Although it is certainly not everything to a game, representation means a great deal to me: not just on an intellectual level, but on an emotional level. Playing full-on Indigenous-made games like Elizabeth LaPenseé’s 2D adventure game,
When Rivers Were Trails, gives me the chance to see myself and my people in a good way—which up until this point has been a rare case in video games.
WORLD’S EDGE: What was it about Elizabeth LaPenseé’s game that resonated with you as a person with Indigenous heritage?
ANTHONY BRAVE: There’s a lot of things. For starters, it is a space that allows players to react in Native ways. There are points in the game where you must make choices in how you handle a given situation, but one of the differences in this game is there are Native options to choose from as reactions to situations. For example, you can pull out a hand-drum and sing or offer tobacco in reaction to a situation, which I’ve never seen in any other game I’ve played up until this point.
Then there’s the sheer diversity of Native people you meet along your journey. Apparently there were around 30 other Native writers from a variety of Tribes as a part of the project—bringing their stories into the game. At first I thought it was cool—like on an intellectual level—but after hours of play and meeting Native people in a video game, something happened; I felt overwhelmed with a joyful feeling. At that moment, I realized I hadn’t played a video game made by and for Natives. I guess I had been wishing for something like this for a long time, but hadn’t fully realized it until that moment happened.
WORLD’S EDGE: Your work has been so valuable to our storytelling and representation of Lakota people. What were some of the most important changes you requested in
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition?
ANTHONY BRAVE: To be honest: there were times playing the game as a Lakota guy—as me—that felt pretty cringey. For example, the Fire Pit is pretty bad—not to mention the skulls on spikes at, like, all Indigenous villages in the main game. The mining was just nonsensical for Native people, too.
WORLD’S EDGE: Could you explain why having Indigenous North Americans mining made you feel that way? You’re not the only Native American or First Nations consultant who pointed that out to us.
ANTHONY BRAVE: Mining is pretty antithetical to Native values in general. We are taught to respect the land as our mother and be in good relations with it. Mining is a form of exploitation of the land, and we would never treat our mother like that.
WORLD’S EDGE: We ended up changing the Mining mechanic to the Tribal Marketplace, which allows for an alternative method to gather Coin. We then worked with top players in an early closed beta environment to ensure that it’s still fun and balanced. You mentioned the Fire Pit game mechanic too. What was it about the Fire Pit that was offensive and/or hurtful to Indigenous Peoples?
ANTHONY BRAVE: Although I don’t think the original creators intended it this way, the Fire Pit was pretty offensive…for a number of reasons. It hit me as soon as I saw it, and immediately brought to my mind these old stereotypes of Natives dancing around the fire like wild savages. Upon contact, Native people weren’t considered human by their western counterparts—but as wild animals without souls. If anything was wild, however, it was the imagination of colonists; we all had robust societies, cultures, governing structures, languages, histories, etc., and certainly weren’t wild or savage.
The Fire Pit works magically in that having people dance around a fire
somehow gives warriors on the battlefield more power. On the other hand, the Western people get power through logical means: like the development of technology or increasing their capacity for war by developing their forts. This perpetuates the old, tired “savage vs civilized” dichotomy.
It’s also like, for all Indigenous people, there is the Fire Pit: like a one-size-fits-all thing, which just doesn’t work given how different we all are as Indigenous peoples.
Having something like the Fire Pit be so central to the game’s play continues to reinforce these rather pernicious notions about us. With its presence, it subtly says, “it’s okay to utilize these kinds of images of Native people.” Unless we change these kinds of representations—big or small—in a way, we will
all be stuck dancing around a Fire Pit.
Anthony meets with Age of Empires Narrative Director Noble Smith to discuss Age III: Definitive Edition in the World’s Edge QA lab
WORLD’S EDGE: Based on the feedback we got from you and other consultants, we changed the Fire Pit to the Community Plaza (a building where Villagers work together to create benefits for your civilization) and went through the same beta process to balance this.
WORLD’S EDGE: We also removed the “Nature Friendship” ability from the Native American and First Nations civs in the game. Can you explain why this was an important and necessary change?
ANTHONY BRAVE: This trope seems particularly prevalent in video games to the point where it seems like if there is a Native character in a video game, that character
must have animal powers. When it gets that entrenched, it would be good to stop the dancing around
that pit as well.
WORLD’S EDGE: Just so our readers know, the removal of Nature Friendship has also been adjusted in the game with alternative abilities that have also been through the same balance testing as the other adjustments.
WORLD’S EDGE: Now, let’s talk about Crazy Horse—who means a lot to you. Who was he? Why was he such an important figure in the history of this country?
ANTHONY BRAVE: First off, when I saw Crazy Horse, I was also like “Who’s this Iron-Eyes Cody looking Crazy Horse?!” I had a hard time following the story, at times, because every time I saw Crazy Horse I was so perplexed. There were no known photos taken of Crazy Horse, although there are oral descriptions of him…and this was nothing like I had imagined.
