What if the events of history didn't happen for the reasons you think they did?
That's the one-sentence pitch that Dana Jan, game director at Ready at Dawn, likes to use to introduce the Californian studio's first wholly original game.
The very first reviews for The Order: 1886 — a highly cinematic, alternative-history shooter set in Victorian London that aims to meticulously represent the world's technology hub amid the industrial revolution — went up on the internet overnight and are wildly varied.
Opinions run the gamut from incredible praise for the game's realistic graphics and believable world building, to equally passionate criticism of the game for not making the shooting or exploration as deep as its lore or graphical capabilities.
However, if Jan was worried that The Order hadn't lived up to the creative vision of Ready at Dawn — a team made up of former Blizzard, Naughty Dog and Sony employees who previously worked on portable God of War games — he certainly wasn't showing it when he sat down with us to talk about the game's influences in a Sydney pub earlier this week.
Blending fact and traditional literary folklore, the game includes an underworld of half-human mythological creatures, known as half-breeds, which have preyed on humans for generations. Keeping them in check are the Knights of the Round Table, established by King Arthur, who live unnaturally long lives but are otherwise human.
Players take the role of Lancelot's son Sir Galahad, a battle-weary brute who finds himself somewhat at odds with the rapid political and technological change of 1886.
"What's interesting about Galahad is that he carries with him just enough knowledge about the way the world was and what the knights have done prior to this game, to kinda give you some of the backstory of how the world has changed", Jan says.
"He gives you the sense also that he himself is dealing with change, and things now aren't they way they've always been. He's starting to question 'what is this that we're doing? Why did Arthur bring us together, and is what we're doing the right thing?'"
The struggle of the centuries-old knight to keep up with the times is mirrored in the real-life struggle old-world London saw during the industrial revolution, and throughout the game players are encouraged to share Galahad's aspersions as he and the knights undertake morally grey missions against not only half-breeds but the growing number of rebels, protesters and anti-industrialists that emerged in late 19th-century England.
The city and era was chosen as the perfect place for Ready at Dawn to tell their story of change and struggle, while blending their desire to make a highly-technical shooter with a long-standing interest in crafting a believable alternate history world.
"London was like a hotbed essentially of scientists and world fairs and literally most of the things ... that shaped the modern world are discoveries or inventions that were happening in London. It was a hub for change and advancement. That was really important."
Of course the introduction of King Arthur and mythological beasts into history had a ripple effect, and while much of the London represented in the game is authentic, there are significant changes. Jan explains that the technology and weapons in the game — largely the inventions of Nicola Tesla, who provides the knights with their armaments — reflect the team's idea of how 19th century weapons technology may have developed if humanity was tasked with keeping werewolves at bay.
Lightning-spewing rifles aside, the accurate representation of most aspects of the time period was critical for the team, which travelled to London to take thousands of reference photographs and study old world architecture.
"Most everybody knows something about London", Jan says, "but for us to show them more than what they know, and then play upon that idea of introducing fictional or mythical aspects so they're like 'how much of this is real and how much did they make up', I think that was part of the appeal."
Of course the political change, rapid advancement and public rejection of conservative ideals in late 19th century London are themes that speak to the world today as well, which is by no means incidental.
"Our studio's a very diverse studio, we have people form all backgrounds and all walks of life. And I think with that comes a culture at our studio where we look at the world and the things that are going on right now with a bit of a different lens", Jan says.
While the knights have their orders and see the results of society's change and development one way, Jan says the game explores the fact the "rebels" — often portrayed as anarchists — have good reasons for their actions as well, they just come from a different perspective.
This theme even applies to the half-breeds, who eat humans to survive.
"Are they so bad?", asks Jan. "We don't think of ourselves as [monsters] when we're eating a hamburger."
The Order: 1886 is out Friday for PlayStation 4
