When you're making a video game about actual human history, it's tricky to find the right mix of historical accuracy and good game design.

At GDC 2016, Paradox Development Studio senior game designer Chris King (Crusader Kings II, Europa Universalis IV, Victoria II) spoke about some of the solutions his studio has come up with to bring history into your game, while at the same time ensuring the game itself is fun and compelling to play.

"Because if we went for perfect history, if you started a World War II game as Germany, you would always lose," King said. "This is not a huge amount of fun for players, but it's definitely 100 percent historical." 

His talk about walking that fine line between fun and historical was well worth watching, and if you missed it in person you can now watch the whole thing for free via the official GDC YouTube channel.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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