The Video Game That Made Me Fall In Love With History & Conspiracy

"Paris in the fall, the last months of the year, and the end of the Millenium. The city holds many memories for me, of cafes, of music, of love, and of death."

Euphonic instrumentals accompany the introductory credits and cinematic cutscene.

The introduction to Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars is visually and aurally stunning, and provides a dramatic beginning to the many adventures of protagonist, George Stobbart.

George, a patent lawyer from California is in Paris on vacation when he falls victim to a cafe bombing. Initially, determined to find and bring to justice the cafe bomber, George quickly finds himself working alongside freelance photojournalist, Nico Collard.

Their partnership begins as they aim to uncover the identity of a costumed, international serial killer they suspect to be the culprit behind the Café de la Chandelle Verte bombing. During their investigation, they stumble upon a centuries-old conspiracy that will require traveling everywhere from Syria, Spain, and a small village in Ireland to uncover.

Please bear in mind, there will be spoilers ahead! While I will not be going through everything that happens, I will be talking about points in the game which flagged my interest and ignited my passion for history as a child.

But first, a little bit of backstory.

At around 8 or 9 years old, for reasons I won't delve into here, I began a few years of home education. This was a much better fit for me than my Primary school had been. Up until that point, I had found education to be frustrating. I always asked too many questions, focused too long on topics deemed "irrelevant" and struggled to sit still when I felt unchallenged.

An experience many can relate to I'm sure. So when I had the opportunity to learn at home, I seized it. Of course, we still had to cover the "Core" subjects such as Mathematics and English. Otherwise, my parents encouraged my siblings and I to learn about things we wanted to learn about and the important life skill of how to seek out information ourselves.

The majority of my study time was taken up by reading and working on basic woodwork projects.

Then, one day, a video game changed my life forever.

The first time I booted up Broken Sword, I expected another point-and-click adventure in a self-contained world, kid-friendly, with adult jokes that would fly over my head until many years later. (At this point, I'd perhaps played a little too much Discworld and Simon the Sorcerer).

What I got was a story set in the "real" world, chock full of the type of history you can't find in a school textbook. I was hooked. As screen time was limited, it wasn't long before I started to beg my parents for books on anything to do with The Crusades and historic artifacts from around the world. I wanted to learn as much as I could, so maybe, I could figure out what was going to happen next in the game.

Now, I never managed to predict the path the in-game story would take, but I did end up discovering at a young age a passion for history and conspiracy. Below are but a few select examples of the parts of Broken Sword that still stand out in my mind all these years later.

The Manuscript

Early in the game, you track down the bomber to a hotel in Paris - The Hotel Ubu. With the aid of a delightfully dry English aristocrat, you gain possession of a valuable in-game item. A medieval manuscript.

Because of video game logic, you do have to throw this priceless parchment out of the hotel window, to avoid being murdered by mobsters. (Relatable experience for sure). Once you've done this, you take the scroll back to Nico's apartment for further examination.

The scroll (pictured) shows images with subtle clues for uncovering one of the Knights Templars' closest guarded secrets. Each image provides a clue for a location or artifact, acting as a sort of map as to where to look in-game.

The only thing resembling this my young eyes had ever seen before was the cartoony pirate treasure maps where X marked the spot. This was far more interesting to me though. The religious iconography in the hand mirror, the vague Latin phrase, the bull next to the tripod and gem that point to Syria… it made my mind race a mile a minute! It wasn't long before I was researching to learn about real-life manuscripts. To my disappointment, it turns out the majority of historical papers, medieval or otherwise, do not unravel to reveal mystery and conspiracy. However, there are exceptions to the rule. It was while I was reading up on this topic I first came across The Voynich Manuscript.

For those unaware, The Voynich Manuscript is a centuries-old book that has baffled scholars and academics since its rediscovery in the early 1900s. 

The Catacombs of Paris

You'll find yourself spending a lot of time in the sewers of Paris, and not because you've become bored with The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, or The Pigalle and decided your interest lies in the waste pipes of a retired Desert Hyena. Rather, because following the trails of clues will lead you there.

To my knowledge, George cannot get lost in the catacombs in-game.

However, many people have and still do to this day. You can get guided tours in some parts of the catacombs in Paris today, however most of it remains inaccessible (through legal means), and unmapped.

The streets under Paris are famous for being full of skeletons and mystery. While I am yet to travel to mainland Europe myself, this is definitely high on my list of top destinations. While I'm unlikely to stumble across any sinister cults, I do not doubt that seeing this place in real life would make myself, and the curious kid in my soul very happy.

The Chessboard in The Mausoleum

To this day I regret to say that chess has never been my game. While I understand the basics, I've not got the head for long-term strategy needed to be considered good at it.

During George's visit to a villa in Spain, you will come across a broken checkerboard, underneath a bible, in the villa's mausoleum. On closer inspection, the holes in the board look…deliberate? Luckily, there's an antique chess set close at hand.

This in-game puzzle took me weeks as a child to figure out. Having only half an hour of computer time per day, it wasn't long until I was begging for anyone at home play chess with me. I had hoped to get a better understanding of chess, and finally understand what I needed to know to solve the puzzle. Truthfully, as hard as I did try to solve it, it was a pure fluke when I did get the answer.

How to Deal with Aggressive Goats

Having already had experience with a goat circling and trapping me on top of a slide at a park, the infamous goat part of the game hit a personal note for me.

The goat puzzle, while having nothing to do with history or conspiracy, did teach me one way to deal with aggressive livestock. It also led me to learn for the future that throwing food, running, and being armed with a water spray bottle are also good tactics.

Bannockburn Castle

The explosive ending for Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars takes place in not-so-sunny Scotland, at Bannockburn.

It was this location, in particular, that opened my eyes to how much history was all around me. Being born and raised in Scotland myself, I'd never before playing this game had any idea how many major events and famous figures had been right on my doorstep.

In particular, Bannockburn has strong ties to Robert the Bruce, As does my local area. A local town hall has his statue, and another nearby town has huge painted scenes depicting Robert murdering the Red Comyn inside the local church.

By far the most interesting story I came across in my studies though, was when Robert the Bruce, and his family, were cursed By Saint Malachy. This curse is apparently responsible for the destruction of the Annan Castle.

Would I have come across this story if I hadn't played Broken Sword? Sadly, it's unlikely. Incredible stories like these are everywhere, but so often confined to be left forgotten and gathering dust in an archive somewhere.

I suppose it's lucky for me then, that, unlike George and Nico, I don't have to put my life on the line to find the answers and stories I want. If it wasn't for George and Nico though… I probably would have never gone looking.

If you have any interest in Scottish legends, please let me know! There are some truly captivating stories out there, and I could use an excuse to get back into researching them. Though to be honest, even if no one is interested, I will probably do it without an excuse.

This was originally posted on Medium by myself. I have made light edits for this version. For the original, you can find it here.