In this week’s Under The Yoke we tackle one of the more interesting subjects when considering a medieval life sim, that of hobbies and recreation.
In History
It’s a little known fact that people before the modern era weren’t in fact worker bees who spent every waking hour in the fields.
The people of the Middle Ages loved a day off as much you and I. The medieval calendar was littered with days off for various saints and holy days (see where we brits get the name?). While the religious element was of course a factor, people still made merry with their time off from work.
What sorts of things did they get up to? Sports were a constant source of entertainment. There was a particularly violent form of football, often played between rival villages. Wrestling, swimming, angling and archery which at points was a mandatory obligation of every able bodied man.
There were also the sorts of sports you’d expect from a rural population such as bullbaiting and cockfighting (here we are reminded that the past is a foreign country). This naturally had the added benefit of adding gambling to the mix, which varied in acceptance. Games of dice were most common throughout the period.
The age old trip to the pub after an honest days work was also on the cards, save for the pub was usually a neighbour’s house who had recently brewed enough ale to sell. Alongside this you of course had musicians and folk songs, both a hobby for the player and the listener.
For the tabletop gamers amongst us you may be surprised to learn that chess and other simpler board games were played by people of all stations. For the romantics amongst us there were of course ramblers.
In Under The Yoke
All those medieval pastimes sounded pretty familiar aye? Save for the cockfights and the bullbaiting (I hope).
How are we going to model this in Under The Yoke? Without this rich flavour Under The Yoke would fall very short of a medieval life-sim so it’s important that it’s included.
Firstly, all of the aforementioned activities will be represented in Under The Yoke including others that didn’t make it onto this article.
Secondly, and I’m sure the regular followers will have put this together already, characters will all have preferences for different activities based on their personality types which we covered in our previous devlog.
Thirdly, implementation. These activities will obviously occur in the form of the random event system, wherein you will take the reins of a medieval peasant and guide your family to make the right decision but they will also be included as socialisation options when interacting with other characters.
This way your own characters preferences, as well as theirs, will help mould the way you form a friendship or courtship with other characters in the village.
That’s all I can reveal for now but sign up using the newsletter below to receive the next tasty morsel of Under The Yoke development straight to your inbox.
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