$\"\"$
Mapa da \u00c1frica do in\u00edcio do s\u00e9culo XIX mostrando a influ\u00eancia limitada das pot\u00eancias europeias.<\/p><\/div>\n
Para contornar esses problema, os governantes do passado preferiam controlar pessoas, <\/strong>n\u00e3o lugares.<\/strong> Em vez de garantir que cada metro quadrado de uma prov\u00edncia estivesse sobre seu controle, eles se davam por satisfeito entregando-a a um l\u00edder local que se comprometesse a pagar tributos e prestar servi\u00e7o militar.<\/p>\n
Esse era o caso do reino de Thomond, onde se passa Os Triunfo de Tarlac<\/em>. Estabelecidos na fronteira do mundo ingl\u00eas, os ingleses com terras no oeste da Irlanda se davam por satisfeito se conseguissem convencer os irlandeses a n\u00e3o causar problemas. Uma coloniza\u00e7\u00e3o efetiva \u2013 como a que seria feita a partir do s\u00e9culo XVII \u2013 era um objetivo impens\u00e1vel.<\/p>\n
Esse tipo de governan\u00e7a n\u00e3o territorializada<\/strong> tinha uma consequ\u00eancia importante em tempos de guerra: \u201cconquistar\u201d uma regi\u00e3o era uma tarefa bem mais complicada que ocupar um pa\u00eds num tabuleiro de War.<\/p>\n
Era do interesse de ex\u00e9rcitos invasores subjugar seus inimigos o mais r\u00e1pido poss\u00edvel\u00a0para que os custos da campanha n\u00e3o superassem os ganhos esperados da conquista.\u00a0<\/strong>L\u00edderes locais, opostos a sua autoridade, visavam a exatamente o contr\u00e1rio, adotando t\u00e1ticas de terra queimada e evitando batalhas campais.<\/p>\n
Por ser uma regi\u00e3o politicamente fragmentada, essa l\u00f3gica fazia da mobilidade<\/strong> a caracter\u00edstica fundamental da guerra na Irlanda. E do controle do espa\u00e7o<\/strong> \u2013 e de suas armadilhas \u2013 o fator mais importante para o sucesso das campanhas.<\/p>\n
Primeira tentativa: r\u00e9guas<\/strong><\/h3>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
Quando come\u00e7amos a pensar em que tipo de mapa criar\u00edamos para nosso jogo, nossa prioridade n\u00famero um era conceber um tabuleiro que se adequasse a essa l\u00f3gica.<\/p>\n
Logo de cara, duas ideias nos vieram \u00e0 mente. A primeira era o velho grid<\/em> hexagonal dos wargames<\/em>. Utilizado h\u00e1 d\u00e9cadas para recriar opera\u00e7\u00f5es militares \u2013 em n\u00edveis invej\u00e1veis de detalhe \u2013 esse tipo de tabuleiro seria mais do que capaz de lidar com a complexidade de Thomond medieval.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ Exemplo de grid hexagonal. Fonte<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n
A segunda era abandonar completamente o conceito de \u201ccasa\u201d e utilizar r\u00e9guas ou fitas m\u00e9tricas para determinar movimento, na linha de Warhammer 40000<\/em> e outros miniature games<\/em>. Como bem colocou um de nossos artistas, Gabriel Cordeiro, a principal vantagem dessa alternativa fica evidente ao se admirar os mapas customizados elaborados para esse tipo de jogo.<\/p>\n
Artisticamente, a imagina\u00e7\u00e3o \u00e9 o \u00fanico limite.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
1871: Franco-Prussian War<\/p><\/div>\n
O argumento do Gabriel nos convenceu de imediato. Para testar a ideia, come\u00e7amos por utilizar um mapa que desenvolvi para minha pr\u00f3pria tese de doutorado.<\/p>\n
Dividi os tipos de terreno de Thomond em seis categorias, atribuindo a cada uma delas um \u201cpeso\u201d. Na base ficavam as estradas sobre plan\u00edcies. No topo, p\u00e2ntanos de turfa \u2013 um tipo de carv\u00e3o mole extremamente perigoso, que pode, em dias de chuva, engolir cavalos e homens de armadura como areia movedi\u00e7a.<\/p>\n
\u00c1gua e montanhas entravam em uma categoria especial \u2013 obst\u00e1culos \u2013 que n\u00e3o podia ser atravessada normalmente.<\/p>\n
Em termos de gameplay<\/em>, esse \u201cpeso\u201d funcionaria como a quantidade de pontos de movimento que um jogador teria de gastar para atravess\u00e1-los. Desta maneira, cruzar um p\u00e2ntano sem qualquer tipo de travessia seria seis vezes mais oneroso <\/strong>do que dar a volta e procurar uma estrada.<\/p>\n
