1867 (video game)
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1867 is an video game demo modified to be an April fool's day joke, released on Apr. 1, 2010 by Camden Games on the Internet. The game depicts the Battle of Liang between Themiclesia and Camia that occurred on Dec. 25, 1867. The head programmer credited in 1867 said, "Just as the battle was over before it started, so too the credits roll before the demo begins." The demo was later revealed to be the kernel of Remit: Kernel, published in 2014.
Historical basis
In 1867, Camia assembled an army to take the Themiclesian-controlled island of Liang, which is geographically closer to Camia than Themiclesia and for that reason suspected of being a base of operations in a hypothetical Themiclesian invasion. Adding to this suspicion was the presence of heavy foritifications on the island, both in its interior and on the harbours. The Camians had anticipated a strong resistance from Themiclesia, given the amount of fortifications present, but the Themiclesian government commanded its forces not to resist should an invasion of the island occur, in order to buy time to organize defences in continental Themiclesia. Thus, the Camians landed without encountering any resistsance, sparking indignation in Camian ranks, which had trained under real fire for a difficult battle on the beaches and lost at least 30 soldiers due to that training.
Features
While the game has no gameplay at all, it possesses an extensive character customization application. The player may customize his Themiclesian marine with over 300 options on the body alone, touching such details like iris size, quadriceps muscle definition, and default facial expression. Additional options exist for the colour and newness of the uniforms, the state and reliability of his musket, and relationship with commanders and comrades. The character's skill level is adjustable in aiming accuracy, strength, resilience, and communication ability with others. The aiming slider goes from a minimum of "aim bot" to a maximum of "scope not available". Finally, the player can decide how likely it is for his character to surrender without player input and thus incur game over.
After the character creation menu, the demo can be launched, placing the player near a pond on a barren field. The player can walk, run, and jump within a very small invisible box, but interaction with fluids and entities is possible. Collision appears unpolished, as the character jitters when stepping into a solid object. A pop-up box then appears with a single button "surrender"; if the player does not click this button, the demo behaves as though it was clicked after 30 seconds. The character slumps face-down onto the ground, as the credits appear on the right. Despite being an option to surrender, the player's health register is set to zero, and the death animation is actually shown. After the demo ends, the player is presented with the main menu again.
Reception
Almost immediately after the demo was released, there was widespread speculation about the real game the demo implied was in development. Initially there was focus on the fact that a scope—no Themiclesian regiment in 1867 enjoyed telescopic aids—was available, interpreted to mean that a PSW-era game was in development. Alternatively, others thought that a game set in 1867, perhaps on a hypothetical timeline when Themiclesia does fight on Liang, was implied, as there were many clothing models that evoke of the period's fashions but not resembling military uniforms. Eventually, Camden defied virtually all speculations: it was the early-development demo of Remit: Kernel, a game set in 2067 but generally using futuristic themes. The clothing models were actually what Camden thought Themiclesian Marines' uniforms would look like in 2067, implying their uniforms have not changed for at least 200 years.
There was a passing complaint on Static Defences magazine, a quarterly publication on the defence of the realm, alleging that Camden published the demo with this title only to make fun of Themiclesian forces and "place them in a rather unflattering light." Camden replied unofficially after Remit: Kernel was revealed that "nothing unhistorical was implemented into the demo", and "the eventual game does not create or imply a negative portrayal of any country's armed forces."