19: Medievalism and Chinese Gamers: A Case Study in a Broadcaster of Crusader Kings

Chenlin Shou, @ShouChenlin, Fudan University

Medieval culture used to have relatively little influence on Chinese online subcultures, but recently users of Bilibili, the largest ACG-related video streaming site in China, would often see medievalthemed memes in the form of floating messages in various contexts. One game broadcaster played a pivotal role in the change. The broadcaster whose alias is “Fledging Magician” started his career in 2014, when he uploaded his first playthrough video of Crusader Kings II, which has been viewed 1.4 million times.

The audience’s unfamiliarity with the game’s cultural background was expected. Medieval history is not taught in high school, apart from stereotypical statements about the “darkness” of the period, from which the radiant Renaissance emerged. To bridge this cultural gap, Fledging Magician utilized an effective strategy. He would start his game with a custom character, often named after a famous figure in Chinese culture (for example, a character from The Water Margin), and then he would weave a narrative that combined in-game medieval settings with the character’s background story in the original context. Thus, the audience tended to view the gameplay as yet another adventure of a familiar character, and the names of genuine medieval locations and characters became much less daunting.

In addition, Fledging Magician has a master’s degree in world history from a prestigious university in China. His expertise allows him to provide his viewers with authentic knowledge about the period, reminding them that the medieval world presented in the game is only a tiny fraction of the reality. If they are truly interested, they should read scholarly books, and he would offer suggestions. One might be surprised to find that there are now keen academic (albeit amateurish) discussions in the comments section of the videos. Perhaps Fledging Magician’s approach could give educators who wish to use computer games to aid historical education some inspiration.

Perhaps a sign of human weakness, one of the intriguing effects of becoming familiar with medieval Europe by watching a skilful player playing a game in which plotting is indispensable or by playing the game themselves, is that while it’s quite unlikely that the audience do not know that the reality is much more complicated and sometimes not as grim as the game, they still tend to view the Middle Ages in a predominantly Machiavellian way, especially when they interact with each other: in the struggle for power, anything is permissible. Pragmatism is often then seen as the driving force behind real people’s actions, just as in the game. While events like Canossa might show that there is some truth in these statements, such a view of history and its logic (if there should be one) is definitely biased. In addition, it is the nastier aspects of medieval life that often come to the fore in players’ interactions and responses. While one should not overstate the danger in such attitudes, should one individual turn out to confuse gaming with reality, such a view of history is not the healthiest. Educators, when using games as study aids, might wish to be cautious about this possible side effect before they proceed.

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