Fictitious stories across gaming have taken inspiration from real-world people and historical events. Though there are many video games out there that are historically accurate, there is a far vaster number of titles that are simply “inspired” by history, with titles ranging from medieval-inspired games like The Elder Scrolls series to the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout. While they may not be categorized as historical, these titles contain a bit of real-world history in order to better sell players on their world and are proof that history does not have to be at the forefront of video games in order to make for great games.
History Helps to Set the Scene
More often than not, video games that are inspired by a particular historical time period extend nothing more than that in their historical setting. The Soulcalibur franchise is a perfect example of this – other than stated to be set during the late 16th century, which is clearly reflected by characters’ attire and weaponry, the 3D fighting game is not rooted within any concrete historical events or settings and is almost entirely inaccurate. The game features magic swords, demonic beings, and even Darth Vader, and everything that occurs is pretty much entirely fictional. But again, this is completely fine because the series was never meant to be historically accurate – the history it’s rooted in is only meant to serve to set the scene for the games.
Another example of this is seen with the Fallout game series. Fallout is a post-apocalyptic RPG game series that essentially tells a what-if scenario of if nuclear warfare went horribly wrong, with the entire country falling victim to nuclear radiation. The game series holds some historical relevance by somewhat tying into the cold war and other nuclear warfare. However, essentially everything that occurs within Fallout is fictional.
A Fictional World, Inspired by History
Many other video game worlds are entirely fictional, without any sort of real-world context but can sometimes feature people, locations, and events that are very reminiscent of historical figures and events. Franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Fire Emblem are just a couple of examples of this, as neither game franchises have any sort of real connection to history, but certain elements of them feel oddly familiar.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is set within Tamriel, a high-fantasy world with lore similar to Dungeons and Dragons, and features fantastical creatures and species such as elves, dwarfs, draugars, giants, cat and lizard people, and even dragons, but the world itself feels heavily inspired by medieval European history. The world feels very similar to medieval Europe, with power structures and civil wars that feel reminiscent of those seen throughout history, but the series is still ultimately fictional. But for history buffs, playing through The Elder Scrolls games and making comparisons to history should be fun.
The Fire Emblem series is yet another game series that is entirely fictional but feels inspired by real historical events and settings. Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which takes place on the fictional continent of Fodlan and focuses on Garreg Mach Monastery, a school run by The Church of Seiros. The church-run government feels very reminiscent of the Holy Roman Empire, with much of the world’s architecture and technological advances feeling very similar to the medieval ages. Again, the world features many fantastical elements such as magical powers and fantastical beasts, but much of the world feels highly inspired by real-world events from history.
Games Don’t Have to Contain Historical Relevance
Players don’t always want to play video games that are heavily rooted within history, as it’s sometimes just fun to get lost within a game’s fantastical world – and that’s completely fine. Countless video games contain some sort of historical relevance, including the ones stated above, among many others. But many video games lack any sort of connection to real-world history at all, and that is also completely fine. While it’s great to see games feature connections to world history, those games and the experiences that they offer shouldn’t be invalidated.
Games of all kinds can be loved and appreciated for what they are, no matter what sort of historical relevance they provide. But it’s also interesting that many games that some players may not even suspect of featuring historical backgrounds have them – games like Fallout and Fire Emblem. It’s exciting to play new games, as their origins may lie in unsuspecting places. That’s just one of the many joys of being a gamer.
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At Epoch Xperience, we specialize in creating compelling narratives and provide research to give your game the kind of details that engage your players and create a resonant world they want to spend time in. If you are interested in learning more about our gaming research services, you can browse Epoch Xperience’s service on our parent site, SJR Research.
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(This article is credited to Ben Price. For as long as he can remember, Ben has always loved playing, discussing, and writing about video games. Since receiving his B.A. in English, he now writes about them for a living.)