Firefly Studios has revealed the first female AI opponent for its castle-building strategy game Stronghold Crusader 2. The Sultana favours deception and intelligence over brute force, and she really, really likes assassins.
A new video from the studio shows off Sultana’s particular specialties, and gives players an idea of what they’ll need to counter her sneaky, unpredictable attacks.
“Looking back it’s embarrassing that out of 16 AI opponents the original Stronghold Crusader didn’t feature a single woman!” admits Firefly marketing head Nick Tannahill. ”A lot of our player data suggests that the Stronghold games have a predominantly male audience, as much as 90%, however this is no reason to resist being inclusive.Each character has their own unique AI behaviours, castle designs and mood depending on how the player interacts with them and the Sultana isno exception. She is not simply a token addition to the game’s cast.”
It’s actually nice to hear a developer admit they may have made a mistake, and even nicer to hear they’re trying to be more inclusive. After all, there are plenty of examples of women who played a critical role in the Crusades. ”History is in our players’ blood,” continues Tannahill, ”and while cultural diversity is great we could all do a better job when it comes to gender. You can expect both the launch line-up of AI Lords and those added through post release DLC to reflect that.”
Stronghold Crusader 2 is out this September 23. It’s currently available at 10% off on Steam.
