De Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) blijft een lastig gevalletje als onderdeel van onze historische canon. Een instituut om trots op te zijn? Premier Balkenende vond van wel toen hij zich de (inmiddels klassieke) uitspraak over “VOC-mentaliteit” permitteerde. Direct werd hij eraan herinnerd dat er ook duistere zaken aan de ‘Loffelijcke Compagnie’ kleefden: corruptie, slavernij, exploitatie en zelfs genocide werden niet geschuwd om de meeste winst te trekken uit de Indische producten. Is de VOC toch niet iets waar we ons eigenlijk voor zouden moeten schamen?

De verschillende Europese compagnieën waren in feite ministaatjes die zich bezighielden met de financiële boekhouding, diplomatie, oorlogvoering en het aanleggen van infrastructuur (forten en opslagplaatsen). Dat gegeven maakt het interessant voor een spelontwikkelaar om een strategische game aan op te hangen.

Het Finse Nitro Games stortte zich op dit, voor gamestermen, onontgonnen thema en ontwikkelt momenteel de pc-game East India Company, die in het najaar wordt uitgegeven door Paradox Interactive. En die duistere kanten dan? “Yes, we know imperialism and colonialism was not humanity’s finest hour, but we still think that it is an interesting subject for a game.” Een interview met lead designer Kim Soares.

Jeroen: Could you describe who you are and what your role is at Nitro Games? How did you get involved in the development of East India Company?
Kim Soares: “My name is Kim Soares and I’m the lead designer here at Nitro Games. I’ve been a gamer since the age of five, written more than 1000 game reviews since 1996 and been designing games from 2005. I have been involved with both East India Company and Nitro Games from the start.”

The ‘age of sail’ and the rise of the several European East India companies is a theme that has not been used very often by game developers. Why did Nitro choose for this particular theme?
“We were thinking about different ideas for a game and the era of sailing ships was one in particular. One problem was that during that era, naval campaigns were not really so long as to provide a setting for a full game. When we stumbled upon East India Company, we immediately realized its potential. Huge, powerful trading companies that sailed across half the world, founded colonies and fought each other. I mean, that’s just the perfect background for a game. After that, there was no question about what to do.”

I am always interested in the historical correctness of games based on historical topics. How correct and to what extent will your game be? Did you only use documentation like books or television documentaries or do you employ historical, naval or military experts?
“The background is historical, but we have taken artistic liberties in the name of playability and fun. For example, the Swedish company was founded first in 1731, but in the game all companies start at the same time in the year 1600. Speaking for myself, I read quite a lot about the British East India Company in particular as well as about Robert Clive and their wars with the French. One of our designers is an actual curator of maritime history, so we have very good knowledge of ships, seafaring and naval battles.”

Now, the history of the East India companies is very complex, ranging from exploration, commerce, monopolizing the market, appeasing shareholders, diplomacy, colonization, warfare and last but not least, sailing. From trailers we already know that sailing and naval battles will be key gameplay elements. But can we expect to see the other topics I mentioned as gameplay mechanics? For example, will East India Company feature land battles or sieges?
“Besides naval battles, the two other important elements are trading and diplomacy. Trading concentrates on what we call Main Trade Items (MTI) like silk, tea, ivory, gold and spices. Single MTI is available only in specific ports, and as there are 8 companies all racing to get their share of the MTIs, conflicts are inevitable.

“Main thing about trading is the fact that our prices are dynamic. The less tea there is in Goa for example, the higher is the price you must pay for it. On the other hand, if you bring huge amounts of tea to your home port within a short time frame, the price you get for it will decrease. Of course if there are large amounts of tea available in Goa, you pay less for it and if you haven’t been importing tea to your Home Port for some time, the price you get will increase.

“Playing to this price dynamic is very important. To make matters more interesting, you have import quotas you must meet. If you take over a foreign port, you can upgrade buildings in it. Upgrading Trading Post not only gives you discounts on the MTI, but it also means the amount that becomes available is increased.

“Diplomacy between rival companies can play a major part. The diplomacy is more than just a vending machine for pacts. You can of course make pacts and alliances, but you can also trade MTI’s with other companies, ask them to attack or alter their relationship with other companies or even ask for or give up conquered ports. AI companies take into account what you are offering as well as the relationship between your two companies and all other companies and the difference between your powers. More powerful companies can even threat weaker ones with war, but it will rapidly deteriorate the relationship.”

