Tag Archives: RPG

June 19, 2026 · 06:37

There was more

You see, yesterday I came up with a new lore system and it kept my from the real setting of the game, because there was a lot more. The first part was that there was a reason why I felt affinity to Paradroid and Hacker. The idea was that there were two mainlines (I had not chosen yet) the first was that this was a recon setting for aliens, the second was that survivors of this world were working from a separate setting (I fancied that one a little more) and the only way is to interact by invading technology and drones with a nano virus but it needs to be a lot more structured than just invade a server or a combination of systems, But the idea is that these nano bots can only invade systems in combined efforts (like a server and a drone in unison) from there we get to see a larger setting and from one system we can combine systems to invade a CCTV setting, but CCTV settings are often shielded, so you need a path towards that setting. So I has not worked it all out, but there was an evolving setting connected to all this. So whilst we get that any CCTV system has connected systems, we need to combine a larger connected systems to connect to larger and bigger connections, so there needs to be somehow an evolving setting like Hacker, where we connect to a drone and CCTV systems, but how to do that and keep an interesting game? That is the question I was bending over, but not in the way Paradroid did it (it had its own charm) and I didn’t want to plagiarize that. From that setting I merely had the idea that several autonomous systems could be infected, but that is the extend the game had ‘traction’ and I didn’t want it to be too much of a stalking approach, other than the need to find out what had happened to the people of that place (like a viral attack, or simply a air-conditioning defect) So whilst I was focussing on elements of the game, I was designing the game in real time, because that is how my mind works and the setting is that different devices had its own versions of Lore, so they are all stories, often not connected and it gives the overwhelming feeling of data. That is bound to happen in all these settings, so how to focus that? I gave the lore setting a go and from there the lore was bound to all kinds of things and I had to create a decent amount to overwhelm the senses (and the game) with lore that might seem bound to have a connection. So there I was in what some would seem a steady stream of data, but what is relevant? You cannot have a ‘data game’ with no responses and all relevant data, that is not how it tends to work, but I was trying to figure out how to get to the good stuff and an overload of data tends to be the setting in many cases. So whilst we ‘infect’ drones and systems, we need connect elements and find a way to connect to a system, the best option is to infect a drone and see where the connection tends to go, so we get two locations already and the evolving nano system has limits in the beginning, so it needs several of both for the nano system to evolve into a stronger system, it needs to develop, just like a real nano system does. But autonomous nano tech is not ‘up for grabs’ and as such I had to evolve the ideas in my brain on how to evolve these settings. 

So whilst I was considering all that, the lore system evolved in my brain and it had many connected benefits and it could benefit the future of larger gaming, because lore tends to be the larger setting for many RPG games and a game about hacking and data has an abundant of that, so while there is a need for the lore, the idea of lore writing itself making the game replay-able has benefits. So does the idea of creating a CCTV mesh of data for an entire city. But that is another mess to consider. What mattered is that I had to figure out how a nanotechnology system could evolve. There is the ‘breeding’ setting where systems provide the resources to breed (like connecting a resource to a router or a dead drone), from there we get more nanotechnology at our disposal but I was still working this out, so when we get more resources we get more nano tech to work with, yet here is also the limitation, although a dead drone could provide thousands of drones, they are stuck un a place, as such we need to connect one to the other and that is part of the puzzle I am working on and how to make this a decent part of any game is the puzzle 

I need to work on, an idea is nice, but how to work this out is the puzzle a designer needs to focus on, because not every idea makes a decent game and that path is riddles with the carcasses of optional great ideas and it still beats the news junk on how newspapers are trying to voice the setting that a ‘great idea for peace’ is not the setting that Trump got played by Iran and how Israel is set towards inaction against people that are trying to destroy Israel and they will not stop, so all that settings are a bit dreary and not worthy of my time, or at least that was how I felt about that yesterday, all whilst we are getting less than an hour ago ‘Trump’s Deal Sidesteps Key Reasons He Went to War With Iran’ (source: Wall Street journal), as such we will see more ‘news’ on the setting that the USA is too broke to be considered a player on the world stage. You see some claim “According to U.S. Treasury financial statements, total federal liabilities have grown to nearly $48 trillion against roughly $6 trillion in assets, leading some economists and commentators to label the government as technically insolvent.” (Source: Yahoo News) Or the fact that “The national debt exceeds $34 trillion, equating to a debt-to-GDP ratio of over 123%” (source: Forbes) and I have been saying this since ‘About America, chapter 11’ Which I published on August 26th 2014, almost twelve years ago (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2014/08/26/about-america-chapter-11/) as such you have all these economic professors who ‘object’ to that setting whilst the setting of the last year are showing me to be the correct party, even though I have no economic degree, I do know data., I have been dabbling in data for decades. As such the game came to my mind and as such the avoidance of the ridiculous war setting was invading my mind for weeks, because at present ‘Trump lashes out at “fools” who oppose Iran deal amid bipartisan criticism’ (source: CBS News) and ‘Senate Republicans raise alarm over Trump’s deal with Iran’ (source: the Hill) as I see it, soon there is no place for the media but to go and delve into the insolvency of the United States, perhaps this president could use the Epstein files to divert the eyes of the media? (evil grin forming on my face), not to mention the musical acting of ‘Republicans slam Trump for caving to Iran in ‘disaster’ of a deal’ (source: Rolling Stone Magazine) an if you consider that the bulk of the media never really liked President Trump, consider what they will publish now. And this is all before Iran sees its way to cry to the courts of international law in The Hague, so there is that still coming and all this could have been foreseen if someone served the power players coffee in the Pentagon, I think it is spelled ‘Covfefe’ (source: President Trump, first presidency) a setting that was clear from the beginning of March, but now that setting will hit the Republicans squarely in the face, as such it might become the most humorous midterms in November 2026 and I reckon that there aren’t too many Republican fans at present. So whilst those up for midterm elections are bound for the unemployment lines, we will see an abundance of mis-categorisations and as such this might be the turning point where the west is seeking a new player that could align with the Commonwealth and the EU and I personally am putting my money on a larger cooperative with Commonwealth, EU and the Arab states, the other option is that the Commonwealth and the EU will align with China. I think the second one is not readily accepted in the EU and parts of the Commonwealth. Still, the cooperative with the Commonwealth, EU and the Arab states could bring prosperity and optional good times for China and whilst the EU is pulling back from Microsoft and the United States hosting of over 4000 data centers. So when do you think well over 10% will be pushed into bad mortgage setting and written off to a rather large degree. All settings that will end an abundance of revenue and set the larger data settings off limits. I have no data to support this, but the crumbles of data are all over the place, the question becomes how connected are these slithers of data? I will let you decide, I have to put some effort in creating a new game, which is much more enjoyable than any political setting. 

