Military Historian Breaks Down Medieval Weapons in Video Games | WIRED
In this episode of Game Over(analyzed), military historian Mike Loades breaks down how medieval weapons and armor are portrayed in modern video games. Watch as Mike takes a look at armor and weapons from games like Dark Souls, Mordhau, The Witcher 3, For Honor, Kingdom Come: Deliverance and more. Just how realistic are these games?
Check out Mike's books here: www.amazon.com/Mike-Loades/e/...
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Talks with dedication and charisma - then calls himself a dull historian. LOL. Nothing dull about it.
A small self-deprecating joke so now and then is common in the UK as to not be regarded too much into yourself. It’s a major US/UK cultural difference
Exactly this, you could see how passionate he is about history which is just fascinating / amazing all by itself and makes it a ton of fun watching him explain things
If he is dull then think how passionate his interesting friends are!
He's humble even if he's awesome, people like these are literally the definition of Chad and the reason such word exist
I simply love how this lad speaks about history, his charisma is over 9000
"Pens -- I know, but they're mightier than the sword" I love you, man
Reality is: whoever wields the sword decides who holds the pen.
@@ThraxxMediaOfficial Antithically, whoever wields the pen determines who holds a sword. (diplomacy) a pen is more deadly than a sword.
@Hentai Guy A pen is mightier than a machine gun
@Hentai Guy pretty obvious when you consider that the guy who coined it did it in 1839.
yea.. john wick proof that
“Dull old historian” says one of the most passionate, knowledgeable and charismatic humans I’ve ever witnessed speak
He doesn’t give himself enough credit. Makes the topic more interesting, showing his passion for it!
He's been a part of quite a few of Historical Docs. I loved him in NOVA's Pharos Chariot. He knows his stuff and is passionate.
I would love to sit and have dinner with this guy and just listen
@@sandhanitizer15 Look for his "weapons that made britain" series, it's like... 4 hours of him barely containing his enthusiasm and it's great
@@evanuphil ooo thank you, I'll check it out
"The first thing to say about decoration is was only ever available to the wealthy" Ah I see, that's why in game cosmetics are so expensive, it's just realism.
Yes
Lol
So EA is just doing it just for realism? wow props to them
@@bullettime8760 now I feel bad for calling them mean names
Kinda pissis me off cause like Medieval times. Experienced players with tonnes of bought and Loot accessories Rub it off your face like *Move Peasants*
"What's exciting about video games today is that it's often the first hook to get young minds interested in history." We need more people like him.
I highly recommend the Mr. Terry History channel for more of this kind of wholesome pro-games vibe
@@abnon-tha3088 For sure, for honor did that for me. I've always had an interest in the history of knights, vikings and samurai and after playing it for a while it peaked my interest to check out the history with a little more in depth look.
It’s a shame Battlefield 5 cared more about political correctness and gameplay rather than historical accuracy and authenticity
This! I was only 10 when i played Age of Empires 2 back in 2000, i always played the historical campaign and read the history on the AOE2 menu, and got really interested in history because of that game to this day, i even search the character on Encarta encyclopedia at the time. With today's internet it would be much easier, oh i'm so envy for gen z
They should have this guy watch or play assassin's creed and see what they got right and where the fantasy comes in. I bet he'd have a field day.
"...dull old historian..." Not sure I have ever met someone with such a warped self perception. This guy is awesome.
I know right. I'd could listen to this guy all day long!
I'm not even into video games, I'm into European medieval history. Mike Loades has so much passion; I wish he had been one of my professors!
This was really great. Mike is extraordinary.
He's one of the favored BBC public historians for a reason.
He used to commentate on an old game show called Time Commanders, which used Rome: Total War to re-enact ancient battles. HIGHLY recommended!
"Don't keep periodically breaking your formation, otherwise there's no point in having it." It's almost as if he's played Bannerlord.
He needs to tell that to the AI lol
The god dam legionaries dying because they don't know how to walk backwards is how I get cucked by the vlandians
@@slithudaboss6501 LOL funniest sentence I have seen today.
Literally my thought when he said that!
@@slithudaboss6501 what, even warband AI can walk backwards
"It is so stupid to throw away a weapon." You hear that Tanjiro?
Spoiler: I hate that he just threw the sword he just got remade even if he was angry af
@@PhoenixAce Fr if I was his swordsmith I'd just quit
@@linart8555 he’s gonna make tanjuro quit his life lmao
Seriously what was the point of throwing your sword at an immortal demon
@@mjw.2980 to make him laught, I guess.
Virgin boomers: videogames encourage kids to be violent Chad historians: videogames get kids interested in history
@Asher L They are hyperbolic fear mongers? Ohhhh, right! You mean violent ;)
ahah this is so good
Violence and the threat of violence is a fundamental reality of all animal life. A stable society requires it through enforcement of their code of laws. We, especially males in late adolescence early adulthood, were biologically designed to be violent. We were the front line between the monsters (large or organized predators) or another tribe. The state took over this responsibility and now we have a biological urge that has few avenues of acceptable expression. So if you're young get into one of them. I guarantee you will feel better and have a more fulfilling experience of our reality.
