Interview With Sid Meier
- Thread starter Greg Tito
- Start date
Lemme get this straight: you sat down with Sid Meier and did not ask him when they were finally going to make another Alpha Centauri? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, MAN!
Still, very nice insights in this interview. The diversity by which people who are brilliant at making games go about making them is amazing.
Still, very nice insights in this interview. The diversity by which people who are brilliant at making games go about making them is amazing.
Civilization 1 was the first commercial PC game I ever played and it hooked me up on PC gaming 
I enjoy reading all interviews with Sid Meier because of his skills in game design. Despite his fame he still seems to be a down to earth guy. Thanks for this interview, Escapist!
I enjoy reading all interviews with Sid Meier because of his skills in game design. Despite his fame he still seems to be a down to earth guy. Thanks for this interview, Escapist! 
REAL journalism... on the ESCAPIST?!
Jokes aside, I really enjoyed the interview - thanks for putting it up on the website.
Jokes aside, I really enjoyed the interview - thanks for putting it up on the website.
I've always been a gamer, as long as I can remember I've been hooked on pixels. I recently joined a local games club that meets up in a bar every Monday and I have been introduced to a world I have never before seen; tabletop. Board games, RPGs, card games, it's a whole other side to the computer games I know so well and I have been loving my new journey of discovery in this world. Sure, I'd played a little bit of D&D, a few games of Risk and Monopoly and I'd even got into Magic: The Gathering as a teenager. But at this games club, these guys are real enthusiasts, they bring in prototype board games currently being kickstarted, they talk about the latest board game cons and have members who write scenarios for the global RPG, Pathfinder Society. It's a real eye-opener for me and it's fascinating, as well as great fun.
Also, Sid Meier is an absolute legend, thanks for the write-up, Greg!
Also, Sid Meier is an absolute legend, thanks for the write-up, Greg!
what deth2munkies said... Alpha Centauri 2, sigh...
also, nitpicking and being obnoxious, but Ace patrol is a world war 1 strategic game, considering there aren't many games for that period and Red baron was one of the first games I played, I feel I need to drum a bit on the particular fact...
still to be in the presence of such a great man... Envy...
good article btw
also, nitpicking and being obnoxious, but Ace patrol is a world war 1 strategic game, considering there aren't many games for that period and Red baron was one of the first games I played, I feel I need to drum a bit on the particular fact...
still to be in the presence of such a great man... Envy...
good article btw
Good interview Greg but did you forget to ask about Alpha Cent-
*looks above*
Well, I think that's been covered!
I adore his Pirates! game. I hope that someday he'll return to the Caribbean.
*looks above*
Well, I think that's been covered!
I adore his Pirates! game. I hope that someday he'll return to the Caribbean.
Always interesting to see what kind of games get made when Sid himself gets hands on and leads the development himself. I think it also says a lot about Sid and Firaxis when their forays into the mobile space aren't rehashes of their old titles.
As for the people asking about Alpha Centauri II... pffft... will take 2 (Take Two, geddit?) conditions - someone in a line for a lead design spot wants to make SMAC II (or Brian Reynolds returns to the fold) AND the knobends at 2K Games/Take Two Interactive pulling their heads out of their arses when it comes to strategy games that aren't Civ or haven't generated significant vitriol by 2K announcing a shooter 'remake'... so, around Never. Mark it down on your calendars.
As for the people asking about Alpha Centauri II... pffft... will take 2 (Take Two, geddit?) conditions - someone in a line for a lead design spot wants to make SMAC II (or Brian Reynolds returns to the fold) AND the knobends at 2K Games/Take Two Interactive pulling their heads out of their arses when it comes to strategy games that aren't Civ or haven't generated significant vitriol by 2K announcing a shooter 'remake'... so, around Never. Mark it down on your calendars.
Haha, well, he didn't REALLY make Alpha Centauri. Brian Reynolds did, as RhombusHatesYou points out.
Also, I did everything in my power NOT to just ask him about Civilization. I'm such a complete fanboy that I thought he would think me a wacko, and this interview was supposed to be about Ace Patrol, not all his work.
I did ask him if he would make a 3D Pirates game a la Ass Creed 4, and he said he'd like to. He didn't rule it out. So there's that.
Greg
Also, I did everything in my power NOT to just ask him about Civilization. I'm such a complete fanboy that I thought he would think me a wacko, and this interview was supposed to be about Ace Patrol, not all his work.
I did ask him if he would make a 3D Pirates game a la Ass Creed 4, and he said he'd like to. He didn't rule it out. So there's that.
Greg
There are three names that will make me buy a game. Julian Gollop, Chris Avellone, and Sid Meier, and only one is rock star enough to actually use their name in the title to increase sales. Hell I pre-ordered XCOM the day I found out Sid had been a consultant for the developers.
Sid Meier's Pirates! on C64 was my first gaming obsession and it wasn't the onlySid Meier game that ended up consuming all my spare time.
Sid Meier's Pirates! on C64 was my first gaming obsession and it wasn't the onlySid Meier game that ended up consuming all my spare time.
Pirates, the original, was my fantasy game. I used to dream of what life in the maritime tradition would have been like, a sturdy ship, stalwart crew, exotic ports; Pirates was my way of living that life so to speak. I have never played a game quite like it that really appealed to my thirst for life at sea, in fact tin most cases pirate games have basically bored me to tears.
Want to add that Civilization Revolution, which plays a lot like an elaborate board game, has yet to get old for me. It's not a streamlined or dumbed down experience if it's takes as a board game rather than an full blown Civ entry.
Want to add that Civilization Revolution, which plays a lot like an elaborate board game, has yet to get old for me. It's not a streamlined or dumbed down experience if it's takes as a board game rather than an full blown Civ entry.
Has Sid Meier ever even played a turn-based game? That's not how they work. There's a common phrase that goes "just one more turn" - but never actually results in just one more turn. Trains have been missed, jobs have been lost, lives have been ruined as a result.Greg Tito said:
Also:
This was appended to the section I quoted above when I copied it. Why the hell is The Escapist inserting this crap into our copy-pastes? If there's one thing I expect my computer's "copy" command to do, it's to make an exact copy of what I've highlighted. Altering this content for promotional purposes is shameful.
I can only guess and do not want to go too far off-topic, but this could have been done because of copyright issues... In another forum I visit quite often, you have to add such a reference to the source whenever you paste text from another webpage into your own posts.Aardvaarkman said:
Well that's just sad. It might be a good idea to stop visiting that forum.StHubi said:
There's no copyright issue in posting quotes - the only issue would be if you're plagiarising whole articles, and anyone who wanted to do that could easily delete the URL. This is clearly supposed to be a promotional tool to drive traffic.
I have nothing useful to contribute to the article itself other that it was fun to read and Sid seems even better now than what i though it was going to be like before. amazing guy, keep doing what your doing.
Now about the automated appended link crap that was raised, such autmated messages are evil and should be gotten rid off. yeah, try to copy a phrase and past it in your game chat window, you get banned for linking websites and loose your account.
Now about the automated appended link crap that was raised, such autmated messages are evil and should be gotten rid off. yeah, try to copy a phrase and past it in your game chat window, you get banned for linking websites and loose your account.