Historical focus on Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties

Most people find history as one of the most boring classes they can possibly take up at school. However, Big Huge Games inserts more than just historical factoids in their real-time strategy game, Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, they support these little tidbits with good old fashioned RTS fun.

Andrew Auseon, lead writer and one of the associate producers for the game’s expansion pack, explains the importance of how the history books influenced the development of Age of Empires III. He explains the process in detail:

From the very beginning, Big Huge Games knew it faced a significant challenge in balancing the element of historical accuracy with the element of fun. After all, we were making a game and not writing a doctoral thesis. That being said, however, we wanted to be sure Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties was built on a strong, solid foundation of authentic historical data. We poked our noses everywhere to find the coolest warriors that ever marched the Asian continent.

The majority of our armies consist of units that have had volumes written about them, such as the samurai, the workhorse of our Japanese army. But occasionally we discovered a strange or exotic military unit that didnÂ’t have the same deep historical background as others did. If we felt its inclusion in the game would improve the final product, we made an exception. We always tried to maintain that balance between accuracy and enjoyment.

He sites an example in the game where the use of Indian Flail Elephants as an unorthodoxed tactic that never really caught on in the actual history books. However, the it gives the player a unique feel of what it’s like using the elephant-based military the Indian faction offers and the novelty of destroying your opponent’s Town Center with a giant, mace-wielding elephant.

The game also centers on three independent short stories, focusing on each of the playable Asian civilizations. The narrative takes the player literally into the history books as they relive famous moments in Asia‘s bygone times.

Age of Empires III: The Asian Empires is set to be released this October 23 for the PC. Check out more updates on the game as we get them.

Most people find history as one of the most boring classes they can possibly take up at school. However, Big Huge Games inserts more than just historical factoids in their real-time strategy game, Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties, they support these little tidbits with good old fashioned RTS fun.

Andrew Auseon, lead writer and one of the associate producers for the game’s expansion pack, explains the importance of how the history books influenced the development of Age of Empires III. He explains the process in detail:

From the very beginning, Big Huge Games knew it faced a significant challenge in balancing the element of historical accuracy with the element of fun. After all, we were making a game and not writing a doctoral thesis. That being said, however, we wanted to be sure Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties was built on a strong, solid foundation of authentic historical data. We poked our noses everywhere to find the coolest warriors that ever marched the Asian continent.

The majority of our armies consist of units that have had volumes written about them, such as the samurai, the workhorse of our Japanese army. But occasionally we discovered a strange or exotic military unit that didnÂ’t have the same deep historical background as others did. If we felt its inclusion in the game would improve the final product, we made an exception. We always tried to maintain that balance between accuracy and enjoyment.

He sites an example in the game where the use of Indian Flail Elephants as an unorthodoxed tactic that never really caught on in the actual history books. However, the it gives the player a unique feel of what it’s like using the elephant-based military the Indian faction offers and the novelty of destroying your opponent’s Town Center with a giant, mace-wielding elephant.

The game also centers on three independent short stories, focusing on each of the playable Asian civilizations. The narrative takes the player literally into the history books as they relive famous moments in Asia‘s bygone times.

Age of Empires III: The Asian Empires is set to be released this October 23 for the PC. Check out more updates on the game as we get them.