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What happens when a Roman governor is sent to a province of the Empire? Well, you’ll be able to decide for yourself sometime later but let us already talk about it today: Let’s take a look at the “Romanization” feature!

Historical Context

Let’s start with a look at the real Roman Empire which we used as inspiration. It’s worth keeping in mind here that as with so many historical topics, historians are working with limited evidence on those ancient times.

“Romanization” is usually defined as a process of cultural integration of the people in the provinces of the Roman Empire.

But from what we know, the “Romanization” of local peoples in the provinces tended to vary quite a bit depending on location and culture. It often was a slower, indirect process but at the same time, we shouldn’t forget that the provinces themselves were usually established after brutal military conflict.

While cities were founded and a certain level of administration set up, the Romans main focus was on peace and – very importantly – taxation. Plenty of the local administration was left in the hand of local leaders, chiefs, or kings. Similarly, Roman intervention in people’s lives often was very limited, with no requirements to give up the local ways, culture or religion. Historians have a hard time defining to which degree this Romanization was planned but also how both Romans and locals looked at it due to limited written records on the topic.

There was a large motivator for people in the provinces to “romanize”, however, meaning: learn Latin, dress like Romans and adopt more Roman customs – career and influence! To make a military or political career, but also to stay relevant and compete with rivals on a local level, there was no way around becoming more Roman.

Of course, this was just a broad overview, and there are plenty of differences (for example between the Eastern provinces and Gaul or Britannia) and nuances that would go beyond the scope of this blog – after all, we want to talk about Anno 117: Pax Romana as well.

We’ll be adapting aspects of these historical events in Anno 117: Pax Romana – but as our Senior Game Writer Matt wrote in the DevBlog in July: “we need to cherry-pick and take liberties with the history to keep the game FUN.”

In Anno 117: Pax Romana

As mentioned above, Romanization is a process in the provinces, therefore, this mechanic will be present in Albion – and not Latium, which basically is at the heart of the Empire.

At a core level, in your role as a governor, you can decide if your subjects in Albion should embrace the Roman way or stick to their traditions. That’s of course a rather game-y way to represent this topic: an actual governor did not have such a way to decide people’s culture. In Anno 117, this decision will lead to very different needs and requests towards you that will go beyond food and clothes but will also reach into topics like culture, traditions and mentality. More on those aspects at a later date.

Your provinces will always start with the local culture, this is how you, as a governor, are finding the province upon your arrival. That was a very important element for us, since we want you to get a feeling for the region, for its people and their culture.

But after you have started setting up the basics, it’s time to decide on the next steps. Gameplay-wise, this will take the form of upgrading your residences from Tier 1 to Tier 2. Will you make your Waders (Tier 1) embrace the Roman way? Then they will renovate their houses in Roman style, with red-tiled roofs. The “Mercators” of Tier 2 are on the road to Romanization, resulting in a vastly different look for your city – and very different demands from your population.

Letting your Waders stick with tradition, Tier 2 will instead see the arrival of the “Smiths”. The level of urbanization will also increase, but smaller huts will make place for larger houses and their needs and demands will speak of a synergy with their environment and the local customs.

Both ways are valid options for you as the governor but be prepared to not only have a visually distinct look of your respective cities, but also set up entirely different production chains and public service buildings.

Beyond that, forces outside your control might also have an eye on your decision and will react according to their own interests. You will certainly see the topic of Romanization to be covered in quests and the campaign as well.

Needs and Production

Now, let’s take a look at two production chain examples.

The local, Celtic population in Albion very much prefers to live in harmony with the environment, like the swamps that have been mentioned before. Understandable, that they also prefer to wear trousers in the colder (and wetter) climate up north, far away from the sunny Latium.

Let us today take a look at the trousers production chain: local sheep and weld to use as dye come together in the “Hosier”, whose services are much sought-after.

For Romans, however, who saw more kinship to, for example, the people of Greece or Anatolia (who, like them, lived around the Mediterranean), using trousers was a weird, alien thing. It was a clear distinction for them between the cultured Roman and barbarians from the north (Gaul, Britannia, Germania). Even more in the time of the Principate, when ever more people from across Empire came to Rome and even joined the Senate.

The “official” stance on trousers blurred over the years, but remained a factor for a significant length of time.

Only logical, that in order to appear more Roman and get access to higher offices, locals had to adjust to Roman dress code. In Anno 117: Pax Romana, your “romanized” population will at some point ask for togas. Let’s also take a look at their production chain:

Flax to be turned into cloth by a weaver, snails who produce the precious Tyrian Purple and a loom to produce the togas.

However, here we suddenly have a complication: Snails and the expertise for producing the dye is only available in Latium! Indeed, not all goods will be producible locally, and will instead have to be shipped all the way from Latium to Albion.

Other goods might have to be shipped from Albion to Latium, of course, but that’s a topic for another day (and blog).

