Is Civilization a God game or a Mortal Game? Get a bigger avatar today!


It's been said before and noted that Civilization is categorized as a "God game".


But is it really a God game? Does hovering above the world looking down on it and controlling everything make it a God game?

If it does, should Civilization even be a God game?


For those of you who have played MMORPG's (I'm not suggesting to make Civilization an MMORPG (or though that would be equally as fun) but I am just using MMORPG's as an example because of their huge open worlds), consider something like World of Warcraft, can you imagine being ONE of the people in your civilization, can you imagine fighting your own battles with your own soldiers? can you imagine standing outside your parliament house in 2010 looking over your massive advanced city?


What do people prefer? To be God or not to be God, that is the question.

It's not God game for sure. If it would be a God game I could make people happy just snaping my fingers. And if it would God game then you would fight against other gods and every civ would have its own God :hmm:

I just consider it a strategy game - not a god game. god games to me are more like black & white, actraiser, or populous. You actually play as a god in these games and are given such powers. civ is more like a 6000 year dictatorship :D .

I guess then, back in the older days, games like Civ were considered "god like" because you could do what you wanted, compared to other games of that time.

Does it matter? All strategy games can be considered God-games, because you can controll everything your citizens do.
On the other hand, being a God would mean that you can controll your enemies, o it's not a God-game. And you have some rules to obey, like RNG.
So the only game I'd consider a God-game is The Sims. You can do virtually anything there.

You're not God, but you're not an individual mortal either.

I always thought of it as "the state", in abstract.

I agree with the last poster.

MMORPG should be seperate from civilization, They are different gmaes. Perhaps a civilization spinoff as a mmorpg, but I would kill my self (not literally) if civ 4 was even close to an mmorpg

I believe it is a god game. Since you as a character cannot die. A god game is a game where you have absolute control of your populase. Which you do in the game.

GOD GAME!

I see it as a God game. Because of the amount of control you have and so on. Not God as in all powerful, but God as in undying leader.....unless you have regicide turned on! ;)

You represent an ever-living leader.

And to the ill-educated peasants, that more or less means a god.

Or you could see your gameplay as the invisible 'spirit' of your chosen civ.

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In a god game you are a god. In civ you ain't. So civ is not a god game. As for the MMORPG part, i didn't understand very well...

I guess then, back in the older days, games like Civ were considered "god like" because you could do what you wanted, compared to other games of that time.

I find it alarming when part of my life is regarded as 'older days' :p

I don't think Civ is a God game, we have superior control over the gameplay, but not enough power to truly proclaim ourselves gods, if that makes sense. Basically, It's not a god-game because I'm not laughing maniacally the entire time.

I find it alarming when part of my life is regarded as 'older days' :p



:lol: Me too!

Anyway... hmm. Nah, Civ isn't really a God game per se, not like Age of Mythology, for example. It shares a lot of similarities so I can see why some people might call it one. You don't have any supernatural abilities, though. Unless you count the ability to issue commands throughout your empire and beyond even before the advent of modern communications...

It's not a God game, because you aren't all powerful, closer to immortal, but not all powerful.

No. You can't control the weather, nerve-staple your citizens or mind-control your enemies!

I think of you more as a line of leaders than anything else.

You're not God because you don't control your enemy. Even so, you're not even the God of your own Civilization. There are many things you have no control over in your own country.

Hmmmmm, perhaps we can say you represent both the social interaction and resulting production of the populace of your selected civilization. How about that? Your actions are representative of the production of your society.

I'd still call it a "God-game" however, but only because that is the accepted term for games such as civilization where you do pretty much have total control of your citizens.

Well, it's definitely a God-game when I play 8 person hotseat by myself! :D

I think that the player is more like the "spirit" of the civilization being played.

That is sooo true Francophile. Its not a God-Game, but more of a Zietgiest game. You are the collective spirit of your entire people. As we know, though, every society may have its 'broad trends', but it is also made up of many individuals and social groups. Civ4, more than any other previous iteration, represents this very well via the combination of Civics, Specialists and Great People-thus representing the different 'factions' that make up every society (workers, clerics, scientists, artists etc). Its not perfect, mind you, but it is headed in the right direction.