@@vladthedragon8250 It's unfortunate how much living in a civilized society suppresses so much of human nature. As social, but not eusocial, animals, we have conflicting natures of both social and antisocial tendencies. I agree that young men, especially, need to have avenues of releasing our natural aggression and violent urges. As humanity hurtles headlong into a Type 1 civilization on the Kardashev Scale, we more and more try to include all of humanity as in-group, therefore deserving of in-grouo rights and empathy. As noble a goal as this is, I wonder if we can evolve our violent, tribalistic tendencies. Sometimes I'm optimistic...most times I'm not :(
@@munstrumridcully We're both missing an opportunity to expand if you don't reply. I could be wrong about things and as much as my ego doesn't want it I hope you reply
"Setting them on fire as a bonus because you've already killed them with an arrow" He has a point.
just like the arrow.
Also even if the arrow didn't kill you a little nubdule of burning pitch behind the point isn't going to kill you.
@@MrCompassionate01 I defy you to fight with burning pitch on your skin/clothes though
@@andusz5518 HAHAHA Not enough likes, my friend!!
@@NM-wd7kx I defy you to fight with an arrow in your body though.
Fun fact, there's a frame or two of Geralt's unsheathing animation where his arm is just completely dislocated
And his sword clips through a scabbard.
The Witcher definitely just chose style over realism on the back scabbards. There are functional back scabbards, but they look awkward and aren't very practical agains the elements since they're more than half open blade
@@Erideah It's faithful to the books though which are fantasy books
@@NoodleGeneration I don’t remember the books well enough to know how detailed they were about the scabbard design, but I don’t mind it either way. Style over realism is always a valid choice in fiction, to me. Many fantasy authors write some of the most historically accurate swordplay out there, many care only about the rule of cool, and a bunch fall somewhere in between: I’ve enjoyed books of all of the above
I love that while pointing out historical innaccuracies, he can still appreciate the action and style of the games
While also being inaccurate himself.
@@bodyrumuae2914 oh, can you list his inaccuracies, its kinda important for me to know
@@bodyrumuae2914He said that they cut off some of the detailed parts that he said and kept the simple ones so that the viewers may understand or atleast get the idea
@@bruhguy1636 Still gave some inaccurate information.
The idea that every crossbow needs to be drawn back using winches and such is simply wrong for instance. It was a thing for heavy crossbows and very common in the late medieval period in Europe and normal for heavier crossbows in China but the idea of loading a crossbow of that size by hand being impossible is just nonsense. @@GAxelic
"The armor was so fantastically... wrong." I chuckled at that.
I laughed
I guffawed
I got discombobulated
@@mariantaraza4948 I like that word
i ahhahahahahahauahhauaaauauuuuuahaahahahaahiuuuu’ed at that
I love how passionate he is.
Absolutely!
he's mike loades, he sometimes makes himself look uneducated when demopnstrating because of how enthusiastic he is. He's amazing
Cool!
I would love him as my history teacher
I like how he ends it by saying that losing some details is fine when compared to the benefit of getting people interested in history. I also liked how a bit before he made a point to say that slicing through armor with a sword "is total fantasy. But it's _fine_ as fantasy. But it _is_ fantasy." He gets it. Up until that point I was getting a little annoyed because I know that several things he pointed out were known by the devs to be inaccurate but changed for the benefit of fun, but that one line kind of assured me that he understands this fact. If you want to stick to realistic crossbow reloading, just remember any RPG where reloading a crossbow (or gun) takes an infuriatingly long time when you're low level and that'll give you an idea. Or imagine smashing an enemy with a sword for 20 minutes and getting nowhere because you keep missing the 3 pixel hit box under their shoulder where you need to stab their weak point!
In the Witcher books it is mentioned multiple times that Witcher’s are the only ones who wear swords on there back and people find them strange for it
Does it say anything about the witchers being able to elongate their arms to be able get the sword out?? lol
@@ashstan100 nope just that it takes a lot of practice to become a Witcher and I’m pretty sure half of that is learning to deal with the swords 😂
@@ashstan100 The original books actually mentioned that it would be combination of shoulder movement to slide the sword upwords and the pull motion of the other hand. That being said the swords were 40" long so bit long anyway. But you know, mutants and all that...
@@ashstan100 For the witcher netflix show they actually created a back-scabbard-mount-thingie that functioned. So it is possible, even though it never was used in medieval times.
@@ashstan100 Shadiversity also has build backscabbard, totally agree the expert that it wasnt done historically in Europe.
