Historical periods that are barely ever explored in games

[Mr.Mattress]

The Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs and the Incas aren't used too much. Then again, it might not be the most "Politically Correct" game because the Spanish simply slaughtered the Aztecs and Incan Empires, and a lot of Latin Americans would be offended or mad at it.

Also, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Eighty Years' War would be neat settings to play.

 

[Weaver]

The roaring twenties. I want to see a game that really captures the spirit of that decade instead of just using it as a flimsy backdrop.

 

[Verlander]

The period between 1995 and 1997 is never featured for some reason.

 

[maninahat]

As someone has already said, pretty much any nation of Africa, at pretty much any period prior to the 20th Century. I'd love to play as a Tuareg or as an Afar adventurer. You could use African folk law and magic, or you could use colonialism. We'd get to see a side of Africa that exists outside of AK47s and suffering. Similar sort of trick could be done for India.

 

[Spineyguy]

There are tons of fantastic wars that could be the basis for an FPS, if we must pursue only that rather tired genre:
English Civil War
Napoleonic Wars
Boer Wars
Crimean War
French Revolution
Franco-Prussian War
War of Spanish Succession

But nooooooo, can't have anything that might remind the silly Amerifats that other countries exist. If I were American I'd actually be rather insulted that some plastic man in a suit had decided that I can't be trusted with knowledge from outside my own national borders.

But I digress. Here's an interesting one: the Christianisation of northern Europe. I suppose you could argue that a lot of the themes in Skyrim were connected to this, but I think some interesting issues could be addressed here.

I'm also a real advocate of games that let you play as 'opposing forces', as-in the sides and countries that are not typically considered the 'goodies' in any given conflict. Really, I think I'm mature enough to play as a German without immediately starting to plot my own world conquest.

 

[Rachith Sridhar]

India...any period before 1757 AD(onset of British occupation). Good ones can be during the fights between the Mughal and the Maratha empires during the 16th and 17th centuries. It would be a good time cause you could explore the political, religious and cultural issues that fragmented the great nation. Ancient India can also be good. Setting of Maurya Empire (somewhere around 300-200 BC) can help us explore the rise and spread of Buddhism.

Setting anywhere in Historical India would also mean discussing religion and faith, something most games are shy of doing

 

[Someone Depressing]

Ancient China, which is strange, given how most people can't tell Japan and China apart (protip: China is the one full of wannabe otakus, Japan is the one full of otakus)

World War I, also known as The Great War. This is why most children say, "World War 2 started because of space zombies", because 1 is never explored. In anything. Not just videogames.

When there was nothing. At all. No existence. Cessationism. You could, be in charge of the Big Bang, make everything how you wanted, grow lifeforms, sculpt terraformation. You could be, like, God.

 

[neokiva]

World War 1 changed the world as we know it, yet is almost never depicted in games. Shame because I could easily see a proper WW1 game being terrifying as hell. It was after all quite possibly the most horrific war in human history, just the thought of what some of those people went through sends shivers down my spine.

Spoiler: It's the stuff of nightmares

If done well could even hold educational value. Ignite peoples curiosity and drive them to learn more about the conflict.

you're trolling right, please say you are. because if you aren't where have you been pretty much all of call of duty and medal of honor was set in that period of time, castle wolfenstein, battlefield 1946, secret weapons over normandy and world war zero to name the few i remember.

 

[Barbas]

I'd like to see a thoughtful and well-researched game set in Hong Kong and China, Singapore, Russia, Poland and France during World War II (both the occupied and unoccupied time periods of said countries). I have no strong preference for genre. I want to see real war survivors, both soldiers and civilians, approached to be portrayed in the game. It could just be like a loose collection of diary entries from over Europe and Asia. I'd like to see the exploits of the Arctic convoys delivering Lend-Lease supplies to Soviet Russia, as well as the Little ships of Dunkirk.

I'm also with the people wanting a game set during World War I. I think it would probably have horror elements and a strong emphasis on the futility of what the player is doing.

Spoiler

I wonder what was going through his head.

 

[neokiva]

World War 1 and 2 are barely ever touched to my knowledge, never understood why

sigh do your research medal of honor and call of duty to name the two most popular it's only recently that they started all this modern warfare crap.

 

[Frankster]

Napoleonic era would be interesting for my tastes.
Having played a fair bit of mount and blade: napoleonic warfare, i've grown fond of a setting which has line battles between lines of brightly colored uniformed men led by excessively gallant officers.

The Spanish Conquest of the Aztecs and the Incas aren't used too much. Then again, it might not be the most "Politically Correct" game because the Spanish simply slaughtered the Aztecs and Incan Empires, and a lot of Latin Americans would be offended or mad at it.

You might be interested in Expeditions: Conquistadores which came out a while back (adventure/rpgish game where you play the commander of a conquistadores expedition in the new world), it would be up your alley setting wise and you can rp a ruthless and greedy conquistador if you wish.