As propor\u00e7\u00f5es em si eram apenas uma abstra\u00e7\u00e3o. A ideia era recompensar jogadores por escolher rotas estabelecidas e impedi-los de \u201ccortar caminho\u201d atravessando obst\u00e1culos outrora intranspon\u00edveis.<\/p>\n
Resultado<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Nossa ideia foi um fracasso absoluto.<\/p>\n
Super complicadas, as regras de movimento tornaram nossos turnos \u2013 que j\u00e1 n\u00e3o eram curtos \u2013 insuportavelmente longos. <\/strong>A r\u00e9gua e os seus diferentes valores de \u201cpeso\u201dexigia que os jogadores fizessem contas cada vez que desejavam se mover, obrigando-nos a manter uma calculadora na mesa de jogo. N\u00e3o \u00e9 exatamente o que a maioria de n\u00f3s tinha em mente quando pens\u00e1vamos em \u201cdivers\u00e3o\u201d.<\/p>\n
Os problemas n\u00e3o paravam por a\u00ed. Nossas pe\u00e7as eram grandes demais para a escala do mapa, o que dificultava calcular movimento e visualizar zonas de controle. Aument\u00e1-lo n\u00e3o era uma op\u00e7\u00e3o, pois nosso tabuleiro j\u00e1 alcan\u00e7ava 1m de comprimento.<\/p>\n
Ao final de nossa primeira sess\u00e3o de testes, sa\u00edmos com poucas respostas definitivas. Uma coisa, por\u00e9m, era certa: esse mapa precisaria ir embora. <\/strong><\/p>\n
Imediatamente, pedi a um de nossos artistas, Vin\u00edcius de Oliveira, que elaborasse o mapa seguinte:<\/p>\n
Segunda tentativa: grid <\/em>hexagonal<\/strong><\/h3>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
Contrariando nossos primeiros instintos, decidimos voltar ao grid <\/em>hexagonal dos wargames<\/em>. Esta decis\u00e3o resolveu, de imediato, v\u00e1rias de nossas dores de cabe\u00e7a.<\/p>\n
Com o mapa dividido em \u201ccasas\u201d, acabou-se a ambiguidade que havia tornado nosso primeiro teste um pesadelo. Cada hex\u00e1gono possuiria um tipo distinto de terreno. A zona de controle de uma pe\u00e7a, por sua vez, corresponderia \u00e0s seis casas vizinhas.<\/p>\n
Para remediar a lentid\u00e3o dos turnos, decidi tamb\u00e9m simplificar a f\u00f3rmula de c\u00e1lculo dos pontos de movimento. Em vez de seis categorias diferentes, o mapa agora contaria apenas com tr\u00eas: estradas, n\u00e3o-estradas e obst\u00e1culos. <\/strong><\/p>\n
Mover-se por casas conectadas por estradas<\/strong> (representadas em verde-musgo) custaria um ponto de movimento por casa. <\/strong><\/p>\n
Mover-se por casas que n\u00e3o <\/strong>estavam conectadas dessa maneira custaria dois pontos de movimento.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\u201cP\u00e2ntano\u201d, \u201cfloresta\u201d e \u201cplan\u00edcie\u201d continuariam importante para o c\u00e1lculo de modificadores para o combate \u2013 representando a facilidade\/dificuldade em manobrar e lutar em terrenos distintos. Por\u00e9m, <\/em>eles seriam tratados como a mesma coisa na hora de se movimentar.<\/p>\n
\u00c0 primeira vista, essa decis\u00e3o pode parecer suspeita de um ponto de vista hist\u00f3rico. Afinal de contas, \u00e9 indiscut\u00edvel que atravessar um p\u00e2ntano \u00e9 muito mais trabalhoso do que um descampado.<\/p>\n
Por\u00e9m, a diferen\u00e7a de escala <\/strong>que adotamos ao migrar para o grid hexagonal<\/em> mitigou essa imprecis\u00e3o. Cada casa cobria uma \u00e1rea de cerca de 12km de lado a lado. Ainda que o tipo de terreno predominante nesse raio fosse de dep\u00f3sitos de turfa, isto n\u00e3o significava que 100% da regi\u00e3o fosse um gigantesco brejo.<\/p>\n
Isto fica evidente se olhamos para nosso mapa \u2013 cujos dados baseei em surveys <\/em>do s\u00e9culo XVII e dados geol\u00f3gicos contempor\u00e2neos \u2013 que mostra claramente que a distribui\u00e7\u00e3o de p\u00e2ntanos era n\u00e3o-cont\u00edgua.<\/strong><\/p>\n
$\"\"$
P\u00e2ntanos de turfa (verde musgo) e florestas (verde claro) em Thomond<\/p><\/div>\n
Assim, n\u00e3o seria uma heresia supor que os ex\u00e9rcitos seriam capazes de encontrar um caminho seco e seguro em um raio desse tamanho. Sobretudo porque estamos falando de ex\u00e9rcitos compostos \u2013 ao menos em parte \u2013 por soldados locais, que conheciam Thomond como a palma de sua m\u00e3o.<\/p>\n
