I’ve seen several random posts of people claiming that their favorite civ should be the next one and why, but none of them come with a poll. So I decided to gather all the civilizations mentioned in the posts discussing this topic and made this giant poll. I hope I haven’t left out any ideas.
I love the idea of this poll, just for fun. But I think the options could have been tightened up a bit. Aztecs were a specific Nahua group, so having both Aztecs and Nahua on there is a little redundant. Similar could be said of Babylonians, Sumerians, and Mesopotamians. Yes, there are subtle differences between them, but they are broadly similar enough that taking up 3 possible different votes splits things a little too much.
Unrelated to the above, I like that you included Romans as an option on here. But I think they would be silly to go for it. Between the very large overlaps between Roman and Greek mythology, and the use of Roman iconography in the Atlanteans, I feel like the Romans are already covered in all but name.
Also Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians also share the same religion more or less.
The different groups Celts probably had more differences between each other mythologically.
However, I really think Babylonians, Sumerians, Assyrians, and Akkadians should all be merged into a Mesopotamian civ with Anu, Enlil, and Ea/Enki as major gods, and later Marduk for a 4th major god.
Hindus could either be the modern Hindu gods with Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, or as I suspect, they probably would do the older Vedic period with Indra, Agni, and Varuna instead since they focused more on the older pre-dynasty gods for Chinese.
And for the purposes of future campaigns, it would be good to have civs that interacted with other civs so that you aren’t just playing and fighting against the same new civ, like Tales of the Dragon was just Chinese vs Chinese. A Mesopotamian civ could have a campaign with the Egyptians. A Hindu civ could interact with the Chinese. Celts with Norse or Greeks could be done, too.
Many of the civilizations you mention did not exist in the year the game “before 1200 BC” is based on. For example, at that time the Incas did not exist, but the Caral Civilization did. Another example is that at that time the Aztec civilization did not exist, but the Olmec civilization did. I think you should modify your survey and only add civilizations that existed before 1200 BC.
I don’t think adding the Romans as a new pantheon in Age of Mythology: Retold would be the best choice, mainly because they’re just too similar to the Greeks. The game already has two factions deeply tied to Greek mythology the Greeks and the Atlanteans so introducing a third would feel pretty redundant.
Roman mythology is essentially a rebranded version of Greek mythology, with most gods being the same but under different names (Zeus = Jupiter, Poseidon = Neptune, etc.). While Roman culture had its own identity, its mythology wasn’t all that different from the Greeks. Plus, the Atlanteans already worship Greek gods like Kronos and Ouranos (which literally means “sky” in Greek), so adding the Romans would just create even more overlap.
With the upcoming Immortal Pillars expansion bringing in the Chinese pantheon, it’s great to see the game expanding into new mythological territory. And in the future, I think it would make way more sense to go with something unique like Mesopotamian, Celtic, or Mesoamerican mythology rather than a slightly different take on what we already have.
One of the best things about Age of Mythology is its diversity, and bringing in mythologies that offer fresh gods, creatures, and playstyles would keep that spirit alive. The Romans just wouldn’t add much to that.
I highly doubt that they will touch any modernly-practiced faith with a 10-foot pole honestly. Far too easy to get controversial or for someone to get offended.
More ancient forms of hinduism could be possible, but the modern form won’t be touched, i’m pretty much sure of that.
I was gonna say, I really don’t think time period is that relevant, because at its core, the world of Age of Mythology is a fictional world, so you can have ancient egyptians interacting with the Norse at a time when any people in Scandinavia wouldn’t be funcitioning in the “High Norse” type civilization you see in AOM.
Btw just thought of this, Baltic/Lithuanian Paganism could be another good shout, given that it’s probably the longest-lived form of European paganism.
I think we should base every pantheon on the oldest known mythology of each civ. And with known I mean actually known, not wild guesses based on some archaeological evidence like Olmec or Minoan mythology.
We know a lot about Sumerian mythology for example but for the Americas we can only really add civilisation that existed around the time of Columbus because we know almost nothing about anything about the civilisations that predate those.
While this is a valid point and I don’t think it’s a bad idea, I still want to see other pantheons first before they introduce a Roman pantheon to the game.
That would make Aztecs the logical choice, because their mythology is the best documented one, by far.
Except maybe Dine/Navajo and other north american nomadic ones, but then, there would not be walled cities.
Maya mythology is also pretty well documented, but not as well as Aztec mythology. It is believed to be richer, but less of it has been preserved.
Always someone bringing that up. Other games have, like Smite; a third-person MOBA. The only offense they made was to make Kali too revealing (despite she’s depicted as naked), prompting a redesign. But like I said, I think they would do the Vedics instead, which fits the period better and isn’t still practiced.
Personally, I think we should go for the civilization that gives us the most information about them. And I’m willing to wager that we know more about the Assyrians and the Babylonians than we do of the Sumerians.
Also, let’s hit 2 birds with 1 stone. Both the Assyrians and the Babylonians people spoke Akkadian. Sumerians had their own language. The developers could combine both the Assyrians and the Babylonians into 1 single Mesopotamian fighting force and take the best traits and attributes from each empire.
Also, if I recalled correctly, they are much closer to the ancient Greeks and the ancient Chinese than the Sumerians in terms of relevant time periods.
Wouldn’t that mean that we should go for current day civilisations. We know more about US culture then we know about any Bronze Age culture but I don’t think people would want to see the USA as a civilisation in AoMR.
That is true but I think this whole problem can be solved by just naming the civilisation something like Mesopotamians.
The Norse aren’t called Danes, Norwegians, Swedes or Icelandians either.
The question is just what language we should use for the god names.
