Isn't anyone bothered by the humor in Civ4 and 3?

[KingAshDawg]

First of all, thanks for starting a thread that isn't about anticipation, disappointment, or frustration with regards to the release, but is about a genuine discussion about the game. (not that I am innocent of going psycho until I get my hands on it).

Anyway, I actually have sometimes been a little miffed at the humor. I just ignored it and didn't pay attention. I like that the game seems lighthearted, but as a history buff, I think it's a fine line between being a silly and irritating cartoonish game and something more serious and attempting to be realistic. After all, isn't that what civ is about, reliving history. There is nothing wrong with it being a little light hearted, but what you have quoted does seem to go over the top into goofiness that may distract from the gameplay.

OK, first time poster and medium-time lurker. As a history buff myself, I don't think the Civ franchise is going for historical accuracy. Anytime the Romans are chasing the Carthaginians into outer space or the Zulus basically do anything more advanced than the iron age we can tell that this game isn't a history lesson. It IS an awesome turn-based game with a historical backdrop and so they can take liberties with their historical accuracies. I see what you're saying, but I think if you're looking to play this game and expect historical accuracies you will be greatly dissapointed as that is not how it is intended to be played.

And yes, more cowbell would be awesome.

 

[JavalTigar]

Civ never took itself too seriously. That was always part of the attraction.

EXACTLY! If it did then it would seem to dry.

 

[sNoFoX]

I once got: Japan(Furious): "All your base are belong to us!"

I almost fell off my chair laughing..

 

[Dun Malg]

i absoulutly hate the humor in the buildings..like in civ3 the wonders were really dumb.. the magellans quest...a play structure...

At the risk of sounding foolish, can someone explain that one for me? Clearly Magellan's Voyage being represented by a playground is some sort of humor, but the actual joke eludes me to this day. Is there some hidden pun to it? Or am I maybe not missing the joke, because there isn't one? Did they just do a silly pirate ship playground because they couldn't think of a good symbolic representation of circumnavigating the globe?

 

[drjones]

At the risk of sounding foolish, can someone explain that one for me? Clearly Magellan's Voyage being represented by a playground is some sort of humor, but the actual joke eludes me to this day. Is there some hidden pun to it? Or am I maybe not missing the joke, because there isn't one? Did they just do a silly pirate ship playground because they couldn't think of a good symbolic representation of circumnavigating the globe?

My guess is he had his graphics set low and thought it looked like a jungle gym, rather than shipyard which is not such a funny interpretation of the real voyage. I don't think any of the buildings were jokey at all personally. Might have been fun if they were.

-drjones

 

[jkp1187]

That is an awesome idea. What is they recruited John Cleese to do the voices. If they could get the rights fine, if not, just Pythonesque humor would be the way to go. Maybe I have not been getting my view across. I love the humor, just as long as they keep it witty and intellectual and not stupid. That is just my fear.

Thanks to the magic of editing, though, I think I might add it to the mix.

 

[jkp1187]

My guess is he had his graphics set low and thought it looked like a jungle gym, rather than shipyard which is not such a funny interpretation of the real voyage. I don't think any of the buildings were jokey at all personally. Might have been fun if they were.

-drjones

Agreed. It's funny. Maybe Magellan's Voyage was a rorschach test?

 

[Quasimodo]

That is an awesome idea. What is they recruited John Cleese to do the voices. If they could get the rights fine, if not, just Pythonesque humor would be the way to go. Maybe I have not been getting my view across. I love the humor, just as long as they keep it witty and intellectual and not stupid. That is just my fear.

That would be hillarious if you attack French city, and in the battle, a cow comes flying out to land on your archer!


Sorry, I know that's silly but that would just blow me away the first time I saw that. "first"

 

[Reg Pither]

I have to say I always found the daft, contemporary phrases used by some of the other rulers in Civ3 to be be a bit too jarring for my taste, and really detracted from the overall sense of historical atmosphere. I was really hoping they'd been toned down in Civ4, but it doesn't look like it. Still, if they're easily editable, I should be able to find some alternatives that will comply with my highbrow standards...

Of course, if that's all I've got to worry about, this new version looks like it will rule my life for the next few months!

 

[Uty]

If you don't like the humor in the game you can change all the text to make it more serious.

 

[alexzman2002]

I suppose I never thought about it... I do like the game to have a serious overtone, but as long as the jokes are occasional and don't affect the gameplay I can enjoy them.

 

[Kissamies]

Heh, the French should say "Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time-a" when they refuse a peace treaty.

 

[TheBladeRoden]

Pleased to meet you, foreign dignitary! You'll forgive me if I don't get up.

ba-dum CHING!

 

[Greek Plunder]

I like it! Its a game after all. RL is serious enough already.

So you don't play 'serious' games like Half-Life or FEAR because they're games?

It's all about atmosphere and setting, two of the most important concepts in game design. I would prefer a serious tone to it all, but I can live with the humourous dialogue. It doesn't bother me THAT much. After all, I could just mod my own dialogue in if I wanted to. I'm just glad that they decided to go a more realistic approach with the majority of the leader heads this time around.

 

[Legal_My_Deagle]

I never especially liked it, though it never really bothered me either.

If you dislike it that strongly, I am guessing you could relatively easily make a mod to change the kinds of things the AI says to you.

Also, dont pirate Civ4. Being honest, I wont claim myself to be a saint here, in fact I have pirated many, in fact probably too many games in my time. But, I believe that even living on a student's income that you should at least actually purchase the games that are REALLY good, and you are likely to go back and play through multiple times especially. And if history repeats itself for a 4th time, there will be no other game that will suck you back in more times than Civ4 will. So really, dont kid yourself- of course the game is worth buying, despite any beefs with the humor of the AI.

 

[Hamminator]

Pleased to meet you, foreign dignitary! You'll forgive me if I don't get up.

ba-dum CHING!

Its so mean but I have to laugh.
As the for the thread, I believe it is funny at times and I don't mind it. Its just a game if you want a super serious game look elsewhere.

 

[jimkirk]

so elvis is the culture adviser and who is the military adviser ?i like humor in games it adds to the fun

 

[bky1701]

If I ran an empire, that’s most likely how I would act, it would confuse my enemies so badly they would not know what to do. So I am fine with it. Makes me think of running my empire...

 

[PennHead]

My personal favorite was always the confirmation dialogue for revolution in Civ3, "You know it's gonna be all right".

I've always enjoyed the humor in Civ. No doubt that there was more of it in 3 than prior versions, but it's always been a part of it. I look forward to finding what bits of humor await in Civ4.

 

[RoboPig]

i have always liked humor in games, though they overdid it in simcity2000 newspapers.

I'm just pizzed the jokes are not written in the native tounges of the speakers. Everyone knows Hindi and latin right?
-drjones

incidentally two out of three languages that i know. (my latin is far better than my hindi even though i am indian and lived in india for 9 years!!!)