Have a great day and enjoy the world we still have for now as President Trump is demanding the EU releases its diesel reserves. I reckon that things in the United States are getting worse quickly, so while Al Jazeera gives us “The European Union “fully rejects” a US demand to release emergency diesel stocks as the fuel’s price soars in the United States and elsewhere amid the war with Iran.” I reckon that the end is nigh in the United States. I always saw this coming, but the bully tactic to someone’s reserves is a new one. I reckon that things are about to get really bad. So time for adjustments to a game to give people something to look forward to. So whilst some are giving us “It comes as US President Donald Trump says he may ask European countries to release diesel reserves as he considers banning US exports of the fuel” I reckon it is time for the Commonwealth (particular Canada) give the EU a larger advantage and watch the United States turn from the inside out. So lets see how much oil Australia could send the EU (the United Kingdom too) It might not be much, not sire how much LNG and oil Australia drills for, but I am all for seeing that way from the United States (if they got any) it is the only response that bully tactics invoke on me. 

Have a great day all.

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September 30, 2026 · 08:11

Shadow time

In this age of games and remakes we tend to ignore a few games that fall into the crevices of success of storytelling. I personally liked the first game better than the second one. I am talking here of the Darkness. The storytelling of the first game is better and it gives a better telling of ones dark story. Together with the nitty and gritty, it is an absolute favourite of mine. I feel that the story was taken to the max and it gives a lot of potential, as such in this day and age it could easily be remade into a game that could score a 10 points stronger and it already had a great score. In stead of setting a ‘new’ stage, the New York stages were near perfect. The entire construction stages, the tunnel intro give a decent gritty organized crime setting. The setting of the back streets of New York are a great setting for stories. Although it is a lot of pew pew settings, the settings make sense. Nothing is too far over the top (beside there setting that his broken headwall was fixed.but that belongs to the story of the Darkness. There might have been limits to the Xbox360 setting, but the PS5 and Xbox X took care of those and as these boundaries are shot to shot, the game gets a decent setting of New York, complete with subways. Is it merely me? Do I miss these games? Yes, I do and I do not think I am alone here. Top Cow comics has its own fanbase and it is a significant one. There are also loads of people that do not adhere to DC or Marvel and that is fine. I myself started as a Batman fan, but Top Cow had its own appeal, as such their comics are decently build for gaming and I am of the mind that the Darkness is set to the top. There are more and there are great comics in either of these three houses to give rise to massive gaming, because like comics, games seek to the end of the individual and that is where the magi tends to happen. So when these ‘blockbuster remasters’ are done hashing up the same old for the next generation, they should consider the games that did not score 90%+ and see what’s they could make of that. As I said in the past the Atari 800/ST and Commodore 64/Amiga has over 10000 titles, if you just take the top 10% you get 1000 games with over a 90% rating. This makes for a decent business sense and when you consider that 64KB could be revamped in a 512KB game with klaxons that will blow the mind of nearly every gamer there is, there is ample setting for a whole range of gamer that will now get amazed for months with whole battalion of games. We can all wait for Horizon 3, the next god of war and so on, but that is simple idle time, nothing gets done in the process and the spin mongers and rumor mills on publishing houses now have the advantage with their slim articles leading with ‘What we know now’ I see a much better look with a gamer looking into the renewed form of Jackie Estacado and his escapades towards his uncle Paulie Franchetti and there is a decent chance that Mike Patton might want to voice the darkness again. All settings towards a good game and optionally now a better game. So what makes more sense, banking on a new game where the outcome is dubious, or putting your money in a fair game that could become legendary as they could optionally fix what was lesser than the whole? I leave you to thing on that, but remember Darkness was only one title there are obviously better titles in the Amiga/ST range that are ignored and the IP protection has been not been paid up and that opens up a whole new door for game makers. So what will it be? The media filling your brain with unsubstantiated rumors and speculation for 30 months on Horizon 3, or play to your hearts content those 3 months giving you real memories on what fun has been, should be and could become. 

