Medieval Knights, Medieval life, Medieval weaponry, Middle ages, Medieval games.

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Below is a broad Introduction containing stories, ideas and intentions which the designers have followed through since the pre-alpha testing stages of Agamemnon.

From the moment you begin to play Agamemnon you become a part of ancient medieval life. The time when medieval Knights were the icons of valour and protectors of their home-land. You will find the time of the middle ages here in all its glory. You would do well to dig deeply into this website, especially if you have not played a MUD or an online RPG before: Agamemnon can be thought of as a part of these categories. The textual aspect of Agamemnon can often be very daunting. However, do not let this dissuade you. Once you have become accustomed to allowing your imagination to paint the images for you there is much to be seen and imagined in a textual environment which can not be gained from graphical medieval games or other games of this type. You should think about Agamemnon as being an ever unfolding interactive novel. The out-lines, the substance of medieval England and all that medieval life came to stand for, will be there for you. However, much of your success and the role which you would choose to fulfill within the middle ages will be achieved by you and your actions. Your road and where it ends will be governed by each interaction with those who also choose to share the middle ages with you. Medieval England is populated and brought to life by other people who are also connecting to Agamemnon over the internet. They play just as large a role in the shaping of the society and medieval life as you will. They, and how you choose to interact with them, can often be the deciding factors of your character's fate..

The land consists primarily of the most prominent cities in England during the middle ages. From bustling city ports to major trade routes and population centres. Behind the stage of high medieval society however, was the smaller economically productive towns which you will also find busy living out their existence.

Skills versus history

The skills system in Agamemnon centres around the profession of your chosen character. We have attempted to make the skills as dynamic and free flowing and historically realistic as possible, without shattering any aspect of the playability of the medieval games environment. An example of this is the historical facts surrounding medieval knights. They would not, for example know how to forge all the medieval weaponry of the time. They would, however, know how to use them to the highest level. But again, even that is not set in stone: medieval knights were often reported to be incompetent, disorganised and simply the front line of a facade which the country propped up in order to keep face. Medieval knights were often just high status socialites whose purpose in England was to appear elite. They often took full advantage of this status. Medieval life and indeed medieval knights were not always clean cut and courageous. The problem of characters not having the skill of forging, a decision made during the design process because of historical facts, becomes clear when some medieval knights are rendered totally ineffectual by the lack of medieval weaponry available to them. Those in Agamemnon who are well disciplined and trained to a high level still have to juggle the weapon-smith's desires with their own need for medieval weapons of a high calibre and their public image of respect. Often the line is crossed and a war hungry but embarrasingly poor knight must descend to the actions of a murderer to have his orders carried out. The middle ages were often cruel, even to the most noble minds. Yet in a medieval game environment this is not a desirable situation to arise for everyone who wishes to experience the atmosphere of medieval life and the middle ages. Neither is it historically plausible, even though it has occured in Agamemnon. This problem has been solved by the way in which the designers have allowed Agamemnon's society to evolve. The medieval life is shaped by the players themselves.

Medieval life was by no means easy, but our aim is not to make it impossible for you to enjoy the middle ages through this forum. You should thus expect to find many historical accuracies going hand in hand with exaggerations and exciting creations of the designers imaginative ideas. This does not mean you should expect the experience of the middle ages, medieval life, or becoming a medieval knight lacking in detailed history or realism. On the contrary, we have taken great pains to ensure that the atmosphere within the land is as close to the middle ages as possible. Thorns of hardship and rose petals of success alike.