So you all have a great day and someone keep an eye on Iran and their connections to Hezbollah and Hamas and when they will ‘miscommunicate’ their intent and it all starts all over again. 

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June 18, 2026 · 11:04

Out of the pink

Yup, that’s me, not out of the blue, so I had to think of another colour. Out of the Teal was too close to blue, so it defeated the purpose, then there was red, but it was too aggressive. So, out of the pink it became. My thoughts tend to be all over the place and I was thinking of the old Activision game Hacker. So, consider that it was based to what we thought it was thinkable in the 80’s (with only 38KB memory). This is not a setting we need to consider today, the average mobile has 10 times the memory we used to land on the moon, as such we have some degrees of freedom. The issue becomes when we consider a multitude of games like Hacker and Paradroid. Not to copy, but the settings there is one that can lead to all kinds of new IP and these games are lost and mostly forgotten. So consider that we have an AI setting (an Actual True AI) so we get that to play with, but the sinister setting is not that it is all it is cracked up to be, because the people were gone decades ago and now we get to resolve what there is. So in comes an unknown entity (largely unknown) and it can resolve the settings it sees with tech more advanced that we have seen over the coming century. So the game starts as an observation game, but the video links are giving us clues. From there, we get to the industrial stage. These systems can replicate, but they need fuel. So its first function is search for fuels it can use to replicate. At this the link to Paradroid comes into play. We get to ‘infest’ the visible droids we see and they can set us towards new areas. And from there we get to new places and see new things. I partially write bout this before (somewhere last year) and set it to an Earth-Mars setting, but with disclosure day upon us, we can take a much further aim to what we are looking for. More importantly, this could be a near infinite game. I don’t believe in infinite, but near infinite is a much nicer way to tell the audience, this is a game that could fuel you for a long time. So if the goal is conquest, we can always see the edge of what we can do and see, but if the goal is data, that setting becomes near limitless. Consider the ‘aliens’ in AI, if this is what we envision, what would be the edge of what they would see? 

There was something serene about that view by Steven Spielberg. I am still curious how Stanley Kubrick would have set that pace (because it was a little too sweet for his view on matters) but that is my interpretation of what I know of Stanley Kubrick and that gave me the setting on the creation of lore in the stores that this game could stage. You see, there is no real AI, but there is the setting of DML/LLM and lore can be spun around those two stages. You see, we can go about it again and again, but when you get a repetitive story, the fun dwindles down to a small trickle. So to counter that, we need to create a intelligence that uses the internet (in part) to set the stages for millions off gamers and hen we get a stage where we have the profile of dozens of writers (from Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Edgar Allen Poe, George Eliot, Homer (not Simpson), Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plato, Herodotus, Miguel de Cervantes, Harry Mulisch and it is not based on one writer, as we get elements of romance and intrigue intertwined the result is a mix of Jane Austen/Charlotte Brontë whilst the intrigue part is set to George Eliot/Herodotus and these aren’t mere settings, the intelligence is vast and diverse, as it needs to be, so the connections are towards a gaming mainframe that passes along the lore towards the stage of play. This would be a monumental undertaking and it is not a given that it is simple. But this level of diversity has never ever been achieved and that is where the larger benefit is. A stage where we see a multitiered Producer-Consumer Model that has s fas as I considered it never been achieved in gaming before, so this will take a level of understanding that is unique and could become the game changer and it makes sense as it is not merely a ‘single setting’ this could be the evolving door towards RPG lore creation. The writers are known, but the materials it creates are a diverse amount of layers that were never part of these writers. It becomes a whole new field of IP and even as AI doesn’t exist, DML and LLM do and they do all the heavy lifting. It could also diversify the engines that are currently in existence. So we see Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick, but what happens when we replace the stage from Steven Spielberg and replace his settings with Graham Greene? What do you think that does to the lore of the story, when AI gets a distinct ‘The Third Man’ touch to the story? This is what we aim to go for, where we get to the story, what happens when the elements become interchangeable? Don’t think that I cam sup with this and it is simple. This might be the next stage in gaming and it becomes a much larger setting towards the exploitation of gaming lore. And exploitation is about right, because we might be harvesting writers style, but this setting ha never been done and that is the solemn goal of any designer, to be the one making a difference and as far as I can tell, this has never been tried or even succeeded before in gaming. But that is what makes the next idea exciting. Not merely because it is new, but because this approach towards dynamic lore has never been achieved and perhaps there was a reason for that in the past, but we have a lot more space than the CBM-64 about 64,000,000 times more and that is merely for the storyline to be created and when that works we can focus one the long term approach of making an actual never-ending story, the insert of the sacrificial Artax becomes optional. But that is my sick sense of humor and I am still privy of making Sir Hiss (Terry-Thomas) becoming the rope that saves Artax, but that is my sneaky sense of humor. 

