![]() A lot of games would use Roman words to describe Gallic peoples (since Romans wrote about them and there are very, very few sources left of these peoples from their own viewpoint, safe from archaeological remains. They are actively trying to bring language back to the Gauls. This paints a much more positive picture of the Gauls than we are used to. Moreover, their military interactions are not framed as hopeless, but rather valiant. This points to all of the other examples in modern media that portray the Gauls as culture-barren peoples and makes a statement that those are wrong. This piece of text does not just convey the information that the Gauls had advanced skills in metalworking, for example, but it specifically points out that they have sophisticated culture. The way the Gauls are presented in this game marks a fundamental change from everything ‘the Barbarian’ stands for in our minds. With heavy infantry and cavalry, Gallic warriors valiantly resisted Ceasar’s campaign of conquest and Rome’s authoritarian rule.’ Dominated by a priestly class of Druids, they feature a sophisticated culture of advanced metalworking, agriculture, trade, and even road engineering. ‘The Gauls were the Celtic tribes of continental Europe. Now let’s take a look at how the Gauls are introduced. For example, Imperator Rome still had ‘Barbarian’ military tactics for both these peoples before the update ‘Marius’. are titled ‘Gauls’ and ‘Britons’, in other games known under the title ‘Barbarian’. The ’Barbaric’ civilizations that can be played in 0 A.D. To an extent, it can also say that ‘the other’ is prone to financial incentives.Īlright, it is not completely true that there are no ‘Barbarians’ as they would have been historically constructed in the game 0 A.D., but not to worry, it is not a clickbait title. ![]() The mercenaries do not look different and have different weapons from the ‘normal units’, they can only be recruited by spending money. Especially the berserker resembles how barbarians in general look: uncivilized, can not speak properly as we used to, know how to fight with blunt weapons, and wear almost no clothes. This camp holds the Pictish Boat Warriors, axe throwers, and Viking berserkers among others. Next to civilized/normal units such as the archer, swordsmen, pikemen, and knights, which are recruited through the barracks, players can also construct the mercenary camp to recruit ‘exotic’ units. The real-time medieval strategy game Stronghold 2 (Firefly 2005) also has barbarian-like units. Fulfilling the same role mechanically as a force of nature or a wild animal: a nuisance to overcome through our culture’s ingenuity. While the player progresses through time, barbarians are stuck in their own ‘chronosphere’, one or many steps behind. Until the fifth main installment of the series, barbarians were uncivilized, but also underdeveloped/undercoded. If the player is unlucky, they can also capture cities. ![]() They are, for example, trying to destroy granaries, bridges, and other improvements. In the early Sid Meier’s Civilization series, where the player has to build an empire to stand the test of time, barbarians are annoying pests that are dwelling around the cities of the players. game! In this fourth installation of our series on this game, we will show how it provides a more balanced view of ‘Barbarians’ in antiquity.īarbarians in other video games are often depicted in many other roles, but still are a good general enemy for the player to fight against. Barbarians are not the chaotic evil force Caesar makes them out to be. Wrong! While victors write the past to their liking, that does not mean that historic ‘barbarians’, such as how the Gallic tribes were described by Julius Caesar, are actually void of any culture or common humanity. No wonder we are supposed to slay hordes of them, we are protecting civilization as we know it! Right? How do they look? What associations come to mind? Do you see a savage, primitive in their behaviour, uncivilized, a big and strong disruptive force of nature? Do they speak a language you know and bring words of noble wisdom or are they just screaming aloud while brandishing an axe? These uncivilized ‘others’ are an ill fit for a cultural history centered around the victory of civilization. Picture a Barbarian for me, if you please. Ah, the Barbarian, every historical games’ favorite ‘cannon fodder’.
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