Tag Archives: Video games

Hatred explodes

That is what I saw in the last few days and a lot is misdirected sycophant stuff. And in support we are given (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq5637p7qpno) ‘Xbox tech boss says ‘unacceptable’ outage should not have affected disc games’ where we see  “Xbox’s technology chief said an “unacceptable” outage on Monday should not have stopped people from playing their games on physical discs. “We’re looking into reports that some players were unable to access games using discs as expected during the service interruption,” Scott Van Vliet said in a statement. He said the outage, which lasted around 20 hours, was caused by a licensing issue failing to correctly check if a user was allowed to play a game.” As such Microsoft has an additional issue, but that is not my concern (I threw my Xbox away years ago) And as I see it, as systems ‘develop’ (often not in a good way) the entire licensing issue is moot, especially if there is a physical copy. So, the “outage on Monday should not have stopped people from playing their games on physical discs” and instead of setting a licensing option, handing the Xbox the license settings in a daily login was not an option? And that license file is ‘abandoned’ if it is a week old didn’t come to mind of these wannabe innovators? That stops anything messing with gamers and their need to game and as Microsoft is given a week to fix their licensing setting, it would seem enough (at present).

But I am not interested in that, it was merely a nice sidestep, the issue is Sony. I initially took notice after the reporting and I wrote about it in ‘Food for Thinking’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2026/07/03/food-for-thinking/), I still believe that the physical copy will be important because out will destroy the rural gaming community. And gamers have to protect one another. Then there is the Net Neutrality issue that will come up and the business end of it will rear its ugly head making gamers lose another side of things. So the thoughts of Sony do not make any sense, not at all. They know their population going back to 1994, most gamers tend to live there, where they have all their lives and outside of Japan, Korea and Sweden do not stand a chance having a decent gaming option in rural settings. As such gamers need to unite and they are

So, in less than a month, we see the exploding hatred from the announcement that Sony will go fully diskless by 2028. We have time, but the setting is that the this is merely a year and Sony tends to set boundaries this early for a reason. Optionally the PS6 is showing issues with drives and the might be the reason to do this and I saw someone throwing the setting of “No Drive, no buy” and that makes sense, Not for Sony, they will in 2028 speculatively entertain the largest walk out on a brand they grew since 1994 and I am in the same frame of mind, “no drive, no buy” setting. I would hate to lose to play the latest Santa Monica Studio games when that comes to PS6, as well as the Guerrilla Games games Horizon 3, which is implied to be a PS6 launch game. They could even boost PS6 systems selling with a pack with the first two games added for PS6, I reckon that this would propel the PS6 to unheard heights, that might be the solution that makes all sales records grow bleak. It would be an enormous result, but not without the physical drive. So, what is the issue? People will buy the drive if they need to (like the PS5pro setting) I don’t have one, because of obvious reasons and the fact that the PS5 is doing its job brilliantly and it has been doing so since December 2020, so almost 6 years and I never regretted buying it. So what is the deal, because it is nothing like Sony to drop a serious chunk of their gamers into some abyss. The setting doesn’t make sense at the moment and the only speculated thought I am having is that the issue is somehow involving the PS6. And their I have a few questions, because the PS5 is still doing massively great and the only reasons for a pushed upgrade is that the two aforementioned companies is throwing a serious upgrade to their games. Yet as I see it, Laufey is showing to be the bees knees, which means it is top tier gaming (there is nothing wrong with the legs of Deborah Ann Woll, for evidence see her work in True Blood).

So, all the evidence seems to point to issues with the PS6 and they are merely hiding that fact because it would stop them from addressing that issue, but that is purely speculative form my side if things.

I get the exploding hatred, I am not a fan, but I get that all gamers need to protect one another and that seems to get into the hatred field, gamers have a very short fuse if their universe is messed with and Sony should know that, they have over 30 years of experience dealing with gamers. As such the equation does not make sense to me. But perhaps I am not seeing all the facts. It happens, I am (just like anyone else) dependent in the news given to us and in this case it was bad news. 

So I wish all a great day and if you are a gamer, feel free to bludgeon your gaming nemesis (aka big boss) to death and make him your bitch. That top feeling tends to release the right amount of dopamine where it needs to go. For example Jacqueline Natla (big boss of first Tomb Raider), Marco Bartoli (Tomb Raider 2), Helis, aka The Terror of the Sun and I can name several others, but you get the picture. We have been slaying bosses since 1994 and we don’t want that to end. More important, we want to make sure that this is a setting rural gamers can also enjoy for many years to come. So Sony better be warned, because they have Don Mattrick to be the example, remember him in June 2013 where he made a speech and the Xbox went from 2nd place to dead last? Don’t be a Mattrick, remain faithful to your gamers. That is what I think of this.

Write more to you later readers, darn its lunchtime in Toronto, wish I was there so I could have a cheeseburger with fries and it is conveniently close to the Eaton Centre. Looks like I have to wait 300 minutes to have breakfast in Sydney. The crosses we have to carry, so unjust.