So you all have a great day and consider the hints I have in this story, so where does this make waves? It’s up to you to see where this is possible.

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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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May 14, 2026 · 20:34

About that game

I am an RPG minded (lost cause), just started Skyrim again for the umpteenth time. I played that game on XBox360, PS3, XBox one, PS4, PS5. I never regretted any hour in that game and it must have been over 3000 hours now. This time I noticed a few things. Like a sword and shield floating 25 meters in the air before I got to level 3. So there are glitches in the game, whether it is from continuous gaming or whatever reason it was, but there is no anger, no frustration. This is 2010 technology and it has held up for 16 years. In gaming that pretty much amounts to an eternity. 

But it is not about the Elder scrolls or Bethesda. It is about gaming requires an update, or more games and at present I do not trust Microsoft to have the need of the gamers in mind, themselves, their investors and their bottom line. The gamer is at best a 5th priority. And I saw this  evolve with Subnautica 2 allegedly only coming on Xbox and Windows. The first one was quite excellent and original, as such Sony (Nintendo too) will need additional RPG challenges and there is a need to go beyond Bethesda. They are now part of Microsoft. It is legit and all very valid. Microsoft was able and did the ‘better’ thing for them, not for gaming and not for gamers. 

But I draw the line at ‘replicating’ the same idea. It is plagiarism. I voiced an idea about 10 years ago. If Sony makes a deal with Richard Garriott and acquire his Ultimate IP. That in a 3D setting could become a great franchise that could be the fiercest competitor for Bethesda and the Ultimate fanbase is a decade older than the one Bethesda has and as I see it, there are millions of gaming fans that would love to walk in 3D through Sosaria and live its lore. There is a need to adjust some of the gameplay to make this a fist person game, but that is manageable. What is important that between 1981 and 2003 Richard created a massive amount of lore and now that could get a second life, through the eyes of Mondain and as such there is a larger consideration to weigh. How to create an IP that would support Sony and Nintendo. They are not alike and I would be happy to get it on my Sony, but I feel for the Nintendo users, they need something too. Perhaps Richard will have his own thoughts on that. 

The second setting is Subnautica, there is no copying that. It is original and they deserve the laurels that come with it, it is alas one the wrong system. So I started to mull things over. When it comes to water, the only IP that is set n water is Bioshock. So what if 2K changes the storyline and the challenges, but largely follows the graphics (to some extent) and the views on the matter. Take away the ADAM and you have the beginning of a new RPG and as the Bioshock games are almost 20 years old there is a valid case of reusing that setting is a stage that 2K should consider. On the other hand, setting this in space and you get too close to System Shock and that shouldn’t happen. So we get a third option (I was steering towards this from the start) a new RPG that is Arabic driven. I would accept that, but how to set the lore? The idea is to map out Hegra and AlUla map the entire region and set the 1001 Arabian nights stories as a backdrop. Find all the stories and the characters in these stories. A game with an educational character as an RPG. When was this done before. I am certain that it has been done. I can’t be the first to consider this. 

And AlUla has an approximate 60K population, so there is enough options for NPC collaboration. But how to make it realistic and entertaining? Well, the idea is that as you start the conversation with the proper NPC, you get to switch and become one of characters in the story and then the store plays out, you play out the story and as this is done 1001 times, there is a chance that this game comes in parts, the main part and over time the DLC’s add the other stories. I reckon that would be first and this setting could be release on Sony (Playstation) and Nintendo (Switch2). It is an option and I wonder how this will reverberate in the Arabic countries. A game that brings to life all 1001 Arabian Night stories. I wonder who could pull it off, I don’t want to offer it to the usual suspects and as this largely concerns Saudi Arabia and as they have this gaming setting, perhaps they can give the world this RPG game. And that is how it is done. A brainstorm with a population of one. I reckon that this is where I slowly turn gaga (nyuk, nyuk, nyuk).

And this solution could be applied to both systems, but with the Nintendo, you might have a smaller view of the world you are in. And in the end it will be about that game, that game the opens up a whole range of new games, ideas and copies. It happens and perhaps now it will happen for Saudi Arabia and the progression of Arabian lore. Have a great day.

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March 18, 2026 · 18:39

Adding the plus sign

It started the day before yesterday. I was looking at an image of a plague doctor, a back leather mask with it’s raven beak. I remember the scent of garlic in the beak, it was a clear image I was seeing. It caught on and my mind decided on the setting of the ‘plus’, not in the Game or New Game, but to set this plus on the NPC characters. OI would go as far as to ALL characters. As I see it, it has never been done before as I see it and there is a side that it could grow the game in its entirety. 

The trigger would be a ‘mundane’ and personalized object. An image, a piece of clothing or a tool and when you grab it you will get the image that you cannot let go of the object, it isn’t evil, but it seemed important. That would be the setting of the ability. To get to that stage you get to sleep. Sleep is the activator. You normally sleep for whatever time you need in a game, now it becomes the start of another part of the game. There you wake up in the body of whatever item you had, if you have more than one item, you will be assigned a random person. As that person you will have mundane tasks. As a farmer you will tend the fields, as a butcher you will tend the meat and carve animals, as a stone mason you will form bricks and so on. The setting is that you get to up the game from that point forward. The farmers as the game is will produce more and better crops, resulting in higher health for you and the NPC. The stonemasons will result in better houses (over time) and better settings of the homestead. These are the mere tread stones of the game. The stage that a better smith will make stronger weapons, more impactful weapons comes with this and more. The fact that an RPG has never set the strength to the NPC’s as a game is oddly ‘discouraged’ as I see it. But better settings is the evolving base of any game and in RPG games it is not ‘heralded’ as a ‘wanting’ prospect. But that is where RPG games need to go, they need to go into new terrain, added terrain and this is one way to get there. We all herald the creation of Horizons and Forbidden West is the current horizon for the RPG game to follow, but there will be more. I have no idea how Guerrilla does it, but they will. They have created two games in perpetuity that are RPG games of awesome quality and even as I didn’t like the end of it, I get that it was done, but what drove me was the fact that the first thing after the finale, I went on finding more. That is the making of a near perfect game. The near perfection of this RPG game gives clear desire to upgrade RPG games, make a more perfect game by setting the stage to new frontiers. It doesn’t matter whether it is Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Red Dead Redemption, Horizons, Mass Effect or Baldurs Gate. They all need an upgrade, although I am the first to admit that the niche that Mass Effect created is near perfect, it merely needs a better story and backdrop. But in all this, they never resorted to upgrade the NPC’s and that is the new frontier. I already added stories in the past to upgrade the game, but to set the stage to upgrade the NPC themselves does not seem to be considered. Why?

