Thursday 19 December 2013

Makers of ARMA and MAFIA to make a historical RPG

Computer RPGs tend to come in two flavours: ones set in fantasy worlds (or fantasised versions of the realm world) and games set in science fiction mileus. RPGs set in historical periods are not so much 'thin on the ground' as 'almost non-existent'. The closest such games are probably the Mount and Blade ones, and even they are focused on multiplayer combat over anything else.



New develoment studio Warhorse, based in the Czech Republic, is out to change that. Staffed by former members of Bohemia Interactive and 2K Czech (formerly Illusion Softworks), Warhorse is creating a historically-accurate RPG set in the Holy Roman Empire in 1403 AD, during the 'dying days of the middle ages'. The game will focus on character development, a wide range of combat techniques informed by the real warfare of the time (from field battles to stealth to sieges, either fighting on foot or horseback) and will feature an open world narrative. Basically, think Skyrim but set in Europe with less dragons and magic.

It's an interesting approach to take but the pedigree is impressive. Some of the developers worked on the ARMA series and the original Mafia. Kingdom Come: Deliverance will be released on PC, PS4 and X-Box One in 2015. Many screenshots can be seen here.

1 comment:

Jonesy said...

While there are mods that put the Mount in Blade series in historical periods (like the excellent Brytenwalda for Warband) and an official standalone game Mount and Blade: Fire and Sword; the default campaign setting for Mount and Blade is Calradia.

Calradia is an imaginary setting. It's inspired by history and has no magic or fantasy races or monsters, but it's not real either, so I'd say technically even Mount and Blade aren't historical RPGs.