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Here's a post for the laziest of lazers, for those rooted to the sofa, for those who don't like going out because they'll miss something on TV, for the entirely inert social sloths amongst us. Read on, it's nothing to be ashamed of!
If you're one of those people who don't want to go on holiday because you can't play computer games if you're shacked up in a Holiday Inn somewhere on the coast of the Med, then I've got the perfect product for you. Gone are the days of long-airport queues and incomprehensible foreign television. The future of holiday making is nearly here... maybe
Judging be the progress of the PS2's 'the Getaway' game, and by the standard already set by the latest MS Flight Sim, it is entirely feasible for games developers to accurately map real-life locations and place them as 3D interactive environments. Having seen a few screenshots of 'the Getaway', I can safely say that the making of a virtually-explorable photo-realistic model of a chunk of central London has already been acheived.
Imagine then that this process is applied to all the interesting cities in the world. If you wanted to visit, say, Barcelona, you could simply slap in the DVD and start exploring. Not only would that be potentially interesting to people unable or unwilling to afford such a trip, but it would be the perfect holiday guide if you did visit that place. You'd already know your way round, you'd know how to get to that class-looking night-club, you might even know when the trains run.
Instead of the gameplay elements offered by 'the Getwaway' and such like, these titles could have a different focus. Alongside the virtual city and some funky mode of transport (rental mopeds, limousine etc), the major tourist attractions could all be represented in an interactive format as well. Instead of level 1, you take a trip to a gallery, instead of level 2 you could go to the aquarium etc etc.
I just reckon someone needs to get on this idea soon-ish, it might not be the most appealing scheme for hardcore gamers, but I think it would certainly intrigue a large number of people. As a gamer who still plays GTA3 long after completion, and just wanders around Liberty City, taking in the sights, I'd certainly buy a few versions. New York, Sydney... Amsterdam, the options are endless. You could even learn 'the knowledge' and become a London Black Cab driver just by exploring the London version.
The same idea could also be applied outside of cities: the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Wall of China, the Valley of the Kings in Egypt etc, and even fictional locations like the Star Wars galaxy or the world of Bilbo Baggins might be successful amongst their devout disciples. It may seem a fairly illogical route to take for a games-developer, who might never consider omitting gameplay from a game... but given the right attention to detail, such titles could well make a purchase-worthy experience.
Odds are 3 to 1 that we'll see EA Holidays released by spring 2004.
If you're one of those people who don't want to go on holiday because you can't play computer games if you're shacked up in a Holiday Inn somewhere on the coast of the Med, then I've got the perfect product for you. Gone are the days of long-airport queues and incomprehensible foreign television. The future of holiday making is nearly here... maybe
Judging be the progress of the PS2's 'the Getaway' game, and by the standard already set by the latest MS Flight Sim, it is entirely feasible for games developers to accurately map real-life locations and place them as 3D interactive environments. Having seen a few screenshots of 'the Getaway', I can safely say that the making of a virtually-explorable photo-realistic model of a chunk of central London has already been acheived.
Imagine then that this process is applied to all the interesting cities in the world. If you wanted to visit, say, Barcelona, you could simply slap in the DVD and start exploring. Not only would that be potentially interesting to people unable or unwilling to afford such a trip, but it would be the perfect holiday guide if you did visit that place. You'd already know your way round, you'd know how to get to that class-looking night-club, you might even know when the trains run.
Instead of the gameplay elements offered by 'the Getwaway' and such like, these titles could have a different focus. Alongside the virtual city and some funky mode of transport (rental mopeds, limousine etc), the major tourist attractions could all be represented in an interactive format as well. Instead of level 1, you take a trip to a gallery, instead of level 2 you could go to the aquarium etc etc.
I just reckon someone needs to get on this idea soon-ish, it might not be the most appealing scheme for hardcore gamers, but I think it would certainly intrigue a large number of people. As a gamer who still plays GTA3 long after completion, and just wanders around Liberty City, taking in the sights, I'd certainly buy a few versions. New York, Sydney... Amsterdam, the options are endless. You could even learn 'the knowledge' and become a London Black Cab driver just by exploring the London version.
The same idea could also be applied outside of cities: the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Wall of China, the Valley of the Kings in Egypt etc, and even fictional locations like the Star Wars galaxy or the world of Bilbo Baggins might be successful amongst their devout disciples. It may seem a fairly illogical route to take for a games-developer, who might never consider omitting gameplay from a game... but given the right attention to detail, such titles could well make a purchase-worthy experience.
Odds are 3 to 1 that we'll see EA Holidays released by spring 2004.
illzen wrote:
> I'm not sure... maybe you're just a loon.
>
> : P
lol... cheers man :)
> I'm not sure... maybe you're just a loon.
>
> : P
lol... cheers man :)
"Consider zis a divorce!"
Nasty.
;)
Nasty.
;)
"See you at za party Richter"
Arnolt rules
Arnolt rules
If EA published this you'd have cockroaches in your hotelroom the first time, and when you went again next year... same thing, but more cockroaches and different wallpaper.
This reminds me of... Total Recall.
"Quaid, get your *** to Mars."
This reminds me of... Total Recall.
"Quaid, get your *** to Mars."
Armatige Shanks wrote:
> Why does this remind me of a Fast Show sketch?