It was a natural escalation of any RPG game and this possibility was clearly possible from the stage of the PS4, now we have the PS5pro and the PS6 will be coming at some point, so to get to this point, we need to upgrade games as they stand. When we ignore the perfection of Guerrilla games, we see that the others need serious work. And why not? Bethesda created Skyrim 14 years ago, and for the most it still does the job. A game doing the job after 14 years is almost unheard of. Consider that in 1987 Leisure suit Larry was released by Sierra on line. And it was excellent gaming, but it faded within 5 years, newer versions were created and the storyline faded. It was the way things were, but were is yesterday what comes next is tomorrow and even as Guerrilla and Avalanche Software might rightfully feel safe at present, but there is space for more and whilst there is nothing wrong with these two games, the RPG gamer wants variety and someone will pick this up. Whilst Bioware is seemingly going on the same track, when its storyline disappoints, their stage will be set in an instance, not one they would hope for. We can assume that it is ‘all’ going according to plan, or we can push the boundary of gaming and as such several  evolutionary steps were suggested (by me) in 2024/2025. Now I am getting to the stage of advancing NPC adherence. There are plenty of tracks, but the the one they will use will remain a secret until they are ready to give us the Alpha version of their game. I honestly wonder if Bethesda will make the cut. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know where they are going and I have the greatest admiration of Skyrim, but where they are going no-one knows (unless you are part of the Bethesda higher echelon).

So all the others, the Indie developers, the newly wannabe’s? Where will they go? Follow in the tracks where the other games are, or will they seek out the new boundaries and create a game that creates a setting of long term playing and in this economy having a game that keeps you happy for over a year is the way to go. I reckon that soon we will see the merchandise cloth us in the setting we desire, I reckon that 2027 will be all about that and as the money becomes more and more stringent of out money, we will need an escape and gaming is a justified escape. That is the setting I see and I also see that gaming will give release to the people. Nintendo does it the way it does (they always do) but the setting of Sony (PC and streaming decks too) will need a game that they can enjoy not for a hundred hours, but for a thousand hours. Development firms don’t want to do this, but they have to. Consider that the price of oil now is $101–$102 per barrel, it was $55 a month ago and it will go down again I reckon, but in the meantime all costs are going up and they will for some time, so take that into consideration when the costs are rising, jobs are fading and costs of living are exceeding what people find comfortable. They need an escape and gaming is one direction that is open to all. Not everyone needs that escape, but the amount of people that need that escape is rising and it is rising fearfully fast. And as we look at the options, we see a mere 100 hour escape, now consider an RPG game that holds a 1000 hour trip. This is the direction I see and there is a much larger population that is ‘demanding’ the escape route of gaming. I reckon that Microsoft had this in mind all along and like the setting set by Don Mattrick with his disastrous statement “Fortunately we have a product for people who aren’t able to get some form of connectivity, it’s called Xbox 360” he called the play too soon and also in the wrong way, now as Microsoft is a fading setting, the others need to be cautious and consider long term playing. Because the setting for 3 100 hours games might seem nice, the setting of that one 1000 game will hold a much larger population and that is the stuff of legends. I reckon that Bethesda is still in the running, but others can joint that setting too and I am kinda hoping they will. The RPG range needs enlargement and that is the drive we need to face and we might want to try other sides on RPG that will be offered and perhaps you will enjoy a change of taste (without forsaking the other games). Yet taking all the elements I wrote about in stride and giving it a face in these RPG games, we will see a new generations of gamers and a new generation of play.

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January 28, 2026 · 11:13

As the gaming sense enters

That was the setting I faced yesterday. I ‘suddenly’ had an idea for gaming IP. This setting was for Sony, Nintendo and the streamers Amazon and Tencent. The idea is to separate the parts of a game. The story, the stage and the character. It can to me as I was watching Battle of the 5 armies and that gave me an idea. The Lord of the rings gave me the settings of Osgiliath, Minas Tirith, Helm’s Deep, Lake Town, Dale, Mines of Moria but also Acre, Antioch, Jerusalem, Plassey, Buxar but also more ‘modern’ wars like the the war in Leiden and Rotterdam these are mere stages, but the characters are the ones you define from some of the lord of the Rings characters (based on, not characters as is). During the movie my mind went into the setting what an one man do? So you could be stealth based like a ranger (or elf) a close quarter knight like templar or saracen, German or Dutch resistance. The idea is that these settings are separate, even though they can net er ‘bleed’ into other areas. So, the first character is YOUR choice. LOTR, Crusades or WW2 and you select warrior or ranger and that is your first setting, when you get to a higher level (3 or 5) you get the option to get to an exit and ave your upgraded character. At which point time you get the other character in one of the other levels (or your first choice was an LOTR character you will be able to select the Crusader/Saracen or German/Dutch resistance) and you will ALWAYS get the other type, so if you selected stealth based in the first instance you will be forced to select the warrior in the other timeframe, but you get to select the timeframe. 

