24: “The granary is full, milord!”: The Everyday in Stronghold

Tyla Thackwray, @tylathackwray, Birkbeck, University of London

I'm a PhD student at Birkbeck School of Arts (@birkbeck_arts) and today I'm revisiting one of my fave childhood games: Stronghold, by Firefly Studios (@fireflyworlds) - a medieval castle sim, and discussing what it means to seek authenticity & accuracy in modern medieval games (MMGs).

Some players demand 'historical accuracy' in MMGs. They seek candlelit characters, clad in leather & linen, eating hunks of bread and quaffing tankards of ale. They want authentic time-travelling adventures on horseback through pastoral scenes and blood-drenched battlegrounds. Perceptions of authenticity are shaped by media, some of which interprets the Middle Ages with less attention to evidence and more focus on market demands - neither is inherently wrong. Calls for accuracy can also mask a desire not to have preconceptions and prejudices challenged.

Modern Medieval Games often rely on conflict to achieve engaging gameplay, giving the impression that the Middle Ages were much more violent than primary evidence suggests. Warfare's interesting, but for most medieval people, life was more mundane than our modern popular imagination portrays. Personally, I don't enjoy fighting games. When I first played Stronghold, aged ten, I quickly passed over the military campaigns. I couldn’t, and still can’t, enjoy reliving humanity’s worst moments during my leisure time. I wanted explore a quieter, domestic life in my gameplay.

The primary modes of gameplay in Stronghold, economic & military, allow you, as lord/lady of the manor, to choose between building an army for war, or focusing on your settlement’s struggle to flourish in a landscape that requires heavy toil amidst wolves, bears, and bandits.

I love stockpiling goods & enjoy the challenge of managing the mercurial moods of my villagers. Excessive misery or happiness are just as dangerous as external violence to the community - both cause labour shortages that imperil the chances of victory in economic campaigns. Keeping my granary full of food whilst ensuring sure my peasants don't neglect farming or industry is deeply satisfying. It creates a sense of positive accomplishment - look at what I've built, despite the wolves! I think this reflects real contemporary survival challenges.

Stronghold’s cartoonish aesthetic and stereotypical portrayals – such as those shown in its intro video (https://youtu.be/Ew0o5-X5AiY) - may not be the most historically accurate portrayal of the Middle Ages available, but the game holds value beyond nostalgia. It allows you a glimpse into the struggles of simple survival. I think that the economic & free play modes offer the most realistic challenges to a player seeking an ‘authentic’ experience because most medieval people never experienced battle. Many more peasants were required to keep a community afloat than soldiers were needed to fight.

It’s easy for medievalists to scoff at the simple stereotypes offered by this depiction of the Middle Ages, but Stronghold provides a snapshot into a culture long, and irrevocably, past that is worth considering. The art might not be perfect, but, for me, the mood is. Stronghold’s portrayal of medieval life speaks volumes about our approach to & understanding of a foreign world that we still seek to understand & recreate today. Embracing the dullness allows us to access a different degree of authenticity. So, go and fill your granary!

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