Have a great day today

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September 14, 2026 · 20:58

It’s new Jim

That is the setting giving a little homage to Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and he rightfully deserves it. Don’t get me wrong, Karl Urban did a fine job, but I grew up watching the Original cast on TV and lets be clear, Karl was amazing as the little winged Cupid and he was the best judge we have seen in cinema. He looked really like the comic books, but it is not about either characters. There is however some light connection and this story I hand to Avalanche Software. You see, I got to thinking early this morning and I reckoned that backstories make for decent games and whilst we consider series like CSI (which is awesome) the idea of an Auror taking care of business was not greatly shown in Hogwarts Legacy and as such that role needed an update for the second game. But what is a story/vocation when you aren’t vested in the idea? So that’s when I came up with the trials of an Auror. You see, we can all look towards the stages of magic as there is greatness and greatness, but working with limitations is what truly could make a game great. As such we needed to see a magic class that has little magic, not a squib, but perhaps an alchemist derivative, so not magic press, but magically inclined and with additional skills. And as such the Auror Alchemist came to mind. Not a squib, but limited magic with skills. So even as some (namely one) that had the Philosophers stone, but alchemists has a long lineage of magic creatures and this one was driven into a police force as a forensic specialist and as such he was ‘summoned’ to work in Irondale. So this is where the setting starts.

Consider the CSI games and they were fun, but it is settled around statical settings. So what happens when the game is drenched in Hogwarts Legacy (to give it a name) and you need to look at the settings of crimes with a magical aspect and often it needs to be surrounded by muggle settings. As such it becomes a two tiered game. Consider like the crime scenes in Arkham Knight, but not that high tech, the setting however could be used and it needs to be set in both ‘muggle’ and magic challenges, because the evidence needs to ‘satisfy’ common folk (as in non-magical hardworking people) and that is the challenge for Avalanche. I consider the feeling I had with the scene of Potter/Dumbledore finding Slughorn in Budleigh Babberton (yes, I know, it is not a real town). But that setting inspired the idea and it needs to be a serious piece of entertainment. As such the groundwork needs to be done and all kinds of Lore would need to get created and perhaps this would be up to team Avalanche/Rowling. I have no idea how that setting is or works. But I am merely trying to dot the “iiiiii’s” So when the mechanics are given the proper considerations (I used the Batman as a setting, which might work) but there is no high tech, there is a ‘predator’ setting of the room with scents, different looks and a splatter view of substances you see and so on. Like a magical renaissance view of Batman crossed with what a snake might see (they have infrared vision) and link that with a cat and you get a whole new world. Optional these views are evolution views that the Auror could grow/embed. 

And there needs to be decent cases, which is up to Avalanche software to figure out. Can’t expect me to do it all. But I believe that the Wizarding world fans are numerous, so numerous that they will grow that side into a talking about this setting and this optional game (optionally rejected by Avalanche software) to consider. And as this is a Wizarding world setting is is (as I personally see it) the idea is now also co-owned by JK Rowling. 

So, consider the implications of it all, the idea of getting a magic/muggle stage and how to combine that? I think that Arkham Knight had the right setting (and amazing job by Rocksteady Studios) and we cannot tweak it, but we can set this stage in a similar fashion, more renaissance, less high tech and there are also red herrings (not the fish), because when can we see a muggle stage? It might be a more advanced case later in the game. 

As such I feel I have spend my day creatively and it beats looking at the lies from politicians in a stage we massively don’t care about. Personally I think that this could be its own game (or at least should be) whilst parts of this could be transferred (more transformed) into Hogwarts Legacy 2 (if this fits whatever story line Avalanche is considering.

As they say another day, another dollar (in my case, my issues should then be solved by February 10,415 (almost 2 centuries after Paul Atreides is born).  You all have a good one today. My Monday is nearly over and I see now on YouTube that the TIFF is running (Toronto International Film Festival), and rumor has it that Sebastian Stan will be seen there with both arms intact (can someone confirm this please?)

