The success of the smash hit video game, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, shows the value of historical video games that are set in the Middle Ages. Bohemia, a historical region in the Holy Roman Empire, was hardly on the minds of people in the Anglosphere. Now, we have people traveling to Kuttenburg and Skalitz to see the historical sites and expand their views on the Middle Ages.
What we need is a video game set in the Byzantine Empire. I have written about this multiple times but the continued success of Kingdom Come 2 has been quite inspiring to me. Historical settings tend to be ignored quite often in cinema. At the turn of the 20th Century, historical epics were popular in Italy and in even the settler countries of America.
However, most stories focus on a bland, modern setting focusing on concerns of upper middle class people trying to get into the ranks of the rich in their respective cultures. What we need is something similar to Kingdom Come 2, where the character of Henry is not obsessed with the acquisition with wealth, but on a quest of self discovery and fellowship with unlikely allies.
The Byzantine Empire was an entry into Europe from Asia and it would represent the multitude of cultures in the world at that time. It would be even more vibrant than that of the mining-heavy regions of Bohemia. It would provide the cosmopolitan vibes that Video games tend to inject into their narratives. Kingdom Come 2 feels more like an art game than a mainstream game and I think that having some bigger cities would go a long way in helping to establish a Byzantine game as the next step here to create historical environments that make you feel like you are really living in there.
However, in spite of the success of these games, it is clear that the Byzantine Empire is an elusive gem for many people in the industry. There is much more of an emphasis on Medieval England or France in comparison to Bohemia. Even less attention is given to the Byzantines.
It is time that the Byzantines get their place in the sun. Having this setting in a video game would truly be a great way for Westerners to finally appreciate the importance of Byzantine history and culture.
Byzantine-Empire.com 