Iron-Eyes Cody (for those who don’t know) was this Sicilian guy who masqueraded in Hollywood as a Native American. He was cast as the Native guy in a now infamous commercial from the 70’s with the tear going down his cheek after someone threw trash at him…which is actually hilarious if you think about it.
Crazy Horse was an issue for me: not just in the way he looked, but the fact that he seemed to be appropriated just to spice up a “Native” storyline. Crazy Horse being this great Lakota leader was a hero of mine growing up—as closely as I can say I had any heroes—and his role in the original Shadow storyline trivializes who he really was.
WORLD’S EDGE: And so when you saw him portrayed in the game, you felt like a game was not an appropriate place for a revered personage like him?
ANTHONY BRAVE: I think a game
can have Crazy Horse in it, but it has to be done right: with great care, thought, and research from the beginning…not just in how he is represented, but also with the kind of context the game creates. In this case, it just didn’t seem very dignifying for someone of his standing. I would also add that if you wanted to depict Crazy Horse, you should reach out to his maternal family to get permission.
WORLD’S EDGE: You rewrote the Shadow storyline. Could you explain what was problematic about the original story and what changes you made to the plot?
ANTHONY BRAVE: The main things I wanted was to have Chayton be more relatable and to offer another kind of mentor for him in the form of his uncle…who is an intentionally fictional, but bit more rounded-out character.
The original story wrote Chayton as a Native guy who wasn’t really
Native. He knew nothing about Lakota culture, history, or his family; on top of that he was just incredibly naïve—to the degree that he was somehow shocked there was trouble between Native folks and settlers. Like, what timeline are you living in, bro?
WORLD’S EDGE: We love the new version of Chayton, and also your creation of the Lakota elder, Uncle Warbonnet (aka Uncle Frank), to replace Crazy Horse. Could you talk about Uncle Frank and what he means to you?
ANTHONY BRAVE: Uncle Warbonnet is Chayton’s Uncle. We kept the fact that Chayton’s father was Lakota. I wanted to lean into that. I wanted Chayton to have a mentor figure who had a natural connection to him. In Lakota culture, it’s not uncommon for an uncle to take care of his nieces or nephews if their father is unable to do so. This being the case, I decided to create a new character—which was Uncle “Frank” Warbonnet—in replacement of Crazy Horse.
Folks might wonder what’s up with naming him Frank. The history is that many native folks were “given” missionary names back in those days, which were obviously not their traditional names. Given this history, I took the opportunity to put a little ironic humor into it and flip things around; for a people who have been misnamed as “Indians” for over 500 years, it’s hard not to have a sense of humor about these things.
Chayton meeting with his Uncle Warbonnet (aka Uncle Frank)
WORLD’S EDGE: What elements of the story change—if any—resonated strongly or personally with you?
ANTHONY BRAVE: I like the buffalo (bison) theme…which kept coming up in my mind when I was writing. To me, they are a symbol of strength and resilience. They also don’t hesitate to teach someone a lesson if that person gets too close.
WORLD’S EDGE: If our players are interested to learn more about the Lakota people and the breadth of Native American people and cultures, what further resources would you recommend to them?
ANTHONY BRAVE: My advice: if you want to get to know someone or a community, it’s about building good relations—which, as we know, can take a whole lot of time, energy, and care. And like all relationships, there aren’t any guarantees.
It’s hard to really do justice to the incredible diversity and dynamism of Native and Indigenous peoples, but I’m happy to give a couple recommendations:
One is a podcast called “
All My Relations,” which (at this time) is in its second season. It’s great for Native and non-Native folks alike. It’s not only filled with tons of laughter and love, but is a great crash course on the contemporary issues Native communities and people are facing. I highly recommend it.
If you want to dig into representation a bit more, give the documentary out there called
Reel Injun a watch; it’s not hard to find.
WORLD’S EDGE: We’ve found working with Native American consultants to be incredibly educational and we’re so thankful for your help and support. We hope that this improved representation will inspire and educate others as it has us. Are there any examples of media that better represent Native American peoples and cultures that you could recommend our players seek out?
ANTHONY BRAVE: It’s the media made by and with Indigenous folks that do the best job with representation. For a start, go play
When Rivers Were Trails,
Thunderbird Strike,
Umurangi Generation,
Terra Nova, and
Never Alone. If you want a contemporary book to read, check out Tommy Orange’s book,
There There, or
Heart Berries by Therise Mailhot. For the movie buffs out there, I would suggest
The Fast Runner,
Powwow Highway, and
Smoke Signals is still a good one.
There’s really so much out there, way more than these suggestions…
WORLD’S EDGE: Is there anything you’d like to communicate directly to people who’ll be playing our changed and new Native American and First Nations content in
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition?
ANTHONY BRAVE: The entire team put an incredible effort into improving this game. I hope you enjoy it…especially the Lakota parts.
♦ ♦ ♦
Another huge thanks to Anthony Brave for joining us! Watch for more interviews with
Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition Native American and First Nations consultants in the weeks to come, and be sure to
pre-order Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition to check out all of the changes for yourself this October!