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Which is better material for computer games, classical history or classical myth?
Classical themes have always been prevalent in computer games, as it is in other forms of entertainment. Both classical history and myth have their place in computer games, which is clear because they are both featured in a large number of games. Classical mythology is generally used more in computer games than accurate classical history, but in popular culture; themes of classical history very rarely feature without myths intertwined into the story. So it can be considered difficult to differentiate between classical history and classical myth, especially in relation to the Greek side of classical history.
Classical history would only work without classical myth being a part of it if the game in question is striving to achieve pure historical accuracy. In today’s sensationalist society though this is rare, usually it is just the strategy based games that tackle classical themes from this angle. Myth allows a much wider scope for interpretation and they are not hindered by having to adhere to academic standards, which is perfect for games as they are far more proactive than other mediums so the wide scope allows for a multitude of possibilities for games developers. Whereas certain games that try to be historically accurate are then limited only to what is accepted by the academic community and thus have to remain politically correct, potentially limiting the entertainment.
Get help with your essay from our expert essay writers...For example, the long-lasting Civilization (originally developed by Sid Meier) series strives to provide a realistic experience of history in building up your civilization; I shall be discussing the latest edition of the game: Civilization IV for the purpose of this essay. It contains many different civilizations throughout history; Greece and Rome are both featured. You cannot command gods to protect your citizens or anything mythology based like that. It attempts to portray classical history in an apparently accurate way as Greece’s leader is the classical figure Alexander who, though he has gained a somewhat mythical status in what he achieved is a real figure from classical history. It also describes the Greeks as aggressive and philosophical as their two main traits, this can be construed as true if extremely generalised. We can say this because philosophical figures such as Plato and Socrates and many others have come out of classical history and Greece did become quite aggressive after their success over the Persians and the aforementioned historically accurate Alexander did aggressively seek to build up an Empire.
Civilization IV contains an mini-encyclopaedia type thing known as the ‘Civpedia’ amongst some fans which also details historically accurate information about a vast number of things to do with history and the game, which also adds to it’s authenticity and further increases the immersion into your civilization because of it. So Classical history can make for good material in that respect, but it is debateable as to how many players actually read the historical information given unless they have a pre-existing interest in history.
Greek mythology however, is certainly a far more potent subject for computer games to amass ideas from, if one was forced to differentiate between the two. As I have said, strategy games would seem to provide a good outlet for classical history, in particular slow turn based games like Civilization. But there are other, faster paced strategy games that delve both into the history and the mythology as they do seem to go together in most situations.
Roman warfare is a particularly good theme when focusing on classical history and not classical myth. There are many games that focus on classical warfare from a down to earth perspective, such as the first Age of Empires which contains a Greek army for you to use, Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War contains Roman, Greece, Persian and Egyptian civilizations, Legion, Rome: Total War are all good examples of militaristic games based on classical history.
The now defunct developer ‘Impressions’’ city building games series have been noted for their attempt to provide historical accuracy to city building management simulations in their titles like Pharaoh (where you take the role of a Pharaoh) and Caesar (you take the role of a Roman governor). In their Roman version of the series they maintain reality and attempt accurate classical history but in their Greek version of the same series it is changed from being a physical human leader who could well have existed in classical history to what is obvious from the title ‘Zeus: Master of Olympus’, you become a mythical god. So this abandonment of classical history in favour of playing as a mythological figure shows quite clearly that when it comes to the Greek side of classics, myth seems to go hand in hand with history showing myth’s strengths.
This can either be seen as a compliment to the mythology of the classical period or as a criticism of Greek history, that it is boring without it. I believe it is the former because classical mythology is so widespread that if it were not included in a game about classical Greek history, many would be disappointed. But this does not mean that classical history is then totally abandoned, in favour of a purely mythological game. Historically accurate things in Greek’s history are present such as the building of triremes for battle, an agora, other specific monument buildings and other things that are taken straight from classical history.
As I have previously mentioned, this game in the series went much further into mythology and religion than in any of the previous titles. For example gods and their monsters can attack the player’s city and they can walk around the city as if they were real, there are also places such as the ‘Gates of Hades’ and other gods’ sanctuaries included in the game. This is significant as I believe it could suggest that neither is better material for computer games, they are both necessary to make a classically themed game interesting, particularly when the focus is on the Greek side of classical history.
This is backed up by a series that had gone from, in previous titles only attempting historical accuracy to a large degree, to a game based completely on mythology, ‘Age of Mythology’. The developer ‘Ensemble Studios’’ previous titles, the ‘Age of Empires’ series tried to be very historically accurate and on their first game they included ancient Greece as one of the Empires, this did not include many mythological themes. But in their later spin-off the Age of Mythology, accurate classical history was abandoned in favour of classical mythology. This spin-off sold an estimated 1 million units within four months, which shows how successful mythology in games can be. The success of this, led to expansion which also plays on Greek myth as it focused on the Titans and Plato’s Atlantis myth.