Over the course of your governorship, more decisions will be asked of you: from your people, other parties and likely also the Emperor himself!
The choice for the Roman or Celtic way affects each island independently, leaving you with plenty of choice on how you want to approach your role as a governor. Such a decision will immediately impact your next steps in setting up an island thanks to different production chains and public service buildings. Later on, you will also be able to have both ways on the same island – as long as you can deal with the increase in complexity in satisfying the demands of two rather different cultures at the same time.

Pax Romana

117 AD. A time of peace… mostly.

The Roman bubble has expanded to bursting, swallowing territory from the Atlantic coast to the fertile crescent in the east. Rome has absorbed countless societies and cultures through conquest, that it is now obliged to call part of Rome, whether or not it is able to govern them.

Gone are the days of powerful voices in the Senate on such matters—ambitious officials gather instead around the Emperor’s throne; a seat easy to fall into, easier still to fall out of. Under the Pax Romana, these Emperors look to consolidate and build. Great projects are now no longer just for the city of Rome. In distant provinces, new cities (neapoles) are springing up to gather local taxes, feats of engineering are undertaken— walls, bridges, aqueducts. This is a global roman template, urban and geometric, to be unboxed wherever Rome is sovereign.

Ambitions for the provinces such as these, fuel decadent fashions back home. Like blood around the body, the heart of the empire controls the flow of goods, luxuries, technology. Its people have demands that must be met!

But some of these fringe provinces, Albion chief among them, are like the wild west. Governed by displaced indigenes, washed-up soldiers, outlaws, and you the player, the freedoms on offer here, don’t yet outnumber the dangers.

To the Romans, Albion is a land of both poverty and opportunity— underdeveloped, but strong in horses, metals and metalworking expertise. As a Roman Governor, you preside over a wilderness, and a people whose culture long pre-dates your own—how will you rule? How open will you be to their ways?

Inspiration vs. Authenticity

The broad outline described above shouldn’t be too contentious to historians, but how much do we stick to history in the actual game? In short, the answer is: we need to cherry-pick and take liberties with the history to keep the game FUN.

Anno is a world of islands. It has no real-world place names, no real-world people, no strict measure, even, of the passing of time. This immediately paints a picture of a parallel universe that does not necessarily have to follow the rules of our own world – while still feeling real!

Roman buildings you’ll see in game are both meticulously researched by the artists, but also products of artistic liberty and design requirements. As for Celtic buildings, sometimes an artist’s guess may anyway be as good as a historian’s. We must always remind ourselves that we are dealing with a period of history about which evidence is often limited.

Still, we designers are committed to sound research, and keen to incorporate as much detail, large and small, that we think creates a true (and fun!) impression of the time period. From beliefs to technological exchanges, we aim to show how Rome’s provinces began to invert the identity of Rome itself.

Naturally we invest in creating plausible historical characters too. We decided, for instance, that we want female characters to play a greater role in our parallel version of history than they did back in Roman times (Everything in the history points to a deeply patriarchal society in which women had very little power or freedom). Nevertheless, we strive to make them appear in roles that have some credibility, though in at least one case we break the rules entirely, simply because we like the idea of doing so. This is the trump card in Anno, reserved for the moments a better version of the game needs us to let go of realism.

The Provinces

Latium

With its serene breezes, azure coves, fields of wheat and lavender, Latium is a forgotten treasure of a province, close to the heart of the empire. Years ago, a volcanic eruption devastated local cities, driving people away from the province, allowing nature to take over.

Now, in the time of the Pax Romana, many officials, including the Emperor, question why such a gem should remain deserted for old superstitions. In their view it is time for renewal: for new cities to spring up where nature ran riot, for the curse of history to be buried once and for all. Surely, with its beaches, villas and marinas, this place will make the perfect retreat for the wealthy of Rome, and be the perfect opportunity for an upcoming Governor to make a name for themselves.

Superficially, it’s paradise, the epitome of Roman Italy— tranquil, restful, a place of luxury and for pleasure-seekers looking to swim with the dolphins. Still, the brighter the summer, the thicker the shade: mysterious forces operate below the surface here, that may at first go unnoticed.

Albion

Roman invaders first encountered the white cliffs of Albion generations ago. Several times they attempted to master the marsh-ridden land and its warlike people, never entirely managing to do so.

When they want to prove themselves, Emperors always look to Albion for triumph and trophies because expeditions to Albion are like mythic quests to Romans. To them, the Celts appear as far removed from civilisation as anything in the imagination.

Still, on paper, they call Albion a Roman province, and exports of strange culinary delicacies plucked with grimy hands from its muddy mires are becoming ever more popular back home—call it a taste of the exotic.

Celts just do everything differently, and while the Romans consider some of them beastly barbarians, they are at the same time fascinated by their craft and ideas, and have no compunctions taking what they need from them, if it works.

As for the Celts, those who come to your cities in Albion in search of shelter may no longer have a tribe or a place to call home. For although the Romans have brought destruction to their door, they also offer peace (a very rare thing in those days), education, warm baths and best of all…wine!