It force a more open setting and after that you get to select the next iteration. Whilst the safe will give you more health, a passive attribute and more weapon abilities. The control are slightly based on For Honor. It was not my choice, but it was a whole lot better then what we had before, but the sticks are for the left and right arms, and this will enable more agility for left handed players, whilst  the adaptive trigger is the action for that arm and movement are done via the buttons (triangle, Square, Circle and cross) and their Nintendo equivalents. It will through over the world of the button masher and beyond that I haven’t worked out all the knacks that this brings but I reckon that the left directions are for abilities/tools and the shoulder buttons will have another function.

So as we set these worlds there are more settings to come, but the variable worlds gave me the idea to have some kind of story which only opens up after you enter the second world the it will become enabled and that I got from:

It seems that this might open up other settings too, and whilst you are trying to find things in the worlds you are visiting, it might give a clue towards your goals. You see, the goals that are always tied to your mini-map are merely traverse points whilst the setting becomes the joy of where you are (an RPG quirk I guess). But that setting will be another level of acceptance and whilst this game could start small (merely three maps) a startup company could add the other maps over time (like three maps per month) And the setting of the character you ‘envision’ yourself as might be another setting entirely. I have some ideas about the story but I will not put them here now. And as I set out the game possibilities in under two days I feel pretty proud of myself. It beats having to read the BS the media gives us on what President Trump is up to now and whilst I do not agree with the setting that Secretary general Mark Rutte is giving the world and he might just be ‘appeasing’ president Trump, but as far as I can tell, NATO is pretty much ready for whatever non nuclear solution Russia is pushing down their throats, but that might be merely the delusion I am seeing. Still when I see the Danish parliament howling with laughter on what President Trump was sending them, I feel pretty much correct on my sentiments. It is also the first time a foreign government is howling with laughter on what any president of the United States is offering them, so it is not merely me who is seeing him as a joke.

Still, the creation of new gaming IP is more value by me and as such I got to this and setting this game in a 4K setting makes it ready for Sony, Nintendo (Switch 2) and streaming solutions. The idea I had with the 4 ‘time frames’ Tolkien, Crusades, British India and WW2 is important to the story of the game, but not essential. Optional a 5th setting which gives us Khartoum and Battle of Rorke’s Drift, Falkland Islands, Invasion of Darfur and at least two more are needed but that is a matter of a later day. Consider that these settings could be played almost anytime (when all regions are unlocked) it feeds the gaming need when people can play the battle of Dale or Osgiliath after they watch the movie. It is a strange presence all gamers have and I reckon that this approach might be the next setting in gaming because when the characters are ironed out, including a WW2 character with the wars in Iraq or Yemen would be relatively easy as the architecture would allow additional maps. A game that feeds the next war in the setting of gaming is one that has not been considered before (as far as I can tell) and it allows for a stronger presence on these platforms, all whilst whomever does it for the Switch 2 might gain 10 million fans overnight, but that is a worry for the maker not for me.

Have a great day as I am relaxing now with some ice water as it is 28 degrees now and 31 degrees in my living room.

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January 25, 2026 · 14:37

A sense of self

That is at times the setting and we accept that, but have we ever truly set that in gaming? There are examples. There is The Talisman by Peter Straub (Stephen King too), there are numerous other examples and I even wrote that setting in a previous blog, a basic setting that is. So consider an altered example. The image below

Shows 13 areas, the middle gives us the start. Now consider the setting that the start region is WatchDogs 3 Legion, it gives access to 4 other regions, they are in the background. Now one of these regions is AC 2 (AC Brotherhood) and that gives access to Areas 1,2,4 or 2,3,6 or 4,7,8 or 6,8,9 and so on. The object is to create a giant puzzle and the setting is to give each regions it own set of rules. So whilst I am looking at the series Caprica, we can see how the alternate reality gives a more docile or less docile setting whilst ‘throwing’ concepts like gravity, time, behaviour and classifications of people and of positions are thrown into the mix to be altered in each region. As I see it, the goal is to set a more distorted sense of self. That is the one side that gaming never explored. But the stage where we all throw it into the wind remains seemingly untouched, all whilst devices like the Meta Quest 3 could open that up to a much larger extent. We tend to reflect on what WE are, but not on how we manipulate ourselves. We play RPG, Minecraft all whilst Ernest Cline in Ready Player One opened a larger stage as early as 2011, now that we have much better technology, no one seems to be heading that way. It is not about the VR setting, it is how we see ourselves that is not addressed in gaming to any real setting. (OK, the real is debatable). And that setting is overlooked time after time again and as I see it, there has been 15 years of technology and no one thought of that approach to give the gamer the ride of their lives? When we consider a cross mix of technologies, the setting to hand the setting over a larger place is also overlooked. You see with the Meta Quest 3 there is the setting of streaming consoles and an ability to set both gaming realities in some kind of overlap would help. I reckon that the last time that this was done to ‘some’ extend was the game System Shock, but actually to set these linked technologies to real technological puzzles is missing. That same setting is partially seen in a game named Portal (Rob Swigart, 1986) and it seems that no one ever. Considered the next step in what makers like that would have seen impossible in their time, but now this option is ready to be explored. I actually placed a story here somewhere where I addressed that setting (too tired to find it now as it is 100F at the moment) So whilst we all go for the ‘cosmetic’ in today’s gaming, the larger setting is to take a leap and make some changes actual and yes there is a drawback to program to the Meta Quest 3, but I already handed several setting where the device would be an actual asset and it sets the setting to much more intensity when we alter that perception, and I for one think that the visor with a streaming solution like Amazon Luna or the TGP (Tencent Gaming Platform) Box. I reckon whomever get in first will get the larger following and I recon that It also pays (for me at least) to let this evolve with the console setting I saw over the last three years. I reckon that there are 50 million consumers just for starters who will embrace this and that would be merely phase one. In the later phase I have no idea where it will end but 100-150 million consoles in not out of the realm of possibilities and after that I get hesitant. I would love to be the one guy who get this to 200 million plus, but I am hesitant to get overly ‘confident’ I am certain it will work, but to see the one solution that Google and Amazon can’t see makes my confidence shaky to say the least. At least I got to imagine another Gaming IP even if it is based on other settings, but that is merely cosmetic in some form. Whoever designs the new IP will have a strong sense of achievement and here I reckon that Ubisoft has the inner track and after they just sacked dozens of people all over the world, they might be thinking on what to do next. Well, they need to not look further at present.