Another good example of this comes in the form of a spin-off to the Total War series for the Xbox called ‘Spartan: Total Warrior’. The Total War strategy series was famed for its attempt at a reasonably accurate history. For this game tackling classical Greek history though, the genre was completely changed and historical accuracy was abandoned in favour of mythological themes. It has been noted to be similar to ‘God of War’ in the way it employs its mythological ideas such as fighting mythological beasts such as Medusa, Hydra and various others and was released around the same period. The developer Creative Assembly’s abandonment of historical accuracy which they seemed to think was extremely important from their previous games is indicative of the fact that it is rare to attempt a Greek classical history game without including its mythology.
‘Spartan: Total Warrior’ was an action game, all of Creative Assembly’s previous titles in the Total War series have been strategy games, as are all the games I have mentioned previously. So, as well as showing the difference between Greek and other civilisations from ancient times’ mythology and history depicted in games, it also displays which of mythology or history serves different genres best. There is a pattern here, that when developers challenge action games and the classical period they focus mainly on mythology and classical history becomes secondary.
Clearly, more focus is put on the mythological side of things when creating action and adventure games. Purely for the reason that these games are considered more blockbuster entertainment so need to have more myths, magic and monsters and things of that nature, perhaps to make up for the lack of firepower in the classical period and guarantee success. One such example of this is ‘God of War’ which, like Spartan: Total Warrior, you play the part of a warrior and it begins with the main character Kratos standing on the edge of the tallest cliff in Greece lamenting the fact that the gods have abandoned him. This could be considered a connotation to many different things in Greek Myth, and also in the Christian Myth of Jesus, who too lamented the fact that God had forsaken him. This is another way that classical myth is perfect material for computer games as it can bring in comparisons and connotations to other myths from around the world. Whereas classical history is very set in stone, academic and considered somewhat boring.
God of War is also interesting in this respect as it has purely focused on classical mythology and has its themes taken directly from it. For example it includes many things such as Harpies, Cyclops, Minotaurs, Gorgons as enemies you fight regularly; and Hydra, Medusa, Hades’ Minotaur and Ares as bosses. This shows how good classical mythology is for material for computer games as there are so many things that fit perfectly into action/adventure games’ overall structure. This usually consists of numerous enemies, such as the Sirens and the Harpies, these feature prominently in the game as lesser enemies and are based reasonably accurately on the accounts in Homer’s Odyssey where there are also many of them. And then these lesser enemies, ultimately lead to a boss which consists of major monsters from Greek Mythology such as The Hydra from Hercules’ twelve labours and Medusa, and the others aforementioned. All this is played through with the backdrop of Mythical ancient Greece which also provides a vast scope for cinematic backgrounds. ‘God of War’ is certainly a brilliant example in showing how perfectly Greek mythology is as material for computer games.
Further evidence for this also comes from, not only the content of the game but also the game’s reception. It was widely acclaimed by the vast majority of the gaming industry and received a vast number of awards. One has to wonder if it would have been so well received if it were based on any other mythology, or if it was based purely on classical history where they took one figure and made him fight in wars with standard classical weaponry like spears and swords, as opposed to chains from each arm with blades on the end that you swing around quite elegantly fighting many mythical figures. I think that the classical mythology contributed massively to the games success. It has since been named the best Playstation 2 game of all time, and is being made into a movie. Clearly showing how good material classic myths are for computer games.
There have been many games explicitly based on classical mythology, but there have also been some based solely on classical history, ignoring myth though these are rarer. One could argue that they are one in the same as a good story based on the classical period cannot be told without both the myth and the history; any covering of Greek myth is also covering an important section of their history as religion was important to them.
We must take into account the blurred line that has been drawn between myth and the reality of classical history. Some people think Homer’s Odyssey may genuinely have happened and have strived to search for the real Ithaca, and Troy was regarded as a mythic battle rather than a historical one until evidence for it was uncovered. So if one wanted to take the argument that many of the myths were actually real, such as The Odyssey then one could argue that classical history and classical myth go hand in hand.
The gaming website ‘Gamespot’, in a review of the lesser-known game ‘Odyssey: The Search for Ulysses’, which I feel sums up a lot of what I’ve been saying in terms of classical mythology being good material for computer games: “You'd be hard-pressed to find a better source of material for an adventure game than stories in Greek mythology. Powerful gods, bizarre monsters, exotic lands, gripping tales of famous heroes--what more could a game developer want for inspiration? And of all the famous Greek myths, probably none manage to cram in as much action and intrigue as Homer's The Odyssey, the epic poem that chronicles the numerous trials that Ulysses must overcome as he seeks to return home to Ithaca after the Trojan War.”
