I disagree, pretty strongly in fact. I think the leaders is what sets the Civilization franchise apart from other (better) 4X games. I think Civ7 needs to double down on leaders, make diplomacy more complex, and make it feel more like you're interacting with the leaders directly.
I think Civ3's idea of changing leaders was absolutely horrible. Abraham Lincoln in a loincloth, skinhead Joan of Arc, Montezuma in a tux...just so, so many bad ideas--and when Firaxis tries to be original, they always have bad ideas. IMO leaders should look iconic..
Just to counterbalance, I have to bring up here that
I loved Civ'III leaders changing trough the ages, and in each game I'm expected it to come back again. I'm in agreement with you in that interaction with the leaders is at the core in the franchise, but also with
@ehecatzin in the side that, if leader interaction it's that important, it should convey much more information than just being eye candy.
I can agree some choices in Civ III were questionable (
stone age Abe Lincoln is just offensive, G.I. Jane Jeanne of Arc, I can see the intention of it, but I agree it did not work very well).
On the other hand, i found everyone (and really not everyone) in
tuxedos for industrial was indeed neat, as it shows a time were industrialization and global communications make there appear "standard" formats of dressing in all the world (while we can call tuxedos and military mess dress a "western" invention, they break as well with western dress code history, and we can find evidence of them extending as a global standard, with particularities, in different areas of the world, therofore to me they are indeed more "industrial" than "western". It is more likely that leaders would wear military mess-dress, nevertheless, and that would help introducing differentiating items and complements. Industrial age pushed standardization, (ford's "choose car color, with the condition it is black") and it's only once industries are more established that differentiation re-surfaces in post-industrial era.
What I'm trying to say, is I agree with
@ehecatzin position below (except the tuxedos part
- well, I can agree partly as explained below, because more types of differentitation should be added)
oh and I agree civ III did it horribly, the concept I like, It would be a matter of doing it right. as I mentioned, if the leader had visual clues as to what is going on with it's civ it could be so rich, for example say, diferent styles if It's on golden age, dark age,etc, bankrupt, invaded, just won a war, culturally influential or a subject, etc. (by the love of God, yes avoid everybody on tuxedos by modern)
First mix to be considered is Civ I government + Civ III age + Civilization "tendency" (underestanded by that, the type of victory they are pursuing).
Therefore, coming back to the tuxedo's example: you'll expect an industrial civ leaders to come at you in tuxedo if looking for a diplomatic/economic victory, but in military mess-dress if looking for a military/scientific victory, and maybe in a more culturally-focused garb if pushing in culture victory. Also, economic governments would be more likely to show a more neutral/standard/commercial scenario (and black-tie dressed advisors, because there should be more people than the leader), military governments can show more traditional and culturally linked warfare/dominance-oriented scenery (and military clad advisors), and diplomacy-oriented governments may show a mix of cultural items from the leader civ and your civ... the leader strenght may be shown in the quality of the scenario as well.... etc.
It's not an easy challenge, and it can be either become too big (costly) or fall too small (Beyond earth affinity appearance changes came to me as the second case, something promising - and doable, as seen in Starships, but that fell very short in the game), but something I would really like for them to invest in the art department. That and maybe some option for "grand" city view a la Civ III - In my opinion the current map has the correct mix between strategy and beauty, but, as there is a "strategic", iconic view, it would be nice to bring back an organically generated, no color-coded, immersive and realistic view, even if just only for specific cities.
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