So I decided that I need some gaming to relax my mind. Like, really relax it. That got me an idea: What if I take an old favourite of mine, Sir, You Are Being Hunted, and turn it into a walking simulator? No threat. Just the moody, gloomy, but ultimately pretty and relaxing British countryside and the need to eat every once in a while? The game certainly makes that possible, without having to be modded or anything. So I got to work:
No evil robots appearing with these settings. It'll be just me and some wildlife. Perhaps I can even hunt and cook a pheasant? Never done that in the game before, I was always too afraid of lighting a fire and didn't want to waste ammunition. I let the British Countryside Generator do its thing and then go into the game world.
After the short tutorial-steps that always start the game, I decide to head for the nearest village. Since I'm not a man on the run, I walk there leisurely and don't cross the field. Wouldn't want to trample someone's harvest. I make my way along the fence, through a small thicket and then reach Leafy Eating.
Despite the sign at the village entrance, the place is calm and quiet. As I need some supplies for the exploration to come, I go looting all the houses like I would in a regular game of Sir – albeit at a much slower pace. In real life I wouldn't run in this situation, so why should I do that here?
As night starts to fall, I head towards a ruined farm next to the village. I do something I never do in a regular game of Sir and switch on the flashlight I found in one of the houses.
This makes exploration a lot easier. I now feel a bit like I'm urban exploring. Nice.
I make my way along the road towards the next village. It's called Kings Burrow.
Since I'm starting to get thirsty/hungry, I chug down a bottle of sherry, to the usual effect. Drunkenly I stagger through the deserted village.
And then, sobering up, down the road towards Nimby Tweaking in-the-Wold.
I gather whatever the residents of Nimby Tweaking have left behind and seems useful to me. Then I tetris my inventory so it looks nice and ordered. I think I'm ready for a nice hike on one of the outlying islands.
The road going through Nimby Tweaking terminates around a large, dead tree. Where I'm from this would be the village oak.
I follow coast towards the first boat. I plan to collect the teleporter bits on the centre island last. So, next up: The North Island.
It's a calming experience to play this game like that. Birds are chirping. I met a hare. It's a bit like playing a homeless person in a post-apocalyptic Britain. But the nice kind of apocalypse, that left nature intact and only removed most people.
