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The History of Civilization

Posted by Zonk on from the canon-with-cannons dept.

You may recall back in March, when a group of smart folks got together to form a game canon. They essentially nominated the ten most important games, ever. Gamasutra has begun a series of articles which will explore the storied history of each of these titles, and they've started with Sim Meier's Civilization series. Benj Edwards' history of Civilization begins with a rundown on the series itself, and wraps with a lengthy Sid Meier interview. Required reading, essentially. "Meier [is] comfortable with a legacy inextricably tied to Civilization: 'I think that if that's what's on my epitaph, "Did Civilization," that would be fine.' In musing about the fate of his beloved series, Meier finds himself satisfied with what the future might hold for the franchise: 'There's probably somebody getting ready for their first day of college that's probably going to be a part of Civilization in ten to fifteen years from now. I think it'll be around for quite a while.'"

11 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. The History of Civilization by GrayCalx · · Score: 5, Funny

    I believe Douglas Adams said it best...

    "In the beginning, the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry, and is generally considered to have been a bad move."

  2. Just one question Mr Meier... by HexRei · · Score: 4, Funny

    All I want to know is how the damn Zulu spearman could possibly defeat ALL my tanks. HOW!?!?!?

    1. Re:Just one question Mr Meier... by EveryNickIsTaken · · Score: 2, Funny

      Any Italians here that can answer that question?

    2. Re:Just one question Mr Meier... by uberjoe · · Score: 5, Funny

      All I want to know is how the damn Zulu spearman could possibly defeat ALL my tanks. HOW!?!?!?

      That's easy, hundreds of them getting squashed gum up the treads immobilizing the tank. From there hundreds more take turns sticking their spears down the barrel of the turret causing the tank crew to expend all their ammo unclogging the main gun. Then its only a small matter of blocking the air vents of the tank with zebra skins and elephant dung and waiting for the crew to asphyxiate.

      --

      The days of the digital watch are numbered.

    3. Re:Just one question Mr Meier... by jollyreaper · · Score: 4, Funny

      All I want to know is how the damn Zulu spearman could possibly defeat ALL my tanks. HOW!?!?!? That's easy, hundreds of them getting squashed gum up the treads immobilizing the tank. From there hundreds more take turns sticking their spears down the barrel of the turret causing the tank crew to expend all their ammo unclogging the main gun. Then its only a small matter of blocking the air vents of the tank with zebra skins and elephant dung and waiting for the crew to asphyxiate. Ok, Mr. Smart Guy, now explain how the spearman shot down my stealth bomber.
      --
      Kwisatz Haderach
      Sell the spice to CHOAM
      This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
    4. Re:Just one question Mr Meier... by east+coast · · Score: 4, Funny

      Ok, Mr. Smart Guy, now explain how the spearman shot down my stealth bomber.

      Two words: Cheerleader pyramid.

      --
      Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
    5. Re:Just one question Mr Meier... by Belacgod · · Score: 4, Funny

      Seen Black Hawk Down? What I want to know is how that phalanx sank my battleship.

    6. Re:Just one question Mr Meier... by myowntrueself · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's an inherently difficult problem to scale things so near-tech-level rivals have approximately correct interactions while zeroing the chance against far-tech-level opponents.

      World of Warcraft has an extremely effective way of dealing with a similar problem.

      If you are significantly lower level than an opponent there is no way at all that any number of you will do any damage at all to an opponent. When the level difference is in the tens its pretty well impossible to harm them.

      In the case of the spearmen though, there may be a reasonable argument;

      Those 'phalanx' units that survived until the 20th century do not represent spear-wielding bronze-age warriors somehow mystically frozen in time or some kind of 'ceremonial unit' whose methods and equipment have been preserved in the name of tradition.

      It may be presumed that their personnel and gear have been upgraded in the intervening centuries. It might be more of a SWAT team (for want of a better analogy right this minute) by the time it goes up against the missile cruiser. And, yes, I'd give a SWAT team *some* chance of taking out a missile cruiser.

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
  3. Damn you, Sid! by Fyz · · Score: 4, Funny

    There's probably someone just starting out in college who will be there for the next ten to fifteen years because of Civilization!

  4. The real Sid Meier? by Ohreally_factor · · Score: 4, Funny

    Or did they interview the robotic dopelganger, Sim Meier? Not Sid Meier, but an incredible simulation.

    --
    It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
  5. Re:Ultimate Civilization by roystgnr · · Score: 5, Funny

    What if, to gain the benefits of a great person, you had to play that person and complete a short RPG style quest in the civilization you've created?

    Yes, that would certainly fix my number one complaint about Civilization: it's not time-consuming enough.