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August 31, 2026 · 03:19

The upgrades we yearn for

That is what I am thinking of, not the semi-upgrade that a new iPhone gets you, but the upgrade that you get if you use a good idea from the Commodore 64 in the 90s and you give it some great graphics and a speedy results that are possible now. You tend to get a whammy of a game. Ideas range from an upgraded HERO (Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation) a game that Activision gave us in 1984, but wait, before you judge, take the simple setting and add to that a MetaQuest 3 helmet, upgrade the settings to a more defining graphical challenge, with Xray vision, to you can destroy the right wall, laser sights so you can destroy the right enemies and the might sound simple in the beginning, but what happens when the rest energy you have is accumulated into a stronger battery and stronger lasers? In the end we can add a stronger power cell to the Helicopter backpack and when the game evolves to longer time stacks, we could offer a larger revenue system. Also there is the idea to add in later levels walls (like Journey to the Center of the Earth, 2008) where you find gemstone walls, which gets you plenty of dineros and if you get the right diamonds a instant upgrade to the laser system (these puppies tend to be allegedly diamond enhanced) and those are just a few ideas on certain games. There is of course the setting that these makers had limitations to work with, but when we take those away and we add a MetaQuest 3, we can now push these games into a massively more interesting game and whilst the ‘original’ scored 94%, we could make it even more challenging, without taking the joy out of gaming. Because that tends to be be the downside of ‘new games’ like Electronic Arts wasted its powder on Dungeon Keeper and the need to buy Diamonds (micro transactions). But there is also an upside. Games like Magic Carpet could be renewed with a stringer setting without taking the pin out of the grenade and let it blow up in your face. There is still the setting that Populous and Populous 2 offered and that might give is smoother graphics, without spoiling the fun. These games still get tonnes of nostalgia and that should have been the warning shot for Microsoft and Sony, optionally Nintendo too to renew these bonds and see what could come of this. It is a simple step and when the right developer gets involved (or the original makers) to see what was possible. At present as most of this is now in hands of Saudi Arabia, they could look at renewing these games and presenting them to a new audience. It might be a simple setting, but gamers who get into a nostalgic mood and get offered the games that they spend weeks 24:7 on and gamers like that are the proper voices that could propel a game to a much larger audience. You merely have to do right by them and offer that feeling yet agains, without EA messing things up by setting it behind a  money portal. Because that is what spoiled it for many. 

So have a great day and consider (if you are old enough) what game kept you up all night? Because that could be the next setting for a renewed gaming experience. Have a great day, it just turned Monday for me (3 hours ago).

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August 30, 2026 · 10:01

The skills are out there

I saw an idea given by Arab New and it got my braincells fired up. You see, whilst some are ‘advocating’ AI, the real setting is that ML/DL (which I call Deeper Machine Learning, or DML) is a setting that has not been considered (or at least not to my knowledge) so whilst some people are considering that it is futile, the setting that we see can be transposed. So as we are given ‘How Saudi Arabia is creating its own anime industry’, I saw a rather large niche. Whilst we applaud “At the center of the shift is Manga Productions, a subsidiary of the Mohammed bin Salman Foundation Misk, which is focused on nurturing local talent, producing original material and working with Japanese studios to build expertise.” There is an alternative usage. You see, Arabic Manga could be the central setting to push knowledge of Arabic forward. The largest stepping stone is that people feel uncertain to move to Saudi Arabia and that gives places like Aramco, SABIC and the stc Group a little disadvantage. You could go all out to get the actors and so forth, but the foundations of a language could be done by Manga and it would also have appeal to the younger population and when they are in an age where it matters, they could already have some of the basic Arabic skills to be interesting to the larger players. The idea of language, interactions and etiquette could be shown through manga and whilst that happens, the skills of these mega makers will increase sharply. And when we consider “For Lamees Alsantely, a producer at Manga, the move reflects both the emergence of a new generation of creatives and a growing appetite among local audiences. “Saudi Arabia already has a strong audience for anime and animation, but much of what we consume reflects other cultures and perspectives,” she told Arab News.” The idea that language skills could also be developed might not have occurred, but as I see it, so at present Aramco Saudi Arabia has 275 open positions. How many could be attracted by foreigners? What skills could be imbued to lower that number? And this is merely one employer and I gave two more. What could be done to increase that setting? Then we go from simple learning to the interactions in writing and optionally religion as well. There is a hindrance because people are not sure about how their lives fit in with a Muslim state of mind. You could hire actors or you could set up a manga solution which could be adjusted instantly to the question places see rise. I had given a visor solution (months ago), but manga is a dead second in that race and whilst some people think that this is ludicrous, the reality is that this could be done by manga interns, they can treat their teeth on fixing one whilst gaining the other. Interaction of skills is the name of the game and whilst the Deeper Learning part can set towards the gender of the learner, the job requirement in play and it might merely be to learn a language. A setting that is out there and would it not be nice to get the basic skills right there from the animator before you enter a job interview?

