14 DAY TRIAL // Qvadriga is a video game from a developer called Turntopia that aims to simulate chariot racing in the Ancient world, with the ultimate goal of the experience being to get to the Circus Maximus in Rome and win an event.
There are a few elements of the game that some players might find troubling or repulsive, including chariot drivers that die while running away, the whipping of horses and a tendency towards violence that many would argue should not be part of the sports world.
There’s no chance of seeing chariot racing in the modern world, but there’s a savage quality and a brutal elegance to the way it is depicted in Qvadriga that makes me wish that I could travel in time to see how it actually felt to watch one of these events.
At the same time, I am a big fan of the FIFA series from EA Sports, which simulates football as the name implies, and I play a few matches every day with a colleague with whom I have developed a healthy rivalry.
To an outside observer that’s unaccustomed to the real-world sport, the video game version, at least as we play it, includes plenty of crunching tackles, at least one major injury during each match and plenty of big collisions between attackers and defenders.
Their presence is dwarfed at the moment by the cool passes we play, the beautiful shots on goal and the efficient sliding tackles, but there’s certainly an element of violence also visible in FIFA 14.
A recent study has suggested that simply hitting the ball with the head without being properly trained might cause long-term brain problems and my generation might live long enough to witness a future where football as it is now disappears and can only be experienced in its virtual form.
Qvadriga is a good sign when it comes to our ability to create complex experiences that are based on real-world activities and it is great to see that there are game developers who have enough historical knowledge and the ability required to re-create something that no longer exists.
Our world is constantly evolving around us and what is acceptable to us as society changes at a faster pace than ever and it will be interesting to see whether games become a tool to preserve elements of reality that are no longer acceptable.
Until then, Qvadriga is a great way of simply enjoying chariot racing as it was and will never be again.