I wouldn't mind a game that actually does something like this, but I'm not sure there's many writers in the west capable of this.
You know those strategic rogue-like games. The one where you create a lineage starting from a single warlord to an imperial king, and you have to actually manage your family and direct resources to build your family into a dynasty; all while placating people's ambitions and marrying off your daughters to maintain peace?
Well, why couldn't you do that as a mother figure? The mother of a medieval dynasty where you have to figure out how to socially navigate your community, marry a high value male that has high potential, but isn't already identified as high value by the rest of the community. Then help develop him, your home, and your community into a thriving little estate, with a wealthy & happy husband and then several high potential children. Then you have to help your children fill rolls in the community, increase their worth, help fund their businesses, and even send them off to war? How do you equip your sons? How do you equip your daughters? How do you manage family dynamics along with community dynamics, and a family wealth structure in a world where social mobility is already neigh on impossible due to feudalism? Can you make an kingdom out of it? Can you develop your family into lords and ladies, or will you see your children and husband killed and sent into a prison?
I think there's PLENTY of good shit here, but I don't think anyone is willing to try. This would certainly be a struggle for a medieval woman, particularly one that is working her way up the political & economic ladder with her husband.
That game would basically just be a visual novel though because it would be 100% dialogue options. Words and lies are women's weapons. A game about a woman navigating through politics and community would just be talking to everyone, choosing who to lie to, who to flatter, who to gossip about, who to backstab at the right moment with a cleverly placed rumor or insult. It wouldn't be a game, just a really complex choose your own adventure dialogue simulator.
Managing family funs, equipping sons, choosing what jobs they will go into, etc are all a husbands domain. The woman's domain, especially in the middle ages, is to do housework and obey. The game would be going down to the creek to do the wash with the other women, and then quietly telling Mildred that you saw her husband being too familiar with Maryanne last Thursday, and then going over to Maryanne and telling her that Mildred has a vendetta against her because she heard from Jane who heard from the wife of the stableman who overheard one of the Lord's chambermaids tell the innkeepers wife that Maryanne let slip that her husband was holding back too large a portion of grain when the tax collector comes by. And the just watch the sparks fly, hope they destroy each other, and then rise up in social standing.
You could technically gamify that. But it would be 100% just talking to people and the only way to win would be being the slimiest, most duplicitous backstabbing shrew you can be. I don't personally think I would enjoy playing that game myself.
It wouldn't be a game, just a really complex choose your own adventure dialogue simulator.
That's a game. Also, I don't think it would be just be dialogue, there would probably be resource management involved in that as well, so it would be a bit more spreadsheet-y
Managing family funs, equipping sons, choosing what jobs they will go into, etc are all a husbands domain. The woman's domain, especially in the middle ages, is to do housework and obey.
That's not really true, either. You're thinking of an islamic state. Husbands and Fathers got final say, normally, but mothers and wives still managed families and estates.
I wouldn't mind a game that actually does something like this, but I'm not sure there's many writers in the west capable of this.
You know those strategic rogue-like games. The one where you create a lineage starting from a single warlord to an imperial king, and you have to actually manage your family and direct resources to build your family into a dynasty; all while placating people's ambitions and marrying off your daughters to maintain peace?
Well, why couldn't you do that as a mother figure? The mother of a medieval dynasty where you have to figure out how to socially navigate your community, marry a high value male that has high potential, but isn't already identified as high value by the rest of the community. Then help develop him, your home, and your community into a thriving little estate, with a wealthy & happy husband and then several high potential children. Then you have to help your children fill rolls in the community, increase their worth, help fund their businesses, and even send them off to war? How do you equip your sons? How do you equip your daughters? How do you manage family dynamics along with community dynamics, and a family wealth structure in a world where social mobility is already neigh on impossible due to feudalism? Can you make an kingdom out of it? Can you develop your family into lords and ladies, or will you see your children and husband killed and sent into a prison?
I think there's PLENTY of good shit here, but I don't think anyone is willing to try. This would certainly be a struggle for a medieval woman, particularly one that is working her way up the political & economic ladder with her husband.
That game would basically just be a visual novel though because it would be 100% dialogue options. Words and lies are women's weapons. A game about a woman navigating through politics and community would just be talking to everyone, choosing who to lie to, who to flatter, who to gossip about, who to backstab at the right moment with a cleverly placed rumor or insult. It wouldn't be a game, just a really complex choose your own adventure dialogue simulator.
Managing family funs, equipping sons, choosing what jobs they will go into, etc are all a husbands domain. The woman's domain, especially in the middle ages, is to do housework and obey. The game would be going down to the creek to do the wash with the other women, and then quietly telling Mildred that you saw her husband being too familiar with Maryanne last Thursday, and then going over to Maryanne and telling her that Mildred has a vendetta against her because she heard from Jane who heard from the wife of the stableman who overheard one of the Lord's chambermaids tell the innkeepers wife that Maryanne let slip that her husband was holding back too large a portion of grain when the tax collector comes by. And the just watch the sparks fly, hope they destroy each other, and then rise up in social standing.
You could technically gamify that. But it would be 100% just talking to people and the only way to win would be being the slimiest, most duplicitous backstabbing shrew you can be. I don't personally think I would enjoy playing that game myself.
That's a game. Also, I don't think it would be just be dialogue, there would probably be resource management involved in that as well, so it would be a bit more spreadsheet-y
That's not really true, either. You're thinking of an islamic state. Husbands and Fathers got final say, normally, but mothers and wives still managed families and estates.