Sid Meier Q&A on Shacknews

[Thunderfall]

Shacknews has posted a Q&A with Sid Meier. In the Q&A, Sid Meier talked about how he got into gaming, games he enjoy playing, digital game distribution, having his name in game titles, state of PC gaming, prototyping, and more. Here is an excerpt:

Shack: Putting aside your various accolades, what do you feel is your greatest accomplishment in the gaming industry? It can be a game, a feature, whatever.

Sid Meier: Someone recently asked me in an interview what I think my epitaph should read. After some thought I responded: "Creator of Civilization." Civ has taken on a life of its own and it's thrilling to see how many people, from all walks of life, find enjoyment playing the game. We made the original game because it was a compelling topic (all of human history) and offered so many possibilities. And that still holds true today. It seems as though there's a never ending stream of cool ideas to bring to the Civ series--ideas that come from our team at Firaxis and the very bright and innovative Civ community.

>> Read the full article

 

[xenothaulus]

Shack: The people must know: anything you can give us, anything at all, on a possible sequel to Alpha Centauri?

Sid Meier: Electronic Arts owns the rights to Alpha Centauri, so you'll have to talk to them.

Somone do something!

 

[GarretSidzaka]

EA is the devil

 

[marioflag]

Yep.I wonder if this means that a sequel could be developed from another company instead of Firaxis.And if at this point we will ever see a sequel of that great game.If i remember this game didn't sell like the civ franchise so the EA could not be interested in a sequel.What a bad news!

 

[BeefontheBone]

Someone recently asked me in an interview what I think my epitaph should read. After some thought I responded: "Creator of Civilization."

Best make doubly sure they include that second capital C in there, Sid - don't want to come over even more egotistical...

 

[Myzenium]

Shack: In the "war" against video games many in Congress seem to be waging, it has been pointed out that the "bad" video games are titles such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Doom, whereas the "good" video games (i.e., titles that Congress deems socially acceptable) are some of your titles such as Civilization IV, even though you can do things such as commit genocide. In fact, many congressmen have boasted that while they play games such as Civ4, they shun GTA and other, more violent titles.

What are your feelings on this? Are there "good" or "bad" video games, or do you feel the issue is more dependant on the maturity/mental stability level of the player(s) partaking in games such as GTA, Civ4, et cetera?

Sid Meier: I strongly believe that it's the developer/publisher's responsibility to make sure the content they deliver in games is appropriate for the intended audience, and it's the parent's responsibility to learn the ESRB rating system so they can make sure their kids are playing games that they feel are appropriate. GTA is a great game in terms of design and gameplay experience and the "M" rating indicates that it is not a game for children. Civ IV has an E-10 rating which indicates that it's intended for people 10 years and older.

As a game designer and the parent of a teenage son, I think gaming is a great form of entertainment for people of all ages (again, assuming people are playing games that are appropriate for their age). Once people have become familiar with the ESRB rating system, the same way they have the movie rating system, I think this "war" over video gaming will subside.

Hear, hear. Congress has already spent enough time on the GTA question. IMO, there's nothing to be debated. The parties responsible for Hot Coffee got slaps on the wrist, and the ESRB gave the whole game a new rating. The industry certainly doesn't need crippling government regulation, or worse, taxes.

 

[Vael]

Yep.I wonder if this means that a sequel could be developed from another company instead of Firaxis.And if at this point we will ever see a sequel of that great game.If i remember this game didn't sell like the civ franchise so the EA could not be interested in a sequel.What a bad news!

Do you really think the game would be any good if it wasn't Firaxis working on it anyways?

 

[smphang]

"My first job out of college was with a company that made cash registers and slot machines and while I was there I met Bill Stealey who was in the sales department. I guess the "Ah-ha" moment for me came when Bill and I were at a convention and we found a flight-sim arcade to play. Bill was certain he would beat me since he had a background as a fighter pilot, but each time we played I crushed him. He asked how I was winning and I said I could figure out what the AI was doing and beat it. I told him the game was pretty lame and thought I could make a better game in two weeks. Bill challenged me to do it, I did, and Microprose was born. "

so what is Sid's first game? flight simulator?


and hmmn... i wonder how much EA will sell off the rights to Alpha Centauri.... hmmn....

 

[Truronian]

Do you really think the game would be any good if it wasn't Firaxis working on it anyways?

My thoughts exactly.

RIP Alpha Centauri.