Researching for a Game set in 1 CE

Yes? No? - Likely not, but it is meant to be based on history.

As much as it can be - seeing as there is not much contemporary information around...

Steam post image How much research is necessary for a historically grounded game?

Let me give you an example from Out of Water:

"I needed to understand burial customs in early Germanic societies (around 1 CE)."

Sounds simple, right?

It wasn’t.

First problem: there is no single Germanic burial practice.

Different regions and ethnic groups used cremation, mound burials, flat graves - sometimes all within the same time period, sometimes depending on status.

Second problem: most written sources came centuries later.

So even having a few neat sources won't solve the problem completely.

The process looks something like this:

• Google "Germanic burial customs"

• Check Wikipedia (approximately 4-5 relevant articles)

• Check other pages, eg scientific papers, museum articles, articles from institutes (usually another ~5 reads)

• Check my trusted encyclopedia (Rudolf Simek's A Dictionary of Northern Mythology)

• Check original texts from the Edda eg if I have the books or can find access online

• Sigh heavily when noticing none of the answers are absolute

• adapt the most likely version and try to make it believable for a small community

Hours later, I have - well - not an answer, but a range of plausible options.

And that’s before writing the script all the research was for.

It is so worth it, though!

Finding realistic traditions and rituals for my NPCs has made writing them infinitely easier, as reactions, thoughts and opinions can be based in their beliefs and habits.

At times conversations completely rely on these (for me) new finds.

Plus I can feel better for having learned something :D