Beyond WWII: A Game of the American Revolution?
It’s easy to see why video games use WWII so often. It’s the most devastating war in human history, and its sheer scale — spreading across every continent and involving most of the world’s nations — lends itself well to countless FPS’s and RTS’s.
But this year’s Fourth of July, why not reflect on the American Revolution instead? After all, it has plenty of high-stakes scenarios perfect for a video game and offers a much-needed escape from familiar battlegrounds of the 1940’s.
So here’s a salute to our American Revolution, which can serve as an alternate wartime setting for those players who feel (inevitably) worn out by the WWII era.
Why is it that so many video games set themselves circa 1940?
You’d be hard pressed to find many war titles set during any other time period. Sure, Vietnam War games exist here and there, but with thousands of years of history and conflict in the world, you’d think we wouldn’t limit ourselves to WWII.
WWII is definitely a massive conflict worthy of our remembrance, but even so, other historical struggles, such as the Korean War or even French Revolution, have a lot to offer. These conflicts aren’t as far-ranging as their larger counterpart, but they have refreshing content and settings that more developers should be taking advantage of.
As I said, just take a look at the American Revolution.
The midnight ride of Paul Revere, an important patriot.
What American schoolchild can forget Paul Revere’s famous midnight ride right before the battles of Lexington and Concord? Or the famous quote, “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes,” during the Battle of Bunker Hill? How about John Paul Jones, a naval fighter who shouted, “I have not yet begun to fight!” when asked to surrender his ship by a British officer?
It’s these memorable leaders and high drama that fuel the epic potential of an American Revolution video game. Play as George Washington himself, commanding your ragtag group of troups. Cross the Delaware, even. One potential type of game is a wartime strategy in which the gamer competes against Britain’s superior resources, another an intense first person shooter or action adventure game (as long as we control a badass like Mel Gibson, it doesn’t matter). The one-shot musket, in particular, would add a new dimension to the shooter, making it more than a “point, spray bullets and kill” affair.
Alas, video games have neglected the American Revolution. Aside from a mod or two, one being an educational tool developed with Neverwinter Nights, there aren’t many games dealing with it. Empire: Total War allows gamers to play through the Revolution as part of its tutorial. But that’s about it.
Who knows? Maybe a bigger project is somewhere on the horizon. It’d certainly be nice to see more than WWII in our historic war games. It’d be especially nice to see the Revolution.
Tags: american revolution, empire total war, fourth of july, george washington, john paul jones, mel gibson, neverwinter nights, paul revere, real time strategy, world war II
As much as I’d like to see FPS games turn away from WWII, I don’t think that battle from the age of the American Revolution would be suited for FPS. As you mentioned, weaponry of the time was inaccurate, slow, and weak. FPS games thrive on action. While yes, one shot, reload, repeat would be an interesting change of pace, I don’t think it would be a wise one.
I can easily see it working as an RTS, though. Just not enough action, in my opinion, to really warrant an FPS game.
Actually, I agree. To an extent, though. They’d have to use some close-quarters combat to spice it up if it were an FPS. I think it’s possible, though. I suppose it’d be more of an action adventure game, then.
And the RTS would definitely work.