Fame And Wealth In The Curious Expedition

In the game The Curious Expedition, one explores new worlds in hopes of achieving fame and wealth. The game has several mechanisms that relate back to the events in the Age of Exploration, including the Standing mechanism. The Standing mechanic itself controls how well the natives accept and help the character. The higher the standing, the more helpful and peaceful the natives are. The lower the number, the more aggressive and suspicious. It can be affected by how long one imposes upon them, acceptance of their gifts, and stealing artifacts. A lower standing may cause one to be followed or attacked. The Standing mechanic of The Curious Expedition closely mirrors native reactions to explorers stealing their goods in that as explorers took goods,
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As a fugitive, he was given gold and goods by local town leaders. Intrigued by this, Cortes dubbed himself governor and began visiting local towns under Aztec rule, where he was seen as the possible savior from Montezuma. With more and more riches pouring in as tribute, Cortes wrote to Europe and secured a post as an explorer, exploring more of the surrounding towns and gaining their respect and fear, eventually ending up with gifts from Montezuma himself. His reputation was noble and he was well received within the confines of the Aztec empire as his gold came from tribute, not force. However, here is where his reputation began declining. Cortes began bringing local villages under Spanish rule and confiscating gold from said towns. This escalated into the slaughter of villages for gold and stealing riches from them, sending his reputation spiraling downwards. The natives began uprising against Cortes and were in turn killed, their bodies stripped of jewelry and desecrated in similar manners. Cortes then called Spanish forces to aid him, felling Tenochtitlan and gaining riches for Spain. Since his riches were not being volunteered because of a lowered reputation, Cortes felt the need to take riches, further damaging his
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While Cortes was moving his armies west, towards the gold, he continuously spoke to the natives about their faith and the barbarity of it. He told the natives that they were blind with their idols, human sacrifice, and many gods. He managed to convert a great many and have a cross erected in one of their shrines, the previous idols no doubt confiscated by his men. This religious superiority gave Cortes a self-given right to govern and take from the natives in order to show them the path of righteousness. This righteousness halted, however, in the face of his greed. When first arriving in South America, Cortes learned that gold was farther westward that he had thought. Subsequently, he moved his forces west in order to seek more gold. He also obtained gold from village leaders, allying with them against Montezuma for this reason. As he moved farther west, towards Tenochtitlan, words got to Montezuma of Cortes and the fearsome technology he carried. In an effort to dissuade them from visiting, Montezuma sent gold to Cortes. However, this only piqued Cortes’s interest and he continued west, picking up gold as he went. In fact, he even asked Montezuma for more, saying, “… I and my companions suffer from a disease of the heart which can only be cured with gold.” These various examples of Cortes’s greed show the motivation with which he moved westwards and