Resultado<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Infelizmente, sequer tivemos oportunidade de colocar nosso instinto \u00e0 prova. Um outro problema inesperado acabou tomando toda a nossa aten\u00e7\u00e3o. Nossas casas estavam grandes demais para a escala do mapa.<\/strong><\/p>\n
O grid <\/em>hexagonal colocava assentamentos importantes a poucas casas um do outro, permitindo que jogadores atacassem seus oponentes logo no primeiro turno, sem ter de se preocupar com rotas ou manobras.<\/p>\n
Sua escala tamb\u00e9m causava problemas do ponto de vista hist\u00f3rico. Como eu disse anteriormente, cada casa cobria uma zona de controle de cerca de 12km. Que esp\u00e9cie de ex\u00e9rcito medieval tinha uma zona de controle t\u00e3o vasta?<\/p>\n
Terceira tentativa: casas menores<\/strong><\/h3>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
Nossa terceira vers\u00e3o do mapa reduziu o tamanho das casas, de maneira que representassem um raio de cerca de 4,4km em vez de 12km. Ao mesmo tempo, recalculamos os pontos de movimento para seis por turno<\/strong>, mantendo a divis\u00e3o bin\u00e1ria entre casas com estrada\/sem estrada de antes.<\/p>\n
Esse novo esquema melhorou consideravelmente o desempenho do tabuleiro. Para nossa surpresa (e al\u00edvio!) simplificar as penalidades de terreno n\u00e3o induziu os jogadores a adotarem rotas ahist\u00f3ricas.<\/p>\n
O baixo n\u00famero de pontos de movimento, associado \u00e0 agilidade da malha hist\u00f3rica de rotas, \u00a0fez com que nossos testers <\/em>optassem por seguir as estradas sempre que poss\u00edvel, evitando-as apenas para fugir ou para saquear assentamentos. Mesmo esse \u00faltimo caso era raro: a esmagadora maioria dos mosteiros e resid\u00eancias medievais eram conectadas a algum tipo de rota.<\/p>\n
Resultado<\/strong><\/h3>\n
A despeito da nossa alegria, o novo mapa apresentava problemas s\u00e9rios de legibilidade.<\/p>\n
Nossos testers <\/em>tamb\u00e9m tiveram problema em seguir o trajeto das estradas <\/strong>para calcular o gasto de pontos de movimento. As rotas medievais n\u00e3o se adequavam perfeitamente ao nosso grid <\/em>hexagonal. Algumas casas eram \u201cconectadas\u201d por nada al\u00e9m de uma min\u00fascula curva bem pr\u00f3xima \u00e0 borda.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
Com as divis\u00f5es pol\u00edticas, o problema era ainda pior. Como disse no come\u00e7o do texto, as fronteiras dos reinos medievais eram muito menos duras do que nos dias de hoje. No nosso tabuleiro, elas tinham apenas duas fun\u00e7\u00f5es \u2013 uma delas provis\u00f3ria.<\/p>\n
Em primeiro lugar, o mapa pol\u00edtico servia para orientar os jogadores na hora de escolherem suas fac\u00e7\u00f5es. Nomes irlandeses, afinal de contas, est\u00e3o longe de serem f\u00e1ceis para estrangeiros. N\u00e3o dava para exigir que um jogador escolhesse jogar como \u201cCorcabhaiscinn\u201d ou \u201cU\u00ed mBloid\u201d sem que indic\u00e1ssemos onde tais lugares ficavam no mapa.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Reinos e linhagens de Thomond entre 1276 e 1318<\/p><\/div>\n
A segunda fun\u00e7\u00e3o era para que jogadores soubessem quais mosterios pertenciam a eles. Em nosso prot\u00f3tipo, todos os assentamentos dentro de um reino pertenciam ao seu controlador.<\/p>\n
Essa abstra\u00e7\u00e3o n\u00e3o correspondia \u00e0 realidade hist\u00f3rica \u2013 reis patrocinavam monast\u00e9rios em toda parte, n\u00e3o apenas na sua vizinhan\u00e7a. Por\u00e9m, era um erro que pod\u00edamos resolver depois, assim que as regras b\u00e1sicas tivessem sido ajustadas.<\/p>\n
Infelizmente, esse \u201cerro\u201d ficou apenas mais grave.<\/p>\n
O mapa pol\u00edtico que servia de base ao nosso tabuleiro se adaptou mal \u00e0s propor\u00e7\u00f5es simplificadas do tabuleiro. Feitas para auxiliar os jogadores a identificar seus assentamentos, as fronteiras pol\u00edticas causaram mais confus\u00e3o do que bem. Alguns monast\u00e9rios terminavam com parte de seu \u00edcone em um reino e parte em outro. Para piorar, algumas divisas \u2013 originalmente distorcidas por montanhas ou outros obst\u00e1culos f\u00edsicos \u2013 criaram some \u201cterras de ningu\u00e9m\u201d.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Esse monast\u00e9rio no meio do tabuleiro ganhou um “reino” s\u00f3 seu<\/p><\/div>\n
