(WIP) Arcadia: Regent

Hosted Games Works In Progress
,
1

Hello, this is my first CS game.
At the minute the game is very short. However, I am planning to post it here mainly to hold myself accountable and getting updates out. This is the first story in a planned three book (?) series. Feedback, is always appreciated.
In this game, you will play as the heir to the Kingdom of Arcadia. You’re father has been taken ill. You, along with the Regency Council, must decide the fate of the kingdom.
Will you fund adventures and inventions? Will you start wars to secure your kingdoms borders? Will you have an heir to continue your dynasty? Will you become a just ruler or will you become a Tyrant?

Play the demo here: https://dashingdon.com/play/seedypixels/arcadia-regent/mygame/

104 Likes
2

If we name our character Luvius the stranger we meet at the end of the demo has the same name

4 Likes
3

Yes! You can be named after your uncle, I’m pretty sure it mentions that? Sorry if it’s too confusing- I may change it.

1 Like
4

The Provincial Assemblies related to each Duchy does remind me about the French Pays d’ etats like Brittany(see the Parliament of Brittany and the Estates of Brittany) was during half its history until the French Revolution scattered that autonomous voice in favour of centralism or in other cases of the list becoming Pays d’ election or the comparable worse Pays d’ imposition-recently conquered/acquired territories-due to to the dreaded moves of the French Crown losing all their self administrative powers far sooner.

Thought the Provincial Assemblies do seem to be a tad more figurative,correct me if I am wrong but in comparison to the Pays d’ etats far more advanced on their time with actual judicial and legislative powers the Provincial Assemblies are just able to push reforms that are already decided on the National Assembly?Or by the small council of the Duke concerning a specific but minor matter?

Would be cool if during the stories we can actually give real power to the Provincial Assemblies and create a real federal Kingdom where the peoples of the provinces actually have sa say on their own means,if we deal with independence movements due to this reforms would also be interesting just seeing historical comparisons has me a little excited.

Or if we are on the path of being an absolute tyrannical douche,we take a page out of the Bourbon’s book and just reform towards the Pays d’ election(or the Pays d’ imposition) basically eradicating the power of the Dukes in favour of one and only central government,Imperial ideas of “one country and one people” could be shown here with our horrible MC suppressing languages,cultures and political movements in favour of his idealised “Arcadian state”.

3 Likes
5

That’s very interesting. Thank you, it’ll give me something to read about, I must admit, I’m English and not well versed in French history; so I apologise for any ignorance.
I also completely forgot to add the National Assembly text in the info haha. In short, the Provincial Assembly internally elects five councillors to the National Assembly, while the Duke or Duchess selects five people (mostly trusted advisors.)
The Provincial Assemblies are in short nothing more than advisory board. The Duke/Duchess will come up with a piece of provincial legislation and by tradition show it to the assembly. The assembly will then tell the Duke/Duchess about how popular the legislation will be with the commons. However, the assembly can manipulate the Duke/Duchess into passing legislation- if they are lucky enough to have a weak-willed Duke/Duchess.
But, yes. You will be able to give more power to the assemblies, however it will come at the cost of giving up your own power. Alternatively, you can choose to dissolve the assemblies- but this move will make you a tyrant and extremely unpopular. This was the main issue with the civil war that our father fought against his own father. And you do have a younger brother that Dukes might look more favourably upon.

5 Likes
6

It is quite interesting and has generated lots of questions on my mind,do prepare for a long comment giving you my apologies already just lots of things coming to mind.

So on which matters can the Provincial Assemblies legislate on?I suppose the majority of powers are holded by the National Assembly and the Crown,do the duchies have control/are allowed to retain part of the taxes they gather?Can they negotiate with the Crown lower taxes?Are there Provincial Assemblies that hold more powers than the others or do they share the same limitations?

Concerning the National Assembly,How much power does it hold in contrast to the Royal family?Can the King veto legislation or outright discard it(similar to how the Duke can ignore the Provincial Assemblies a number of times)?Do the commons have the same representation there as the Dukes(considering each group sends 5 members),how does this power reflect on the National Assembly?

I understand the Provincial Assemblies are mainly composed by nobles,the commons you refer to are they a combination of wealthy merchants and representatives of the clergy?Are they elected into the Assemblies by census suffrage like they have a certain amount of wealth and influence(householders) and so they can be a part of the assembly?How many members are there on one Assembly,can the Assemblies pass reforms that extend the members limit?

Having opportunities to develop a unique playthrough is always really fun,create a Federative Monarchy that eventually can drop you when it figures that they do not longer need you or persue true Absolutism and oppress the people on your Realm with an iron fist as a true tyrant.

Also please do make the duchies have their own customs,cultures,political histories and even reference their distinct languages(sometimes there is merit creating cultures that share lots of elements like language but are still able to differentiate each other) if you are up to it,like doing it with foreign countries is great but giving we are on such a moment of Arcadia’s history you can show how the Duchies are also trying to discover their own identity,recreate their own glory or simply strive for a future of their own.

This all fits incredibly with the concepts of “nationalism” and “regionalism” if I were you beyond the Duke’s power and possible exploration I would try to reflect how complex the reality of the life on each one of the provinces can be and how people yearn for a better life,how feudal life is changing with the possible rise of the bourgeoisie,the supposed middle class once peasant’s without voice and how nowadays their struggles can affect as much and shape the land’s as the nobles.

