Ideas for Historical Games (Part 3 of 3)
By Brian J. Lancaster (March 2022)
Website: www.laughingcoyote.net
The third and final part of historical game ideas that you can feel free to steal, as I won't ever have time to develop them. I scraped the barrel a bit at the end here.
#7) King David (1010-970 BCE)
King David began as a shepherd and harpist, then proved himself worthy of becoming king by slaying the Philistine giant Goliath. In the Book of Samuel, David attempted to build a temple to Yahweh to house the Ark of the Covenant (containing the two tablets with the Ten Commandments). Yahweh forbade him from doing this because he had spilled too much blood.
The Fifteen Commandments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZA2mBntrHk
David and Goliath
If the player were King David, it would be pretty damn funny if he actually hears the voice of Yahweh in his head telling him to do stuff. The Bible refers to David twice as a man who is "after God's own heart." He desperately sought approval from the Jewish deity, but it's also clear that God got a little pissed off because David was just killing too many people. The disembodied voice of God would be a main character, and provide some comic relief.
After watching Bathsheba bathing from his roof, he had her Hittite husband murdered in secret. David had eight wives, plus many concubines, and keeping just one wife happy is an endeavor. One major mechanic would be keeping your wives happy, and not letting Bathsheba find out about her murdered husband (if indeed the player decides to have it done). Then also keeping the disembodied voice of God happy, who maybe sleeps sometimes.
Before becoming king, David's predecessor Saul commanded David to bring him 100 Philistine foreskins, and David then went out on this fetch quest and hacked off 200 foreskins, thus earning Saul's daughter Michal in marriage. Saul would later turn against David and try to hunt him down.
Chariots would be used to collect these foreskins on flat ground, but fighting in the mountains of Israel and Judah would require different tactics. The game would span from David's childhood through his death.
Sources:
"The Philistine Phallic Obsession"
https://dannythedigger.com/philistine-male-organs-found-at-tel-es-safi/
#8) Sicilian Mafia vs. Mussolini (1924-1943)
Benito Mussolini declared war on the Sicilian mafia in 1924. The fascist leader paid a visit to the island, bringing with him a parade of tanks, battleships, and planes. He met with the Mayor of Piana dei Greci, Don Francesco Cuccia. Cuccia said to Mussolini, "You are with me; you are under my protection. What do you need all these cops for?" This caused a dispute and Cuccia told the town's residents to boycott Mussolini's speech, leading the dictator to start a campaign to eliminate the mafia from Sicily.
Benito Mussolini
Sicily at this point still looked like a feudal system of farmers, with no real police force. There were over 40,000 people who had fled the draft in WWI, many of them hiding in the hills of Sicily. The scenes in the Godfather Part II of Sicily in 1901 (along with the best film theme song) are burned into my mind as a place I want to see, but probably never will in real life. That's why we need a game set in that peaceful rural paradise, under which lies a covert network of criminals, and at the gates of which stands a growing fascist army.
The mafia, which started as loosely-connected groups of "companies at arms" in lieu of a government police force, grew into what is now called the Cosa Nostra ("Our Thing"), or the Sicilian Mafia. They ran protection rackets, ordered murders and kidnappings, and counterfeited money. Counterfeit money would be an interesting mechanic in any game (can't we all just pretend it's real?). Mafiosos would use special hand signals to identify themselves, another possible game mechanic.
Cesare Mori, or "The Iron Prefect" was a renowned policeman who became Mussolini's chosen commander in his attempted takedown of the mafia. Mori's first major action was the seige of Gangi on 1 January 1926. Telephone wires were cut, and armored cars blocked the roads leading to the hilltop town. Women and children were kidnapped to force their fathers and husbands out from hiding. Prisoners were forced to drink castor oil or eat live frogs. By 1929, 11,000 mafiosos and accomplices had been arrested.
The mafia lived on, of course. Newspapers were ordered not to report on crimes in Sicily to make the fascist effort seem more effective. The rural environment of Sicily has untapped potential for a clandestine mafia-type game. The town of Gangi specifically looks like a perfect place to be recreated digitally.
Gangi
Sources:
"Mussolini vs. The Mafia"
https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/people-politics/mussolini-vs-the-mafia/
#9) Australia as a Penal Colony (1788-1868)
Britain began sending convicts to Australia in 1788, as after the American Revolution, it could no longer send its undesirables to the thirteen colonies. Most of these people were convicted of petty crimes like theft, with more serious crimes like murder punishable by death. Convictions ranged from political dissidence to piracy, to petty theft. About 1 in 7 convicts were women.
The scope and range of the backgrounds of these criminals would make for engaging social interactions. Many political dissidents were artists, poets, inventors, etc. This is in sharp contrast with the pirates and thieves sent to live in the same settlements. This along with the abundance of dangerous wildlife, and tribes of aborigines, would make for a prime setting for a colonization game.
Convicts Bound for Australia
#10) Dutch Trader in New Amsterdam (1609-1664)
You're a Dutch trader in New Amsterdam, shortly before its fall to the British in 1664 and rebranding to New York City. The Dutch built a wall for defense on what is now Wall Street, and they created the first stock market in 1602. This would be a doomed stock market trading game in the infancy of the institution, where the player can buy shares in companies.
Eventually, the British would take New Amsterdam with a fleet of ships and kick out the Dutch, but if the player knows exactly when to sell and bail on the settlement, he can make out with enough to survive.
I have run out of ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK-0jfoshZw
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