And that's the last time I'll use the arrow to the knee thing, I promise...probably.

Resurrection, or Zombification?

If you haven't heard by now Bethesda has bought the IP of Stalker.

Bethesda now has rights to make a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game - Giantbomb thread

Bethesda has rights To STALKER, claims Galyonkin - source

Bethesda-S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Rumor Resurfaces, But No One's Talking - Kotaku

Now before I start, nothing is officially official, Bethesda has "no comment" for now and GCS owner Sergei Grigorovich has not sold the brand, whatever the hell that means. So lets just say, this is a what if blog, that deals with either eventuality (just because I'm in the mood to write and latter on I might not be). If true it could mean potential continuation of the Stalker franchise in a good fashion worthy of the predecessors. Or a similar situation that Fallout 1 and 2 fans went through. In short, Stalker fans will rage and perhaps rightfully so.

Imma just quote something from my previous blog. Finally I realize how stupid some of the things were written there.

Seeing as how the developer is closing its doors, and the sequel, like i mentioned, is more or less dead. There are i think, several outcomes, apart from two most of them have a very small chance of playing out.

1. GSC Game World re-opens.
2. Some of the developers open a smaller company, they finish the game.
3. The community gets involved, manages to get their hands on the engine and finishes the game.
4. A publisher buys the IP of the game, hires a dev that makes it (from scratch).
5. The said publisher hires a developer that makes the game perfectly, in accordance to the atmosphere, gameplay and history of previous Stalker games.
6. I become a millionaire and fund the project myself.
7. GSC Game World remains closed, Stalker 2, never to see the light of day.

8. Bethesda buys the IP, develops and/or publishes the game.

9. Bethesda buys the IP, develops and/or publishes the game, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans everywhere riot...on the internet.

So, is it better to burn out or fade out? Die with dignity as a human, or live out a miserable existence as a brain (money) eating zombie. The answer, I think, should be obvious.

Best possible outcome(s)

Far as I'm concerned this isn't necessarily a good or bad thing because there are many outcomes to all of this, assuming it's true of course. So it's all just wild speculation at this point.

On Bethesda

And let me make myself perfectly clear, I'm not some Bethesda hater out looking for blood. I love Bethesda, they've made some great games. The Elder Scrolls is the best (and my favorite fantasy franchise) fantasy themed game with heaps of lore you could possibly get your hands on. Hell, I loved Fallout 3 as well. It wasn't everything Van Buren could have been, for obvious reasons. And the story/characters couldn't hold a candle light to those of previous games. But the atmosphere, gameplay and (some) of the questlines were truly great, they really did try to please Fallout fans, and they managed to do it...for some. I also love the Stalker franchise, and therein lies the rub. I'm not some close minded dude that's shouting "change is bad"...well maybe I am, but sequels are always different from their predecessors, regardless of who develops them. I'm simply advocating for the balance of old and new.

With Skyrim some things become evident, I think the people at Bethesda are becoming lazy and/or greedy. Using Gamebyro 2.0 and the ever continuing "streamlining" of the Elder Scroll series is worrying to say the least. Skyrim is the last threshold. If they remove anything else from Elder Scrolls VI well, then it stops being streamlining and becomes simplification, some would argue that the simplification happened in Oblivion.

What this means for a Bethesda made Stalker game? Many things, namely either Gamebyro 2.0 or 2.1.0. Will they make it a full on RPG? Stalker, contrary to popular belief is not an RPG. It has some RPG stuff sprinkled on it, like a rather large amount of choice when it comes to weapons and armor, and the attributes they posses, as well as artifacts from anomalies that serve to modify your character. But it certainly was not an RPG. Bethesda doesn't really have experience when it comes to developing shooter games, and if you played the original, you'll know it has top-notch shooting. When you ask which games have the best shooting you'll more often than not find Stalker on the list.

All of this makes me think that they'll want to turn it into an RPG first, shooter second, similar to Fallout 3.

Secondly, the far more important aspect of a Stalker game, at least to me, is the atmosphere. With Fallout 3, and even more so with it's DLC Point Lookout, Bethesda proved that they could create a game with a bone chilling and bleak atmosphere like the original Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl...well okay, Fallout 3 was not bone chilling but still. Then they also made Operation Anchorage and Mothership Zeta. When it comes to atmosphere they could pull it off, not as good as GSC Game World, but what you gonna do?

There are also some things that go to Bethesda's favor. Stalker didn't really have memorable characters or a great storyline (especially the later games). The plot was pretty good but it was good more because of the world and atmosphere that complimented it, than the storyline. Being that story, characters and dialogue are Bethesda's really weak links this works for them.

The biggest problem though? Consolification. The one thing that we can be certain of is that, if Bethesda does it, the game will be simplified and suited for consoles and that means a lot easier, and a hell of a lot more accessible (which isn't necessarily a bad thing but...), it just becomes a question of "to what point?". Then again, if memory serves, GCS Game World's Stalker was supposed to be released for consoles as well, and again that question still remains.

This is all of course if Bethesda chooses to develop instead of publish. I think they might make a good Stalker game if they approach it as a Stalker game rather than simply a post-apocalyptic, Fallout or Elder Scrolls game. In short, I hope they don't make a clone of those two games.

Other Developers

What if they don't develop? CD Projekt Red has made one of the most atmospheric games out there, The Witcher. But like Bethesda, shooting game experience is rather short...or non existent. I believe that they could make a great Stalker game, them Polaks are after all...kind of eastern Europeish with a good amount of Western Europish. id Software? After Rage I'd say they have the shooting and atmosphere down, but with all the technical problems (and they weren't just some annoying bugs, those problems were game breaking) I'd say no.

Yet another possibility is that Bethesda bought the IP simply to make the post-apocalyptic market less populated, allowing them to get a greater profit from Fallout 4. Which means that they probably won't even publish Stalker and frankly, and that might be for the best. The uniqueness of Stalker was the work of GSC Game World, it's their baby, they're the only ones who are capable to make a Stalker game with the potential fulfilled.

The Ending Stuff

Like I said, this is all just wild speculation. It's not really even clear what transpired. Bethesda simply bought the rights to make a Stalker game, but that doesn't mean much, and it's not 100% confirmed anyway. And apparently it seems the rumor has been squashed on Facebook, but again nothing officially official, although I hope its true, if so, the Rock Paper Shotgun site really sucks.

In the end, I hope that Bethesda doesn't publish/develop a new Stalker game. Just because they can do it, to some degree of quality, doesn't mean they should, I'd much rather wait for a developer that has a résumé that can prove that they can make a great Stalker game. At best it would be people from GSC Game World (although now they're called Vostok games and are making Survarium) leaving the MMO bullshit, and making a Stalker game. There are many variations and possibilities so I guess we'll just wait and see.

For now this is the Dude of Gaming signing off...and going to play Morrowind.

And what are your thoughts on this whole Stalker situation? True? False? What will happen and how you want it to happen? So on and so forth.

Update: the Official Stalker page on Facebook has announced that the rumors are false. Still not enough, until Bethesda explicitly states that they aren't making it, I won't be happy *sadface*