Bonaparte – A Mechanized Revolution is the upcoming steampunk-style 4X strategy title from Studio Imugi, the Canadian studio founded by former developers of Kitfox Games and Sabotage in 2021.
The indie team has been quietly working on the project since the start of the pandemic, securing critical funding in the form of grants from the Canadian government and Ubisoft, growing from three co-founders to eight employees, implementing a four-day work week, and pondering how to stand out in a genre dominated by behemoths like Paradox, Firaxis, and others.
Speaking to the game developer at Gamescom 2024, creative director Jongwoo Kim explains Bonaparte will empower players by ensuring they are not “forced” to make choices.
He believes that strategy and tactical RPGs often ignore the broader context of decision-making to force players down certain paths. Speaking specifically about the grand strategy genre, Kim notes that those titles are so “narrow” (often spanning hundreds of years) that they also struggle to humanize their characters and narratives, leaving players struggling to make meaningful emotional connections.
To counter these perceived pitfalls, he says Bonaparte “it will focus on a specific moment in history where a lot of things happen.”
“For the initial release, we focused on the revolutionary decade from 1789 to 1799, and there are so many great personalities and great ideas,” he says, noting that the real Napoleon Bonaparte was initially quite “politically ambivalent,” making him the perfect wildcard for players looking to set a whimsical alternate history.
“We emphasize that you are not Napoleon. You are Bonaparte in an alternate timeline. You are not bound by Napoleon's choices. You can choose to create your own radical workers' republic if you really want to. Or if you want to choose to be the king's lackey, you can do that too,” Kim says.
“In terms of representing history in games, there's a common misconception that history is just names, places, and dates. That's actually the boring part. What's interesting is why people do things. What were the dynamics behind these factions? Why couldn't they make peace?”
Kim says Bonaparte will seek to offer “alternative history with authenticity,” but notes that players shouldn't expect a full-blown historical simulation. The title will take place during a niche period and focus on a few select historical figures, allowing players to immerse themselves deeply in a moment in time rather than dragging them through multiple generations.
How does it play to their advantage in a market with a litany of expansive historical strategy titles? Kim believes Imugi’s approach can win players over by avoiding “oatmeal” narrative design conventions. “It’s about getting more meaningful results from your choices,” he continues.
“I think big, large-scale strategy games allow us to have a lot of choices that really change games and their outcomes, [but] There's a saying in video game narrative circles about oatmeal experiences. There are these bumps, but they're so small and they're everywhere that you don't really notice that each bump is actually a meaningful choice. By really focusing on this era and focusing on the key figures, I think we'll have a much more defined experience.”
Kim hopes it's an approach that can change Bonaparte in a “spicy appetizer”. A delicious morsel that, while not as substantial as porridge, is much more potent.