Although I cannot tell whether this was real or a sketch, but we can accept that if that was not a sketch, the person for the interview was a zero chance applicant. And it goes further than that. Tourists are at times hesitant to go to a place that relies on a language you do not know. That was my reality when I went to Thailand. Lucky enough many knew German and in the hotel I was ‘safe’ as nearly everyone spoke English there. There are a whole range of reasons to learn a language and now there is an optional setting for Manga to be the educator too and in that setting it it relatively easy to create the lessons that could make a difference and drawn characters work for SAR 0.18 per kWh, the people designing this take a little more, but in light of their skills they will learn all the skills they need to make decent manga characters and they could include writing skills in that setting as well. I reckon it is a field that people like Manga Productions CEO Essam Bukhary should consider and it might open up several streams of revenue for Manga Productions as well. From language training to HR introductions. It will not take way the need for actors, but there will be a massive amount of materials produced from the get go.

Just a thought to consider. Have a great day.

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August 15, 2026 · 10:27

Retro framing

I had this thought this morning. Some might remember the Dragons Lair, a Don Bluth fantasy game on laser disc. I still remember it after 43 years. It was magnificent. It literally was a playable cartoon and it gave us Dirk the Daring dying over and over again until he meets the foe he was after. I spend a massive amount of quarters on that machine, the graphics were just that perfect. So I was considering the idea of a laserdisc added to a Nintendo Switch (2) with a game cartridge with 32GB available. This gave me the idea to include player software so you could replay your laser discs. I was blown away in 1990 when I saw the Abyss on laser disc. The idea surfaced as I am now in the setting of playing 4K games and watching 4K movies, the laser disc gave me that feeling in 1990, whilst VHS and later DVD came nowhere close. And it gave me the setting that this might be the option that could propel Nintendo to heights. But there was a snag, first there was the laserdisc player and the discs themselves often had Laser rot (a side effect of fingers on the disc and cheaper disc coating, so this idea was scuttled almost at the beginning. But then I got to think. A laserdisc has up to 5GB data space (a little less) and Nintendo Switch cartridges are up to 32GB (with smaller sizes available), so the game might be transferable to Switch in all its glory. But why stop there. On march 11th 2021 I wrote ‘In your face space’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2021/03/11/in-your-face-space/) where I was enthusiastic about getting series and movies on USB, there were two reasons. The first was space, these cartridges took almost no space and the second reasons (source: a Cylon) they come with zero degradation. 

This might be the step that Nintendo needs to become a long term number one in gaming and entertainment. Consider these series Battlestar Galactica, StarGate, Babylon 5, Harry Potter, the Disney movies and so many other series now other options, now one game card per season/movie, and the Switch 2 allows for a software upscaling to 4K. So consider that this would put Nintendo ahead of the pack by a lot. So whilst we see the impact that Nintendo might have, the idea that movies have zero degradation will be a plus sign to many parents. Then there is the option of getting empty packs out that support up to 8 slots and every TV series is printed on two sides, the side with the season and the other side with the series. Now you can move one cover to the 8 pack and put all the seasons (or franchise) in one pack. A setting that might give shivers to the collector as he/she saves a lot of space I am looking at my 8 4K discs of Harry Potter, whilst the game pack setting takes up a mere one disc space. A setting that would become a happy moment for any parent. 

