History provides a lot of ideas for games, but it seems that we don't see nearly as much of the 1800s as we do other eras in the game industry. This article discusses the issue, looking at what we could be missing, and tries to take a stab at why there isn't much in the way of 19th century games.

Newsletter

Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly.

Enter E-Mail Address Below:

Back in the 1800s

History is a great source of material when making a game. There are so many eras to choose from, each with countless legends, events, and personalities that could easily become the focal point of a new title. Everything from Rome to medieval Europe to Feudal Japan and beyond are a wellspring of quality gaming material. However, one era feels under represented by comparison to these: the 19^th century.

That’s not to say that there are no games whatsoever that embrace this age. We’ve had brief glimpses into the 1800s via certain adventure games, the occasional RPG, and the grognards have had it quite good with a very respectable selection of titles recreating many of the conflicts of the time. Nonetheless, it would be nice to see more games venture into the 19^th century, as there is certainly no lack of events and ideas to come out of that time that could work in a game.

Advertisement

One of the first, and most easily identified aspects of the 1800s that would make sense in a game are, obviously, the various wars that broke out during this period. While we’re beaten over the head with countless World War II titles these days, there are plenty of 19^th century conflicts that are also ripe for the picking: the Napoleonic

Advertisement

Wars, the Crimean Wars, and the Boor Wars, to name a few. Now, granted, a straight up shooter or some such wouldn’t make sense since combat techniques of this time lend themselves far more to the strategy genre, but sending players into the era and surrounding them in the politics and intrigue of the time could certainly make for a very engaging RPG or adventure title, or even an action / adventure game.

There’s also the matter of the Old West dominating a fair sized chunk of the 1800s. Here we’ve seen games embrace it from time to time, but, again, it is far and few between that we see a Western in comparison to countless other eras in games. This is particularly startling given how popular the genre has been in literature and film. One would think there would be a lot more games exploring the age.

On top of this, we can’t forget the literature of the 19^th century itself. With the industrial revolution in full swing, social change on the horizon, and science on a many people’s minds, there was a lot going on during this time that captured the imaginations of the era’s authors. With the likes of Conrad, Dickens, Austin, and countless others addressing a vast assortment of issues, there’s no lack of content and discussion to be found in the going ons of the 1800s.

Despite this, perhaps the 19^th Century has earned itself a bad reputation among game developers. When it comes to revisiting tales from that era, people either love or hate the material it seems. I’ve met my fair share of people on both sides of the fence with it comes to the literature, and for every person who loved the main character of The Secret Agent, there was someone else who just couldn’t get through the dryness of it all. Then there are the countless films based on the era with legions of prim and proper protagonists (Ed. – try saying that three times fast!). These are the sorts of creative outings that can quickly turn large numbers of people off to the age. There’s an underlying sense of pretension that can crop up from these whether or not its real or imagined. Perhaps this has left a bad taste in too many people’s mouths, making them less interested in the era. However, it doesn’t explain the lack of Westerns and all the delicious depravity that comes with it.

Now, I’m well aware that from time to time developers venture into the 19^th century with their games, but pound for pound, the age feels very under represented compared to other historical periods. I’m not saying that we need to be inundated with top hats and hoop skirts, but it would be nice to see more games that tried to capture the 1800s and all of the adventure that came with it.

Mr. Nash

(August 29, 2006)


PC \| Gamecube \| DS \| Wii \| PlayStation 2 \| PlayStation 3 \| PSP \| Xbox \| Xbox 360
News \| Reviews \| Previews \| Features \| Classics \| Goodies \| Anime \| Forums