I have an interesting conundrum that I never anticipated with making games.
I am working on a card game involving composers of the early romantic era, and I currently have 6 composers that players can choose to play as. (it is only a 4 player game, but it is nice to have options for everyone)
By what method should I chose which composers to highlight by my inclusion into the game?
I am most tempted to do the 6 most famous, that way anyone with the knowledge of romantic era music would be most likely to recognize them, and understand why Franz Liszt and Frederic Chopin were kind of frenemies and why the game has mechanics that reflect that.
But what about Richard Wagner who is well know (Ride of the Valkyries) and definitely a great composer, but when doing research on him, I found out that he was publicly expressed antisemitic sentiments, and was beloved by the Nazis. Perhaps he shouldn't be included...
Also there are female composers in the early 1800s too! But very few people are even aware of them. (Let me know if you have heard of Emilie Mayer, Eliza Flower, Fanny Mendelssohn, or Clara Schumann)
Who should I honor by highlighting them in my game? Would people be interested in playing a game where they know nothing about the people they are playing with?
Thank you all for your input! I have made some decisions and updated my prototype. It can be accessed here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tYpeyy46B5nGX-Ze4hO9DR3pcEOOF5No/view?u...
I would deeply appreciate any feedback or play tests that this group could provide.
I thought that was a great idea!
So I went with some of the most famous of the time period, some in the middle for the history buffs, and one so obscure that it may incite people to look her up.
By the way, the obscure one is Emilie Mayer Who seemed to have a rough battle with sexism and getting known as a composer, but was prolific, and wrote 8 symphonies and listening to one of them I decided she is a new favorite of mine, and more people should know she exists.
So, 4 male, 2 female, all fantastic, dramatic, and contemporaries.
My game idea is more showcasing the lives of the composers and their inspiration rather than the music. That is why though I think Wagner is a great musician, I was uncomfortable about including him.
Note:
The composers are absolutely fascinating to learn about. The ones I selected more or less all knew each other, and were Similarly aged. At this time period, (the romantic era) everyone was deeply interested at putting complex and powerful emotions into music, which was a break from the previous music of the time.
They are all so dramatic, and I think I want to amp up the melodrama in my game.
History Lesson:
Robert and Clara Schumann were very happily married, and had an excellent relationship. They took in Brahms who showed up on their doorstep with a letter of recommendation to study music with them. Brahms definately Robert suffered from some severe mental health issues, and for Clara's safety admitted himself to a mental asylum in his 40s and died two years later. Clara would live another 42 years past her husband composing and performing into her 70s. I selected Clara over Robert for the game because she seemed to have a bigger influence even if she was less famous (and having two with the same last name would be confusing).