‘Digital Feudalism: The Historical Problem Spaces of Rulership in Three Medieval Videogames’

Jeremiah McCall, Cincinnati Country Day School. @gamingthepast https://twitter.com/MidAgesModGames/status/1277960321492062217 1 #MAMG20 Historical games are designed & function as Historical Problem Spaces. The HPS is a media-sensitive, design-focused analysis & design framework I have been developing over the past 8 years. (http://journalofdigitalhumanities.org/1-2/historical-simulations-as-problem-spaces-by-jeremiah-mccall/) 2 #MAMG20 Main point: the problem space designers choose to design (whose problem space?) will greatly affect how the game presents historical topics. I'll try to show that w/ three games w/ HPS about medieval politics: Age of Empires 2; Medieval 2 Total War, & Crusader Kings 2 3 #MAMG20 HPS Components: *Player agent w/ some power and a *goal, operates within *virtual space, containing *elements that enable and/or constrain player. Thus player adopts goal-oriented *strategies & behaviors, & makes *choices. All shaped by *genre conventions. 4 #MAMG20 M2TW's campaign is Europe 1080; CK2's base game is Europe 1066. AoE2 has a "Feudal Age" loosely pointing to 11th c. All place player as a "feudal" ruler of 11th c. "France". So let's use 11th c. French rulers as our historical topic. 5 #MAMG20 Historical 11th c. France: 1) Political power and organization limited, personal & with local lords 2) Loc lords kept military retinues 2) Capetian Kings weak, barely controlled royal demesnes 3) All sorts of forts (castles) empowered local lord autonomy.+ AGRARIAN 6 #MAMG20 So: what does historical 11th c. rulership look like presented in the problem spaces our 3 games model? We'll examine 3 problem space diagrams breaking down the components of the historical problem space in Age of Empires II, Medieval 2 Total War, and Crusader Kings II. 7 #MAMG20 AoE2, a genre-conforming RTS applied to & shaping the topic of medieval rule & war. Focus on direct control of simple economic engine & MINIONS (workers and units). Churn out soldiers for "arena". Competitive materialist & militarist race against enemies like other RTS. 8 #MAMG20 M2TW, a genre-conforming Total War game applied to topic of medieval rule. Extremely centralized, powerful ruler, directly govern / manage of all territory (caveat: w/Characters). Control MINIONS (except soldiers routing). Everything is for the war effort (TOTAL WAR). 9 #MAMG20 CK II, however, is genre-conforming Paradox grand strategy game. Not wars of elimination & a technological/material progression as goals, CKII focuses on PRESTIGE. Equally important, focuses on a player agent w/ LIMITED control. Govern through NON-MINION subordinates. 10 #MAMG20 None can simply be labeled "accurate" or not. Even CK2 has DLC with Satanic powers & the ability to rule as a rabbit or horse. AoE2 & M2TW both include more agriculture than CK2. But holistically, the problem space of CK2 is better supported by historical evidence. 11 #MAMG20 Key design choices work together to make CK2 a more historically valid (i.e. evidence based) problem space. 1) Open-ended goal of prestige & varied NON-BATTLE ways to get it. 2) LIMITED AGENT 2) Focus on character element & relationships. 3) Government = personal. 12 #MAMG20 Final thought: understanding gamic history = understanding HPS. Imagine changes needed to make AoE2 & M2TW include open-ended goals, limited agents, indirect rule of non-demesne land, influence of councilors. Could do it, but then they're not successful genre exemplars