From what I read on the official website and in previews elsewhere, is that you can take the role of one of eight playable European factions and that you have to battle with the other European nations. But the companies also had to take into account the Asian rulers. Does the game feature confrontations between European and Asian factions?
“It is important to understand that in East India Company you do get to choose your nationality, but you play the company of that nation, not the nation itself. It is a common misunderstanding that people think they will be playing, say, Britain, and be able to invade Paris or something. That is not the case as you lead a company, a very powerful company for sure, but you are not the king or anything.

“Companies can attack and take over any foreign port in Africa, Arabia and India. Native forces can later on attack a port ruled by a company.”

What is, roughly, the timeline? Will real historical events (for example: revolutions, smaller uprisings, natural disasters, scientific innovations of naval and military significance) take place in the game and will they affect the gameplay?
“There are several campaigns that span anything from 50 years to more than a 100 years in game time. As ships did evolve during that time, not all ships are available at the start of the game. For example, frigates become available in 1630, East Indiamen in 1650 and 96-gun ship-of-the-line in 1700.”

Games with the Paradox label have a tendency to be really open-ended. For example, Europa Universalis (EU) does not give the player any specific goals to reach but their own. Will EIC be as ‘open’ as EU or can we expect to see more guided storydriven campaigns which take the player by the hand?
“In most of the campaigns you have campaign missions. These have goals the player must meet, mainly import quotas for different MTIs, but also a number of Indian ports that the player must control and enemy ships that must be sunk. There are also many random missions and events. The campaign can also be won by forcing all other companies into bankruptcy or taking over all Indian ports.

“We know that some players enjoy playing without stressing about goals. For them, we have created the Free Campaign without any campaign missions to worry about, so it’s effectively a sandbox mode.”

Another Paradox trademark is that the games are really hard to get into: unforgiving and deep. Real simulation of sailing in pre-modern times can become a bit tedious. Adepts will undoubtedly love it, but does your game feature a kind of arcade mode for the more mainstream gamer?
“Funny you should say that, as we actually have an arcade mode, too. Besides choosing the difficulty level, players can also choose the naval battles to be played as arcade, normal or simulation. In arcade mode, ships turn faster and the wind direction is not that big a factor. In simulation mode, it can take a long time to just maneuver your ship into a good firing position. Some players enjoy the more arcadish approach and others enjoy the hardcore approach. Both types are catered for.”

Not everyone sees the former East India companies as positive historical institutions. In 2002 a committee in the Netherlands decided to celebrate the fact that in 1602 the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was established. This infuriated the Moluccan community and others in the Netherlands, stating that the VOC was also a company of exploitation, corruption, slavery and genocide. Surely, these darker sides of the companies must be known to the team. Did the possible negative reception of your game ever give rise to debate about whether to develop it or not? And do any of these darker elements make their way to the final game?
“We were naturally aware of this from the start. I for one have Indian relatives through a marriage and have talked with them about this. They did not consider it as an outrage or anything like that. In the game logo you can see a pile of EIC coins with blood spilled on them. This is our way of saying: ‘Yes, we know imperialism and colonialism was not humanity’s finest hour, but we still think that it is an interesting subject for a game.’

“Then again, many games are about war or other less than honorable parts of history: Colonization, the Anno series, every single game about any war humanity has ever fought. You get my point. As one Indian professor from Punjab Universtity put it when he was asked about our game: people should not get agitated by games that are based on historical events. It is our common history after all, and hopefully people who play games based on history will develop interest to get more information about that history after they have played the game. I second that opinion.”

Obviously, a game like East India Company does not possess the mass appeal as a Ghostbusters game. What audience do you try to target? Will the minimal requirements be mild in order for a larger audience to be able to enjoy the game?
“I actually just played the new Ghostbusters yesterday. It was refreshingly different from your usual shooters. But talking about strategy games in general, they are not that mass market unless they are RTS’s like Red Alert or Starcraft. Still, EIC has appeal for both hardcore strategy players and more casual player interested in historical strategy. The game does require some effort to get into, but after that you can pretty much play how you want. In the easy settings both economy and combat are, if not walk in the park, easy enough at the very least. With the harder settings, you will have to work and use your wits to tackle the AI companies.”

Any final comments to our readers?
“East India Company has a lot to offer and odds are that you do not immediately realize everything that’s in it. The unique combination of trading and war as a concept is something you need to grab in order to be successful in the game. Try out different approaches like economy, war and diplomacy as all three can be used extensively to further your goals in the game. I hope you like it!”