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The History of Civilization
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.'"
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."
All I want to know is how the damn Zulu spearman could possibly defeat ALL my tanks. HOW!?!?!?
There's probably someone just starting out in college who will be there for the next ten to fifteen years because of Civilization!
Shouldn't smart people know what a "canon" is? (Or is "smart folks" a knock on their intelligence to begin with?)
http://www.google.com/search?num=20&hl=en&safe=of
(In other words, 10 specific games cannot be a "canon", unless you are saying that these games are a "bible" and all other games are heresy. 10 specific game design principles, however...)
Or did they interview the robotic dopelganger, Sim Meier? Not Sid Meier, but an incredible simulation.
It's not offtopic, dumbass. It's orthogonal.
You know, I've given some thought to a game like that. You know the 'great people' of Civ IV? 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? Like the 'Rush Hour' expansion to Sim City 4, where you can gain cash, popularity, and other benefits from completing driving missions.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
What I'd like to ask Sid is why was the AI behind the Indians so agressively warlike when their 'face' was Mahatma Ghandi?
It always seemed strange to see that kind old man on your screen and to know that you had a huge long protracted war ahead of you.
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
My computer isn't up to the task of playing Civ4 but I see from the strategy guides that more attention was given to peaceful expansion and influence. The problem I always run into with these 4x games is that you have to claim a lot of territory early but it's tough to strike the balance between research, industry, and army. I'd always end up buttoned up in my cities/solar systems/castles until I had an economy together, constantly fearing attack by strong enemy forces, then by the time my fleet/army is ready to kick ass, the enemies have collapsed. Anyone else remember Master of Orion with the massive fleets of 32,000 weak-ass ships constantly attacking your planets and fleeing before the mass of defense missiles?
So, for people who have played a lot of IV, how are the non-military victories? Are they better than just building spaceships?
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
I really like this sort of idea, but taken a bit further out. A game like civ, that creates content, for another game, like WOW or another MMORPG/RPG/ or even FPS. With the right kind of infrastructure and reporting / management tools. It's a neverending cycle of content and players that can evolve together. I think some games are drifting towards this, but I don't think anyone has seen the really big picture yet. Couple this with some good competition, prizes, and a serious rendering engine, and you have a reality-based TV show on top of it. It's all technically possible today, there just needs to be a visionary to put it all together in a way that pleases the masses, and caters to different groups of people with different wants. You get something for the hardcore gamer, something for the creative (and/or technical) gamer, and something for the casuals too.
You can also take other cities via culture, and much more reliably than in III. So yeah, get a new graphics card & play. It's worth it.
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.