We hope this article also sets your imagination loose and we’re curious: What was your first thought on seeing the announcement of Anno 117: Pax Romana? Which event, theme or even personality was your first association for the Roman Empire and its provinces? We’re looking forward to your comments!

What’s this, a new Anno logo? Have they now really abandoned the good old wooden plank from the days of Anno 1404?

Well, we used the last year(s) to not only refine our vision for Anno 117: Pax Romana and start the development of the game, but also to think about Anno as a brand overall and its visual identity. Today, let’s talk about branding with Haye Anderson, our Brand Director.

Note: If you’ve watched our livestream on July 2nd (VOD can be found here) you will have already heard most of this. But we wanted to also have this information here on the Anno Union – and share the Behind the Scenes video with you!

Having flourished over the last 25 years, the newest evolution of ANNO immerses players in the cultural melting pot of the Pax Romana, and at the start of its development, the team discusses topics like: “what makes up an Anno game?” or “why does this new Anno need to exist?” The reason we ask ourselves these questions is because, as we add new features (or take some away), we always need to keep the core of the product intact. And know it or not, these questions are just as important for Brand as they are for Game Design!

We start with some self-discovery by identifying the core pillars we consider make Anno “Anno”. As a branded product, Anno must have five certain things:

1. A historical setting that feels real
2. Top-notch graphics
3. Rich gameplay experience
4. Complexity (the challenge is the fun)
5. Peacefulness

As some of you have pointed out, there are two Anno games with a futuristic setting. And yes, we also consider them Anno games as they fulfil all 4 other aspects. The historic games, however, are what the series was founded on (Anno 1602), where it found it greatest success (Anno 1800) and where it’s moving towards (Anno 117), that’s why the “historical setting” pillar plays such a central role in our new brand guidelines.

The “Peacefulness” pillar does not exclude warfare. As you are all very much aware, all Anno games included military aspects and conflict to varying degrees. However, we don’t see Anno as a warfare-focused game: Economy, logistics, diplomacy and creativity are playing a much bigger role.

When we boil these core pillars of the game down, they become our Brand Values that guide our daily work within the Anno Dev brand team!

1) CRAFT : Uncompromising on the quality of the game and marketing materials
2) AUTHENTICITY : Deeply researched stories & settings that always feel real (even if they are not)
3) EMOTION : Immersive experiences that engage the heart of the player
4) INTELLIGENCE : Enriching challenges that stimulate the mind

These four core brand values also helped us (as a brand) find our purpose, and answer that big question of: “why does Anno exist?” SIMPLE, as a brand we cultivate the joy of building! Anno revolves around themes of legacy and creation, which we believe our audience passionately resonate with, too, and central to this is our design ethos ‘Crafted With Care’, inspired by attention to detail – a mindset shared by both our fans and our development teams!

In a future blog, we’ll also look at the Design side of things and how these high-level Brand Pillars and the Design concepts come together in Anno 117: Pax Romana.

While the brand has been refreshed, you’ll notice we didn’t get rid of things that are beloved, like the number 9; however we also reimagined some things like the wooden plank:
Allowing the symbol itself to act as a vessel allows it to hold all sorts of materials –  more than just wood – and it allows us to tell a bigger story of production, craft, and building in Anno 117: Pax Romana.

When developing the logo, we wanted it to feel like more than just a logo, we wanted it to feel like a tool in the hands of a builder; we were inspired by the caliper, which was a tool used to measure a distance between two points on a map – it symbolized trade and exploration. This felt really perfect for us as a brand, and this then became the foundation of our symbol.

BUT many people see a house, the flame of a candle, or the arrow of a compass. And that’s the beauty of brand identity: it leaves your own control and is given additional meaning by the community.

The brand’s visual identity is drawing inspiration from traditional crafts (some of which are featured in the game), and brought forward into a digital-first system that seamlessly blends the old and new ways of building. We crafted a lot of the brand by hand, from forging the logo out of metal over mixing the paints (which became the brand colours), to even carving the typeface. We wanted the brand to feel built, just like how our players build in the game!

Have a look at our Behind the Scenes video below for more impressions on the process and insights directly from our partners at Wolff Olins.

Something like this has not been seen in the gaming industry before, but we believe the effort was essential to bring our premier builder game to life!

To summarize our work and ambitions:
Drawing inspiration from the classical period, the Anno brand’s colors, bespoke typeface and graphic language together form the foundations of a builder in those ancient times. Creating a system that is designed to support the purpose of building and a celebration of craftspersonship.

Much like the great nations of the past, the new mark represents a collective mindset – fusing craft, the power of the human spirit and the ambition of building for future greatness.

Meticulous in detail and crafted with care, the symbol becomes a tool wielded by the community to shape their ANNO world.

As per requests from several of you, we’re offering a wallpaper of the logo variations and our colour tests in 1440p as download.

Did we leave any questions unanswered? Is there anything else you’d like to learn about the topic of branding or logo design? Leave us a comment below!