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

Well, it's definitely a God-game when I play 8 person hotseat by myself! :DEither that or debug mode! ;) Anyway, the point of the game is to build a civilization, not create one through your god powers!

That is sooo true Francophile. Its not a God-Game, but more of a Zietgiest game. You are the collective spirit of your entire people. As we know, though, every society may have its 'broad trends', but it is also made up of many individuals and social groups. Civ4, more than any other previous iteration, represents this very well via the combination of Civics, Specialists and Great People-thus representing the different 'factions' that make up every society (workers, clerics, scientists, artists etc). Its not perfect, mind you, but it is headed in the right direction. If that was true than you wouldn't have just one name, ie Napolean or Gengis Khan, it would change every 25-50 years. :)

God Game without a powerful creature.

It is a God game. No question about that one.

it is not a God game. In a God game I could change plains into hills, hills into mountains, or tundra into grasslands.

It is also not a Mortal game. it is a management game, IMHO.

Civ is TOO MUCH a god game. You have too much control of the people, YOU say where they settle & live, YOU determine their social values (and MAYBE even their religious affiliation)! YOU determine scientific and social progress.

I would have preferred the game involving your TRYING to INFLUENCE events.

I haven't read most of this thread's posts yet.

edit: typo

Always felt you were more the power behind the throne.

You see this in real life, leaders come and go in countries, but some factions always stay in power through one way or another influencing what happens. In Civilization you are such a faction and just very very good at staying in power :D

It is a "leader" game.

Well, I figure its a god game because of the near total control you have.

(Ideally your civ would have a leader that is clearly separate from you and changes every 5-50 years based on government type...they don't make decisions, but they act like the civ 4 leaders, giving bonuses and penalties to certain actions)

Well i guess I'm in the minority here i voted that the leader should be more like a MMORPG character, your leader should develop his own traits though experience, not determent before the game starts. This of course goes with my concept of a Civ MMO so this might not be a objective opinion...:cool:

I think it's a god game because when you install the game it's like the BIG BANG, and then when you quit the world ends.

And with the map editor and modding it to hell and back, you could really **** things up in a god like fashion.

Anyway's what's a god anyway?

No. You can't control the weather, nerve-staple your citizens or mind-control your enemies!

I think of you more as a line of leaders than anything else.

So SMAC was a god game, then? Speaking of which, I'd like them to make SMAC II before Civ V.

And I have to disagree. Civilization is a god game, although I admit that depends on your definition of "god game". While you don't have total control over the world, and I'll point out that you don't in B&W either, you do have complete knowledge of your civilization, you have total control of your civilization within certain rules, you have extensive metagame knowledge, etc. Yes, that means I consider SimCity and such god games as well; for that matter, most games that don't restrict you to controlling a single character (or group, in some RPGs) could be considered god games. RTS might be stretching it, of course.

It's a strategy game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_game

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_gamehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_game#Turn-based

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_game#Turn-based

Who says it cant be turnbased and a godgame? Just like its also a turnbased strategy game, its also a godgame.

If you think the meaning of godgame means you play as a god you have a childish view of what godgame means. Stop looking at the word combination and start looking at the meaning of it.

"A God game is a computer game that lets you create and control the lives of virtual people or worlds."

"The name is derived from reference to games in which the character plays a godlike entity that controls entire worlds"

I think that the way you play the Civ games is similar to the "godlike entity" in a way, because you control your civilization from 4000 B.C to 2050 AD, and you make alot more decisions then a leader of that civilization would. And in the same way that Railroad Tycoon, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Sim City are godgames (to me atleast), I think civilization is too.

hat is sooo true Francophile. Its not a God-Game, but more of a Zietgiest game.

hm... is that supposed to be german??
no offense, just wondering

I have always thought myself as a immortal leader in Civ. In the regicide game mode I am even on the map. As to the fighting with my army part, well I have always been a big fan of "the Total War"-games's combat system and do think it should be implemented in Civ 5.

I duno what you are exactly, some spirit whisper naughty stuff in the ear of your leaderor some immortal leader or whatever.

But its curtainly not a god game, Black and White (2) is a god game, Civilization is not.