2:59 - "Pens, I know, but they're mightier than the sword." I just love this one. 😂😂
Should've gave him a toy sword to demonstrate. Mans out here swinging pens lol
Hey the pen IS mightier than the sword you know...
I read that wrong
@@zachhawn8720 though inversely "actions speak louder than words"~
@@Alex.T1 so in theory, writing a letter, than taking action to send it, is very mighty and speaks loudly
The pen is mighter than the sword
This man is the type of person that must be protected at all costs
"I could shoot that fast, maybe even a little faster." Looks like he can protect himself.
Definitely a treasure.
Give this man a plate armor!
Protecc Your Necc
hehe mike LoAdS
"The advantage of a spear is it's reach. If you've got cavalry coming towards you, you can extend it. Then you could, ya know, go for the horse." Love this guy lmao
"It's pointless, what are you going to do? Set individual people alight as a bonus, since you've already killed them, with your arrow?" love it Xp
That depends where the arrow hits. People can survive an arrow shot depending on where it hits on the body.
@@overdrive7349 woosh
@@overdrive7349 No, it doesnt depend on anything except magical realism. It's silly.
@@erikjohnson3859 shot in the leg?
@@overdrive7349 "Oh no, I've been shot in the leg with an arrow but good thing I didnt also get a small first degree burn because that wouldve been really bad." Gtfoh.
I'll take "dudes I wish were my grandfather" for 500
600
1k
10k
Then thousand going once...!?
@@tomahawk2416 going twice?
I didn't realise how old Mike is. He's 71. That means that in 2004 series "Weapons that Made Britain", he was 54. In all those episodes, he actively showed moves and took part in the activities. In one of them, he even fell off a horse into mud - in full armour, and got up, at 54!
Jeez, wish I was that spry & resilient at 40.... (maybe a youth spent practicing medieval martial techniques might've helped! 😋)
I love that series!
Actually a man used to be considered battle ready untill up to 65. And I think it is a good age.
He is BADASS
Yeah lol my Bannerlord character can do that.
To be fair to mordhau, throwing your sword in game is almost certain to get you killed in the game, so its accurate to real life in that way.
Unless if you bring a spare that is
I could see throwing a sword if someone was literally just about to shoot you with a bow and clearly too far away to reach in time, like a last resort hail mary when you know you're probably dead but maybe you get lucky and hit the guy
@@MrRazmut Or you could just wear a shield...
Or start moving, like Jesus the odds that you'll kill one guy by throwing your sword versus being able to move enough to have him miss
@@nathanvanderriet209 well yea of course if you had any other choice you'd do that instead. Like if you had enough space to zigzag or you had something to hide behind, then I imagine you'd do that instead. I don't think anyone would be thrilled about taking an inarguably small chance of killing the guy for the price of losing your weapon. You'd never do that unless you literally had no other choice and it was a split second hail-mary kind of thing
5:41 the sword throw followed by a "why" just cracked me up for some reason
He just went on an extensive lenght for how versatile swords can be, apparently being thrown is not one of them
Got me so gOOD I'm CrYING AAHAHA just the comedic timing of the "Why?"
"Grandpa check out this video game" "Come outside"
Granpa: "Come outside. This is a threat."
I wouldn't mind having a granpa like that. Mine just cowers when he hears gunfire.
@@serotonin.scavenger If he heard gunfire, and got angry it wasn't authentic, and so he left in the direction to tell the person it wasn't authentic.. and he got shot. You wouldn't have a grandpa.
@@serotonin.scavenger Nice joke. Gave me a chuckle.
i really wish the narrator wouldn't be interrupted so often, his story telling is much more entertaining than the clips
There should be some documentaries about medieval warfare in which they show what happens if you let him near swords and horses ... he absolutely rocks.
Watch his documentaries, he has done many on medieval weapons and other stuff
For sure. He captured my imagination.
@@neosmith166 the most impressive thing was when he threw himself off a horse in full gallop as an old men, true dedication.
@@JayzsMr is this on KZhead? I would love to watch this
This man's passion towards his expertise is music to listen to.
"It is *so stupid* to throw away a weapon!" Fiore Dei Liberi: Well excuse ME for being a visionary
Yeah I'm looking for this comment lol
Skallsgrimm or Shad?
Of course, everyone knows if you wish to end them rightly, you only throw the pommel of the sword. :-P
Michael Hundt also described his favourite way to throw a sword. So yeah, it's definitely there in historical sources. I've also seen videos of people pulling it off in sword dueling sparring. Opponents can block or dodge the sword quite consistently if they at all expect it, but it's rare anyone tries it, and it can be used when opponent's focus is down because he thinks he's still at a safe distance. And the situation in the video also seems exactly the type where it would make sense to throw a sword - there's an archer at just enough distance that he might be able to shoot faster than the swordsman can close in on him. Trowing the sword that far would be would come with a big risk of missing, but it might be better than giving archer time to shoot. The swordsman in the video does throw it in a weird way tho.
