‘Medieval Strategy Videogames: The tenuous balance between historical representation and playability’

Juan Manuel Rubio Arévalo, Central European University, Budapest. @jmrubio120

https://twitter.com/MidAgesModGames/status/1278288020475727872

1) #MAMG20 What makes a video game historically accurate? Using Frasca’s (2004) definition of simulation and Bogost (2008) procedural rhetoric, I argue that games that rely more on gameplay mechanics instead of narrative, as strategy ones, are better equipped to convey knowledge.

2) #MAMG20 Strategy games simulate complex social dynamics. The more accurate they are, the harder the gameplay. Developers keep a balance between accuracy and gameplay in which the former is often sacrificed for benefit of the latter as is the case of AoE2, M2TW and CK2.

3) #MAMG20 Feudalism is CK2 key mechanic through the opinion system, which allows for the simulation of personal feudal relations. Decisions and traits affect what each character thinks of the player, forcing him/her to consider all possible consequences to each decision taken.

4) #MAMG20 For example, dealing with vassals’ taxes/rebellions can be counter-intuitive since personal relations matter more than law. Because of the complexity of the simulation, CK2 is particularly difficult to play with the most thorough tutorials in YouTube lasting for hours.

5) #MAMG20 AoE2 and M2TW keep gameplay simple by ignoring feudalism. In M2TW is practically inexistent, while in AoE2 is a narrative tool in the campaigns where the “national hero” faces greedy and treacherous nobles, an anachronism present since 18th-19th century historiography.

6) #MAMG20 M2TW key dynamic is warfare. Through the recruitment and battlefield mechanics the game simulates a relatively accurate version of medieval warfare. Armies are generally made of levies with few elite knights while terrain, morale and type of units are key in battles.

7) #MAMG20 M2TW depiction of warfare is heavily influenced by cinema in the aesthetics, camera, and music. Braveheart is a good example of this, despite being highly inaccurate. Games, as films, give an authentic experience of the middle ages (Elliot, 2011), not an accurate one.

8) #MAMG20 Open battles were a rarity in the Middle Ages, but due to the influence of the entertainment industry players expect them in games like M2TW. In this way, the simulation becomes a “hyperreality” in the Braudillard sense. It is more real than the middle ages themselves.

9) #MAMG20 CK2 and AoE2 have simpler war mechanics. CK2 auto-resolves battles based mostly on the number of soldiers, while AoE2 lay somewhere in the middle with different ways of playing depending on the civilization, but not as complex as M2TW because of the map and gameplay.

10) #MAMG20 Medieval religion often misunderstood in popular media, hence games use it in various ways. AoE2 uses it as ways to exalt campaign figures like Cuauhtémoc and Saladin. Besides this, the only significant mechanic is the relics, which provide gold based on pilgrimage.

11) #MAMG20 Because of their more complex gameplays, CK2 and M2TW use religion in a more encompassing way, reflecting medieval issues like religious uniformity, the inquisition, the crusades and the Investiture Controversy. This is only possible at a more complex level of simul.

12) #MAMG20 VGs seek to entertain, not to teach. However, as others have noted, historical accuracy is important for players and devs. This accuracy must be balanced with gameplay in order to remain appealing. Games, as films, tend to offer authenticity instead of full accuracy.