In the new MMO “New World” from Amazon, it was initially thought that it would take place in America during the colonial era. But this is not the case: Such a setting would be politically incorrect. Now it is said that there are no indications of America in the MMO. The game takes place on an island in the Atlantic, akin to Atlantis.
How did the idea of America come up? New World was introduced in September 2016. However, for years it remained an unknown entity. Only a few trailers and bits of information surfaced.
However, there were some indications that New World would take place in 17th-century America:
- The term “New World” is actually closely associated with the colonization of America by Europeans, who discovered and claimed a “new world”.
- Moreover, the first image of New World resembled a Spanish “Conquistador”.
- In a leak about New World, “Roanoke” was seen on a map, a colony in North America that disappeared without a trace.
- The screenshots that were shown also implied “East Coast North America”.
Amazon itself has stated from the beginning that “mystical elements” would play a role in this new world.
It was therefore clear: This would be a “fictional setting”, not a historical one. Where exactly it would take place was left open.
The leaks and trailers suggested that the game would take place on the East Coast of North America in the 17th century, right in the colonial period.
Why is this a problem? Colonialism is viewed critically. The Europeans came as conquerors and believed in their superiority over indigenous peoples.
Diseases were introduced, atrocities were committed, resources were plundered.
Setting a game in America and allowing players to take on the role of European conquerors would therefore be highly problematic and could turn into a PR nightmare for Amazon as soon as someone considers what they are actually roleplaying.
“This is not America”
These are the new details: The Game Director of New World, Scot Lane, spoke with Eurogamer about the difficulties of setting a game in colonial-era North America:
“Colonialism: There is no good way to tell this story. We are not doing that. This is not America. We have no history of America on the island. There is nothing that connects us to America.”
Scot Lane, in conversation with Eurogamer
New World takes place “on an island in the middle of the Atlantic”, says Lane. You can call it “Atlantis” or “Terra Australis Incognita”.
All people on the island came there, the island was previously uninhabited. Everyone who is there was driven by greed or the desire to possess Azoth – the source of magic.
This is the story that they want to tell in New World.
Similar setting, but without historical baggage
Here’s what’s behind it: It was already clear that New World takes place in a “fictional version” and is not historical, but will be based on a historical setting.
With the twist of setting it on a previously uninhabited island, Amazon avoids a deep pitfall: This way, they can utilize the advantages of a new setting during the times of colonization without having to deal with the fate of indigenous peoples.
Because in the world of New World, there were no indigenous peoples; everyone arrived of their own accord.
It would be interesting to know whether this was planned from the beginning or if the studio only came to the realization during development of the problems that the “untouched” setting of the colonial era poses as a background for an MMO.
In any case, the problem now seems to be elegantly solved. You can see how clearly Scot Lane distances himself from connections to America.
What else is new? In addition to the island, further innovations were announced in an interview with MeinMMO. Alongside the removal of mandatory PvP, the combat system was also presented in more detail.
Read more about New World, its release, and the beta here.