The game in question adds its own spin on the Odyssey story as it adds a whole new perspective to proceedings by making you control an inhabitant of Ithaca who was banished, but on his return was told by Penelope to go and find her husband. One would expect from a game based purely on the Odyssey that you would control Ulysses, but this is not the case, again showing the wide scope that classical myth allows in creating complex, intriguing stories in entertainment. Even thousands of years after they were first spoken, people are still reinterpreting Homer which is a testament to classical mythology’s material for computer games, and any other form of entertainment that involves good story telling. This is also seen because classical mythology is not a new phenomenon in computer games, as titles from before I was born such as ‘Odysseus – Trojan Warrior’ and ‘Odyssey’ on the commodore 64 show.
So far I have gone into the games that are explicitly about classical mythology and history. But classical mythology also appears to be of importance and influence to many other computer games, though they may not necessarily be about the classical period at all. For instance, the extremely popular World of Warcraft massively multiplayer online role playing game has developed its own mythology which clearly has been heavily influenced by classical mythology with beings such as the Titans, and Scylla like creatures with numerous arms, heads or horns known as the Kraken which can be seen in a lot of places lately in cinema, and gaming for instance in the Pirates of the Caribbean third film and the a game released last month called Hellgate: London which this type of creature can be seen on the cover.
This can also be tied in with modern mythology here because H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos continues the huge, multi-armed/headed/tentacled squid-like creature idea. Horror has become more prominent in computer games, the Gamecube game Eternal Darkness which contains many Lovecraftian elements, also contains a level where you play as a Roman, showing again the infusion of classical mythology, history and relating it to modern mythos like Cthulhu. This is significant as it shows that new generations of people are introduced to these myths through all sorts of different mediums, whether it is through literature, computer games or film. It shows that classical history is not the prevailing theme of popular culture, but rather classical mythology is, and has stood the test of time moving from different format with ease showing how classical mythology is wonderful material for storytelling in general, not just computer games.
In conclusion classical myth and classical history both have their merits in being good material for computer games, but for different genres. It would take thousands more words to go into every game that features classical themes and how they may have benefited or hindered the computer game. But from those that I have analysed I can surmise that classical mythology is better material for computer games because it allows the developer far more scope for interpretation, they are thus not limited by academic standards so can be as politically incorrect as the developer likes creating a generally more entertaining game. However, what constitutes a successful game is not set in stone, some people prefer slow turn based but historically accurate games like the aforementioned Civilization IV, so of course to them classical history would be better material. But for the majority of the gaming public I feel that mythology offers a far wider scope in creating any type of game, of any genre whereas classical history is quite limiting so classical myth is certainly better material overall for computer games.
Bibliography
Wikipedia – unfortunately I could find no better resource for reminding me of the facts of particular games than Wikipedia
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/05/0514_040514_troy.html ‘Is Troy True? The Evidence Behind Movie Myth’ Stefan Lovgren, created May 14 2004 accessed December 10th 2007
http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/odysseythesearchforulysses/review.html?mode=gsreview ‘Odyssey: The Search for Ulysses’ review, created January 27 2001, accessed on December 10th 2007
My experience of playing games for a long while
List of games featured
The Civilization series originally developed by Side Meier in particular Civilization IV. Developed by Firaxis Games and Published by 2k Games and Aspyr in July 20 2007 on PC
Age of Empires series developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios originally in 1997 and on PC
Age of Mythology developed by Ensemble Studios, published by Microsoft Game Studios in 2002 on PC
Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War developed by Stainless Steel Studios, published by Midway Games, on PC released in 2006
‘Rome: Total War’ developed by Creative Assembly, published originally by Activision and then Sega, on PC
‘Legion’ Developed by Slitherine Software, Published originally by Strategy First and then by Paradox Interactive, on PC and PSX
‘Pharaoh’ Developed by Impressions Games, Published by Sierra Entertainment in 1999 on PC
‘Caesar’ Developed by Impressions Games, Published by Sierra Entertainment in 1992 on PC
‘Zeus – Master of Olympus’ Developed by Impressions Games, Published by Sierra Entertainment in 2000 on PC
‘Spartan: Total Warrior’ Developed by Creative Assembly, Published by Sega, on Playstation 2, Gamecube, and Xbox
‘God of War’ Developed by SCE Studios Santa Monica, Published by SCEA in 2005 for Playstation 2
‘Odyssey: The Search for Ulysses’ Developed by In Utero, Published by Cryo Interactive Entertainment in 2000 for PC
‘World of Warcraft’ Published and Developed by Blizzard Entertainment Inc. in 2004 for PC.
‘Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem’ Developed by Silicon Knights, Inc. Published by Nintendo of Europe 2002
‘Hellgate: London’ Developed by Flagship Studios, Published by Namco Bandai Games America Inc. in 2007
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