Baron Ian Maxwell (2)
“Age of Great Voyages was once considered a true masterpiece.”
Age of Great Voyages was a classic game created by the Japanese developer K, which was also famous for its Three Kingdoms IP games.
The first game had been quite popular by the standards of its time, and most of the sequels that followed were also regarded as masterpieces.
Although the more recent entries in the series had either been called failures or outright flopped, it was still a game many people remembered fondly.
“And I suppose that's understandable. There were surprisingly few games set around the sea.”
In particular, there were almost no games that depicted the seas of the fifteenth century.
Aside from Age of Great Voyages, there were only one or two others with any real name recognition.
It wasn't because the sea was an uninteresting subject.
If anything, people possessed an instinctive fascination and curiosity toward the sea.
The problem was that portraying the sea's romance well wasn't easy.
“In that respect, Age of Great Voyages was incredibly well made.”
Ironically, the way Age of Great Voyages captured the romance of the sea relied less on the sea itself and more on its characters.
The numerous protagonists, the companions who joined them, the barmaids found at every port inn—they were all distinctive and charming.
Each one contributed to the stories and narratives that made up the game, and the sea they inhabited became all the more romantic because of them.
Of course, if that had been all there was to it, the game would've been all shell and no substance.
Naturally, beyond those charming characters, it also captured the romance of sailing itself remarkably well.
“Let's see… Aside from the characters, the main things I need to pay attention to when recreating it are the trade, adventure, and combat systems.”
Trade—loading a ship with local specialties from distant lands and returning home to make a fortune.
Adventure—exploring unknown lands to discover mysterious ruins and artifacts.
And combat, filled with the romance of naval cannon fire and boarding actions.
Those were the three elements that formed Age of Great Voyages.
The characters I mentioned earlier were also divided among those three roles, and there was plenty of fun in assigning the right companions to the right positions and managing your fleet.
Looking at it that way, there was no way the game could be boring.
If I managed to recreate it at the same level of quality as the original, it would probably become another massive hit.
The problem was that unlike the games I'd made so far, I couldn't simply coast by plagiarizing the original.
“Unlike ‘Civilization Development’ or ‘Honorlord,’ this needs an enormous story, and more importantly, authenticity is going to be a problem.”
Age of Great Voyages was a game that told romantic stories about the sea through numerous characters.
Naturally, I needed to be able to create equally distinctive characters and stories.
But background and worldbuilding played an enormous role in storytelling.
If I simply copied the original as it was, reproducing its quality would be impossible.
That was because Age of Great Voyages had heightened its realism by using fifteenth-century Europe as its setting.
People even used to joke that if you played Age of Great Voyages, you wouldn't need to separately study world history or geography.
But that wouldn't work here.
If I simply copied the original content, it would become a fictional story unfolding in a fictional world.
The difference in immersion would be enormous.
Naturally, I needed to incorporate this world's geography and history.
Even if I adapted the story and characters myself.
“Fortunately, Sir Blackwood is an experienced adventurer, so I can get some help from him.”
This wasn't a world with an accurate world map, but incorporating a reasonable level of authenticity shouldn't be too difficult.
“Then I can just make it like this. Surely nothing especially strange will happen again this time, right?”
For some reason, every time I made a game, something major happened.
I'd been granted an audience with the emperor, then the Crown Prince had come looking for me, and now I'd even become a noble.
All I'd done was make games.
But with this ‘Age of Great Voyages,’ nothing in particular seemed likely to happen.
Sure, there were somewhat larger ships armed with naval cannons…
But ships already existed in this world, didn't they?
Sea voyages weren't anything unusual here either, so what could possibly happen?
This time, at least, I probably didn't need to worry about things getting out of hand.
…Or so I'd thought.
Until I later learned what happened.
***
“So this is the new title, ‘Age of Great Voyages.’”
Edward Blackwood murmured quietly as he stared at the game console.
He had sworn allegiance to Ian Maxwell, but if asked whether he already felt genuine loyalty toward him, the answer was not quite yet.