Traditionally games of this time period have been weighted very heavily towards a purely fantasy based representation of medieval life. Indeed, medieval games have been on the market since the first graphics cards were capable of handling them. We do not feel any of them have grasped what medieval games are capable of portraying however. The middle ages are an eventful time period of great personalities and groups of people clashing. Social and economic evolutions taking place on the backdrop of an imaginatively rich and vibrantly blooming country. Those who mastered in the art of medieval weaponry prospered in an age of war and the middle ages were long and bountiful. That is of course, if you found yourself in the fortunate section of society. Yet even for the upper echelons of society medieval life was often harsh and full of unfairness. If you are to succeed in Agamemnon you will need a firm desire to forge your own path and at the same time understand that many of the hurdles which medieval life had to offer may obstruct you unfairly. You will be offered an apprenticeship in medieval weaponry and potentially tutored by the finest weaponry masters. That does not protect you from falling to the teachings of one of many farcically incompetent medieval knights who often blunder accross unsuspecting novices. Often it will fall to your own judgement and ability to learn. Whatever happens you will, hoever, be shown many of the core skills which you will need in order to survive in such an aggressive time as the middle ages. The competence of the Knight which is to take responsibility for you will be governed by your own judgement of character. If you are quick witted, with a strong personality you will find your feet very fast. If you do not then you must look to the medieval knights which populate the higher ranks of society and seek their guidance. The role which medieval knights play in the society of Agamemnon can often be staggeringly influential.. They make up the majority of the ruling class which is directly involved with the people of England. Your success in medieval games, and indeed all games will always be down to your own ability to learn quickly and apply that knowledge accordingly. How you interact with people is crucial; remember that you are alive during the middle ages. You will find little or no response from people living out their medieval lives if you shatter their illusions about their role for them. But be determined, the medieval knights of England are not easy to impress. Iniritally to you their place in medieval society is like the guardians of your gate to success. They will not allow you to rise the ranks and challenge their position if you have not earned much respect within their circle of control. If you wish to gain their support and tutorage you would need to show yourself to be the cream of the new players which currently populate the land. Do not seek a peaceful life in the scholarly bosoms of medieval knights. Their business is warfare. That does not mean, however, that you as a new player are forced to accept or even rate any type of medieval life which does not suit you. Nor are you restricted to becoming a medieval knight if the life does not appeal to you. Indeed, if you find the middle ages to be void of an avenue which you would wish to follow and it is simply down to a lack of development then feel free to express this to us. We have a great love for medieval games and we appreciate that the medieval life which we put forward can only go so far. Since the initial opening of Agamemnon to pre-alpha testers, all player contributions to the game design have been considered fully. Many have proven to be an invaluable addition to the quality of immersion in medieval life. The middle ages of England which exists within this medieval game would lack a great deal if it were not for this open relationship we enjoy with the players. Many aspects of life which people have a wish to see included have to be thought through carefully in order to maintain both the enjoyment and the realistic atmosphere which we are portraying in this medieval games genre. We therefore ask you to be patient; keep one ear listening for the declarations made by your town crier each time any significant changes occurs to medieval life. The middle ages and indeed the medieval games genre has much to offer but we can not hope to provide the life which people would have lived during the middle ages all in one alpha stage game. Agamemnon is young yet though and we hope to see it steer very close to this target in the up and coming years.

Medieval life or more specifically, the way of life which existed in the middle ages as a whole, can only be captured in medieval style games when the players themselves approach the land with a serious desire to immerse themselves into their roles. It is with this in mind that, when designing our version of the middle ages, we spent much effort and creative resources on ensuring that Agamemnon became a representation of a few men's interpretations of what medieval life and the middle ages as a whole was to experience. Medieval games such as Agamemnon are becoming more and more successful in this aim.. If you are looking for a simple game to play, with easy linear progression, much like an arcade game, then Agamemnon is not for you. Agamemnon differs from its brethren in a fundamental way. The game design has been focussed throughout upon the importance of both peaceful, witty and socially/mentally capable people being just as able to succeed as the strong sword arm is. Essentially, socialising becomes a worthwhile aspect of life.. This often manifests itself within the medieval games envioronment in the form of relationships with other people who hold positions within medieval England, or even attaining the positions. Their connections and weight of opinions become a key facet to the level of influence your character can use within society and the country as a whole. This carefully hand-crafted balance of reality and fantasy which is made possible by the medieval games genre is in a constant state of change. People such as nobleman or princess' will be well aware of the social subtleties within the middle ages; medieval life will have taught them each and every nuance over the due course of time. They could not stay in their positions if they were not worthy of them. They often aren't. You may well begin life with a foundation knowledge of medieval weaponry, it will certainly serve you well, but you will need to learn many more skills, make many more decisions and take many more risks before you can feel secure within the land. Power and security does not rest entirely with the strength which medieval weaponry can offer.

