Sir, You Are NOT Being Hunted part 2

 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. Here's part two:

The pier of the North Island greets me in gloomy weather. It's the industrial island, which in this mode is a paradise for urban explorers. I'm just a hiker though, so I decide to spend as little time in this gloom as possible.

With my binoculars I spy a church in the fog. I decide to go there first and check it out.

I get drunk on mess wine found in said church and enjoy the sunrise.

The next larger structure that lures me closer with its bulk is an old warehouse, I assume. I decide to see what's up in there.

Dynamite! Lot's of it. While there are not enemies to speak of in this world, in real life a bunch of dynamite in a depopulated area means fun so I pocket as much as I can sensibly carry.

I arrive at the outskirts of the industrial town. It still feels like trespassing.

The place is a dump. Literally. I think I'm climbing over a junkyard to get into town.

I normally like waterside properties. I wouldn't want to live here though. But that may just be the weather.

I decide to follow a sprite I see. I don't want to stay on this island forever.

There we go. I don't know what route I took to get here but there are two telebits in somewhat close proximity to each other. In a regular game of Sir, this would be dangerous because you'd have to deal with at least two teams of hunters at the same time. Here it's a nice convenience.

I see the bog monster and toss a stick of dynamite at it. No idea if the explosion drove it off because I overshot by quite a bit. Next time I'll pepper the freaking thing with lots of explosives. Also I realize that the pier is right here – I must have walked around most of the island.

In the dark I use the flashlight to follow another sprite towards the last telebit of the island.

At a factory building I find even more dynamite. I can't carry any more so I do the sensible thing: I get utterly wasted on sherry and toss a bunch of dynamite sticks into the landscape. Blowing stuff up while drunk is the sort of irresponsible fun one can do when alone in post-apocalyptic Britain.

There's the last telebit. After restocking my dynamite stores somewhat, I go and get it.

The way back leads me past an ominous tower. It reminds me of the electric towers at the edges of some villages I know from middle Germany.

I go through a village with the funny name of Misty Cheating. Sounds like a porn starlett.

And discover the overgrown ruin of a factory.

It reminds me of two things: First, an old factory I urban explored on Rhodos. And then of an old monastery church somewhere by the Mosel where we pitched our tents and slept when I was a teenager and we were doing a long-distance tour with the school's rowing club.

When it gets light again, I reach the boat. Time to go back to prettier shores.

To be continued.

Sir, You Are NOT Being Hunted part 1

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.