And yes, there was outrage from some pc people about the game's theme and playing "evil" conquistadores

're trolling right, please say you are. because if you aren't where have you been pretty much all of call of duty and medal of honor was set in that period of time, castle wolfenstein, battlefield 1946, secret weapons over normandy and world war zero to name the few i remember.

WW2 might be over represented but it really isn't the case for ww1.
I don't recall many games where you can play french soldiers in the trenches of the Somme, heck when I think of games based around trench warfare...All i'm coming up with is that rather cool flash game "1914".

 

[Fijiman]

World War 1 "The Great War", there's only 1 game I can think of that does this time period called "The Great War", a turned based strategy game, lots of fun but we seriously need more games set in this time especially considering how much it's effects are still being felt today.

The only other game I can think of that's set in WW1 is Toy Soldiers and that's it.

Anyway, You don't see anything set in the Neolithic Era, though I imagine there's a number of reasons for that.

Viking games

I would absolutely love to see a game centered around vikings.

 

[Burgers2013]

There have been a lot of great suggestions in this thread. I'd be really excited about some of these. Although I'll admit that there are wars listed that I've never even heard of, that actually makes me more interested in playing a game about them. Retreading old ground all the time is not very satisfying. I think video games would be a great way to learn about wars that aren't even mentioned in history class (in the US anyway).

Most games like this would at least have to show some success in the indie industry before being picked up by AAA companies. Otherwise, it's too high risk for them; there has to be proof that there's a market.

I think that even though WWII has been done to death, there are a lot of aspects of the war that haven't been touched upon so much (at least that I know of). I'd be interested in a game specifically about the Holocaust, the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Japanese/Chinese portion of the war, the French resistance, and wait...what the hell was going on in the USSR at the time anyway? Pretty much any part of the war that didn't directly involve the US would be refreshing. The problem with some of the non-combat subjects are not only their sensitive nature, but the question of how to make a game where most things are done to the player, not by the player. I guess you'd just have to emphasis the small amount of choices/agency that the player does have.

As for periods of history I would like to see, I'd be interested in non-war scenarios as well. For example, an RPG about the US Civil Right's movement, an open world RPG during the Great Depression (I'm seconding this one), or a speak easy business/crime sim during the '20s could all give an interesting perspective from which to explore the era. I could also see a stealth/assassination game about the French Revolution. And I don't think these games have to have magic/fantastical elements. All of these could be realistic, and I'd prefer it that way for historical pieces.

 

[New Frontiersman]

Pretty much all of pre-colonial Africa, save for Egypt, is fairly unexplored. North and South America pre-European contact are similarly unexplored, except maybe the Aztecs, Maya and Inca, although pre-Colombian South American civilizations tend to be used as "Civilizations" rather than as settings. Pre-colonial Austrailia also could use a bit more coverage, as could Australian history in general really, in fact most of the Pacific is pretty unexplored, yet there are so many interesting peoples and cultures that in habit that area. Likewise almost all of Central Asian history remains pretty underrepresented in video games.

Actually, decolonization would be interesting as well. Playing as an oppressed African or Asian freedom fighter as he struggles against his oppressive European colonial overlord. There are so many games about colonization, it would be great to play one from the other side, one where I don't feel like the villian.

And like the original poster said, it'd be nice to see an exploration of classical civilizations that aren't Rome or Greece, so places like Iran or Carthage would be cool. I would also enjoy seeing more of post-classical Rome, the Middle Ages is a pretty well covered era, but the Eastern Roman Empire only rarely gets any exploration or even recognition.

Islamic history also tends to be ignored in most video games. From the early Middle Ages all the way up to today, Islamic History is filled with fascinating people, stories and places and the Islamic world has extended throughout Spain, across Northern Africa, into Eastern Europe and the Middle East and all the way into China. It would be fascinating to see a game to take place in the Islamic world, or even a fantasy Islamic world as opposed to Christian Europe or fantasy Christian Europe

The Indian sub-continent could also be really interesting to explore. India really isn't a homogeneous whole, like it is often portrayed as, it's more like Europe as a whole than any one particular European nation. There are so many different cultures, peoples and languages in the Indian subcontinent and for most of it's history it's been dived into hundreds of kingdoms and monarchies competing for supremacy, not unlike Europe itself. It would be fascinating to see a game that took place in India, maybe a Crusader Kings style game where you build up an Indian kingdom, or maybe something like Assassin's Creed that takes place in an Indian Kingdom where you can explore different places really see the continent close up.

History is so vast and so interesting, filled with amazing stories and fascinating people. It would be impossible to cover it all, but at the same time it would be nice it video games would explore some more parts of it then they tend to, it get's kinda sad seeing the same settings visited again and again.