There are often over two hundred people experiencing medieval life within the lands of Agamemnon at any one time. This requires a great deal of organisation to run efficiently. The social dynamics and friendships found within pivotally positioned counties can shift daily. This is aside from the artificially intelligent 'mobiles' and highly complexed design which the weather systems adheres to. We have found these two aspects of the medieval games environment to be very successful, they have both been substantially influencing the middle ages and medieval life since the rebirth of the birth of Agamemnon. When considering the free flowing and dynamically evolving world which we wanted to bring into existence we stumbled into a brick-wall. This was in the form of administrators. We believed that if there were people responsible for the various facets of society co-existing then those people would certainly have to restrict some players at some point in their lives for a variety of plausible and quite fair reasons. A medieval game which relies on mandates from outside of its own society would always be doomed to fail. Being over-ridden in any shape or form is harmful to the medieval life which we have captured thus far. The potential for any individual to then effect the country in any directions they wish is undermined. A good example of this is displayed in the merciless ruination of a simple baker two weeks ago. He was a peace loving man who found himself in the position of being continuously looted and intimidated by a ruling knight who believed himself to be at the pinnacle of youth and strength; that is of course, according to the natural course which his medieval life had been taking. He was indeed most renowned for his attention to detail and masterly body of knowledge within the spheres of medieval weaponry, despite his character being relatively young in relation to his peers.. He made no ceremony over converting this knowledge of medieval weaponry to solid practice.. The key to this example is in the knights confidence and lack of care towards possible consequences. The difference between Agamemnon and the millions of other medieval games which offer their version of medieval life and the history behind the middle ages, lies in the structure of the game-play. The society is real; the players themselves make the rules and they also mete out the punishment. All who populate the land know this and accept both the freedoms it affords them and the crippling disadvantages which can be stacked against them should their plans go awry. The middle ages were not renowned for the sympathetic nature of the generations which lived through it. An example of this system effecting medieval life in a positive light is the case of the knight who greatly enjoyed ran-sacking and humiliating the baker. The baker came very close to financial destitutution due to the damages done to his equipment and stock. His customers went elsewhere and he was not on familiar enough grounds with any of the knights powerful enough to deal with the situation on his behalf. His wife gave him an ultimatum. He must either deal with the knight in whatever way possible or move with her to another town and drop their current life completely. If he did not, then their paths would separate. Disaster loomed, all because of one knight who had over-stepped the marks of convention within the context of medieval life and had acted unjustly against him. The baker consolidated many of his assets within the town and scraped together every last penny he had accumulated through the years of being an integral part of other people's medieval life. Within the context of medieval games he was proud to have crafted so many friends over the years and he set about petitioning first to the King. When this reaped no just rewards he began communicating his problems to all those who would listen in his local area and the surrounding towns. There is nothing more potent a motivator than fear and simple weight of numbers. The village people were not hardened criminals or battle experienced people but they had grown to trust and rely on each other over the years. They had no combatant skills but they had a medieval life to protect and they were well aware of their lack of knowledge in fields such as medieval weaponry. The nemesis which they watched steal from them in order to live a peaceful life would not relent his new found source of income easily. Perhaps his biggest mistake was to try and keep it a secret. In a medieval games such as Agamemnon, attempting to conceal something with effects as blatant as these was evidently impossible. His medieval life was full of decorous medieval weaponry, tokens of tribute and easily attained luxuries. His influence upon those who are only ever influenced by money, grew. He had very little to fear for his place in medieval life which he considered to be influential and prosperous. Soon after he announced this to the town he had dominated he was publicly humiliated in the stocks of Stratford for three days and three nights for his crimes. The vast amount of publicity which was paid to the incident only proved to fan the flames of misfortune to burn even more brightly for our now utterly ineffective social miscreant: it seems medieval games can be cruel. In order to save his dignity within the eyes of his people, King Henry I acted with swift precision and, as is characteristic of him, brutal consequences were felt by all who had achieved Knighthood. King Henry was concerned about medieval life styles and conventions becoming unstable. The history of the middle ages, which he had read from a book within the land and which will be available upon this website shortly, had taught him not to hesitate where the general public is concerned. Medieval life is for living and very few people play medieval games without a sense of fervor. The common man, unskilled in medieval weaponry or war craft perhaps, but he has been known to revolt before and no King wishes to be inked into the history journals of Agamemnon for such a consummate loss of control. The middle ages were volatile but Kings very rarely lose control over the entire country. Generally in these situation the medieval knights are charged with the responsibility of certain areas of land. Townships and villages are to be overseen by them. As much for their own protection than anything sinister or untoward. However, in the case of the baker, a supposedly uneducated man with no family name or reputation to speak of, successfully mounted a small revolution in his local area. The ruling classes are normally quite capable of controlling any out-bursts without any loss of face. In this instance, the symbols of power and concrete social rankings were swept aside. For a few days, a baker with little or no aptitude or knowledge of who he was leading, had lead on ideological grounds. The King asked the administrators of the middle ages in Agamemnon to step in and re-establish the shape of society which he had become used to and had come to expect of his people. Change was risky for him in a climate of potential war with neighbouring powers. The country, tucked neatly behind its confidence in medieval weaponry and all its medieval pomp and middle ages splendor, had little or no spare resources to be risked on an inner revolt. In this, and in all other similar circumstances which have occurred thus far, we have found no grounds to alter the way in which the players themselves shape their organic medieval society. The knight was made an example of to all who lived and scoffed at the establishment in their disregard for unwritten rules. The knight had over-stepped the boundaries to such an extent that the King had no other option but to remove all his titles and privileges. He had to begin again from the bottom of the ladder in the medieval games world and work his way towards his goal as a prominent figure in the middle ages of England and the medieval knight's codes of hierarchy . He learned his lesson and has only now, after many dedicated and exhausting attempts at integration into society, succeeded in securing a respectable employer for his skills on the battle-field. It is, however, the humble opinion of this watchful eye that our example of society at work seeks revenge on the mass of people who caused him so much loss. Ultimately, they caused him to fail and no medieval knight in the middle ages would let sleeping dogs lay where their perceived underlings are concerned. The skill of medieval weaponry may form the foundations of every medieval knights education but even the less successful have had the resources and time available to observe all of the nuances of society. Indeed, it is ingrained within their natural way of thinking, much like their instincts for survival, to gain as much knowledge about the land and its population during the middle ages as is humanly possible. Medieval weaponry is a valuable body of knowledge to perfect. The wisdom it takes to treat power as a fragile entity is indeed a greater, more subtle knowledge and one which you will only learn as you live alongside medieval knights, as you learn to live a medieval life. Married with this is the looming backdrop of the entire middle ages: a wealth of diverse history, a country in turmoil over its own inner-workings and the added explosive ingredient of a confidently influential religion. You will probably never realise the true potential of medieval games or the medieval life which was lived in a time of staggering diverse individuals. That is, until you have plumbed the creative and imaginative depths of what but a few enthusiastic computer game designers/historians have found the era to symbolise and thus realise in them.

