Whenever Paradox Interactive announced a new title would be coming soon, it became a running joke to say it's "Vicky 3". Well, the jokes are now over, and Paradox Interactive are very serious about making a worthy successor to Victoria II.
In gaming history, legendary games, such as Half-Life, have had sequels that have been so long waited, that the wait has turned into an inside joke. Victoria III is one of those, highly anticipated, sequels.
As a grand strategy game, the Victoria franchise has differed from other similar games, with its focus on the specific time period of the 19th century, as well as the economic and diplomatic relations between countries, rather than bringing armies and war into prime focus, as most other games are wont to do.
According to the dev's journal, the pop core mechanic is not only present but made even deeper. This mechanic is what allowed Victoria games to become the classics they are, by showing each and every citizen on the planet in the time the games are set, through a set of population classes.
The developers have highlighted four key things that make an authentic Victoria game:
- Intranational progress. There are enough events, problems, and history within a single nation, that Victoria 3 aims to make managing your own nation and improving its socio-economic status enjoyable enough by itself.
- Diplomacy. While shifting the focus from war in international relations, Paradox Interactive has made diplomacy take its place in these games. To become a Great Nation means not to merely "paint the map" in the colors of your nation, but to stand on the right side of history with powerful allies.
- Politics. If a word embodies Victoria games' essence, it would be politics. Using the ever-changing world of the 19th century to your advantage is something that must be done in order to prosper.
- Change. The time in which the game takes place, from 1836-1936, is a time when a man has gone from fighting with guns barely better than muskets, to bomber planes, meaning the players leading the countries cannot be set in their ways.
Paradox Interactive
Other game mechanics, such as historical events, are also being kept in the game, and polished. Events such as revolutions now mean the player can choose to stand on the side of the revolutionaries or against them.
The fans are keeping their expectations in check though. Many a game has been overhyped and then received poorly due to high expectations, regardless of its actual quality. We are optimistic though, as no date has been revealed and it would seem the developers know what is at stake, and will not rush the game's development process and release.