 

[New Frontiersman]

There are tons of fantastic wars that could be the basis for an FPS, if we must pursue only that rather tired genre:
English Civil War
Napoleonic Wars
Boer Wars
Crimean War
French Revolution
Franco-Prussian War
War of Spanish Succession

But nooooooo, can't have anything that might remind the silly Amerifats that other countries exist. If I were American I'd actually be rather insulted that some plastic man in a suit had decided that I can't be trusted with knowledge from outside my own national borders.

You do know there are tons of games that take place in Europe right? A good deal of which are made in America, and even most of those that aren't are still really popular here. Everyone in America knows other countries exist and no one is really bothered by it. Also your racism really wasn't necessary and doesn't help your point at all.

 

[Mechamorph]

Plenty. I agree the Great War would be an excellent means of exploring horror or dehumanization but there are entire cultures and eras that I would to see in video games. For example:

The Founding of the Zhou Dynasty
The setting of the Chinese classic novel "Feng Shan Ban" its basically X-men in Bronze Age China. Or an awesome setting for a Scion (by White Wolf) RPG.

Pre-British India
The era of maharajas or the time of the Great Epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. A time of great passions, mighty warrior princes and mystical beings from a culture we hardly ever see in Western media.

Heian era Japan
Sengoku era Japan is relatively well represented but the aristocratic courts of the Capital of Eternal Peace hardly ever come up in video games even in their native countries. Again we delve into a time of myth and legend which would be largely unfamiliar to a Western audience.

The Javanese Empires and the Malay Archipelago
Majapahit, Srivijaya, the Khmer, the great island kingdoms of much of this area almost never get even a mention outside of a Civilization game. Sid Meier's Pirates in the Spice Islands anyone?

 

[Westaway]

We don't see much of Africa prior to the 20th/21th century do we? Excluding the ocassional pyramid tour.

Damn, that was going to be my pick. Specifically around really ancient history before they became largely nomadic, back when they built the cities and temples 20th century archaeologists ascribed to some lost race (because clearly blacks are way too primitive to have built them). Other than that, Mesopotamia doesn't seem to come up much outside the Prince of Persia games.

Going to need a source on these cities and temples the Africans built.

 

[SecondPrize]

I would say that the American Civil War counts, but with the release of Gettysburg: Armoured Warfare(bad example) and Ironclad Tactics, I feel that it's getting some attention.

A pet peeve of mine is that people say that Feudal Japan is over done, when it clearly isn't, at least not to me. The games that come to mind upon hearing those words are the Shogun Total War series and Okami, nothing else.

Also, the classic era would be cool(no Romans though, media in general has kind of been there, done that) such as Babylon or Carthage(especially considering that Babylonian architecture looks pretty interesting, and that now we barely have any idea what it looked like).

I think the Onimusha and way of the Samurai series do some good Feudal Japan unless they're in another period. Really to answer the question you can tiptoe around a few hotspots like the 1930s through WW2, Vietnam, present day and a decade or so into the future. I'd like to see some 19th century stuff that isn't westerns or steampunk myself, like a Indiana Jones type in darkest Africa or filling out the map in the pacific or something.

 

[Spineyguy]

There are tons of fantastic wars that could be the basis for an FPS, if we must pursue only that rather tired genre:
English Civil War
Napoleonic Wars
Boer Wars
Crimean War
French Revolution
Franco-Prussian War
War of Spanish Succession

But nooooooo, can't have anything that might remind the silly Amerifats that other countries exist. If I were American I'd actually be rather insulted that some plastic man in a suit had decided that I can't be trusted with knowledge from outside my own national borders.

You do know there are tons of games that take place in Europe right? A good deal of which are made in America, and even most of those that aren't are still really popular here. Everyone in America knows other countries exist and no one is really bothered by it. Also your racism really wasn't necessary and doesn't help your point at all.

Oh hell, it's going to be one of these.

I'm well aware that most Americans are nowhere near as ignorant as their stereotype would suggest, and the joke wasn't even at the expense of those few who really are that ignorant. The two targets of that particular jab were the kind of people who constantly complain that Americans are ignorant about the rest of the world and the kind of publisher who won't get behind anything that doesn't feature an American kicking some foreigner's 'ass'. I'm also well aware that, by-and-large, America has historically not marched its armies against itself, but has instead used them to bring the light of freedom and democracy and Christianity to more remote and coincidentally oil-rich areas of the world.

What you should probably have noted about the suggestions posted above, even while you were frothing about my racism, is that none of them directly involved America at all, and that perhaps that was the basis of my argument, rather than some sort of weird misconception that all of America's conflicts were internal.

 

[Oliver Cuenca]

I think I'd like to see a video game set in the English Civil War. I mean, it'd be amazing what with the cavalry charges, the cannonfire and that. It's pretty much the war that drags England's war into the modern era. It's basically the end of any sort of feudalism and the start of professional armies. And besides, I've never seen a single game set in it despite it being unquestionably epic.