Getting started on the road to a worthwhile medieval life in the middle ages. Follow the prescribed route of many successful medieval knights or forge your own?

You may initially find Agamemnon to be a difficult realm in which to find success. This is because we have created a world more flexible than the more generic medieval games. Every step of your new life in the middle ages will be your own. There is no right or wrong method for forging your own life, if it is right for you then you have made the correct choice to begin a life which you enjoy within the medival games genre.You will make your own future and past. Medieval games often make full use of the advantages which stereotypes about the genre offer and which people are willing to accept so glibly. The alternative is to stay as close to actual facts as is plausible and realistic in the context of medieval games.. The route which we have chosen to take instead has proven to be the correct one.. We believe the current method of introducing you to the land offers many overall benefits. The foundations of your character are only firmly set when you are ready to proceed. You can enquire and explore for years if you thought it fruitful.. The introduction to the land will unfold in whichever direction you wish to lead your medieval life towards. Whichever road you follow, guidance will be offered along the way. You will be placed within the more than adequate hands of which ever of the medieval knights or their squires are standing upon the mainland at the time of your entrance into the middle ages. If his life is not appealing to you at any point along your path with him, you will be offered plenty of opportunities to leave him to his choices so that you are free to make your own. Do not expect to find an easy life which you can slip in to by default. Agamemnon places firm roots in the belief that success and failure mean so much more to an individual when they are caused by the actions of that individual. Where medieval games have failed in the past we have succeeded. Our only possibility for failure in the medieval games genre is the difficulty which total freedom offers. Your life in the middle ages is your own to lead, to discover or throw away as you choose. You will be offered guidance and knowledge. We have simply offered you the opportunity to know and experience our vision of medieval life and our understanding of such an eventful time period.

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RPGS

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