It wasn't because Blackwood lacked integrity.
A vassal relationship was originally closer to a reciprocal relationship of mutual benefit.
Blackwood believed he could rise in status through Ian, which was why he spared neither investment nor advice.
Ian, in turn, had entrusted him with the entire production of the game consoles as promised.
He would have to pay a significant portion of the sales revenue as royalties, but compared to the profits he stood to earn, it was insignificant.
Of course, that assumed this game became another enormous hit.
“At first glance, it does not look particularly impressive…….”
Having gone through considerable trouble to obtain and play Civilization Development and Honorlord, Blackwood wasn't particularly impressed by the graphics on the opening screen.
Unlike Ian's previous two games, this one used flat, two-dimensional graphics.
Of course, there was a reason for that choice.
This time, the game wasn't intended only for nobles.
They planned to sell it to commoners as well.
To do that, they needed to lower the specifications of the game console and reduce its price.
But lowering the artifact's performance also reduced the quality of the graphics it could produce.
So Ian had boldly chosen classic-style pixel art.
It was still 16-bit pixel art, so the quality was quite respectable, but compared to the previous games, it inevitably looked unimpressive.
Of course, commoners would probably consider even this astonishing.
“He did ask me for all sorts of advice during development… but I wonder how the actual game turned out.”
He'd heard that this still wasn't the final version.
What Blackwood had received was essentially a beta version, which Ian had asked him to review for any errors in authenticity.
“Then let us give it a try.”
Still somewhat skeptical, Blackwood immediately started the game.
『I am a migratory bird that wanders from port to port.』
“Hmm, the atmosphere is not bad. The background music is rather sweet as well…….”
Having already played Ian's other games, Blackwood began evaluating it in his own way as he played.
The atmosphere was a little subdued, but the beginning was quite good.
『If you do not know the value of a ship, get the hell out!』
“Wh-What?! I only tried to haggle a few coins off the price. What should I do? I really want to buy a carrack this time.”
Before long, he found himself agonizing over how to acquire a better ship.
『Admiral! A typhoon! The helm is not responding!』
“Aaagh! A typhoon?! Why now, of all times?!”
On another occasion, a typhoon struck while he was returning with a hold full of valuable trade goods, nearly making his heart stop.
『Pirates approaching. Prepare the cannons!』
At times, he encountered pirates and exchanged cannon fire before engaging in boarding combat.
Naval artillery did not yet exist in this world, but even depicted through 2D graphics, the exchange of cannon fire was enough to make his palms sweat.
『Captain, the time I spend with you is more precious to me than any treasure.』
At other times, his heart raced during conversations with a barmaid at the port.
『The sea has no end. And neither will our exploration.』
“…This truly is the greatest game.”
By the time he finally reached the ending, a single tear was rolling down Blackwood's cheek.
“I miss the days when I used to sail the seas myself.”
Blackwood.
Born the son of a lowly merchant, he had been unable to restrain his youthful ambition and had gone to sea in search of destiny and opportunity.
There had been many hardships and many times when he'd nearly died, but looking back now, nothing had ever made his heart race quite like those days.
He had since earned a great fortune, started a family, and given up sailing.
But playing this game brought those memories flooding back like cherished recollections.
Most of all, the game contained the knowledge Blackwood himself had shared with Ian.
Places he'd read about in documents, heard of through word of mouth, or visited personally.
There were many mysterious and magnificent locations, along with plenty he still regretted never having seen with his own eyes.
Ian had filled in those gaps by purchasing information from other adventurers and merchants.
Thanks to that, the game's quality was beyond description.
If even Blackwood felt this deeply moved, an ordinary person playing it would experience something on an entirely different level.
“This is certain to become a tremendous hit.”
Only then was Blackwood completely convinced.
This new release would also become a massive success.
But now, whether the ‘game sold well’ no longer mattered at all.
“‘Age of Great Voyages’ is going to cause an enormous upheaval.”