I like how he doesn't talk bad about the games and instead tries to understand why game designers didn't follow history perfectly
I love how he only clarifies impossibilities or shares an important fact. Like the flail, I thought that was a thing that people used all the time. He addresses what the game has and then tells you the added information of reality.
@C B he worked on a gameshow based around a historical videogame for a while and the Devs were directly involved with production so he probably talked with them.
@C B Rome Total War. The show was Time Commanders, and I recommend, if you want to watch that show, that you watch only the Battle of Trebia. It's the only one you might not cringe too much at.
@C B its not like thats a deep incomprehensible insight.
@@donsorenoelchapogringo1182 no, it isn't, but it's one people featured in videos such as this constantly seem to avoid. often times the majority of the content will be "that's not accurate!" which i don't find entertaining.
"Different shields for different fields" that's it. that's the quote.
Put that on a T-shirt!
Most Definitely! Lmao
YES !!
@hognoxious Hahahaha
@hognoxious LMAO
I love how this guy talks, with passion, he uses his whole body to expand on what he is talking about, and you can tell he likes every second to share his insight. Would love to have him as a DM in a DnD session.
Oh my god I thought the same thing
“Different shields for different fields” is going to be my new “you do you” saying.
Fun fact: Mike Loades was a weapons expert on a BBC show called Time Commanders, where the contestants would "battle" eachother by commanding armies in a video game. This man is a legitimate badass.
:0
They played total war didn't they?
@Jordan Spencer It was a pre-release version of Rome Total War
He also did weapons that made britain
His overexcited explanation of the weapons in Time Commanders was always a hightlight. You can tell the guy absolutely loves his job
2:11 - "so the little details are wrong, but the _feel_ of the thing is great." well-said; this guy is cool.
No, "it's magnificent" 🤣🤣🤣
He tried to be respectfull to the animator, this man is clearly a chad
Ye. You can care about historical accuracy without being a nit-picky butt.
I really like how he uses his hands whilst explaining it is very interresting and it captures the attention to him This is how you explain in a proper way
He uses his hands because they probably wouldn't let him bring an arsenal of weapons in to the studio
Yeah he's been around a lot on UK telly; (find 'Time Commanders' off BBC; a battle-simulation audience-participation game with him as one of the experts and probably one of the best tv ever made). He's a hands-dirty historian so does actually use weapons to understand their application, and his appreciation for the effort in battle is obvious.
Disappointed that there was nothing on KC:Deliverance weapons and armour other than the smithing sequence as they allegedly tried to be very faithful to history, and it'd have been interesting to see Mike's opinion on how well they did.
I'd guess they went for the not so good stuff, since there's usually nothing to say for good stuff except "good" most of the time. I mean, when smt is inaccurate or wrong there needs to be an explanation why and how not to do it wrong, and for accurate stuff you just give confirmation. Also kcd is sometimes too realistic to be fun honestly
@@lukanikolic5012 Definitely. I felt like the combat was too clunky and could have been much improved. Like I get that they wanted for the player to feel like the protagonist was getting better at sword fighting, but all that means is that the first couple hours of the game are going to be miserable because you have no stamina and all of your opponents are leagues better than you. Even then by the end of the game I was one shotting peasants and decimating heavily armored cumans in no time flat. I hope their next game improves and polishes the combat, because I felt like that was the one thing that really held the game back in terms of enjoyment. Also having to wash your armor and clothing was kind of unnecessary, but maybe it would've been cool if there was a 3rd person mode so you can actually see the blood and dirt caking our armor.
@@NightmareBlade10 welp, gotta have that one overly realistic game It's kind of healthy too. I mean, it also can have educational capabilities bcs of diving deep into realism sometimes
@@NightmareBlade10 I'm not sure how to word this without sounding rude but I disagree that fighting in KCD is more hard to learn easy to master and the amount of stamina you start with is exhaustible yes but that's why you back up honestly though maybe I find it easier because I hold block whenever I'm not attacking
@@lukanikolic5012but the "raiding a small village" perplexing, why chose that sequence to point out that raids to small villages were done differently? We know that wasn't a "small village raid" in the game. Maybe he didn't want to spoil the story?
Expert: "LEAVE THE BLADE ALONE!" For Honor Players: "Instructions unclear. Sword is now more gold than steel..."
Now the sword is made out of black
So you will die Richer than the most
I read this with abathur voice, lol
I only use the early earned blades in for honor tbf they look much better
This man's voice is all I want to listen to ever again
"You want to leave the blade as plain as possible" Forged in Fire: *sweats*
LoL ULFBERT
Man-At-Arms: Cries
But you only get 12 hours to make your blade
Those swords are not meant for actual use.
@@garretth8224 Even though they put them through a few tests... the show is a bit silly when it comes to looks versus practicality.
"The dropkick is probably a little fantastical" 🤣
I've been fighting with Russian reconstructors, and I can assure you - dropkick in full plate is a thing. A terrifying painful thing.