Fazia mesmo sentido manter essas divisas, agora que n\u00e3o funcionavam sequer como conveni\u00eancia de gameplay?<\/em><\/p>\n
Quarta tentativa: fronteiras nunca mais<\/strong><\/h3>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
Eu achei que n\u00e3o. Por isso, para nosso quarto prot\u00f3tipo resolvi remover por completo tanto as fronteiras quanto os nomes dos reinos.\u00a0 As fa\u00e7\u00e7\u00f5es agora seriam representadas apenas por uma cor.<\/p>\n
No in\u00edcio do jogo, cada jogador escolhia uma pe\u00e7a e assumia controle dos assentamentos da respectiva cor. A distribui\u00e7\u00e3o atual de monast\u00e9rios por fac\u00e7\u00e3o ainda \u00e9 provis\u00f3ria. At\u00e9 o lan\u00e7amento do jogo, pretendo investigar o registro de cada uma dessas igrejas e determinar a que fac\u00e7\u00f5es estavam relacionadas.<\/p>\n
Em adi\u00e7\u00e3o a isso, o Vin\u00edcius de Oliveira modificou o trajeto das rotas medievais, centralizando-as melhor em nossas casas. Ele tamb\u00e9m melhorou a visibilidade dos rios e outros corpos d\u2019\u00e1gua.<\/p>\n
Resultado final<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u00c9 dif\u00edcil falar de um \u201cresultado final\u201d considerando que nosso tabuleiro ainda \u00e9 um esqueleto \u00e0 espera de uma arte. Para al\u00e9m de uma ou outra aresta hist\u00f3rica, ainda precisamos elaborar toda a parte est\u00e9tica.<\/p>\n
Ainda assim, ter chegado a esse resultado, distante que seja de um produto final j\u00e1 nos valeu como uma verdadeira aula de design de games. <\/strong>Em especial, aprendemos a simplificar os dados a nosso dispor de maneira respons\u00e1vel<\/strong>. Atalhos \u2013 como introduzir um erro de prop\u00f3sito para \u201cconsert\u00e1-lo\u201d \u00a0em algum momento do futuro \u2013 podem fazer o barato custar caro.<\/p>\n
Nosso mapa original, baseado nos dados da minha tese, estava bastante correto do ponto de vista hist\u00f3rico. Por\u00e9m, seu volume de informa\u00e7\u00e3o <\/strong>era incompat\u00edvel tanto com a escala <\/strong>do nosso tabuleiro quanto com sua dura\u00e7\u00e3o esperada<\/strong>\u00a0do jogo\u00a0(com partidas de no m\u00e1ximo algumas horas e turnos que n\u00e3o passassem de 15-20 minutos).<\/p>\n
Sim, nosso design original era mais complexo. Mas era tamb\u00e9m muito mais visualmente polu\u00eddo, repleto de elementos desnecess\u00e1rios (as divis\u00f5es pol\u00edticas) e com regras complicadas que mais atrapalhavam que ajudavam (os c\u00e1lculos de \u201cpeso\u201d de terreno).<\/p>\n
Jogos hist\u00f3ricos, como todo tipo de modelo, n\u00e3o s\u00e3o espelhos da realidade. Tal como os mapas do metr\u00f4 simplificam o desenho de uma cidade para nos ajudar a planejar nossa viagem, games <\/em>tamb\u00e9m reduzem sociedades passadas a esquemas para que algumas de suas caracter\u00edsticas saltem melhor aos olhos.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Cartograma representando as linhas de metr\u00f4 de S\u00e3o Paulo comparado a mapa em escala da cidade<\/p><\/div>\n
Simplificar nunca \u00e9 f\u00e1cil para historiadores como n\u00f3s, que aprendemos desde a gradua\u00e7\u00e3o a procurar sentido em cada detalhe. Com esse mapa, por\u00e9m, estamos aprendendo a lidar com representa\u00e7\u00f5es que desafiam nossos instintos \u2013 e, de quebra, a expandir nossos pr\u00f3prios horizontes.<\/p>\n
<\/a>
\n $\"\"$ <\/p>\n
Board games are not named as such for nothing. Of all of their elements, their board is arguably the single most important one.<\/p>\n
For historical games like The Triumphs of Turlough<\/em>, is it arguably one of the most difficult elements to design as well.<\/p>\n
We knew since the very beginning that our board needed to portray the political and geographical specificities of the kingdom of Thomond between the years 1276 and 1318. To do so appropriately was our duty: the space, after all, is one of the elements with which commercial games most often take liberties.<\/p>\n
