13 Years Ago, Vin Diesel’s Dream Game Was An MMO Set In 200 B.C.

13 years ago, Vin Diesel’s dream was to create an MMORPG set around the year 200 BC, entitled Barca BC. Centered around the legendary Carthaginian military general, Hannibal Barca, Diesel’s concept would include the creation of an open world based upon the lands around the Mediterranean sea in the 2nd century BC. The actor’s dream game would see players create avatars and freely explore ancient Europe, creating his own world like World of Warcraft‘s Azeroth.

It seems that for almost two decades, Diesel has had a fascination with Hannibal Barca. This legendary figure is not the literary cannibal personality brought to life by Mads Mikkelson and Anthony Hopkins but is instead a real historical figure with extremely notable achievements. Hannibal hailed from Carthage, the base of a strong ancient empire situated on the northern coast of Africa. Hannibal is most renowned for leading his army (including elephants) across the Alps in 218 BC, successfully bypassing the Roman Republic’s land and naval forces, and taking the fight directly into Italy.

Diesel’s games would be set around the time of the Punic Wars, which occurred around 264 to 146 BC between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian Empire across the western Mediterranean. Video games have previously successfully brought to life a plethora of historical figures, including Assassin’s Creed Odyssey featuring ancient Greek figures like historian Herodotus and legendary Spartan king, Leonidas I. Diesel’s concept differs from the action-adventure angle of Ubisoft’s games, however, and would instead be an MMO where players created their own character.

Vin Diesel’s Barca BC Would’ve Been Set During The Punic Wars

The game began development in 2006 under Diesel’s own company, Tigon Studios. As reported in an interview with Diesel by Destructoid, Barca BC is the actor’s dream MMORPG to create, though Diesel recognized that it is a “hugely expensive game” and noted the financial and temporal restrictions of its development. Back in 2009, the Fast & Furious actor envisioned that it would be at least another four years before the game was fully implemented and, obviously – given its 2022 at the time of writing – it’s taking a little longer than that.

Tigon Studios was reactivated in 2013 with the release of Riddick: The Merc Files, following a suspension of developmental work since 2009. At some point, Tigon revealed that Barca BC would be a third-person action real-time strategy game, similar to Age of Empires 4. This game genre tends to have plentiful historical elements and allows players to control vast armies and territories, which would suit the context of Hannibal and the Punic Wars well.

Vin Diesel has proved his ability to produce complete mythologies with his involvement in both the Riddick and Fast & Furious franchises. With almost two decades worth of reported interest in Hannibal Barca and his own videogame company under his belt, it seems hopeful that Diesel may return to production of this dream game, perhaps following Fast 10‘s conclusion in 2023. Though, whether it will be an ambitious historical MMORPG or a tactical RTS remains unclear.

Source: Destructoid

About The Author