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Escape

It happens, it wasn’t me, it was an idea I had and I forgot to make a note of it, and now it escaped me. It gave me a few settings towards old dreams I had. I had an idea towards a 2D game, but the people are part of that game. It had to be done over water, the water shaped the levels and the water is the buffer to stop you from breaking bones when you fall. There are a lot of missing parts and it might make a movie, because there were too many missing parts, but the idea was there. These thoughts matter, it gave me an edge over several IP’s I created and it also gave me the military IPs I gave to the UAE and Saudi Arabia. These IPs were (as I personally considered) were options to consider in all of that (and I lack a credit card with billions) so I found simpler settings that took care of Iranian assets without spending billions and as such I thought it would be great to hand these ideas to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, free of charge and the setting that someone took care of Iran without bleeding either the UAE or Saudi Arabia for personal profit. At times enemies of life need to be dealt with and that is merely how I roll. So as I went over this some of the thoughts came back. It would definitely be for a movie, but the settings are still hazy. A few ideas are too outlandish because of the settings. But they also paved the way for a few new ideas. You see, I’ve been rewatching movies and it left me with ideas. The idea was based on a British idea it was called ‘Some mothers do ‘ave ’em’ it had Michael Crawford in it, who would get a larger global following with Condorman (which had a part filmed in Monaco) but these thoughts became the food for other ideas. You see, we are all ‘smitten’ with DC and Marvel (I have nothing against either) but in all this movies like Condorman and True Lies were a breath of fresh air. I still think that True Lies would have made an excellent coin flip from the James Bond series and I thought it would make decent new franchise. 

But the ideas I had and some I wrote in other blogs might set not a new movie or TV series, but a new game and one with a difference. So an RPG that is not build around a story hero, but around your real person. A setting where you can imagine what you would like, but now the story reflects around the person you are. And considering that we had Altar Ego in 1986 (Activision) consider that this was done on a mere 64KB, we have a lot more now and consider that you can play the introduction as you like, or you can hand it the truth and let the introduction shape the game. As far as I know, this has never been done before. So the introduction does two things. Teach you the game and it figures you out. I reckon you need a few psychologists for that, but that shouldn’t be a problem. And it goes form both genders, so it isn’t some macho game and in this we see the story line evolve. And here the reference of Condorman and True lies holds up. It is shaped through your interaction with the game. And this RPG game might be a little apocalyptic but I would want it to be close to what we are now. And this connects to ‘Some mothers do ‘ave ‘em’ because Frank Spencer had a vivid imagination and that gets you into these RPG scenarios, but fueled to your psyche. There is still a story line to consider and the game requires one, but the setting is that you have where you get through several stories, so that the game is fueling the game for you is as I see it totally new, but there will be ‘issues’ and I haven’t worked them all out yet, but as I see it, it is not a game that is on my list of working out. So I will hand this to whomever gets the idea to work and that is how indie gaming is prolonged and as there is now an active hatred towards Sony and the disclose settings it is referring to ‘PlayStation fans are fed up with Sony’ with “PlayStation fans are fed up with Sony’s cold communication, lack of disc support, and poor handling of online services and fan events.” And it is my feeling that this is false. It feels more like Microsoft sycophants having a go at Sony. I believe that this is a mistake because no-one is considering rural gamers and they are left in the cold, millions of them but the entire discloses setting is not until January 2028, so we have plenty of time for Sony to reconsider its setting and as I will have a few more games by then, I have plenty and when the need comes high, I still have my Switch and that one is not going without physical media any day soon. So I feel that there is enough time for Sony to correct itself, I have an alternative direction and I can leave enough games to indie developers, so that the only direction for Microsoft and its well deserved wooden spoon is still on the table of happenstances. We all have our weapons and mine is creativity and there is plenty of that weapon systems, games, storylines, scripts for movie and TV. As such I can share whatever I feel like and that is the setting Microsoft overlooked. They are so used to buy whatever they like, that they forgot to fuel creativity and that is now their weak point. So whilst we see the opinion of some as “Xbox is struggling in the traditional console market due to an over-reliance on the Game Pass subscription model, poor hardware sales compared to competitors, and a strategic pivot toward releasing first-party games on rival platforms” and I reckoned that if I flood the market with ideas for indie developers, they will face a setting that others get for free for what they had to pay in excess of $100 billion (Activision/Bethesda), and considering that this anchor is weighting them down and costing them over $5 billion a year. I have room for creativity to hand the indie developers a few nuggets that they can exploit for all the gamers. And the pay off is brilliant, they can copy my work, but as I promoted it online, they cannot lock down any IP based on my work, so they either go into freeware or others can gain, because I am not stopping the indie developers because they are doing fine. As such I have created a new wall of creativity that is bringing down Microsoft. I feel fine doing that. And if they want to buy my IP? Well I am a business man at heart and I have given plenty to the others and Microsoft can buy all my IP for $6,000,000,000 post taxation (we all have retirement dreams). And all these settings are a mere figment of creativity. And lets face it the script of a simple person taking a ride where big tech pays billions (our version of the $6,000,000 man) as I see it, Lee Majors would be proud and was that not every boys dream between 1973 and 1978? I merely increased it by factor 1000 as 6 million doesn’t go far and even one of my IP gets them 6 billion annual and that place has a truckload of IP. 

That’s how I roll, whatever others did to me, I am now getting back close to a million fold. In the end creativity is important, but it all comes down to the numbers and I am talking generically, not dollars (I do like a fat bank account, but it will never define me, I hate greed). 

So whilst I am giving a lot more here that most can see, there is a hidden gem in this story too, the option is for you to find it, because I do like puzzles. So in all this have a great day and see what you can do fighting your own demons. And that takes me to one of the brilliant writings of Steven Moffat. In the episode Demons Run, he gives us at the end a poem:

The setting is simple, you figure out that is was about a demon run, but the quote is brilliant and when the term run is considered to have multiple meanings, and even the stage that it was about a good man going to war. So when you see Anorak the All-Knowing, don’t forget to say hi.

Have a great day today.