So have a great day and as I am melting like the wicked with of the witch of the west in this heat, I will take the slow lazy setting to avoid heat getting to me.

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October 14, 2025 · 00:20

When a cigar is anything but

That is the expression as I see it. It is based on the freud premise of ‘Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar’ And it fits the setting. You see, on August 31st I wrote ‘The wave of brains’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/08/31/the-wave-of-brains/)

I set up a new RPG game, a new gaming IP and in a non-related issue I accidentally clicked on the ‘Grok’ button, which gave me a new setting on me. Now I did it intentionally and it gave me a few items, it also gave me an idea I did not have before. The idea came from my school days (my merchant navy school days) and it came to me that the idea could have multiple applications. 

So as I was ‘given’:

Based on the blog post linked in Lawrence Van Rijn’s X post, the envisioned Mars RPG game appears to combine survival, exploration, and narrative-driven gameplay with unique mechanics that tie into its sci-fi setting and real-world geopolitical commentary. Since the post outlines an idea rather than a fully developed game, I’ll extrapolate the mechanics from the described concepts, filling in logical details where necessary. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the potential game mechanics:

1. Survival and Resource Management
Core Systems Dependency: The game begins with the player as an amnesiac astronaut in a detainment center on Mars, reliant on self-sustaining systems for oxygen, water, and nourishment. Players must learn and maintain these systems (e.g., repairing oxygen generators or water purifiers) to survive. This introduces a tutorial phase where resource management is hands-on, with limited initial supplies forcing prioritization.
Energy Constraints: Power is a scarce resource, with the fusion reactor offline due to a crash-induced brownout. Players must restore solar panels or alternative energy sources (e.g., a larger energy dump mentioned in the post) to expand operations, creating a strategic layer where energy allocation (e.g., to life support vs. droid activation) impacts survival.
Time Pressure: The narrative hints at a finite water supply (a few days’ worth), adding urgency. Players must balance exploration and repairs under a ticking clock, with failure leading to resource depletion and potential death or mission failure.

2. Exploration and Droid Interaction
Open-World Exploration: The game features multiple domes, starting with a detainment center linked to retail and civilian areas, each with unique challenges. Players explore deserted landscapes filled with corpses and debris, uncovering lore through environmental storytelling (e.g., identity tags and mail from deceased colonists).
Droid Reactivation System: A key mechanic involves reactivating droids—janitor droids to clear junk and maintenance droids to repair infrastructure (e.g., the first tower for power restoration). Players choose which droids to prioritize, with each type offering different benefits (e.g., janitors clear paths, maintenance droids fix systems). This could include a mini-game or skill-based challenge to reboot them, inspired by the “Paradroid” reference.
Progressive Unlocking: As droids restore power and systems, new areas of the domes become accessible, expanding the playable space and introducing new survival tasks (e.g., inspecting oxygen points or water supplies).

3. Character Progression and Identity Mechanics
Amnesia and Identity Acquisition: The player’s amnesia allows for a dynamic identity system. By collecting identity tags from corpses, players can “become” deceased colonists, gaining access to their skills, memories (via mail and conference logs), and clearances. This could function like a skill tree or perk system, where each identity unlocks specific abilities (e.g., engineering skills for repairs or security access for restricted areas).
Sanity and Morale: Drawing from the post’s mention of supporting 10,000 people’s sanity across three domes, individual colonists (or the player) might have stats like sanity, comfort, and health, affected by isolation, resource scarcity, or horrific discoveries (e.g., mass corpses). Managing these stats could involve crafting morale-boosting items or completing narrative-driven tasks.

4. Narrative and Lore Integration
Mystery and Event System: Inspired by games like Surviving Mars, the game includes “mysteries” tied to the crashed Earth ark ship. Events such as alien contact, AI revolts, or rival corporate interference could trigger dynamically, requiring player decisions that shape the story (e.g., negotiating with an AI or fighting security droids).
Geopolitical Lore Updates: The post suggests real-time news integration via a “NIP (near Intelligent Parsing) system” to reflect events like U.S. debt crises or BRICS power shifts. This could manifest as in-game news broadcasts, colonist dialogues, or mission objectives that evolve with global events, making each play through reflect the current date (e.g., October 2025’s economic tensions).

5. Combat and Security
Emerging Threats: The post hints at security and battle droids as future hazards, suggesting a combat mechanic. Players might craft or find weapons (e.g., from the shipwreck) to defend against rogue droids or environmental dangers (e.g., dust storms), with combat tied to resource costs (e.g., ammo or energy).
Strategic Defense: As the colony grows, players may need to fortify domes against external threats (e.g., the crashed ship’s survivors or alien entities), adding a base-building or defensive strategy layer.

6. Crafting and Customization
Ship Repair Goal: The ultimate objective is to repair the broken ship parts scattered across Mars, requiring players to gather materials and craft tools or gadgets (e.g., a flashlight for night exploration, as seen in similar survival games). This aligns with the post’s focus on self-reliance.
Equipment Upgrades: Players can customize their character’s gear or droid capabilities, enhancing survival odds in harsh Martian conditions (e.g., radiation suits or enhanced droid AI).

