Have you ever fantasized about ruling an entire empire? Are you impressed and awed by the supreme power of medieval kings and queens? Tigrido brings all of your fantasies to life on the screen of your smartphone with their latest addition to strategy and simulation games: My Majesty. Known for their immersive modern ruler simulation titles from The Dictator series, Tigrido has targeted the medieval era with its newest mobile title. The game will be available to download and play for free on iOS devices from the Apple iTunes App Store after its release.
Set to be released on 27 September 2016, we got our hands on a pre-release promotional copy of the title and you will be delighted to hear that it offers a great ruling experience as well as the other side of the story. Yes you heard right, now with My Majesty, you can play both as a ruler and a peasant which offers exciting new prospects for a player. Throw in the options of being part of nobility and the army and you have a complete empire right in your pocket.
The game starts with an attractive looking menu screen displaying a huge crown above the option to RULE. This is obviously meant to reinforce the main concept of the game that is to offer you a complete ruling experience and in the medieval era power was everything. As soon as you click on the Rule button, you are taken to a screen which represents your court. From here you can watch over the proceedings of your entire kingdom and enforce new laws and decisions as you desire.
My Majesty is a game that is very different from other strategy and ruler simulation games available online. This is because you are not faced with a traditional view from above empire. Rather you are kept in the court environment and messengers deliver important notifications to the palm of your hand much like a real King. The urgency of the matter determines the intensity of your court environment. For example during a fire in your capital, the courtroom screen will flash red and an animation of fire burning at the bottom of the screen will be shown until it is doused effectively.
With such fast gameplay mechanics and complex decisions to make in split seconds, My Majesty is a game that will definitely keep you enthralled for many hours. However if you want to spend those hours effectively as a powerful ruler instead of a masquerading pretender, it is imperative that you seek the counsel of rulers before you. Consider this guide as written by your ancestors who ruled before you, before the game was even released. Follow the tips mentioned in this guide and you shall rule as a true and powerful King.
1. Know Your Way Around The Courtroom
You are the King of your empire and as grand as that sounds it is your duty to keep track of each and everything that goes on in your kingdom. You do have messengers, ministers and priests in your courtroom to help you out but Tigrido has made sure to keep a high difficulty level for the game by providing a certain level of artificial intelligence that these courtroom members possess. This means that you will have to closely listen to every message or report that is presented before you and always remain cautious of any conspiracy that might be taking root against you.
2. Ruling As A Good King
Your courtroom in My Majesty consists of representatives from the common people as well and as their rightful king, it is your duty to listen to the plight if your people. However as Tigrido did with their Dictator series, it is entirely up to you to rule as a benevolent and loved king or a ruthless and feared one. Due to some of its harsh practices, the game might be considered as unsuitable for children to play without parental supervision.
If you decide to become a gentle king who cares for the general public, your popularity index will climb up rapidly and stay to the max at most times. However, because you care too much for the people you will not be able to charge much tax from them. This will in turn lead to low funds in your treasury and ultimately a shortage of money for the army and defenses of your kingdom. Remember, this game is set in the medieval era and in those times softness in a king was taken as weakness in his rule. Therefore be prepared to face all kinds of allegations, threats and conspiracies from your Nobility and do not be surprised if you are faced with a military coup takeover as a result of an underfed army.
3. Becoming A Feared Name In Your Empire
My Majesty allows you to shape the course of events in the game through your choices at different moments of the game. Just as you gain love of the people by ruling as a good king, you can gain respect and control of your army through the use of fear and intimidation. Fear is a more powerful motivator than benevolence and if you rule ruthlessly over your people you can ensure their complete obedience. However, you should not go beyond limits to the point of outright cruelty and inhumane behavior. Remember, the characters in the game will offer you all sorts of violent punishments and torture suggestions but it is up to you to control your inner beast so that you do not become the most hated man in your empire. To rule effectively, you need to strike a balance between benevolent behavior and keeping a firm hand on your empire.
4. Going To War And Defending Your Empire
My Majesty gives you a chance to display your strategic prowess and outmatch the intelligence of your enemies. The game is a simulation of courtroom and empire politics in the medieval era so war is pretty much a commonplace occurrence during your tenure as king. A war might be initiated from your side due to a border crossing or killing of villagers that belong to the enemy state. In this case you will have to take decisions very wisely because you are the aggressor and any wrong move on your part may lead to thousands of death in your empire. You can also choose to become bent on taking over new areas and expanding your empire regardless of how many of your people have to lay down their lives for your wishes to come true. Needless to say this is the most ineffective strategy during the time of war and will only lead to despair and distress within your kingdom and your army.
The best way to handle a political conflict would be to send an envoy to the enemy asking for a suitable barter which would be in the best interests of both of you and your people. However, the game does not always offer this option and in some cases even if you do manage to strike a deal with the enemy, miscreants from both sides would create trouble again. The success or failure of a deal is a very much random process and you just have to keep your fingers crossed which makes this game all the more exciting to play.
5. Sorcerers, Wizards And Potion Masters
You most definitely would have heard of Merlin, the famous wizard that lived in the medieval era and was a major influence in shaping history as we know it today. You can go back in time with My Majesty and deal with Merlin at your side. One thing to keep in mind is to never trust the advice or suggestions that Merlin gives you because no matter how sincere he may sound, he is only working for personal interests and his rise to power. This is evident in the game when you lose a battle with the enemy and get turned into a toad by Merlin which just goes to show how deeply he cares for you (sarcasm intended).
Merlin is the chief wizard of your empire but he controls a guild of sorcerers as well who learn magic and powerful spell under his apprenticeship. In order to ensure that your rule remains unchallenged, you need to keep an eye on the activities that are taking place under Merlin. Do not allow Merlin to practice his spells and magic free of any repercussions because if he begins to rise to power, the wizarding guild will rebel against your rule and you will be left with nothing.
Similar to wizards, potion masters are the best alchemists in your empire and can craft wonderful concoctions to help you overwhelm your enemies in battle. Potion research is very expensive however and you need to keep an eye on your treasury if you do not want to start begging for alms very soon. Overall, the potions guild is quite a stable faction to have in your empire and you only have to worry about the gold that they consume.