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As thoughts go

I was relaxing watching my daily dose of YouTube when I ended up watching a replay of the 1993 game Aliens versus Predator, a highly enjoyable game and it brought some settings back. You see, I have been a massive fan of Mad, especially Spy Versus Spy, as such I got the game in 1984 for my trusty CBM64 and I enjoyed loads of the with this game. But why has it vanished? There was later a PS2 version and that was it. I had the first and third game on my CBM64 and I started to mull a few things over today. What if it was relaunched with a difference? The game on your PS5 with upgrades (wait for it), but the largest idea came a little later. So what happens when you get the PS5 game? You also get a license for the PlayStation Portal™ and that opens up new frontiers, especially if the game is also there on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. Sony and Nintendo players could face off against one another. As such the game could be launched on Nintendo and Sony with a new option to use it against one another. Gamers not confined to a single platform, but gamers uniting for the joy of gaming and this game will be an exquisite setting. 

Graphically it should improve, especially considering the CBM64 graphics and there would be a seating of versatile levels. Like a square with 2 times 4 bars, ear exits and two ‘hidden’ ways from the left top to the right lower bar and from the left top bar to the right lower bar. I also think that you only see your side of things, but with the bars you hear the music the other spy hears. There are still traps and counter methods (as per trapulator) but it would be nice to have an arsenal with them and they are released per level in the same way it was, but a more versatile collection of traps. The game would view more 3D. The original level settings are still there too, but I would like to increase the amounts of options there. And optionally a new setting, the spy cams that could be released and set in a room so that you can see some rooms when the other spy wanders in. 

And all this could propel the need for the PlayStation Portal™, and it is merely the first game that comes to mind, because a portal is essential for multiplayer settings. You could also play it on the PS4/PS5/PS6 but there is still the essential Nintendo link and as this is also played through the internet, you get the seating to play friends and create new friends no matter whether they are Sony or Nintendo players. And there is a real setting here, there are 176,000,000 switch players and they might like to connect to the Sony population of a little over 211,000,000. 

So back to the game, at least three levels from the start and 2-4 levels added optionally from start, but it makes sense to add them later on. Also the escape, which was a plane, should be in good Spy vs Spy trend, optionally escape with a submarine (arctic level) and a tank escape. All optional that makes sense as both the Nintendo and Sony devices have a lot more than a smile 64Kb. I reckon that Hideaki Nishino and Shuntaro Furukawa should have lunch real soon to see what they can do together. Because there is an upside, as this matures, there is every chance that Sony people want a Switch (I already have mine) and vice versa (I have that one too) as such they could fuel gaming together and create several games that applaud that setting. Titles like Wave Race: Blue Storm, Mario Kart, Soul Calibur, Super Smash bros, the EA sport games all rearing to gain a multiplayer following and the nice part is that the one who owns the license can invite one player at any given time. (So an owner can let a non-owner of that game in)

An optional seating that would fuel the purchase of a game. The idea is to offer a lot more to gamers and that reps itself in revenue, optionally it might fuel the need for subscriptions. Whether it is PlayStation Plus or Nintendo Switch Online. I would advice to offer a setting that it is not required one day month, so that people can see what they gain, or they want to ease into this. A setting that a simple spy invoked (I swear it was the white one)

So ponder this setting and have a great day, optionally by playing a game you love.

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The gaming concerns

We all giggle at the ‘forecast’ of some gaming bosses. I am the same, so when I saw (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9803j74091o) ‘Amazon gaming boss predicts future where players no longer need consoles’ we can anticipate “Yes, but that is not now, it will be in the not so near future” and the setting of “Amazon’s head of gaming Jeff Gattis has told the BBC he believes the rising cost of tech means people will turn to streaming games online rather than buying new consoles. He said the tech has developed a lot in recent years, making it more viable than it used to be – but accepted some people will still buy their own hardware.” The truth of the matter that streaming is the future, but the setting towards a thick client (to a console) will make the most sense close to a decade. 

You see, some might remember the Microsoft failure Crackdown 3 where we see “Crackdown 3 uses a cloud-based compute system for its multiplayer mode (Wrecking Zone) to offload physics and environment destruction calculations to Microsoft Azure servers, multiplying local hardware power by up to twenty times. It is also fully playable via video streaming through Xbox Cloud Gaming with supported subscriptions.” But the results were “However, this data-streaming system frequently triggers micro-stutters, texture pop-in, and occasional fast-travel freezes on PC and base consoles.” And be clear, I am not having a go at Microsoft here. I actually applaud that they took this leap in 2019. It could have been better to some extent, but it was clear that the hardware was nowhere near ready even for strong servers using distributed technology. And we haven’t gotten much better at it in gaming at this time. Yes, distributed streaming is the wave of the future and I whole support this, but we are not ready, none of the gaming systems are at present to exclude a console. So when we see “While cloud gaming has long been billed as the future of video games, previous efforts have failed to gain widespread adoption – leading to the high-profile closure of Google Stadia in 2023.” I saw a future which could have gotten Google $6 billion in annual revenue, but they had closed the Stadia a week earlier. As such I offered that solution to Amazon (Andy Jessy) but he never got back to me, as I see it, his loss. Now I am still awaiting Tencent with their solution to nibble on that setting and there is no doubt that my prediction of $6 billion is real and I wrote about it in my blog (go look for it) I am not the person to hand out solutions to any wannabe that asks. And it was a real setting with gaming options to over 50 million gamers in the first phase. I predicted (as clumsily as I could what would happen after) but I have nothing real to offer after that revenue hits $12 billion – $15 billion annual. And I based it on a three pronged solution, because as I see it, a console is there for more than one reason and it would be a shame merely to offer one side. Google made the most sense as they had developed two of the solutions, but these could be remade and I wholly believe in streaming technology.

