Winter came

 Ready for the most bizarre gaming-adjacent story ever?

So a while back you might remember how I covered a little 'game' that held the honour of the only officially-licenced Game of Thrones 'experience'. I'm using heavy quotations because the game in question was just a browser game and not one of the good ones, in fact it was a shame to the source material such a travesty to carry it's name. After months of rumours that Bethesda were going to step up to the plate with the licence, or literally anyone with the talent to really bring the world of Game of Thrones to new heights, all we got was a browser game. (Oh, and that 'Telltale' game which I didn't really like all that much. I guess that counts for something, huh.) At the time I remember delving into the game and coming away thinking this was the absolute limit of laziness and creative stagnancy, surely nothing remotely interesting could happen in relation to this title ever. And then the creator was killed.

Now to be clear, this isn't me being facetious or exaggerating, a man's life was literally ended on Christmas day and that is an inherently tragic fact, but that doesn't change the fact that the circumstances behind it are, according to early reports, absolutely wild. So the founder of the company Yoozoo, one Mr Lin, was actually something of a success story within the Chinese software world. According to BBC, he was responsible for guiding the company into it's mobile gaming routes, which led to a partnership with Supercell on publishing their Brawl Stars. Now to be clear, that is a big deal. Mobile gaming is the primary source of Chinese gaming and Supercell are the kings of mobile games, responsible for creating Clash of Clans, so this man must of been an absolute blessing to his company for securing such a deal. Whatsmore, he then went on to get a deal with HBO to be the only representative of Game of Thrones on the gaming market during it's last two seasons, which may have been a disaster to the show but the exposure still would have done wonders for Yoozoo.

That would be true even if the game didn't really deserve it, and in case you've forgotten the details of the game in question, allow me to curse you with knowledge. Game of Thrones: Winter is Coming The browser-based game essentially put players in the shoes of a unnamed classically handsome nobody in King's Landing who's job it was to stage fights halfway across Westeros for no apparent reason whilst folk who have no place in the front lines of warfare entered the fray; such as the chief spymaster. (I'm sure he's really going to turn tide of the battle.) Quiet simply, it's a low effort city builder with a Game of Thrones skin attached and a business model of selling Jpegs to the audience at a premium. Low effort crap that, in the age of Genshin Impact, is a relic of a Free to Play model long since surpassed. Thus in the modern year it's pretty much dropped off the face of the earth to be forgotten about like it should be. And then Mr Lin got poisoned.

Oh didn't I mention that? In a plot twist that comes right out of the show itself, the multibillion Yuan-worth founder was found to have died in hospital with police labelling it foul play. Suspects have already been taken into custody but right now without any information the questions are flying everywhere and it's probably wisest to just sit back and see what happens. Besides, this isn't a 'True Crime' blog and thus I'm not going to speculate on any wild conspiracies, but just thinking about this whole scene has got me a little existential. I mean, look at any of the headlines and you'll see this man's name plastered up right next to 'creator of Game of Thrones Winter is Coming', and that's pretty much his obituary, what a legacy to leave. 

I guess that's what this blog is coming back to at the end of it all, legacy and how one wants to be remembered. Now personally I don't really have a horse in this race, I don't believe in 'forever' and thus the sooner my memory is gone and faded the better, let people worry about more pressing matters, but my views aren't the same as everybody's. One fellow who I think became quiet obsessed with this was one Peter Molyneux, creator of Fable and Black and White. He's on record as being a little upset when he was offered his lifetime achievement reward and desperately sought out stamping his mark through newer ventures. Of course, these were doomed to failure and he ultimately has gone down in infamy, but his desire for creating the legacy of some sort of software revolutionary is what led him down that path.

And for another example I could perhaps mention one of the creators of the Shenmue franchise, Yu Suzuki, who made himself something of a legacy for realising the simulation potential of video game storytelling. His was one of the first ideas to really take the art of storytelling and do something unique with it that could only be achieved in the world of video games, because anywhere else the charm would be devoid. Whereas Metal Gear and Zelda told great stories beforehand, both borrowed from cinematic storytelling conventions, only Shenmue leaned into ideas like routine, daily life and perseverance through it's unparalleled simulated world space. Of course, that niggling question of finishing the story came up again which resulted in Shenmue 3, a game which it felt like no one wanted to make and only came about for the sake of "finishing the legacy." (Also, I'm told it wasn't that good)

Now, I don't know this Mr Yu personally so for all I know he was proud to make that GoT game, or perhaps not, either way he'll be remembered over here for that 'achievement' and I think that is a little sad. I mean, don't get me wrong, the game is a travesty of creation deserving of nothing more than it's own personal slime-ridden pit in hell, but I don't wish the creators any ill will, they were just securing a paycheck and that they did well enough. (I'm more upset at HBO for licensing the damn thing) Although maybe the question of what we will be remembered for is the sort of question that doesn't even cross the mind of a multibillionaire, afterall what do they have to worry about, they've already won at life.

You might be wondering exactly how this blog got to where it did, and the truth is I don't know. Perhaps my own inadequacies have started to catch with me and I'm just projecting. Writing that Game of Thrones Blog was actually quite a lot of fun back in the day and hearing about the death of someone involved just sort of triggered something for me. I haven't been shaken to the core or anything, just rattled in a subtle fashion. Either way, the last thing anyone wants to carry with them is a boatload of regrets and 'what could have been'. So my advice? Throw all those expectations and pressures to 'change the world with your mere presence' out the window, you'll be happier that way. Unless of course, doing so makes you more likely to make a game as crap as 'GoT: Winter Is Coming', we don't need another one of those, thank you very much.