7. Multi-Dome Ecosystem
Interconnected Domes: The three domes (detainment, retail, civilian) form a network where actions in one affect others (e.g., restoring power in one dome boosts water production in another). Players must manage this ecosystem, balancing population needs (up to 5,000) and resource flows.
Population Dynamics: If the game includes NPC colonists (martian-born or revived identities), their traits and morale could influence productivity or trigger events, adding a social simulation layer akin to Surviving Mars or Tropico.

Potential Challenges and Balance
Complexity: Balancing survival (resource timers), exploration (droid management), and narrative (lore integration) could overwhelm players. A phased difficulty curve—starting with basic survival, then adding combat and geopolitics—might help.
Replayability: The real-time news integration and multiple identity paths could encourage replay, but random events (e.g., meteor storms or AI revolts) would need to be varied to maintain interest.
Technical Feasibility: Parsing live news into a coherent game narrative via NIP systems would require robust AI, potentially straining development resources unless partnered with a news aggregator.

And there was more, but this gave me a few ideas. In the late 70’s there was something called RADAR scan transmissions. It used a RADAR to send communications around, I never saw it myself but I heard of it. Now consider that some use display software to use it in another way. Like the setting of images that are used (through personalised filters) to create art. That setting can be used in two ways, to rely on the art to help you find stuff, or the camera and filters to see other places. For instance scanning a picture might give you location data, images could given you personal references. That might be used in higher skill levels to make the game more challenging. For example the image of a droid hight give you the Droid Identification Number (DIN) is a unique 17-character code used to identify a specific droid, similar to a droid’s fingerprint. These are some of the settings that can be used to find other places and other (not in THAT dome) places. Certain cameras now have identifiers and some of that can be embedded in images. It allows for scanners to identify elements and we can use that to gain access to some places in a dome not considered before. 

These are some of the ideas that bring a stronger presence of gaming IP and when the IP is powerful enough, you get a new following and a stronger franchise. A stronger franchise was not my idea as a game needs to have an end and going on and on is not my way, but a stringer presence for any IP is always welcome and I found that setting as I was researching the Grok output. I had actually not anticipated that idea. Whatever will I think of next? 

Yet the setting of a larger technology presence was always my plan as I see that when too much of the SciFi becomes Fi, Fiction leads to fantasy and I am not against it, but I feel the need to adhere to a larger input of science and as my grandfather used to say, there is no place for science in Tartarus. Grandpapa was probably right. There is also a need for weapons, but not essentially personal weapons. The need to set traps might make a better droid killer than anything I could think of, but how to do that? Well, there are a few settings and only needed for security and military droids, the rest is basically harmless. The benefit of that, is that you will need to play strict rules with the stuff you find. And as the astronaut (played by you) might be a dunes in this regard, the need to create books or instruction discs that can be put into a viewer so that you gain these skills. For that I have a setting of multiple helmets (sprayed all over the game), some are mental and other helmets are suit connected systems string the knowledge to your body. In context (speculatively) Microsoft took years to launch a reboot of Fable (which was an awesome game) I wrote in months the setting of an entirely new RPG, so there. And should you doubt this (that would be a fair call), I have done this 4 times already. So where it there non existing AI now? 

So as they invaded the sanctity of my gaming life, I gave my gaming IP to everyone else, so where are their billons now? Whilst they aren’t getting it done, all the others will get a head start to gain momentum. That is how I roll (I am a vindictive bastard at times).

So back to the game. As I see other avenues to thwart detection, I am also setting the idea to make you viral into the security offices to set your ID to a ‘allowed and safe’ setting. The other systems will allow you to go outside the dome to repair and connect solar panels and as Mars gets a mere 44%, more panels are needed. In the later stages you will have to repair a fusion reactor (with a little snag or two). Oh, that reminds me, there will be a setting for survivors (a salute to System Shock), but that will take a little more time.

All this and more are now settling in my brain and as the ride between the domes gets to be repaired, I just thought of a new setting for the third dome, there is no absence of energy, but a massive abundance of energy which gave that dome its own problems and as such so will you. But that will be for another day and that is all for today ( the new day just started 11 minutes ago), so have a great day and I will snore and think of new gaming IP if possible.

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August 26, 2025 · 03:57

A present for some

Yup, there you have it. This is a present and particularly for Avalanche software, the makers of Hogwarts Legacy. I’ve been mulling a few things over and I reckon that at times we have to give back to the people who kept us entertained. As such I am giving this idea to Avalanche and they can use it, ignore it. Whatever they want. It also assumes that Hogwarts legacy 2 is as open as its predecessor was. 

First
In the first you need to be able to own houses. These houses can be decorated and they all have a ‘secret’ setting, but in addition to this The game will have its collection of castles, derelict places and others. These are the foundation of my focus. As it goes each of these places have the ability to have a secret level (rooms is more apt). And these houses need specific updates and some of them need to be found.

Portal elements. In the game you will be able to find unique portal items, as well as stress lanterns, and interior spells (an advanced version of Reparo) These houses will then be ‘decorated’ in the style of your graduation house, As such if you play the game 4 times, that place will look similar but different. As the game progresses you will find more unique spells and items (these will have a different icon, item card) the stress lamps are placed around the house or in the house and will give muggles the creeps when they get near one (but they do not know why). Portal items are specific for a type of dwelling and will show this, these portal keys are specific and limited to one location (your secret level) and these levels are consistent to the area they are set and the rooms are not unlike the Room of requirements, but they have limits. You now have places for wardrobes, spell crafts, potion crafts and so on. 

