Double Unique Units

[Yesod]

Anyone have any theories as to why only the Western nations receive two UU's in Civ V:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization_V#Civilizations_and_leaders

All others, with the exception of the Mongols, get a UB instead.

So is this a coincidence? I know that some of Civ IV's designers were definitely not afraid to "share their beliefs" with us. We all remember that blatant insult they called the Native American Empire, not to mention the fact that Shaka's been screaming at the camera for about 3 installments now.

 

[seasnake]

I think the bias if any is that they consider eastern and ancient civilizations to have built more fascinating and meaningful structures than western civilization. What sounds cooler, ancient burial tombs and floating gardens or malls and counting houses?

 

[I_qua_I]

This is just a complete guess on my part but maybe it was a decision made in the hopes that people playing European civilizations would feel more inclined to take over other civs (more UU = more possible instances of combat advantage) thus mimicing the real life colonialism carried out by the western powers.

And just to note, Japan's also another obviously non-western civ with 2 UU.

 

[Yesod]

This is just a complete guess on my part but maybe it was a decision made in the hopes that people playing European civilizations would feel more inclined to take over other civs (more UU = more possible instances of combat advantage) thus mimicing the real life colonialism carried out by the western powers.

And just to note, Japan's also another obviously non-western civ with 2 UU.

This might be true. I actually considered that. Also, Japan is a western civilization. They transitioned pretty damn quickly, in my opinion at least.

 

[Yesod]

I think the bias if any is that they consider eastern and ancient civilizations to have built more fascinating and meaningful structures than western civilization. What sounds cooler, ancient burial tombs and floating gardens or malls and counting houses?

Good point. Non-western civilizations have always been known for wonders and monuments.

 

[Pouakai]

Also, due to their close proximity, Western nations generally were quite generic building-wise, differing only in wonders and their militaries, hence why they all have 2 UU

 

[Drawmeus]

I don't have a source, but this was a question asked of them around the time of the game launch and they said it was a coincidence.

 

[Misanthrop]

how are the japanese / ottomans / mongols "western civilizations"?

another question that bothers me: why do all civilizations that begin with a vowel have unique abilities that begin with a consonant?

 

[Scaramanga]

More variety of "uniqueness" is another thing I like about Civ 5. Instead of racking their brains to come up with ONE unique unit and ONE unique building for every Civ they just said "if the shoe fits..." Add this to the open-ended special abilities and you've got an appealing game in my book.

 

[Yesod]

how are the japanese / ottomans / mongols "western civilizations"?

another question that bothers me: why do all civilizations that begin with a vowel have unique abilities that begin with a consonant?

Cute. To respond to the first comment, the Japanese in this day and age have Westernized more so than Westerners themselves. If you'd like to argue that, I'm all ears.

The Ottomans and Mongols are exceptions, I suppose. Granted, they're both Near Eastern empires that were well integrated into Western history due to conquests (the Mongols originated further east but swallowed up the half of Europe).

 

[h0ncho]

Probably because it is mostly sold to westerners, and most westerners don't think their own civilizations buildings are all that exotic, thus not cool enough to have in a game.

Anyways, Russia also has only one UU.

 

[Misanthrop]

Cute. To respond to the first comment, the Japanese in this day and age have Westernized more so than Westerners themselves. If you'd like to argue that, I'm all ears.

The Ottomans and Mongols are exceptions, I suppose. Granted, they're both Near Eastern empires that were well integrated into Western history due to conquests (the Mongols originated further east but swallowed up the half of Europe).

Adorable. I read western nations and not "westernized". If you like to argue that, ask my optometrist...

Also they represent centuries of Japanese, far eastern history / culture in this game. Why should the last 40 years be even close to relevant? If you like to argue that, ask my history teacher...

 

[Truthy]

Anyone have any theories as to why only the Western nations receive two UU's in Civ V:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization_V#Civilizations_and_leaders

All others, with the exception of the Mongols, get a UB instead.

So is this a coincidence? I know that some of Civ IV's designers were definitely not afraid to "share their beliefs" with us. We all remember that blatant insult they called the Native American Empire, not to mention the fact that Shaka's been screaming at the camera for about 3 installments now.

I would guess that it is because most of the buildings in the game were standardly built by westerners throughout history. Not to say that other civilizations didn't build things like barracks, but the game is largely based off of western civilization. Your typical buildings would have appeared more frequently in Europe than in other places. And because of the similarities between cultures in Europe the standard buildings in the game were shared, but things like floating gardens only appeared in Aztec. I wouldn't call this a bias against Europeans. The fact throughout history has been that every building found in England could be found in France. Europeans are to an extent very culturally similar and there would not have existed many structures or building types found in only certain areas. Although architecture and style would of course vary, the general functions would remain the same. If you were to provide Germany with a unique building, chances are it would be found in most other countries in Europe. This also applies to practically any European civilization as well. However, military classes have varied in European history as warfare has been widespread and frequent. Distinct military classes have arose throughout European history more so than in other cultures. Take the Roman Legion or the Spanish Conquistador for instance.

 

[Stretchy Man]

Cute. To respond to the first comment, the Japanese in this day and age have Westernized more so than Westerners themselves. If you'd like to argue that, I'm all ears.

They have an eastern culture, practice eastern religions, eat mainly eastern food, speak an eastern language, and geographically, couldn't be any more eastern. How do you figure they are westerners? Their love of baseball?

 

[joyous_gard]

Japan is not western.

 

[CurseUppl]

I'm gonna take a shot in the dark here.

Japan didn't side with the Eastern Bloc (the USSR) and nor was it neutral. Therefore, it was West. Just like South Korea. So, politically speaking, they are very Western, as they embrace democracy as fanatically as Europe and the US does.

 

[Alexastor]

We're talking about culture, not about politics. Of course, politically they were western.

Russia was politically "east", but culturally, they're definitely west.

 

[Mustakrakish]

Not that I'm trying to be a smart ass, but the whole thread asks for a facepalm...

 

[Yesod]

Not that I'm trying to be a smart ass, but the whole thread asks for a facepalm...

Oh, so true.

 

[Yesod]

They have an eastern culture, practice eastern religions, eat mainly eastern food, speak an eastern language, and geographically, couldn't be any more eastern. How do you figure they are westerners? Their love of baseball?

From Wikepedia:

according to Johnstone (1993:323), 84% of the Japanese claim no personal religion. And according to Demerath (2001:138), 64% do not believe in God, and 55% do not believe in Buddha.[