This is a setting that gives Nintendo the growth that they need because the Switch 2 will enable 4K viewing, whilst this is software upscaling, it will give your entire collection a whole new stride. I wonder why no one else thought of this, because I have the ground work for this on my blog for over half a decade and whilst these parties all need revenue, are they so blunt and stupid to rely on their streaming solutions? The setting becomes that traveling parents and rural people outdo metro people by a lot and whilst everyone is saying there is no problem, the setting of revisiting net neutrality is getting stronger and more pronounced. I would think that players like Disney want to head that off whilst they can and as I see it, it is only a short time before lower returns, no traffic prioritization and the setting of it hurting new technology, all whilst people will get hit with higher base price and reduced service choices will hit people all around, that whilst rural people will be in this setting discriminated against. A player like Disney would want to avoid that setting, because the one player that takes rural people in consideration (apparently that will not be Sony) will take the cake, the cherries and the limelight. 

I for one think that Nintendo which has always been a hardware and family solution would be the premiere player in that field. And as I see it, it is not merely Disney, Universal faces a similar stage soon enough and I think that they want to head off whatever they can, because when the issues of net neutrality comes to blows it will be too late for these two players. I reckon that they will face millions of rural connections seeking other places to be entertained, should you doubt that, fine. But when did you actually consider that stage in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada, Texas, North Carolina, California, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Maine, and West Virginia? I reckon that Sony never properly did their homework and there is space for Nintendo to head that off. 

Have a great day today, so as it is Caturday, don’t be a wuss and hug a tiger.

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July 23, 2026 · 00:49

The choice was mine

There was an option to join the ladies around a tea cosy and whinge about the United States Pentagon and its need for cash, a setting which I did not feel up to or the setting of Ubisoft’s remaster setting as it is. I choose the second option. It felt more relaxing. As I see it, a remaster is a new setting. It could enlarge the original game. It could make the game more intense, and lets face it the original Assassins Creed could use that. 

So whilst we can accept to some degree the voice of a reddit user: 

“Assassin’s Creed 1 hasn’t been remastered because its gameplay loop is widely considered too repetitive and dated by modern standards. Rather than a simple visual update, the original 2007 title would require a massive, ground-up remake-including entirely new mission structures and overhauled mechanics-to satisfy today’s players.”

It seems fair enough, but the first one has a few optional settings that were nice. There is a second setting, the lore of Assassins Creed could be ‘explored’ consider the setting of the third mission (if my memory serves me correctly) the setting is that there were the “33 collectible Hospitalier Flags located in the Poor District of Acre during Memory Block 03, as well as the faction of Knights Hospitalier and target” that is merely one setting. You see there was also the Teutonic Order, the Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals. So here is the rub, the flags need to be upgraded to show one side the Hospitalier flags and the Teutonic flags on the other side. It would give a choice section and also a reward. One choice makes your medicine more potent, the other side makes your poison more powerful. A simple selection that could influence the game, and it becomes simple as one was housed in Acre and the other one in Jerusalem. There could be other implications as well. Killing the Hospitalier commander makes it possible to use poison against templars, killing the Teutonic commander does not, but makes another setting optional. As such the game could easily surpass the originals Assassins Creed of 2007. Also glyph lore was introduced in AC2, it could be added to AC1 and give additional power to that game. There is so much more to do. The stealth lore of the first game is exceedingly simple (compared to game 5 and beyond) all that becomes available now and it was released on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows, whilst now there is also the Switch to consider and the options of the PS5 and Xbox series X has become a lot more powerful. As such there is a massive reason to reconsider this step. As (my firm believe) that Ubisoft needs money and not riddles with exploration options into creating more IP, reassessing the old IP and creating new IP through that. And there is an additional bonus to recreating that IP, it was at the time the hight of ‘new technology’ which is now 18 years and two generations old. Optionally creating waves of a whole new group of gamers. The nicer side is that the stealth parts of AC2 could be reset to fill this gap taking away (to some extent) the repetitive side of the original game. The addition of the eavesdrop power that was introduced later, gives more options now. Then killing the templars could be upgraded and whilst their impact could be used as well. Behind these templars there is the option that they have keys and getting the right group of them (from the 60 hidden optional Templars) where there are 10 upgrades, 10 times 6, with one having the group of 6 list, one of them having the map and 4 having the keys that could in turn upgrade one item in your arsenal. Also as a group is taken out, the connected allies of them disappear. Making the maps much more ‘peaceful’. All settings that could be added to a remaster. I am sure that more is possible and in that case the ‘repetitive’ side will be massively nullified. And I am doing much of this from memory. I haven’t played this game since I got rid of my Xbox360 and PS3 (I had it on both systems). I am certain that I could find more things to ‘upgrade’ There is one thing I missed in the original. I expected in those days to find more lore in the game. So that could be fixed as well. So whatever Ubisoft does, it shouldn’t ignore the game that started the Franchise, because in 2007 there was nothing like it, and it could set that stage again, especially after nearly 20 years. As such I wish Ubisoft lots of success, no matter what they decide. 

