So I am making a browser-based homage to Age of Empires 2 - game trailer here - and I want for it to be quasi-historically accurate. As a setting, I want to go with the 10-15 centuries, primarily because that was the Feudal era and it falls in line with the theme of the game ("Feudal" Wars). You can view some of the artwork for the different civilizations on the subreddit (r/feudalwars).
I'm not exactly a history buff so I wanted to pick your brains as to what the setting of the game should be like. If you haven't played age of empires (what my game will be like), you essentially start out as a civilization of your choice and you can make buildings, armies with the artwork of the buildings/armies matching the style of the civilization. For example, here is our spanish barracks: http://i.imgur.com/DuA4eD2.png And here is our english barracks: http://i.imgur.com/s5t9AXj.png
One of the problems I'm confronted with is determining which civilizations the game should have. I want to start out with English and Spanish but Spain of course didn't exist from 10-15 and was more divided into kingdoms like Corsica and Leon (right?). I certainly wouldn't mind calling the civ Corsica Castile instead of Spanish and I could use the castilian coat of arms (since that's public domain) but is that historically accurate?
If you had to list the dominant united military powers from 10-15, what would they be? Again, I'm not looking for exact historical accuracy - I just want to portray a "rounded off" version of history. What civilizations would you put in the game and how would you name them? I'm looking for kingdom name and people name (e.g. England / English). I'm also looking to portray civs with distinct architectural styles. For example, 1 of the reasons we chose English and Spanish starting out was because of the distinct architectural styles of the two in the latter middle ages. I'm going to want to have middle eastern and far east civs (Japanese obviously) as well.
I'd appreciate any advice!
For the people reporting this, yes, it is a poll-type question but I've decided to allow it as it is for a specific project with some ideas in mind. OP, you may want to ask at /r/history as well as look into videogames such as /r/CrusaderKings or /r/EuropaUniversalis
I love all the AoE games! Did you ever get into 3?
As for your game are you going to focus solely on Europe? Like AoE2 you could include the Byzantines and even the Ottomans (who started to rise in the latter part of the 14th century). The Iberian peninsula was disunited at this time with the exception of Portugal, other than that you could include the various Christian and Muslim states like Aragon, Castile, and Al-Andalus. Others from the top of my head: England, Scotland, France, Denmark (Kalmar Union!), Poland-Lithuania, Second Bulgarian Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Italian city-states (Genoa, Venice, Pisa etc). I am sure there are many other states that came and went during this era. I hope this helped and excited to see what you come up with!! Good luck!
I want to start out with English and Spanish but Spain of course didn't exist from 10-15 and was more divided into kingdoms like Corsica and Leon (right?). I certainly wouldn't mind calling the civ Corsica (Corsicans?) instead of Spanish and I could use the corsican coat of arms (since that's public domain) but is that historically accurate?
So, Corsica is the small island off the southern coast of France, to the west of Italy, and directly north of its twin, Sardinia. Corsica is famous for Vendettas, Napoleon, and little else. The major (christian) kingdoms of Hispania were Leon, Castile, and Aragon. Early on, Castile and Leon united to form the kingdom of Leon-Castile, which then united under Isabella to form the Kingdom of Spain.
The other major (again christian European) countries were France and the Holy Roman Empire (Germany). The Scandinavian countries (mainly modern Norway) were also important at the beginning of this period (Vikings), but generally faded after 1066 (Battle of Hastings & Stamford Bridge). In the Muslim world, Maleuke Egypt was especially powerful, as were the latter Turks. The Byzantines (Eastern European) were heirs to the Roman Empire, and while they werent usually powerful, they were pretty important. And besides that, everyone wants to save the Roman Empire. Im not as familiar with Asian, African, or American history at that point, but they each also have what youre looking for, unique architecture, diverse military traditions, and historical significance.
As for New World societies, there are few options that span the entire time span you noted (though as you say, entities like Spain only exist in the later parts of the period). The question is whether you want the large most influential states during this time period (even if they don't fall entirely/mostly within it) or if you want states that fit the time frame best.
For example, the two most preeminent New World empires in terms of area brought under imperial control would be the Inca and Aztec empires, but both empires are primarily restricted (in imperial form) to the last 100-150 years of the time period you have decided on. Likewise, predecessor states like the Wari Empire in South America and the Toltec state in Mesoamerica existed primarily up until about 1200.
One option of a state that firmly reached their apogee in the middle of the time period you outlined would be the Chimu state based around the city of Chan-Chan in northern Peru. If nothing else, the architecture of Chan-Chan has a very distinct visual style (being made entirely out of mud-brick) like so and like so. That said, later Inca stonework also has a very distinct style.
Those five (Aztec and Toltec in Mesoamerica and Inca, Wari, and Chimu in the Andes) would probably be your best bets for representing New World empires.
In terms of unit roster diversity, some good civilizations with varied rosters include the Egyptian Abbasid Caliphate, Kievan Rus, the Mongols of course, and Al-Andalus and Castile which would both have some great diversity and uniqueness about them with their diverse rosters of a synergy of Middle Eastern and European units. Scotland and the Italian States would play similarly, with an infantry focus centred around pikes except that the Scots would have heavier armor and the Italians would have much more missile troops. The Kingdom of Jerusalem would make for interesting gameplay with powerful but few in number Frankish knights, local troops, and military orders. Byzantium incorporates a well balanced combination of horse archers, heavy armor, and some other interesting units such as the Varangian Guard.