Many historical games portray ancient kingdoms as if they were contemporary countries, with clearly-established borders and total political homogeneity. One needs only invade a province for the whole region to magically fall into one\u2019s hand \u2013 as if kingdoms, counties and districts were fundamental, indivisible building blocks of the world just waiting for a warlord to paint them with their colors.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
As I have written in another article<\/a>, however, things in the past didn\u2019t work quite like that. Modern borders, with their customs offices and passport control booths, are extremely recent inventions. While medieval kings and rulers had some notion of where their kingdoms ended, they hardly ever had control over what their subjects did most of the time.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Forests, bogs, mountains and other hard-to-reach regions were, for all intents and purposes, outside the direct reach of the ruler<\/strong>. Even the most populous and developed zones were a challenge for the central authority in the absence of standing armies and telecommunications.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Early 19th c. map of Africa showing the limited reach of European powers<\/p><\/div>\n
To circumvent this problem, rulers of the past attempted to control people<\/strong> rather than places. <\/strong>Instead of making sure that every square meter of a given province was under their control, they were content in handing it over to a local leader that reliably paid taxes and provided military service.<\/p>\n
This was the case of the kingdom of Thomond, where The Triumphs of Turlough <\/em>is set. Settled in the frontier of the English world, English magnates with lands in the west of Ireland counted themselves fortunate if they could manage to convince the Irish not to cause trouble. An effective colonization \u2013 such as it was undertaken from the 17^{th<\/sup> century onwards \u2013 was an unattainable goal.<\/p>\n}
This kind of non-territorialized <\/strong>governance had a very important consequence in times of war: to \u201cconquer\u201d a region was a much more complicated task than to occupy a country in a War <\/em>board.<\/p>\n
It was in the best interest of invading armies to subjugate their enemies as quickly as possible so that the costs of campaigning didn\u2019t exceed the expected gains from the conquest. <\/strong>Local leaders opposed to their authority, on the other hand, attempted to bring upon exactly that by adopting scorched earth tactics and avoiding pitched battles.<\/p>\n
Because Ireland was a politically fragmented region, this logic made mobility<\/strong> the defining characteristic of war in the country. And control of the space <\/strong>\u2013 and its traps \u2013 the most important factor for the success of campaigns.<\/p>\n
First attempt: rulers<\/strong><\/h3>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
When we started to think about what kind of map we\u2019d create for our game, our number 1 priority was to devise a board that respected these principles.<\/p>\n
Two ideas came to our minds from the get-go. The first was the old wargame hex grid. Utilized for decades to recreate military operations \u2013 in enviable levels of detail \u2013 this kind of board would be more than able to deal with the complexity of the Medieval Thomond landscape.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Example of a hex grid. Source<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n
The second was to forego the concept of \u201cgrid\u201d altogether and utilize rulers or metric tapes to calculate movement, as in Warhammer 40000<\/em> and other miniature games. As one of our artists, Gabriel Cordeiro put it, the main advantage of this alternative becomes evident by looking at the kind of customized environments built for this kind of game.<\/p>\n
From an artistic standpoint, the imagination is the only limit.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