Second
I mentioned before jobs (in a previous blog) I set the ideal gave to a maximum job and two minimum jobs. So the 4 houses have a maximum job and 2 minimum jobs. As such we get 12 jobs. I wanted to add a segment to this, but I don’t want to steamroll everything. For Slytherin the idea of having a potioneer. As a Potioneer you get benefits, like an additional potion for every potion you make and you need one less ingredient for any potion made. For Auror you get more resources for every enemy you slain (like 7 troll bogeys instead of 5) As we get to the setting of minister, or civil servant, you get additional goodwill when you are walking around. 

Third
As you have graduated, you no longer need a field guide, but the idea can be transferred to the next game, it will have a different name, lore pages as you get the lore of specific things you find. This might also give you additional talents and spells. It might be nice that some of these are house related, like the original lore page writer gives the house wizard an additional page, a ‘golden’ page and that is house dependent and will give the person a skill, a spell or a conjurations linked to the thing you are revealing.

These settings are to instill the replay-ability of the game and the need for people to keep on exploring. As I wrote before in the jobs story, this will give you an income and that matters as you progress in the game, more money means more options (just like real life) and here we see that the smaller jobs are easier to get, but pay less, as such you can create the skills you need to get the ‘big’ job. The job will also give ‘renown’ as well as privileges. These privileges are limited to some degree, but they can make life easier in certain settings. For example a minister gets discounts, a auror gets stronger outfits. It can be applied to the same cloak. It gives an auror 20% better defense and that same cloak is 20% cheaper but does not have the 20% better defense.

You can still find and upgrade stuff, but the stronger clothes must be bought and they aren’t cheap. The aforementioned cloak could be found (acquired in a fight) with a defense of 60, that same cloak could be bought with a defense of 96. There is the idea that a loom could be conjured (or found), but the animal furs need to be bought from a pet shop. 

As I learn more about the second game I might get more ideas, but Avalanche here is your boon. You payed for it by entertaining me with an excellent first game.
Have a nice day all and the people at Avalanche happy programming. 

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August 13, 2025 · 17:48

The story script of lore

Yup, nice and confusing, isn’t it? But that is the setting. As I was playing Skyrim (yet again) the thoughts of lore went through my head. And RPG players might remember this. You escape the large lizard (aka Dragon), you go to Riverwood and then to Whiterun where you join the companions. Linear in extremity. Now, this is not critique. This is how RPG were played in 2011 and the hardware pretty much set you up for that. So, remember Richard Garriott who gave us the ultimate RPG in Ultima. I got introduced to his master skills in 1983 with Ultima 3, Exodus. But his idea were not used to the largest extent. Now I don’t want to copy his sewing, but the idea that every person has the ability to evolve their choice. Perhaps through an intro story where you have to make choices. So, to connect this to Skyrim, the choices will set you to a setting that will push you to Riften (thieves guild), Whiterun (fighters guild), Winterhold (Mage Guild) or Falkreath (Dark Brotherhood) there are a few other options (but I don’t want to give away the plot for others) There you get the option to get into the Stormcloaks or the Empire forces. Now we have to allow for a few other things, but the setting that you end up going to Whiterun to get to Bleak Falls Barrow, so that need not change, but the setting to give variety to this introduction is an option, and it could happen AFTER to evade that initial sneaky lizard. This could also be the first companion you get. IT doesn’t seem much, but the setting to avoid linearity tends to be massive in RPG’s. In addition to this, finding books, not just for skills but also for quests is a second. I wrote about this and it requires a more dynamic version of books. Skyrim is already doing this, but not with a dynamic pre skilled setting. 

In addition, there is the setting to adjust the game by alternative skills. Skills that are given to you by your parent (an intro choice really), so as that story evolves, you get skills in art, smithing, archery and magic. So as you start of with two of them. You get more pronounced maps, you get the option to see more in your surroundings. You might get a better view on ores and smithing, you get options to see more in shopping, which normally comes from personality. And over time you get the others too, but it shapes you more in the way you get through the first 20 levels and it is important to have balance there, so that people will try other things, not try the same thing at the start and then adjust the choices for the game.

This allows for the setting to own a shop and a trainee that tends to the shop. This opens up a new cog in managing the game and nowadays it is doable and has been for a while. I set that up for the game IP I created last year (might have been 2-3 years ago). The issue is not on Bethesda, they did a good job, but it is now in our hands to push this envelope higher. You cannot relay on one game maker to see it all through. That is where we are required to push new levels.

One of these things is the need to create your OWN journal and shape it through playing. Not just the expected quest things, the setting that you get to a cave and you cannot see how to continue, or a door that is locked. It makes sense that you make notice of this and optionally a tab to remember that you have to go back to this. The idea I had (for streaming games) that this journal could be exported as a pdf. A novel idea for RPG gamers (the novel part was the pun). An additional setting was the art setting, if you did not get this skill in the beginning, the art in your journal might be ‘lacking’ until you do get it, the same could be said for mapmaking. 

As I see it, the current approach is not wrong, but a little ‘vanilla’ (I actually hate that term). So as we see the additional cogs in the game we make the RGP more of an adventure. And whilst some titles in books are a given (also magical skill books) but some could have similar or a dozen settings for the title, so you can stop looking for a certain title. It is just an idea, but it could give the larger setting to non-linearity (and I am all for that).

So this was what I came up with yesterday and then I forgot it. My mind is flaky and weird, I know.

But these are things that could invigorate the desire for RPG games and I took Skyrim as an example, but this could equally done to the Fallout series. Anyway, that was the setting I was confronted with and even as I typed parts of this in the past, I saw this setting to see to the larger evolving stage of RPG’s.

Have a great day and don’t be a silly hero, when you see a dragon in your path, be like a mouse and let the police take care of that sucker.

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