So when we see “Gattis argued there was still a huge untapped audience beyond traditional console owners which Amazon was trying to reach. “There are somewhere between two-and-a-half and three billion people who play games around the world, but only a fraction of those own dedicated gaming hardware,” Gattis said.” I find these numbers a little debatable, because as I see it, those relying on their mobile are not really gamers, that requires a large screen (or TV) and a decent console or home computer but that might be merely my view and in all this there is a future for distributed gaming, but it requires what is referred to as a thick client (console/home computer) because these millions of people will flood the internet when they are merely use a think client and I merely have to point out the issues Sony had a mere two days ago, to see the setting of “Thin clients require a stable internet and thin clients are network-dependent” that is the setting and before 2040, there is no non console setting to be had, even then you will be catering to metro people and the rural gamers are left behind. A setting I find completely disgusting and unsavory. Gaming is for everyone and even if (at times) we see that there is a lot to be had from these ‘metro’ gamers. It is completely unacceptable to stop catering to rural gamers. If only to consider France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Italy, Greece and that is merely Europe. Actually Sweden has the bet internet nationwide, but if we consider nations like Saudi Arabia, USA, Canada, Australia, and a few other places. How many rural gamers will be thrown into gaming darkness because of this? I boggles the mind I say. The BBC gives us more (read th article) and a lot makes sense in all this, but the setting of ““Gamers are willing to trade a little fidelity for convenience, but not to pay premium prices for something they don’t own which stutters when the Wi-Fi dips,” he said.” Is also something that needs addressing and it is done through the subscription model, as I see it, when you are a member, you get to won a game for all time, but it requires a thick client, so games at the end of their cycle need to be downloaded to the console, with an optional SD Card, to unclog the console. That might be a first setting that will gain the favour of gamers and the idea that they have at times a month to get a simple SDCard, is not to taxing on their wallet.

A simple card that supports the total of a Blu-ray can be gotten for a mere $33, as such storage becomes near obsolete as well. As such there are options but I see it for the far future, no matter what I believe that my solution holds, it will require a thick client, as the internet at present is a little to unsafe and insecure to count on. And that is before the upcoming rematch of net neutrality, a setting so intense and massively hedged against gamers, that a thin client is too dicey a choice to make at present.

Well, that is it for now. So tune in later today for a story that will make pyromaniacs water their mouths. Have a great day all and to all have a great day gaming.

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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: 

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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The unanswered question

That is what I see. I saw all the Microsoft articles pop by and it made me wonder. It is not that they are so great, not in the slightest. So, what brought this about?

First there was ‘Bethesda on Elder Scrolls VI, Fallout 5 Xbox exclusivity: ‘It’s too early to comment’’ (Source: TweakTown) which gives us “Todd Howard says it’s too early to comment on whether The Elder Scrolls VI or Fallout 5 will be Xbox exclusives. Bethesda announced four new Fallout projects, and Microsoft plans yearly exclusives (2026: Gears of War E-Day; 2027: Clockwork Revolution). Skyrim has sold over 65 million copies; Fallout 4 over 35 million.” We then get ‘Xbox Promised to Focus on Fallout and Elder Scrolls. Then It Fired the Teams Making Them.’ (source: Tech Times) This gives us pretty much the same info, but there is one difference “Former Bethesda project lead and Something Wicked Games CEO Jeff Gardiner confirmed 35 U.S.-based Bethesda Game Studios workers were cut on July 6. The OneBGS union, which represents Bethesda workers under the Communications Workers of America banner, reported at least 12 additional cuts at Bethesda’s Montreal location. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filings, public records pulled from state workforce agencies by Game Developer, confirmed 22 departures from Bethesda’s Austin office.” And with “The first 1,600 departures were painful. The announcement that another 1,600 more will follow by the end of fiscal year 2027 transformed pain into dread. People who kept their jobs are not experiencing relief. They are waiting.” This is setting the stage for another setting, but about that later. So then we get to ‘Elder Scrolls 6 gets first update in months from Bethesda’ (source: Gaming Bible) where we see “To say that The Elder Scrolls VI has been a long time coming is an understatement. Bethesda announced the highly anticipated fantasy RPG first during E3 2018, a time so long ago that the gaming convention no longer exists. Since that time, we have had small updates here and there, but we’re yet to learn of its release date, let alone seeing a gameplay trailer. All we’ve seen so far is the cinematic flyover trailer from the aforementioned E3 eight years ago.” And as we are given at present is that “Bethesda Softworks’s estimated annual revenue is currently $382.9M per year” and as Bethesda was part of a $7.5 billion buy, we have to ask the first question, if it takes 19 years to break even (and I am not adding the interest percentage for the loan. And if this includes millions of copies for Sony Consoles (PS3,PS4,PS5), I do not get the comment from Tod Howard “it’s too early to comment on whether The Elder Scrolls VI or Fallout 5 will be Xbox exclusives” with the Xbox at a mere 35 million Xbox-X consoles, the entire endeavor becomes nearly unplayable and as I see it, the value of Bethesda goes straight into the toilet. I saw a few other numbers, but I do not trust them as they seem massively pro Sony, I would like to see the real numbers. So with the staff of Bethesda in a caving morale setting, but the one question not asked is that Activision/Bethesda costs almost $84,000,000,000 and there is no way that this is making the money to validate such a purchase. I think I know why they did this. The previous boss wanted everyone to run to Xbox, a nice slideshow, but not a reality. Sony had too much appeal with the titles they have and I opposed the setting. Don’t get me wrong, Microsoft did nothing illegal, merely wrong and as they are figuring out just how wrong. I wonder if they are doing the same thing a Dutch bank did a decade ago. But it all that bad debt in some bank and let that go under, with all the debts attached (a wildly speculative idea from me). So as we are given half truths incomplete pictures, So as Gaming Bible gives us ‘Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas remasters confirmed by Bethesda in huge studio update’ we can see why they are doing it, Oblivion 3 was a huge success (as I see it) they need the other two greats to be successes too. Optionally they might set this to the Switch 2 as well. An acceptable thought. But as I gave the world gaming IP to counter (hopefully equal) Fallout and Oblivion there would be a setting with the same population and more options. This is what innovative thinking brings and I created new ideas, new settings and of course on a non Microsoft system. It was the only way the other makers got the IP for free. I tend to ave a mean streak at times. Microsoft messed with the tranquility of gamers and I handed all others new IP (for free). As such there is a new setting. So, don’t think it was against Bethesda and all gamers will love these remade games (especially on PlayStation 5) and I am happy for Bethesda. But as I see it, Microsoft is done for. They wanted Gaming to adhere to their settings of Business Intelligence and their marketing machine and they anded up with a 84 billion dollar anchor around their necks. 