1871: Franco-Prussian War<\/p><\/div>\n
Gabriel\u2019s argument instantly convinced us. To test the idea, we started with a provisional map that I developed for my own PhD thesis.<\/p>\n
I divided the types of terrains in Thomond into six categories, attributing a \u201cweight\u201d to each of them. At the base were routes over dryland (weight 1). At the top, peat mires (weight 6). Peat is a kind of soft coal whose deposits can swallow horses and armoured men like quicksand during particular rainy days.<\/p>\n
Bodies of water and mountains made up a special category \u2013 obstacles \u2013 that could not be normally crossed.<\/p>\n
In terms of gameplay, \u201cweight\u201d was supposed to work as the required movement points a player had to spend to traverse them. In this manner, crossing a bog in which there wasn\u2019t any kind of crossing would be six times as expensive <\/strong>as circumventing it and looking for a route.<\/p>\n
The proportions themselves were merely an abstraction. The idea was to reward players for choosing established routeways and hindering them from \u201cbeelining\u201d to their goals through untraversable obstacles<\/p>\n
Result<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Our idea was an absolute failure.<\/p>\n
Our movement rules were overly complicated and made our turns \u2013 which had never been short to begin with \u2013 unbearably long<\/strong>. The ruler and the different \u201cweight\u201d values required players to make calculations each time they wanted to move, forcing them to keep a calculator at hand. Not exactly what most of us have in mind when we think about \u201chaving fun\u201d<\/p>\n
The problems didn\u2019t end there. Our pieces were too big for the scale of the map, making it hard to calculate movement and visualize zones of control. To increase it was not an option, as our board was almost 100cm wide as it was.<\/p>\n
Our first test playthrough left us with few definitive answers. One thing, however, was certain: that map had to go. <\/strong><\/p>\n
I immediately asked one of our artists, Vin\u00edcius de Oliveira, to elaborate the following alternative:<\/p>\n
Second attempt: hex grid <\/strong><\/h3>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
Contradicting our original instincts, we decided to go back to the wargame hex grid. This decision immediately alleviated many of our headaches.<\/p>\n
With the map divided into neat \u201cspaces\u201d, the ambiguity that had made our first playthrough a nightmare was over. Each hex possessed a distinctive terrain value. A zone of control of a given piece corresponded simply to the six neighboring spaces.<\/p>\n
To remediate the sluggishness of our turns, we decided to simplify the movement points formula as well. Instead of six different categories, the map now counted with just three: routes, non-routes and obstacles. <\/strong><\/p>\n
Moving through spaces connected by routes<\/strong> (represented in olive-green) cost one movement point per space<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
Moving through spaces not <\/strong>connected in this fashion costed two movement points. <\/strong><\/p>\n
\u201cBog\u201d, \u201cwood\u201d and \u201cplains\u201d remained important distinctions for the calculation of combat modifiers \u2013 representing the ease\/difficulty in manoeuvring and fighting in different types of terrain. However, they would be treated as the same thing when it came to movement.<\/p>\n
At first sight, this decision may seen problematic from a historical standpoint. After all, it is undeniable that crossing a bog is way more difficult than a meadow.<\/p>\n
However, the difference in scale <\/strong>that we implemented when we migrated to the hex grid mitigated this imprecision. Each space covered a diameter of roughly 12km. Even if the predominant terrain type in this area were peat deposits, it didn\u2019t mean that 100% of the zone was one giant mire.<\/p>\n
This becomes evident when we look at our first map \u2013 which I built based on data from 17^{th<\/sup> surveys and contemporary geological databases \u2013 that clearly show that the distribution of bog mires was non-contiguous. <\/strong><\/p>\n}
