history themed games not about power politics

lord of the mark · August 4, 2003, 16:01

Princess of the Mark: Daddy are there any history games that arent about war?
Lord of the Mark: Well theres something called "Diplomacy" yada, yada.
Princess of the Mark: Daddy, I meant are there any history games that arent about countries and power and stuff?

Well all I can think of are the various citybuilders. Oh, and edutainment games like Oregon Trail/Yukon Trail.

So can anyone think of a history themed game that isnt a wargame or empire builder, or a city builder? An adventure or RPG in a historical setting WITHOUT magic and fantasy elements perhaps? A tycoon game (oh, there are some medieval trader games i suppose - are the historical elements strong? Or in the railroad games?)

MariOne · August 5, 2003, 06:26

Quote:

oh, there are some medieval trader games i suppose - are the historical elements strong?

Well, Machiavelli the Prince is about venetian families, not countries.

You don't build an empire, you just manage your commercial assets (ships, donkeys, warehouses), and manipulate the environemt to your favor (the Council, the Church, trade openings in cities, mercenaries...).
True, you also have some armies, but albeit very useful they're not paramount in the game, and you only do some skirmish/ambush with them, not war or proper battles (fight pirates/brigands, attack other players transports, open cities to trade by defating their neutral garrison, or secure the open ones to your exclusive by defeating the loyal venetian garrison...).
In that sense that is about commercial power and trade empire, I know...
The historical setting is simple but nice and accurate.
If you play with the (precolumbian) earthmap, also the goods are geographically placed with some accuracy.
You have plagues, crusades, excommunications, indulgence sales...
You even get a bit on the ruthless side by slandering, arsoning, and killing senators, the Doge, the Pope himself!
In the end I admit that this is a mere background, there is no historical plot, if not as the setting for your trader game.
Beware this was a DOS game. The Win port (Merchant Prince) was buggy and poorly implemented.

There is also trade Empires, but whgile the commercial aspect is stronger and more detailed, the historical setting is more vague.

General Ludd · August 5, 2003, 09:15

There's some robinhood games... that's about all I can think of. Someone really ought to make some history-based RPGs.

Oh, and Europa 1400 the Guild is a good one, focusing more on the daily life of the middle ages and inter-city politics.

DrSpike · August 6, 2003, 07:46

Not many games that don't have power politics and some war. You could wait for Sims: Time traveller.

child of Thor · August 6, 2003, 09:14

have a look at this , i had some fun with it(although it was a little tricky being DOS based!), not sure if its exactly what your after, but if you browse the 'Historic' section there are some great games

MattH · August 6, 2003, 09:45

What I'd like to see: a game that takes power politics into consideration, but doesn't push them forward as much. I'd like a game where you can position your military to support your politics, and the politics requires a devious mind and as much planning as chess.

rah · August 8, 2003, 08:40

Unfortunately there isn't a big enough demand for games like that. The younger crowd prefers to destroy things.

Nikolai · August 8, 2003, 09:28

As a 17 year old I have to disagree.

But of course, I'm probably not representative, eh?

MattH · August 8, 2003, 09:38

You would destroy things... entire empires under your rule after a swift but well-planned coordination of military and a long political manipulation,... your opponents crushed, commiting suicide

Nikolai · August 8, 2003, 09:42

If that's the term, then I might be halfway in it.

I understood it as playing boring games as CounterStrike, AoE, Ravenshield and so on(am I in trouble...?

). I like to build empires in EU2 and so, so then I am a destroyer?

Standup · August 8, 2003, 18:47

Trade Empires ? In a similar vien to the Railroad Tycoon games.
1400 as mentioned earlier - worth checking if the patch is out though.
Port Royale - bits of trade but some of your usual combat and politics.
Rails across America ?
Tropico 2 ? Now i'm running out of ideas...

rah · August 9, 2003, 19:32

Quote:

Originally posted by Nikolai
As a 17 year old I have to disagree.

But of course, I'm probably not representative, eh?

If my nephews are any indication, you're probably not.
They love "shoot em up" and "crash em up" games.
My degenerating hand eye coordination can't keep up with them.

Victor Galis · August 9, 2003, 22:05

Shoot them up is only fun when playing against people in the same room.

I preffer to crush them through a prolonged guerrilla warfare style campaign on a tactical level

CygnusZ · August 12, 2003, 15:31

Maybe if you can find a copy of a game called, "Defender of the Crown". It has military aspects to it, but the politics are very limited.