I loved how he broke things down with such energy, you can tell he's so passionate about military history.
A hand to hand instructor told me (regarding throwing a knife): "You'll do 2 things for certain. You'll throw away a perfectly good weapon, and you will get the complete and undivided attention of whoever you threw it at." I think that applies to swords also.
is good for espectacle and as a show of skill. In a real fight? You want your weapons in your hands, where you can actually use them to defend yourself. The thing of fighting with knifes however, is that you don't want to do that. It ends with either you dying at the hands of your opponent, you killing your opponent and facing the consequences, or you both killing each other. In two of those scenarios you end up dead and in one you screw up a good portion of your life. Is not worth it.
Exactly. It’s fine as an art/sport, or as a hobby. But for all practicality purposes it’s terrible. It’s a lose-lose-lose situation.
The only way that might be practical is to carry a set of knives for the specific purpose of throwing them, only of course if you are extremely good at that and if you also carry another knife/dagger on you that you don’t throw.
@@spencerallbritton9459 depends, if they guy you threw it at didn't have a knife before he might just have one now
@@spencerallbritton9459 Just bring a gun mate XDDD
Man, this guy is fantastic. Definitely not a "dull old historian" by any standard. Instructive and entertaining, well done.
That’s what i call passion. That’s how I want to feel when I’m in my career
Completely agree.
@@DrJohnAZoidberg honestly I think that's what most of us would love to feel. Whether in our profession or just in our hobbies. Passion often fades as one grows older and it's great to see that fire still burning inside of this man.
@@DrJohnAZoidberg what ur carreer?
Check out his five part series "Weapons that Made Britain." He traces the development of the Sword, the Longbow, the Shield, the Lance, and Armour. kzhead.info/sun/i5WGqcWuqIaef4E/bejne.html
I love Mike Loades, how animated he gets. His passion for this subject is always apparent.
Warden bisects someone with a sword. "That is authentic!"
My favorite part about series like these are when you get people who have a very niche specialty who probably don't get many opportunities to freely geek out and boast about their craft being given a platform to basically tell a bunch of uninitiated people about this thing they love and you see how much they love it with their whole being.
Hes a historian, I’m not too sure if the profession can be considered niche.
But sometimes he gets things wrongly or it's Wired that edits the video poorly
@@androgynousmaggot9389 Can you give an example of something he's gotten wrong? I thought I'd remembered one of the other guys on a different one of these videos saying that people never carried their swords on their shoulders so I was surprised when he said that. Maybe I'm misremembering though...
5:42 "Why? Why would you throw it?" Mordhau: For the LoL
Fiore dei Liberi describes the poste to throw a sword in his treatise. So, sorry, Mike, but apparently at the turn of the 15th century it was common enough for someone to write it down. Probably this would only be used in a judicial dueling context, or out of desperation on a battlefield (maybe you're using some poor dead guy's sword instead of your own?).
they made swords with detachable pommels to be thorwn, so im not sure its that unreasonable
@@benjaminjohnson6936 It's the Edition. Mike Loades know Fiore and his Posta Sagittaria. He must have commented on that, but they cut it out in the edit. (Obviously the sword is thrown as narrow as an arrow, not swirling as shown.)
@@ulyssesdacruss5555 good point! He probably did mention it, bit they can't keep every detail in, otherwise the video would be hours, instead of minutes, long.
@@benjaminjohnson6936 I fail to see the problem there.
I adore this man and his enthusiasm for historical weapons and armors of war and their use. I wish I had that much enthusiasm about something in my life. His line at the end is absolute gold.
I feel like I could listen to this man talk about history all day long. So captivating and energetic.
This guy is the kind of teacher at school who you could distract easily with unrelated questions and they would then ramble on for three quarters of a lesson, forget what was going on and let you go early..
Sounds like my old history teacher. History, if you have passion for it, can litterally turn into some of the jokiest classes ever 😂
@@oliverboisen7475 we had a Metal head history teacher. Both he and some of my metal loving classmates loves sabaton....and if possible he can squeeze even an offtopic History out of the class sessions, he's blasting sabaton, which is great cause most of the male and few female students. It keep the whole experience Awesome
@@stalinsoulz7872 I had several high school teachers that were former athletes. Anytime we didn't feel like working, we'd just ask them to tell us stories of their playing days. Our geography teacher was a former NHL player. Our math\PE teacher was a former scout for the Blue Jays and our Science teacher was a former Canadian National Junior Hockey coach.
@@oliverboisen7475i had exacly the same history teacher!
And yet they still taught their subject better than anyone
15:37 "Set individual people on fire as a bonus coz you've already killed them with your arrow" 😂 made my day
Legit lold at that part
When he said that i was like, "Well they could have been vampires."