Age of Great Voyages possessed an incredible magical pull called the romance of the sea.
The endless ocean and unknown world.
Treasures that could make a fortune overnight and opportunities to seize tremendous fame.
Even sailors, normally regarded as people working a lowly occupation filled with nothing but danger and hardship, were portrayed with overwhelming romance.
Anyone who saw something like this would begin yearning for the sea.
What would happen if a game like this were released to the public?
“Everyone will head for the sea.”
Unlike the modern society Ian had come from, this was still a world full of people willing to stake their lives on romance alone.
Nobles and commoners alike would be eager to find out whether that romance was real.
Especially to commoners, for whom games themselves were still unfamiliar, it might genuinely seem like an opportunity to change their lot in life.
Of course, Ian had never created it with such an intention.
But if even Blackwood, who had already weathered every hardship the sea could throw at an adventurer, felt his spirit of adventure burning again, there was no need to ask what it would do to others.
Especially the nouveau nobility.
People like Blackwood who possessed ability but were still discriminated against because of their lowly origins.
This would ignite their ambitions.
Of course, even that might not be enough to overcome their hesitation toward the dangerous sea.
Deadly typhoons.
Pirates striking without warning.
Hostile natives might attack, and ports belonging to other nations might refuse them entry.
Every one of those situations could cost them their lives or inflict enormous losses.
“But what if we could recreate the things that appeared in Age of Great Voyages?”
Age of Great Voyages featured enormous naval cannons and great ships capable of carrying large numbers of them.
With only those two things, pirates or disobedient ports could surely be subdued with ease.
Although they appeared in simplified form in the game's graphics, Baron Ian had once shown Blackwood detailed designs.
In truth, they had been the ships and cannons from later entries in the Age of Great Voyages series, which had been depicted in 3D.
Ian had shown him the ships to check their authenticity, but because they'd been recreated through memory magic, they were extraordinarily detailed.
When Blackwood first saw them, he'd carefully committed them to memory just in case.
If he incorporated them into actual designs, he might be able to reproduce them to some extent even if they weren't perfect.
With those things, dreaming of making a fortune overnight would no longer be mere fantasy.
“This is an opportunity. A chance to stop being treated like some half-baked nouveau riche and be recognized as a true noble.”
If he conquered the seas and brought unimaginable wealth to the Empire, the emperor would have no choice but to make greater use of him.
In other words, this was an opportunity Ian had created for him.
“But I cannot do it alone.”
To realize his plan, he would need a great many large ships.
He needed large merchant vessels, of course, but he would also need a fleet carrying numerous naval cannons.
Naturally, that would cost far more than a trivial sum.
Blackwood might be wealthy, but he couldn't accomplish it alone.
He would have to gather others who shared his vision and take on the challenge together.
And for that, he needed public enthusiasm capable of attracting like-minded people.
Which meant he needed to sell this game even more aggressively.
Only then would people be drawn in by the romance of the sea and join him.
“Wait… Did Lord Ian anticipate all of this?”
Suddenly, Blackwood remembered something Ian had once told him.
-If you cooperate with me, perhaps you may eventually obtain what you truly desire.
“So Lord Ian called me because he had anticipated all of this.”
No.
Ian had merely wanted to sell more games.
It was true that he'd recognized Blackwood's ambition, but he'd only said those words to draw him in.
From Blackwood's perspective, however, all of this looked as though it had been meticulously planned in advance.
Considering Ian had already created enormous ripple effects through ‘Civilization Development’ and ‘Honorlord,’ it seemed even more plausible.
And Blackwood began to suspect that this might not be the end.
Perhaps Ian possessed even greater foresight than this.
“I must become even more loyal to Lord Ian.”
If that was the case, Blackwood needed to remain at Ian's side from now on.
That way, he could continue benefiting from Ian's foresight.
And so he resolved to devote even greater loyalty to him.
Without intending to, Ian had gained his vassal's genuine loyalty.