So as we are now seeing unions and others having a go at Microsoft, it is merely losing its OpenAI Microsoft’s revenue-share demands, though Microsoft remains a major shareholder and primary cloud partner and as the class actions add up, that 84 billion dollar anchor might strangle their board of directors (one could only hope) and as more and more people start seeing that all AI is fake AI, the doors of opportunity will close and the savvy BI people will start to realise that they are not gamers and that branch of Microsoft will close on them.

So, am I crazy? Am I seeing what some cannot, or am I merely delusional? I cannot rule that out, because only a crazy person will consider themselves to be completely right all the time and I could be wrong, but the signals are there and the media is no longer the investigative party they once were, they merely claim it now, but it is laced through a path of digital dollars and that is not an investigative setting.

So, as we are given ‘Xbox Promised to Focus on Fallout and Elder Scrolls’ and then they did away with 3,200 positions were eliminated across Microsoft Gaming (not merely Bethesda) and as we see ‘Unions File Unfair Labor Complaints Against Microsoft Over Decision To ‘Unlawfully’ Fire Xbox Workers’ we see that the hardship for Microsoft is nowhere near over. And I reckon that 3200 positions will affect a few more development houses. So are these projects made redundant? In addition we see ‘Cracks are starting to show in Xbox Game Pass after Microsoft removed a previously promised first‑party game it literally owns’ (source: windows central) as such I reckon that more class cases towards Microsoft will come and if I have my feelers out correctly, they will start this year and likely more than one class case, so if you are Satya Nadella, how does that $84 billion anchor feel now?

Have a great day and remember, if you are an Xbox Gamer, the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 and the Sony PlayStation 5 are perfectly valid options and there are 312 million gamers on these three systems and when you think of this that small cluster of Xbox Gamers does’t seem that big after all and that was clear long before Phil Spencer left. 

So have a great day and consider whatever console you select, enjoy the games you play, because joy is a first setting of a gamer and you need to protect your ability for joy.

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And so, part 3

And so the continuing story of a quack whose gone to the dogs (always good fun to laugh at myself) but there is a part 3 and there is more, but I cannot give the game away (at present). So as I was designing and redesigning the game I my mind (not graphically) there was the setting of the next part which is a little in the open. It becomes the stage of ‘Heralding’ my entry as a Fakir of Baghdad. It is the fist definite stage on becoming a person for good, or a person of debatable conditioning. You see, Evil is only in existence of this who ‘claim’ themselves to be good, evil is their opposite, or so they seem to think. But being evil is merely a stepping stone. It is always carved to the degree others think what evil was. But we have good and an opposite and that is where the game goes. As I see it, as a Fakir you will get a malleable setting. The good get the power of water, the others get the setting of fire and as you complete the stage you get introduced to either and take another trip to a cave the damp cave for the water Djini Zarek or fire Djini Zulrekh. The setting will decide how the Italian fortress of the game is dealt with. The Arabian lands are dry, the water had left them, but what you will discover is that the Italians built over a earlier stage of the underground waters, they dammed the waters in and kept a well for themselves. As such you are treated by Zulrekh as the instigator of flames, burning the enemy down and the Italians become the firewood of your power. As you became Fakir, you were also given access to a staff (which must be bought) the staff is the same either way, but the way the staff is gained is important. In a previous mission you were able to get a staff, but either you steal it, or you perform tasks to get it. If you steal the staff, you get a beggars staff which is an oak staff and you get the dream to find Zulrekh in the cinder cave, if you perform the tasks you get the dream of the Water Djini Zarek who invites you to the damp cave. That is the step that defines your route.  Zarek tells you:

The idea becomes to soften the earth and washing the mud over the cinders fueling the fire. The challenge is not hard, but it shows how a simple stream washes sand, making it mud, as the stream becomes stronger you can unset boulders and they will move over the hay smothering the fuel for the flames. As you do this, you are attacked by scorpions and you can direct the stream over the scorpions washing them away. This is almost how it needs to be, I reckon that some ‘prototyping’ will be required, 

Zulrekh tells you:

And as such you are given the task of flaming the small boys in armor that represent the Italians and as such your flames become stronger and as you burn these little warriors you also gain mana and power just like the washed scorpions did, in the end both will give you a mana segment and your mana will get +5 making your actions stronger. As you play either you get the same rewards, only at the end you will get a different runic stone and the garbs of the Fakir will transform into either red/black or blue/green the clothes are almost the same, merely cosmetically colored and looks differ, but there is no power benefit. 

The idea is that if you take this route, you will never see the buried well, you will never free the stream but over time you will redirect the Tigris, but many will be lost to all this (which you will not know). It sets a double dialogue over the game and subsequent settings. I was not happy how some quests in other games went, it is normally not this or that, but to get two storylines and other storylines subsequently is another thing, it makes is a game with two faces and two outcomes. And as you get some direction and choices you will see that the game gives you more. I also think that these acts will shape your coat of arms, The red and black colours in your shield comes from Zulrekh, the blue and green colours come from Zarek and in the end the game shapes your coat of arms and gives you the ‘immortal’ setting on Baghdad. 