This old man speaks so happily about his passion. Wholesome
Let these experts talk. I'll happily watch a 3-hour video of them just sharing their expertise without cuts and edits.
The dagger bit reminds me of that old Spartan parable where a soldier complains that his sword is too short and his mother says, "If you step forward it will be just long enough".
Or he could have attached it to a long stick and called it a swordspear. Ancient problems call for ancient solutions I suppose.
@@NightmareBlade10 brought to you by the scandinavians.
This guy is one of the best guys WIRED has ever had on
Watch weapons that made britain this guy is AMAZING
@@cubbykovu8955 And his explanations on Time Commanders were always great
Its between him and that funny yet really horrifying mortician.
cool thing about witchers wearing swords on their backs, was it was more for symbol of their 'guild', than for any practicallity, and everybody normal person pointed at that and called it weird. Though, in books, Geralt only wore his steel sword like that, while silver sword was too precious, and carried in a chest.
Wow, this is actually really, REALLY awesome. This is the first video where I hear something new and not completely obvious. He doesnt take the shortcut of pointing out the obvious unrealistic things in video games but talks about things in context.
"Pens I know...., but they're mightier than the sword." Pure class, Mike, pure class! Lol...!!! Definitely, have to keep Mike coming back and doing these!
he ain't wrong. I'd be terrified too if I see a drunk man on the streets swinging pens at me
@@CartoonyPirate I know, right? I personally know a guy who killed 3 men in a bar with a pencil...
remember John wick? *He killed tree guys on the park with a fcking pencil WITH A FCKING PENCIL*
Pure eloquence, plain and simple
He was also wonderfully animated in every episode of Time Commanders he showed up on. I'll never forget him heaving a Danish longax around dangerously close to the camera crew. Mike Loades is wonderful and I hope he can keep doing what he does for a long time to come.
Historian: The sword being carried on the back. IT. DID. NOT. HAPPEN. Geralt: "Hmmm.."
Geralt be like: Are you challenging me?
Only in certain situations
I havn't played the videogames but I have read all the books twice and it makes a special remark that people thought it odd that a witcher carried his swords upon his back. So the author was aware that it was weird and a potential hinderence for normal people. I believe it was lightly inferring that witcher's strength, speed, and (most importantly) flexibility could make it possible. Mayhap along with a cunning sheath design.
@@nathanprime2434 that's interesting
It did happen, but not in a fighting scenario. It was a way to transport a sword. You know, walking through a crowded town or just marching a long sword on your hip can be a hindrance. So you fling it over your shoulder if you dont expect a fight anytime soon.
why arent guys like him give courses to game devs xD this would be genius.
As a game dev it's expensive and I don't mean necessarily hiring the guy. I mean to implement every last thing is time, budget and a pipeline of people unless you have the right team members who can pull it off in short period of time. Lets say a writer came up to me and said lets add a dragon. I'm going to end up having multiple meetings with that person to figure out everything that wasnt prior mentioned in the documentation. Does it fly, does it fly in an unusual way in comparison to others of it same species? Does it talk? What does it breath? What are its powers.? Does it have unique capability's? Any animation related injury's? Then there's the talk of animations regarding when, where, how it shows in a scene and how many scenes in the game. Different death animations, damage animations both in sky, land or sea and if the if is affected by weapon, environmental object, magic type or a static cutscene. Etc. Now lets talk about weapon effects and weapon customization affecting animation. Are we programming any systemic things like zelda, where rain turns off your fire arrows or some other system affects your weapon, creature, or ai? How many other systems effect things. Dark souls was simple player combat animations with hard bosses. You want for honor variation and flow + more skills and hyper realism in a both history remakes and fantasy settings. The budget probable can't do it. The other issue is the most companies don't get into mocap and the skip over most of preproduction to save money even if it might lead pushed back release date. Its all about money.
"money". ~mr krabs
@@Bladorage Thank you for pointing this out It's easy for a game player to look outside in and think "It's so easy just do XYZ" but there's so so so so so many moving parts to a game you can't just throw something in and expect everything else to fall into place
@@kitsunefire1 but at the same time there's countless other things that could be implemented with next to no effort, like a server browser system. (I'm talking to you chivalry 2)
Tbh, Kingdome Come is quite possibly one of the most historically accurate games of all time. They brought in multiple experts for multiple details in the game, and most 9 of the development time was getting the historical aspects correctly. Modern Swordsmen can watch a fight in that game and call out different techniques like they were commentators in it, and even then, they still changed stuff for entertainments and video games sake. I love me some realistic aspects in games, but as it turns out, real life is a horrible reference to use in game design, in any medium really unless its specifically for education, which video games do have. There are incredibly realistic and historically accurate games out there, but therr primary function is for education and frankly, no one talks about them for a reason, as fun or interesting as they can be and usually are.
"Why would you throw it, it is so stupid!!" Mordhau in a nutshell
That “pens, I know, but mightier than the sword” gave me that sweet dopamine hit../
Need lots more of mike. I have seen him on a few history channel specials and always enjoyed his energy and knowledge.