$\"\"$
Bogs (olive green) and woods (light green) in Thomond<\/p><\/div>\n
Thus, it would not be a heresy to assume that armies would be able to find a dry and safe route within a radius this wide. Above all because we\u2019re talking about armies comprised \u2013 at least partially \u2013 by native soldiers that knew Thomond like the back of their hands.<\/p>\n
Result<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Unfortunately, we were barely able to put our instinct to the test. An altogether different and unexpected problem monopolized our attention. Our hexes were way too big for the scale of the map<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
The grid had caused important settlements to be just a few spaces\u2019 off of each other, allowing players to attack their opponents right at the first turn, without having to worry about routes or maneuvers.<\/p>\n
The scale was also problematic from a historical standpoint. As I mentioned earlier, each hex covered a diameter of c. 12km. What kind of medieval army had a zone of control so wide?<\/p>\n
Third attempt: smaller hexes <\/strong><\/h3>\n
$\"\"$ For our third version of the map, we reduced the size of the spaces, so that they represented an area of c. 4,4km instead of 12km. At the same time, we recalculated our move point total to six per turn, <\/strong>preserving the binary division between spaces with\/without routes.<\/p>\n
This new framework improved the performance of our map considerably. To our surprise (and relief!) simplifying the terrain penalties did not cause players to take ahistorical routes.<\/p>\n
The low number of movement points paired with the agility of the historical communication network made our testers opt for following the routeways whenever possible, avoiding them only to flee or raid settlements. Even the latter case was rare: the vast majority of Medieval monasteries and residences were connected to a routeway of some kind.<\/p>\n
Result<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Despite our contentment, the new map had some serious legibility issues.<\/p>\n
Our testers also had difficulties in accounting for the routeways <\/strong>to calculate movement point cost. The Medieval routeways weren\u2019t a perfect fit for our hex grid. Some of its spaces were \u201cconnected\u201d by nothing but a minuscule road bend very close to their border.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
An even worse problem were the political divisions. As I wrote at the beginning, the borders of Medieval kingdoms were considerably less hard than nowadays. In our board, they fulfilled just two roles \u2013 one of them provisional.<\/p>\n
Firstly, the political map \u201coverlay\u201d served to orient players when they wanted to choose their factions. Irish names, after all, are far from being easy to foreign ears. We could not require players to choose a faction called \u201cCorcabhaiscinn\u201d or \u201cU\u00ed mBloid\u201d without indicating where these places were located.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
The second role was so that players knew which monasteries belonged to them. In this prototype, every settlement within a kingdom belonged to its owner.<\/p>\n
This abstraction did not correspond to historical reality \u2013 kings sponsored monasteries everywhere, not just in their neighbourhood. However, it was a mistake we could solve later, after the basic rules had been set.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, this \u201cmistake\u201d only got more serious.<\/p>\n
The political map that served as reference to our board scaled badly to the simplified proportions we had adopted. Originally designed to help players in identifying their settlements, the political borders did just the opposite.<\/p>\n
Some monasteries ended up with half of their icons in one kingdom and half in another. To make matters worse, some borders \u2013 originally distorted by mountains or other physical obstacles \u2013 created some \u201cno-man\u2019s-lands\u201d across the environment.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