As such I also envisioned for the Spanish fortress a new challenge, but I am talking about some historic events (as they tend to be) where the Spaniards saw the impact of pestilence of Tharvex or the Azrakhil’s ghoulish hunger. It reflects on Spanish food and their need for Tapas (not entirely true, but it gave me the idea) on that others will learn and whilst we get to that as you have become a person of nobility, you will have gained most places and now it becomes about getting known and accepted all over Baghdad. It is from there you have access to the palace of the Vizier (your old place) and whilst it had fallen into disrepair, your actions will breath it new life and as such the entrance with your coat of arm and stature will proper (either way) and it merely looks cosmetically different and whilst one is darker then the other, it is still a place for you. And as such you will gain the same settings, although there are cosmetic differences to both settings, in the end the same parts are found. 

The ending is still in my mind and it has a sneaky movie reference, all the way from Kentucky. So whether you go with blow one’s own horn (my personal pride) or toot your own horn which tends to lean towards a humble statement. But the reality is that some make claim to be such innovative game designers. And I outdid them in three days, all whilst some of those braggers had a over a dozen people working on it. I did this myself and I handed it to the UAE and their gaming ventures, as such a can toot all I care for. 

You all have a great day It is time for me to snore a forest into plywood, have fun.

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Reengineering greatness

We all do that at times and I had an idea. You see there is one FPS that I love above all else. That is Metroid Prime on the Gamecube and the Switch. It is by far the most perfect FPS game ever. I have played in at least 6 times (and I never scored 100% on any of them) I am not angry, disappointed or frustrated. The game is just too perfect. And nearly anyone I know who played that game thinks so too. The game scored 97% and when you play the game you’ll understand why. So why make a copy? Well, not a copy, but my mind set to work to base a game on this game and as I promised, this setting too is now immediately co-owned by the UAE. 

So how to make a new game based on this. Well, I went with the ‘hero’ of this story to be Jafar, or at least someone like him. And I set the idea on the locations of an Arabic setting. Like the game locations that Metroid Prime used, I use a similar setting. There is The Royal palace, The palace of the Fakir, the streets of Baghdad, the sewers of Baghdad, the caves of prophesy perhaps a few more. But these are intertwined (like Metroid Prime) and as such created with artistic precision (not my forte, that I live to the graphical experts). So there is a setting where the Vizier is in his office (the council chambers) and you get the intro of the story and like Metroid prime (also in the first Assassins Creed) you are in a setting where you get attacked and get to more through the council chambers from room to room, taking care of business. In the end you are overwhelmed and cast out of the chambers and thrown into the sewers where the story begins. In this you start as a simple fakir, changed by prophesy and now without powers you are alone. In the sewers you are seeking your fortune and by resolving issues you are given your first token. The token of the streets of Baghdad, with that token you can now move through the sewers and into the streets of Baghdad. The tokens are collected in a neck charm, there is also a dark charm, it gets you into the caves of prophecy. To gain favor you need to get the clothes of office, from a simple civilian you get the cloaks of the fakir, the fakir will lead to the suit of the trader, the thobes of nobility and as such the clothes give access to places, as well as a Topi. There are also jewels, rings that give powers, the bracelets of strength and several more.

But this is a story and a challenge. As you gain your first station you will also get the stave of an element (ice of fire) and these settings are gained in part in the caves of prophecy where you will face several djini. If you survive the first fight you get a stave, in subsequent fights you will get a Kufi marker for which you can imbue its power in to gems or add to the staff. The idea is to make yourself stronger and more able to withstand the dangers you face. I am also considering to add a magic carpet (it is an Arabic story after all) but it comes with limitations. The idea of this story is that the lands are in danger and to restore the lands you need to gain powers. Between when you were in the council chambers and now (the start of the game) decades have passed (it becomes clear during the game) so the grandeur of Baghdad (which you see in the beginning) is gone and now you need to restore the land. So as you go through all the levels, where you resolve things the lands are restored. So there are a few versions of the game. From destroyed to great (dark) and great (light). I am partial to replayability. So that is a clear setting for the game. The idea is to add Zarek, Zulrekh, Kavira, Vizaresh, Sakhr, Azrakhil, Tharvex, Samirah, Ishara, Qandisha, Manlen, Qiwa and Salen. The female Ifrit have powers of restoration, healing, illusionary powers and mid powers. The make Ifrit have strength, elemental powers. There is the need for limitations. You can only have a specific amount of powers and elemental powers. Hence the Kufi markers and as you gain powers and abilities you will find new places and stronger staves and wands. So you can upgrade and whilst you are free to explore there is the chance that you are hindered by some powers. For example water and fire powers do not mix, neither do earth and air, but other axes are OK and the stages that two elements will result into a third power. But that is for later. 

The story becomes that in this land, all is lost as friends of the nobles strangled the land into nothingness, the old Malik as well as the Sultan were killed in a tragic accident. As they were replaced, the milking the land and the people began. The challenges are set as the replacements were in league with the Western leaders, the Italians and the Spanish. As such you are called by the djinn, and they didn’t have powers over the western people. As such they are in panic, the westerners are new, they are not swayed and as such one djini (essential to the story) makes a wager where she is games it all for the restoration of you and you are taken out of your own time and pushed into the future without knowledge of what was and as such you start. So whilst we are given the story (which is fed in small instances) the story develops and as you are pushed into the realm of the Djini, you are heading into two directions. The path of light or the path of the dark. And if shapes the lands you are trying to safe. There is a lot more, but that is for next time. I did this in under two hours, as such I did not do too badly. No matter what it is based on, the story and the settings are unique, the story was made up today may me and even if it is founded on the Original Metroid Prime, the scenery, the people and the opponents are nothing alike. And as far was I can tell, there is no FPS based on the Arabic lands. So that is a first too.