I'm not sure... maybe you're just a loon.
: P
> Why does this remind me of a Fast Show sketch?
I'm not sure... maybe you're just a loon.
: P
Why does this remind me of a Fast Show sketch?
A holiday sim eh? Interesting.
Wonder if you could pull on it. The senes of freedom (as it is in most games) would be hard to pull off but it's a nice idea.
Whatever next, Train Spotting sim for the track glued hobby watchers of our world?
:0)
(right i'm off ta bed)
Wonder if you could pull on it. The senes of freedom (as it is in most games) would be hard to pull off but it's a nice idea.
Whatever next, Train Spotting sim for the track glued hobby watchers of our world?
:0)
(right i'm off ta bed)
Here's a post for the laziest of lazers, for those rooted to the sofa, for those who don't like going out because they'll miss something on TV, for the entirely inert social sloths amongst us. Read on, it's nothing to be ashamed of!
If you're one of those people who don't want to go on holiday because you can't play computer games if you're shacked up in a Holiday Inn somewhere on the coast of the Med, then I've got the perfect product for you. Gone are the days of long-airport queues and incomprehensible foreign television. The future of holiday making is nearly here... maybe
Judging be the progress of the PS2's 'the Getaway' game, and by the standard already set by the latest MS Flight Sim, it is entirely feasible for games developers to accurately map real-life locations and place them as 3D interactive environments. Having seen a few screenshots of 'the Getaway', I can safely say that the making of a virtually-explorable photo-realistic model of a chunk of central London has already been acheived.
Imagine then that this process is applied to all the interesting cities in the world. If you wanted to visit, say, Barcelona, you could simply slap in the DVD and start exploring. Not only would that be potentially interesting to people unable or unwilling to afford such a trip, but it would be the perfect holiday guide if you did visit that place. You'd already know your way round, you'd know how to get to that class-looking night-club, you might even know when the trains run.
Instead of the gameplay elements offered by 'the Getwaway' and such like, these titles could have a different focus. Alongside the virtual city and some funky mode of transport (rental mopeds, limousine etc), the major tourist attractions could all be represented in an interactive format as well. Instead of level 1, you take a trip to a gallery, instead of level 2 you could go to the aquarium etc etc.
I just reckon someone needs to get on this idea soon-ish, it might not be the most appealing scheme for hardcore gamers, but I think it would certainly intrigue a large number of people. As a gamer who still plays GTA3 long after completion, and just wanders around Liberty City, taking in the sights, I'd certainly buy a few versions. New York, Sydney... Amsterdam, the options are endless. You could even learn 'the knowledge' and become a London Black Cab driver just by exploring the London version.
The same idea could also be applied outside of cities: the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Wall of China, the Valley of the Kings in Egypt etc, and even fictional locations like the Star Wars galaxy or the world of Bilbo Baggins might be successful amongst their devout disciples. It may seem a fairly illogical route to take for a games-developer, who might never consider omitting gameplay from a game... but given the right attention to detail, such titles could well make a purchase-worthy experience.
Odds are 3 to 1 that we'll see EA Holidays released by spring 2004.
If you're one of those people who don't want to go on holiday because you can't play computer games if you're shacked up in a Holiday Inn somewhere on the coast of the Med, then I've got the perfect product for you. Gone are the days of long-airport queues and incomprehensible foreign television. The future of holiday making is nearly here... maybe
Judging be the progress of the PS2's 'the Getaway' game, and by the standard already set by the latest MS Flight Sim, it is entirely feasible for games developers to accurately map real-life locations and place them as 3D interactive environments. Having seen a few screenshots of 'the Getaway', I can safely say that the making of a virtually-explorable photo-realistic model of a chunk of central London has already been acheived.
Imagine then that this process is applied to all the interesting cities in the world. If you wanted to visit, say, Barcelona, you could simply slap in the DVD and start exploring. Not only would that be potentially interesting to people unable or unwilling to afford such a trip, but it would be the perfect holiday guide if you did visit that place. You'd already know your way round, you'd know how to get to that class-looking night-club, you might even know when the trains run.
Instead of the gameplay elements offered by 'the Getwaway' and such like, these titles could have a different focus. Alongside the virtual city and some funky mode of transport (rental mopeds, limousine etc), the major tourist attractions could all be represented in an interactive format as well. Instead of level 1, you take a trip to a gallery, instead of level 2 you could go to the aquarium etc etc.
I just reckon someone needs to get on this idea soon-ish, it might not be the most appealing scheme for hardcore gamers, but I think it would certainly intrigue a large number of people. As a gamer who still plays GTA3 long after completion, and just wanders around Liberty City, taking in the sights, I'd certainly buy a few versions. New York, Sydney... Amsterdam, the options are endless. You could even learn 'the knowledge' and become a London Black Cab driver just by exploring the London version.
The same idea could also be applied outside of cities: the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Wall of China, the Valley of the Kings in Egypt etc, and even fictional locations like the Star Wars galaxy or the world of Bilbo Baggins might be successful amongst their devout disciples. It may seem a fairly illogical route to take for a games-developer, who might never consider omitting gameplay from a game... but given the right attention to detail, such titles could well make a purchase-worthy experience.
Odds are 3 to 1 that we'll see EA Holidays released by spring 2004.