This monastery got a kingdom all to itself<\/p><\/div>\n
Was it really worth it to keep these borders, now that they did not work even as a gameplay crutch?<\/p>\n
Fourth attempt: no more borders <\/strong><\/h3>\n
$\"\"$ <\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t think so. To that end, I decided to remove both the borders and the names of kingdoms for our fourth prototype. The factions were now represented exclusively by a color.<\/p>\n
At the beginning of the game, each player would choose a piece and assume control of the settlements of its respective color. The current distribution of monasteries per faction is still a placeholder. Prior to the release of the game, I intend to investigate the records of each of those churches and determined which factions held sway over them.<\/p>\n
In addition, Vin\u00edcius de Oliveira the course of the routeways, making them more centralized in regard to each hex. We also improved the visibility of rivers and other bodies of water.<\/p>\n
Final result<\/strong><\/h4>\n
It is difficult to talk about a \u201cfinal result\u201d when our board is still a sketch waiting for an art. Aside from one or two historical tweaks, we still have to elaborate every single aesthetic element.<\/p>\n
Still, having reached this result, as distant as it is from a final product, was already worth it as a veritable game design class<\/strong>. Specifically, we learned to simplify the data available to us in a responsible manner. <\/strong>Shortcuts \u2013 such as introducing an error on purpose to \u201cfix it\u201d at some point in the future \u2013 could prove dearer than expected.<\/p>\n
Our original map, based on data from my thesis, was very accurate from a historical point of view. However, its volume of information <\/strong>was inconsistent both with the scale <\/strong>of our board and with the expected duration <\/strong>of our game\u00a0(with matches lasting a few hours and turns lasting no more than 15-20 minutes).<\/p>\n
Yes, our original design was more complex. But it was always more visually polluted, filled with unnecessary elements (the political divisions) and with overcomplicated rules that hindered us more than they aided us (the \u201cweight\u201d calculations for terrain).<\/p>\n
Historical games, like any kind of model, are not mirrors of reality. Just as subway charts simplify the plan of a city to help us plan our commutes, games also reduce past societies to schemes so that some of its characteristics can be seen more clearly.<\/p>\n
$\"\"$
Cartogram representing S\u00e3o Paulo’s subway lines versus a scaled map of the same region<\/p><\/div>\n
Simplifying is never easy for historians like us, who are taught since our undergrad years to look for meaning in every detail. With this map, however, we started learning to deal with representations that challenge our instincts \u2013 and, in the meanwhile, to expand our own horizons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Board games n\u00e3o t\u00eam esse nome \u00e0 toa. De todos os seus elementos, seu tabuleiro \u00e9 talvez o mais importante. Para jogos hist\u00f3ricos como Os Triunfos de Tarlac \u00e9 tamb\u00e9m um dos mais dif\u00edceis de desenvolver. Desde o \u00ednicio, sab\u00edamos que nosso tabuleiro deveria representar as caracter\u00edsticas pol\u00edticas e geogr\u00e1ficas do reino de Thomond entre […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[580,21],"tags":[175,483,589,671],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/20210120-femtes-atlas.jpg?fit=1500%2C999&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9rUzW-5Ro","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22530"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22530"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22807,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22530\/revisions\/22807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.finisgeekis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}