History is our greatest teacher. Looking through the past six thousand years of recorded events, we can learn much, both of the societies of yore and of human nature itself, reminding ourselves how far we've come and how quickly we could descend into the pits of madness.
It's only natural then that video games have a particular fondness for history and historical storytelling, building on the essentially infinite temporal treasure trove and all the different periods, cultures, and nations. But some historical periods remain largely untapped even after video games have spent 40 years exploring all sorts of themes, locations, and eras, especially in games that aren't real-time or grand strategies.
So, tell me, Destructoid, which historical era would you love to see more of in video games?
Personally, I would absolutely get hyped for any game that involves the Mongol invasions, and I don't mean heavily fictionalized accounts of them losing to islanders. The Mongols were probably the greatest continental conquerors of human history, emerging from undeveloped steppes as herdsmen and becoming emperors, kings, and suzerains.
It's the greatest rags-to-riches story ever, and one that has influenced the entirety of human civilization, leading directly or indirectly to some of the greatest (in terms of size) events like the Black Death, the Fall of Byzantium, the rise of the Ottoman Empire, and so on.
While Ghost of Tsushima does take heavy inspiration from one of the Mongol incursions into Japan (which were Mongol in name only, the troops being comprised of Han Chinese and Korean vassals), it does not do justice to the sheer scope of the Mongol Empire and its desolation of all lands and peoples they had encountered in battle.
A game following the rise of Genghis Khan, or one where you play as someone caught in the mayhem of one of his descendants' campaigns, would be absolute cinema. Yes, yes, grand strategy games like Crusader Kings 3 already follow those exploits, but they do so in a significantly fictionalized and gameified way that transposes history to fit the gameplay. And it does it from a very detached POV, separating you from the events that truly unfold.
Just imagine that setting, those events, and a Kingdom Come: Deliverance-style perspective and approach. Kino in the purest sense.
Another time period altogether ignored by the games industry is the Bronze Age. It's super interesting even if we don't know all too much about it, which I think lends itself to creativity due to writers having basically zero restrictions in how they wish to depict certain events.
Take the Bronze Age Collapse, for example. All of a sudden, within just a few decades, the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean collapsed under strange circumstances, brought down by the theorized Sea Peoples. Cities were burned, whole nations ruined. It's as epic as they come, and perfect for a video game and a unique story that is not bogged down by too much “known” historical limitation.
It'd provide a perfect way to go back into ancient times and not be concerned about Classical Greece or Rome, which take up a significant portion of ancient-inspired storytelling, not just in our time, but throughout Western culture in general. I know it's because of their written works and legacies, but I still firmly believe there's a lot to be done with other parts of the world, even during those times, rather than just focusing on these two.
Japan's Sengoku period, China's many eras from the Three Kingdoms to the Warring States, and so many other historical periods, even if super popular in culture, have largely eluded video games outside of strategy, and even when they do get made, they get the fantasy treatment with legendary lords, all-powerful heroes, and other embellishments.
History is altogether too vast to be covered in full, no matter the medium. But, as I've outlined above, some parts of the tale of humanity are largely ignored by entertainment media, so do tell me your own personal favorite periods that haven't yet gotten a proper treatment in the video game industry.
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The post Which historical period would you like to see more of in video games? appeared first on Destructoid.