Have a great day and try to wake up your creativity today.

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Worlds in motion

That is what happened 13 hours ago. We are given a story by Ben Graham, which carries the title ‘‘Catastrophe’: Gaming world in utter chaos as Microsoft’s axes 4800 jobs, Sony makes huge call’ (source: news.com.au), I had given my view on the erroneous Sony call, but I didn’t give the setting of Microsoft too much time. Microsoft is really big (over 170,000 people) and there are more stages than Gaming, so as we are given “The cuts at Microsoft include the deepest overhaul in Xbox’s history, with approximately 3200 gaming jobs to be shed over the coming fiscal year, including positions at four studios that are being spun off or sold. It is understood the cuts will affect staff in Australia where 3,000 employees work across six offices.” As I see it, the stage that the UAE gives with its gaming setting of 2033 (see previous story) I am happy that I gave my gaming IP to the UAE. It sounds that the UAE is coming in just in time and whilst I see that Sony has a good grasp on things, the entire setting of no-disc will likely be dropped in 2027, as they see what chaos they would unleash on their brand. I never objected to a no-disc setting, it would not be my choice, but that is beside the setting that Rural gamers all over Europe (likely the America’s too). It is a stage of the Have versus Have not and I don’t like that setting. It is a class war that is brooding and it makes me sick. These wars always come with a larger victim count and a massive amount of resentment. As such I oppose it. So, I am kinda happy that the UAE is going into gaming. As such they are likely to capture the Microsoft gaming population first and depending on what hardware options they select they could get up to 6 billion dollar in stage one, a lot more in stage two. The question becomes what direction they will take gaming in. You see gaming can be several directions and I am against taking something in all directions. It is often better to capture niche by niche and grow from there. The benefit is that as you expend on niches, you can make these niches available to all niche gamers. So they expand to a much larger setting.

As such people can select the paths open to them and as such you gain traction on all fronts you enable. And it is important to vacate the American 80% setting. Each niche needs to be 95% cleared and the 5% should be set to minor stuff. It is a slower route but the results are more clear and almost a guarantee. In this I state almost, because there are many factors. But the only thought towards to worst case scenario is that you gain 50% more when you go for the 95% over the 80% setting and 50% is a big gain. The good thing is that there is motion on several levels and as such the stage of gaming for gamers is decently secure through Nintendo and Sony, but 2 options doesn’t make a population. So in come China and the UAE. China with its Tencent device (no clue how real it is) and I don’t give credence to the populistic YouTube approach. But the idea of Tencent and the UAE has merit on a few levels. There was another side that I was considering, because I have options in IP besides gaming, even if gaming was merely one side to this. There were two other sides and that is how traction is made. 

So whilst some are considering “On the commercial side, she said the cuts would build on Microsoft’s $2.5 billion push, announced last week, to embed 6000 engineers with major clients to accelerate AI adoption.” As I see it, it is a load of nonsense. When these ‘clients’ start to figure out that there is no real AI, that until some issues are resolved it is merely Fake AI, the class actions start to come. I wonder if anyone had looked deep into these AI contracts?  $2.5B divided by 6000 is $417K, the numbers do not make sense. And considering the purchase of Blizzard for $68.7 billion, Bethesda for $7.5 billion and Mojang for $2.5 billion. The question becomes, how much did they make from these three? Ask I see it, they are bleeding all over the gaming field. As I see it, if they even break even, it is because of the PlayStation titles, not the Xbox side of things. I admit it is speculation but consider Bethesda for $7.5B, that requires over 750,000,000 games sold. There are at most 45 million Microsoft consoles sold which means that each Xbox requires 18 Bethesda titles. As I see it, they have less than 9, as such the equation doesn’t work and I won’t even take this to Blizzard with its $68B price tag. The numbers do not add up and before you consider the setting of IP value, it requires someone to actively work on that and as we see from Starfield, that setting is more than debatable. 

But this is not about Microsoft (who I don’t care about), but it is about gaming and that setting need to be protected, so that my friends, me, others, their children and their children children get to play. Microsoft made it some business venture, to make it some form of exploitation (at least that is how I saw it). And keeping gamers safe is a noble goal (still my personal view on the matter). I have no idea what the UAE had decided to in that event, but at present they have a lot more credibility that these American firms ever have had.  Aren’t we lucky that Nintendo and Sony are both Japanese?

So whilst we are given “There has been widespread criticism of Microsoft overnight, with many gamers claiming the company is losing money because it is producing “woke” games that nobody wants to play. “The easiest solution is just look for the pink-haired devs that are destroying your IP (intellectual property) and send them on their merry way,” one gamer wrote on X. “People want good games, but the shoved ideologies into what could be good stories shows why your revenue is down.” “This is good,” another said of the call overnight. “But for it to work, you must also change your company policies to stop driving away your core audiences, and you must do so visibly and clearly.” Criticism also came from the left side of politics, with independent US senator Bernie Sanders blasting the job cuts.