No kidding. The guy really sucks you in with his enthusiasm and knowledge. I love that he isn't too picky either, just informative.
He's the real deal, an amazing horseman, swordsman and archer too
@@post-leftluddite what else did you watch?, I wanna see more of this dude
what else did you watch?, I wanna see more of this dude
jpnewpic88.men
This is a great review. I didn't know about the mace/ flail. Wonder what drawings they found that explained the idea of the chain n' mace. Your also completly correct on the circle formation. If we wanted to cover a large area in circle formation I'd have a wooden wall and that in self frees up troops for mobility conflict. Assuming a formation order was given on the "fly" during battle either a thicker line or many smaller formations with a thiner line would serve.
I love how passionate he is about history but maintains the open mind to know that it is one of the best ways to get people interested in history or historical inaccuracies
Man, I would be out here getting straight A's if this man was my History teacher in school
@Boiled Patatas agreed
"You don't need a big army to attack a small village. But you do need surprise." I like him.
That big army was there to storm the castle behind the village.
@@jakubcidlik yes and also the area holds the most important silver mine of that area in that time so it was crucial enough to not let any chances happen
Kingdom Come is a Czech game, I'm Czech and as a kid, I heard stories about how my tiny town and the surrounding villages were attacked by a large army in Middle Ages. (A historically documented event.) So perhaps it wasn't necessary but it did actually happen.
@@jakubcidlik Exactly, and it was on the move towards another strategically important castle in the area to cut off reinforcements. Plus, as Ozzmen44 said, Stribna Skalitz (apologies for my spelling) had that vital silver mine - the workshops and pits off that way might have done a little to cover the noise and dust of an approaching army, depending on how they make their way through the hilly area.
@@Lucius.Quintus I think by "needs surprise" he meant "its a lot easier if you have surprise", not "your huge army will be stopped by that tiny village because you didn't surprise it". That being said, even a small village can become a mini-fortress for a defending army if its alerted ahead of time. So I guess the huge army sending a raiding/scouting party ahead to take out potential eyes sneakily is still a good idea.
I’ve watch this guy explain weapons numerous times, he never lost the passion of explaining them.
There was a series on the history channel that only had one season called Weapon Masters. Mike was one of the hosts and he had so much energy and enthusiasm. It's good to see that he hasn't lost his love of history all these years later. Cheers Mike!!!
I don’t even care about medieval weapons, but the passion he has in describing everything is just keeping me glued to the screen! Waiting for the second one!
Why not? Medieval weapons are far more interesting then modern ones
And it looks like he talked for along time about certain weapons but they cut it to shorten the video which kinda sucks but it shows he’s passionate
I love how he said,”And I don’t believe heads fly like that”.
Shouldn't you know?
The least of which, he is wearing armour.
You all some fake niggas here ha ha
@@thatdudnum67potatoe45 you don't need to be told. You can find out for yourself.
love how much energy he puts into his explanations
Man when he said that historical fighters were martial artists with advanced systems, that was really cool to hear, really made me think.
Indeed, look up "Historical European Martial Arts" if you want to find out more about those systems.
there is now some historical mma i think. like go put a full armour on yourself and beat someone to a pulp with a shield kind of stuff :D
Mike Loades is awesome. He once deliberately fell off a horse while wearing armor just to show that a knight could get back up.
"Like many myths about the knight..." *falls off horse and gets back up* "...it's utter nonsense!"
For Honor then: half-swording, pommel strikes, brutal combat that mixes history with fantasy. For Honor now: magic mind control crystals, facebook-tier edge, reused animations, and Jojo references
Sadly very accurate. I liked for honor when it came out. Just because the fighting mechanics weren't as cliche as other "medieval" themed games.
They changed the writer of the story so yeah The mind control thing is pretty dumb but i dont really care about the loss of realistic gestures or edges...coz for fashion
@Minwon Jang And where do you live?
Yeah the game lost funding amd they put on new devs who are probably just checking out what is trending google when they make new cosmetic crap :p
Can someone fill me in on the mind control thing? I've stopped playing for awhile and only recently saw the Jojo references
You should make more videos with this man. His excitement, his knowledge...He's absolutely incredidle!
As an aspiring medieval fantasy writer, videos like this are INSANELY helpful!! I always want to be as accurate as I can when crafting combat sequences or writing a character knowledgeable in weapon crafting, so thank you so much for bringing this expert in!! I would love to see more videos with him ❤️
So true
Pro tip: if you want to see how different types of armor stack-up against arrows (or get detailed information on crossbows, or some other topics), I highly recommend checking out Tod's Workshop, he's done some great experiments.
@@InSanic13 omg I appreciate this so much, i’ll look into it!!
"Different shields for different fields" is the best and most polite way to say "different strokes for different folks".