Have a great day.

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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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May 24, 2026 · 22:18

Just a thought

I just rewatched the Harry Potter series (as one does) and I suddenly thought of a few parts which might be useful for HL2 (Hogwarts Legacy) or HL3. The setting is given that I love replaying a game, especially RPG games and for the most it will be up to Avalanche Software to do or to consider this. The first one was a great hit and there is no reason to change too much of the setup which the people loved. But there needs to be additional ties to a game, not there was anything wrong with the first one, but there is always space to add to what you had and that is where my reengineering skills will assist me. 

The first premise is how to start a person in year six? Then I suddenly realised that there are a few thoughts and this is where I considered that the new student is an exchange student. If the student is male he comes from Durmstrang, if the student is female she comes from Beauxbatons Academy. They also come for a few different reasons, but they are exchange students, so there is ample reason to set the new game in similar (but not completely) similar settings. The map will be the same, although some things will be different and other challenges will come to you. The added stages are Durmstrang and the area around it, as well as Beauxbatons Academy and the area around that place. These sides I leave to Avalanche software. Whilst watching the last HP movie. I got the idea that one of the two schools will face a massive damage setting (the school where you are from) and you get a lot of use from the reparo spell and it can be upgraded to stronger versions, but there is more (there always is) the settings of repairs are bound by your skills as you learn them at Hogwarts. That gave me the idea to have skills intertwined. Reparo can become stronger when you learn Levioso, as such staircases become easily fixable. Better fixing of walls as you learn Accio, Depulso and Flipendo. The stage for an open game remains, but better fixing of things becomes essential to get to parts of the school. And perhaps Avalanche has more (or perhaps even better) ideas. 

Then the setting of the dark spells never felt quite right, because they were unforgivable, But what if we have an option to become a dark wizard or a light wizard? Only dark wizards can do the unforgivable spells, the light wizards have increased shields. It was just a thought. I already voiced the idea for a jobs in an article I wrote called ‘It starts with options’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/11/27/it-starts-with-options/) and a few more after that you get to start work (of a sort) and there is another setting, the house you are in decides a few options for you. I also set some parts in ‘In dubio’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/03/26/in-dubio/) but the idea was considered. So as the 4 houses have some the same and one unique, optionally with an additional setting for Witches and Wizards, we get a much larger replay setting. You can’t select certain matters when the first game start, but in a subsequent game you get to override the house you are selected in, so to make it all more playable for the returning gamer. 

There are much more options open, but this is a start and the idea that unique spells are obtainable in either Durmstrang or Beauxbatons Academy is also an option, but the larger setting is that Witches are never allowed in Durmstrang and Wizards can not get into Beauxbatons Academy. Sometimes limitations are a benefit, not a hindrance. And as far as I remember, some limitations were last seen in NeverWinter Nights, so that pleases me too. 

And there is as always the idea to get the people to create their own homestead. There are places you can revive or places that you can obtain, and with that we get largely a much bigger setting. Even with the Hogwarts area map. They should be the same map, but other settings will be added and perhaps a few more additions in enemies and traps might be considered. But I leave that to Avalanche software. Anyway these ideas (consider IP) I freely hand over to Avalanche software. Perhaps they can use it, perhaps not. But there is always the chance that these thoughts will be valued and it might open a few other additions to a game. I am not trying to tell them what to do, their first attempt was quite good, excellent even. But my brain will mull over anything it sees and that is what my brain does. So have a great day, time to watch the Jedi order be destroyed (3rd movie).

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