As I see it, it is one explanation. The second one is rather nasty, these games lately have been really bad. One voice gives us “Starfield starts off slow, taking over a dozen hours of playtime for its mechanics and story to truly click. It is an immense, content-heavy experience that will appeal deeply to fans of Bethesda’s traditional RPG style, but the lack of meaningful, seamless space exploration may disappoint those seeking an organic sci-fi adventure.” I have no real opinion, I saw the intro YouTube and it had something the graphics were good, the interaction are seemingly god, but that is what you get for a 2.5 years old game on the PS5. And now gamers are being told “Starfield fans fear for the game’s future after insider reports on Bethesda’s priorities – it will focus on Fallout, Quake, TES, and other franchises” (source: IXBT) that is what happens when the dollar becomes the bottom line of any game. And that is why Microsoft is seemingly pulling out and putting their money where the hypes are (not that this will do them any good). I see it like a corporation that has taken the stage of a mostly empty shell, so as the pressures mount, there is no substance to give counter pressure and the shell breaks. Someone will always tell me that I am wrong and (often in addition) that I am crazy too. But that is what I see and whilst protecting gamers everywhere is a noble consideration, it might not be enough and as such I see that others have seen that this comes with a decent paycheck or fortune. I saw billions and I reckon the UAE sees a similar pattern. This is where it all is and now as we see some companies (not naming them) are digging (see: prospecting) in the wrong area. As such I have two settings. The one setting is that gaming is essential and it should fuel itself, the realist sees that gaming alone does not make for a decent payment. As such combining the ideas are good for billions, keeping them separated merely allows for millions. It is only one letter but the power is a thousand fold. I see that and I accept that, and as long as gaming is uninhibited, it is fine by me. You can buy a DVD player just for the documentaries, or you can use it to play CD’s as well. The machine is bought, so you might as well use is as versatile as needed and that is where I saw gaming going. The console (or streamer) to also allow for series, movies, music, and optionally other means. This is where the world was going to and I accept that. It was always bound to happen. So whilst some merely focussed on one setting doesn’t mean the other settings aren’t there. And that is what Microsoft missed for the longest time (Sony too).

So, as I saw the UAE taking a bigger stake towards the gaming worlds, I saw a new option for gamers all over the world and it made me happy. So you all have a great day. It’s Wednesday here now.

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I made a call

That being said, I only in partiality acted by phone. I used my phone to give a message to his royal highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum that he has access to all my gaming IP. Basically I gave all my gaming IP away to the Dubai Media Council. It was a weird call to make from a person that does not have a pot to piss in, but I considered in mere seconds that it was better to see the United Stated (in particular Microsoft) muddle on destroying the settings of gaming. Better give others a fresh start. You see, Sony has its clear priorities (as does Nintendo) and overall Sony is better served by having a clear competitor that is chasing Sony at the heels. Microsoft is done in all this. As I personally see it, they do not deserve to oink at the gaming truffles, that piggy is done. So whilst I was considering what to do, I saw a message come across LinkedIn by his royal highness and a idea came to mind. I am unlikely to ever make money of all the gaming IP I have, as such it was better to hand it all over to the UAE. Better someone (optionally with an innovative mind) make some good of it.

And at present I am at 3983 stories going all the way back to 2014, wouldn’t it be great that story 4000 shows that my consideration as a gamer would be kicking of its fruits? Over the years I have written lore (for a new kind of RPG) I had ideas on streaming gaming and several ideas of all kinds. Now they might not all be useful, but they all contribute and if it hurts Microsoft, so much the better. Microsoft did this to themselves by harming the tranquility that gaming offers and so far they merely boasted and delivered close to nothing, whatever innovation they claim them had, they merely bought and marketed, the most famous innovation was Mojang’s Minecraft. As far as I can see they have one clear win. The FlightSimulator 2020. No matter how you see Microsoft, that is one hell of a flight simulator. I reckon every flightsim gamer agrees with me and when I bought the ‘original’ in 1985 for the CBM64, I saw something new. It costed me a pretty penny too (NLG 299). It was a magical week for me. Over the years games got graphically better but the innovative step that Microsoft showed with only 64Kb should not ever be forgotten. Beyond that as I see it, there needs to be a new player in that field. And the Gulf News gives us ‘Sheikh Hamdan meets global gaming leaders to shape Dubai’s next growth phase’ (at https://gulfnews.com/uae/sheikh-hamdan-meets-global-gaming-leaders-to-shape-dubais-next-growth-phase-1.500598313) where we see “Crown Prince backs Dubai Program for Gaming 2033 as pillar of digital economy” although it is a statement of currency, the real gamers are bound to make it a seeing of strength (one can only hope) and with “Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, attended the Dubai Gaming Retreat, where he met representatives from 80 of the world’s leading local and international gaming companies as the emirate steps up efforts to become a global hub for the industry.” And not to stereotype gaming, but for some reason I see the stage of Magic Carpet in my mind. What an amazing game that was, now consider that a system which only had 2 MB RAM and  1 MB Video RAM, driven by a R3000 32-bit RISC microprocessor @33.87 MHz was able to give us, so consider now what is possible with a 16 GB GDDR6 SDRAM and 512 MB DDR4 RAM driven by an AMD 8-core Zen 2? It is worlds apart. The first Magic Carpet was pure delight now consider that with the UAE as a backdrop (at the year 800) with the seven locations firmly set there will be happy gleams all over the world whilst gamers can rejoice. 

And I added several other ideas (all unique and original) even the start of a new RPG whilst adding a whole range of improvements to what I saw as optionally weaknesses in Bethesda’s Oblivion. I even reset an idea by Vint Cerf into a gaming setting (one can only design using the greats, even I know that). I don’t think he ever considered that, but I saw options. So when we get to “In a post on X, Sheikh Hamdan said the event is part of Dubai’s commitment to becoming “the world’s new hub for the gaming industry” and a destination for the world’s leading talent, companies and investments in the fast-growing sector.” I decided to react to that and add my own $0.02 by handing all my gaming IP to the UAE. Perhaps it will spark innovation, perhaps it will spark ideas. As a whole the gaming community wins and prospers, as I see it. It would be a decent legacy to hand over to others. 

Currently I am still mulling a few things over and I will write about them soon, that being said, I already gave my gaming IP to the UAE, as such they will gain that too. There is no use in doing things half baked. I just roll that way.

So have a great day, its almost time for coffee, better get dressed for that.

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