A read to French history and perphaps how other European country reform and change feudal societies towards republics and Imperial ambitions would do you good for creating the story,as it really seems to be that key point of history where everything can happen both paths.All with the extra help of the MC of course.

4 Likes
7

Great start :smiley: Looking forward to the next update.

5 Likes
8

Thank you, you have given me a lot to consider.
I very much liked your idea of the Dukedoms having their own unique-ish cultures. I have also added a “Nationalism” feature. If I can implement it properly (which I hope I do) will, if the nationalism gets too high, will cause uprisings in the provinces. I then hope to add a way of dealing with these uprisings. You could either negotiate with the rebels, or crush them. Both will have their merits and downsides to them. Nationalism can be increased or decreased during the story. These features I am hoping will make it into the next update.
(The duchies of Clearvale and Greenwell will start with a base of nationalism 20, since they are not really loyal to their dukes.)

3 Likes
9

Thank you very much. I’m hoping to have the next update in roughly two weeks time.

8 Likes
10

Way too little content for any actual feedback…

2 Likes
11

That’s a good idea,“nationalism” is a deep concept specially when you associate it with minorities that strive to survive on bigger nation-states where they do not exactly feel represented by,that’s when we speak about “stateless nations”.

Think about Gascony,Brittany(Catalonia,Basque Country or Galicia in Spain/Wales and Scotland on the UK or even Balochistan on Pakistan,the Uyghurs and the Tibetans on China,the many peoples of Russia) despite being part of different French monarchies or states preserve a strong identity politically,culturally,nations with their own distinct traits despite all,reflecting how rich real societies on fiction is a challenge but it really deserves the effort portraying such realities.

Another take is minorities inside minorities like for example take Bavaria the German lander,who has a strong identity but then inside it you can find people recognising themselves as Franconian,multiple conceptions of identity of a land that struggles to perceive who they really are.The situation becomes even more complex when you have two minorities on the same territory fighting for their ideas clashing their ambitions against a state.

Being able to negotiate with the rebels when their desire for reform and improvement is not delivered by the Duchy and Assemblies is a good idea,if one(or several) of the Duchies also had a past where they were Kingdoms or Independent Duchies you could portray nationalism as a certain kind of nostalgia from which the ducal family and nobles can draw their political ambition,portray the identity of each province carefully how the nobles interpret the past of their land and what is the take of the commons.

Nationalism and regionalism can be born in the upper classes who promote their idolised futures or from the people trying to understand what makes them a member of said society realising “Yeah I do not see myself much as an Arcadian,we are our own people,we can live better if X,the Assemblies do not listen to us”.

Will keep an eye,you have already won me over with era the story takes places plus the Assemblies even if there is not much to go around yet,the seeds for a cool political drama are here.

3 Likes
12

I think the game will be better if it has a detailed judicial system. Few games have such a thing.

Also, how about preparing reforms related to the judicial system, such as establishing a modern police force, reforming prisons, and introducing a jury system as part of the reforms?

1 Like
13

Me sees medieval politics, me likey. I do like the fact that you won’t have absolute power, but must deal with a Regency Council(and its members’ interests) to push your vision. I can smell the intrigue already.

3 Likes
14

nitpick incoming:

when the king is announced, he is styled as “His Royal Highness, Duke of… and King of…”

Kings are usually styled “His Majesty” and princes are usually styled “His Highness”. the most important title usually comes first (i.e. King of…, Duke of…), and kings generally outrank dukes. If the ducal realm is part of the kingdom, the ducal title is probably not relevant for a general announcement. if you want this character to have two or more separate titles, consider making them equal rank (i.e. “King of… and…”) or one being a land title and the other being a religious, military, familial, or ceremonial title (e.g. King of…, Vanquisher of Tyrants)

breaking these general rules draws attention. if there’s something that you want to highlight, it’s not clear from the short demo. if you’re not trying to draw attention to these discrepancies, it might be worth reworking the titles to match general practices.

good luck!

3 Likes
15

Remarkable, this is the third WIP with a place called Arcadia.

4 Likes
16

Ck3

1 Like
17

By the way, it seems that this game is the first of three books, but what are the remaining two books?

Also, what era does the world’s technology and social standards of this game correspond to in the real world?

2 Likes
18

First book is going to be your character as the regent of Arcadia.
Second book is going to be your character as king or queen of Arcadia.
Third, is going to be your characters heir as king/queen of Arcadia. Still debate with myself about whether I’m going to be able to make the third one.
And as far as technology is concerned, Arcadia is roughly about 1690-1720. As for attitudes that’s similar, however slightly more egalitarian.

3 Likes
19

Thought so,man you truly have chosen an interesting setting,the possibilities of the SXVII and SXVIII century are endless,be original and pretty much the game has guaranteed my continued support and attention.

1 Like
20

MINI UPDATE- 9th JULY 2022
A small update, for now.
Arcadia now has a flag.
Arcadia has a religion.
Added Achievements
Regions now have Nationalism.
Get a gift from your uncle.
And the beginning of a trip with your mother, or staying at home with father.
Some secret code for later.

12 Likes