Summary
Medieval Dynastyis an Early Access success story, amassing a sizable community of players who now have the chance to play together thanks to the game’s recently published co-op update. Much of the game’s success can be attributed to its unique blend of survival elements with resource harvesting and crafting alongside the long-term village management component where players gradually build up a bustling, self-sustaining medieval village.
In an interview with Game Rant, Render Cube’s Producer Marcin Warszawski spoke about various games that inspired theMedieval Dynastyteam aesthetically and in terms of the game’s survival and village management gameplay, citing noteworthy franchises likeThe WitcherandAnno.
Medieval Dynasty Looked to Kingdom Come: Deliverance and The Witcher Series for Visuals
TheMedieval Dynastyteam wanted to deliver an immersive medieval experience, so it makes sense that they’d look to one of the most highly regarded examples ofhistorical accuracy in gamingwithKingdom Come: Deliverance.Kingdom Come: Deliveranceis well-known for its uncompromising dedication to immersive historicity, down to the fact that the protagonist, Henry, can’t even read until learning the skill through gameplay. With such attention to detail, it’s no wonder thatMedieval Dynastywould see this as a valuable resource, and there’s little doubt that future games in this historical setting will be similarly inspired.
First, we looked at theFarmer’s Dynastyfrom our publisher and thought about how to remake this game to have similar premises, but do it in our own way. In terms of graphics and world immersion, we looked atKingdom Come: Deliverance(awesome game, by the way, and kudos to our Czech neighbors), as it is the closest to what we wanted to achieve as there is a medieval setting with neither magic nor dragons, even though the time period is much ahead and from the perspective of a noble knight rather than a simple peasant. In the same manner, we looked at theWitcherseries, because even though it’s more on the fantasy side, it’s Slavic and closer culturally to what we know.
Although the monster-slaying fantasy game may not immediately spring to mind as an example of medieval life, Warszawski says thatThe Witcherseries was also an inspiration with its culturally Slavic architecture, which subtly contrasts with more frequently seen early European aesthetics. Without the hordes of monsters and other magical elements,The Witchergamesfeature an otherwise highly immersive medieval setting, especially with all the subtle details that can be found tucked away throughout the city of Novigrad.
Medieval Dynasty’s Gameplay Was Inspired by Survival and City-Builder Classics
SinceMedieval Dynastyis essentially a hybrid ofopen-world survival gameplayand city-building management sim, the team understandably drew inspiration from a healthy variety of games from both genres. On the city-building side, the team mostly looked to games that shared a historical setting likeStronghold,Settlers, and theAnnoseries. It’s easy to spot some elements that might have been inspired by these titles, such as howMedieval Dynasty’s villagers must be kept happy by providing appropriate work, resources, and living conditions like the happiness component ofAnno 1800.Medieval Dynastyalso involves increasingly complex supply chains involving resource gathering, refinement, and production, so looking to focused city-builders is a great place for ideas on how to approach the delicate balancing act of a town’s resource economy.
When it comes to the city-builder aspect, we took some inspiration fromStrongholdseries,Knights and Merchants,Settlers,andAnno. Survival was mostly inspired by games likeThe ForestandGreen Hell. But as passionate gamers, we tried to recall what our favorite titles did right and what they did wrong, and from this special mixture, our uniqueMedieval Dynastycame out of our kettle.
On the survival side,Medieval Dynastydidn’t necessarily have to look at historically-focused games, nor would it have many options in the first place. Instead, the team looked to some of the more realistic first-person survivalgames likeThe ForestandGreen Hell, which both have solid survival mechanics that challenge players to manage limited resources, scour their environments, and think strategically. Warszawski might have singled out a few notable games the team looked to, but overall, it’s the culmination of every influence that has led toMedieval Dynastyachieving a distinct identity.