'Horses for courses'
Grin! Yeah the "folks" one seems to have started out as a sporting saying but these days due to language shift it tends to come across as ...um, double entendre, shall we say! Though I guess if we stay down here in the gutter for a sec we could find a new interpretation of "shields" as well 😋
Literally read this as he said it. Your comment is now magical
I could listen to this guy for hours, he's so passionate about his craft.
It’s a MasterClass in historical weaponry via video games. Bless this gentleman.
I love videos like this because it shows how passionate an individual is towards something and it’s cool to see
11:01 here we go with the VERSATILITY!!!
Didn't expect to see you here Vita, hows it going?
Yeaaa boah Vita ftw
Btw pls do more shugoki videos
THE MOST VERSATILE WEAPON EVER INVENTED.
paa patatoooo
He sounds like an excited child talking about his fandom, seriously. Saying what he loves and what has been shown slightly off...I love his passion
This historian must come back on much more often. I learned a LOT here, and his enthusiasm is both obvious, and really infectious :D I would have loved to have him as a teacher in high school.
15:37 The way he says “as a bonus” just made my day.
Ah yes the legend himself, I remember in one documentary called 'Weapons that made Britain' in an episode about armor, he jumped off a horse while wearing armor. Very passionate and cool man.
And then he gets up and ends it with "it's utter nonsense." Man just fell off a horse on purpose just to prove a point.
Loved that series.
next: Military Historian plays Medieval video games
really want to see him play age of empire
Is Skyrim there
He used to be an expert brought on for a game show in the UK called Time Commanders where the contestants had to play a battle in an early version of a game called Rome Total War
@@DatNguyen98211 Or the Total War series
A profound review. The detailed way of describing the function of the weapons, shields and armour as well as the formations and the appropriate techniques that were used - very interesting. I appreciate the effort in your talk to give the viewer a vivid insight into a part of medieval history. Thank you very much.
15:41 Didn't expect that sass and I love it.
When someone is this passionate about a subject, no matter how obscure, I can't help but be facinated. This taught me about more than just medival weapons. Love this guy
For all those wondering: the chair he's sitting on is called the Herman Miller Aeron.
nice trivia lol . we have those in my office's computer lab
Very fancy! :-) Aeron chairs are fairly high end... (though I've found taller staff tend to be very uncomfortable in one without any customized seat length?)
I love you! Why haven't they got you to do breakdowns of the authentic use of chairs! 🤣
Most underrated comment I've seen in 2021
Worth every penny!
8:52 Thank you for mentioning that. I always wondered about wearing swords on the back, and how you would draw it out of its scabbard.
omg this man is so entertaining to watch! he needs to cover more things when it comes to battles, armor etc!
He isn't a dull historian at all. He captured my imagination with his passion and narration so vividly. The video clips to be frank were a distraction. Lots of respect and love for his knowledge and passion ❤. Hope he keeps sharing it for generations to come.
He was just being humble when he said that :-)
At the sword throw and it cuts to his face and he goes "Why." I was in tears. This man is a treasure.
The enthusiasm in the explanation is awesome.
Nice one Mike!
Fancy seeing you here!
u 2 could hang out on a show!
@@qs987 I've worked with Mike on a few documentaries. He's super enthusiastic!
Ohhhh mi'lord
@@ModernKnight He's amazing. First time seeing him.
"The armor is so fantastically wrong" -Mike Loades
Translation: "It's impractical and unrealistic, but it's cool I'll give it that"
He's a "weapon master" not a "game master". Loades doesn't understand that real world physics don't apply in video games. Only in video games can you wear a full metalic armor suit and run like if it were an ordinary outfit.
@@JohnnyOTGS and?
Remember the triple dots he said for effect: Loades: "The armour is just so fantastically..." Us: "Beautiful?" Loades: "... *wrong* ..!" ;)
@@JohnnyOTGS with good armour you can do that anyway. I watched a video of a guy doing literal cartwheels and jumping around in full plate.
This is one of the greatest videos I've watched on the subject. I could listen to him talk for days.
The way he explains his point and his animated reactions to the clips makes me think he’s one of the best storytellers of medieval stories to kids during bedtime.
I'm disappointed that he didn't look at the actual sword combat in Kingdom Come: Deliverance, only the prologue cutscene where the sword was made
You cannot believe how much this triggered me.
I agree. Warhorse really tried to make the combat system detailed and more challenging. But the only reviews I’ve seen have been with people like modern fencing athletes. I’d really like to see someone with more knowledge of historical techniques, like this man, weigh in.
Same. Like WTH, I#msure KCD did it the best in everything lol
I know right!
While he does talk about manuscripts I doubt he's an active HEMA practitioner with the experience to fully talk about the combat in that game. If you want some interesting perspectives on that game I'd recommend the channels Skallagrim, Shadiversity and Metatron, they are all pretty knowledgeable about these things.