The S&T Times

[Optical]

Sorry, I didn't have time to do this edition. I'll do a Civ3 FttB article for the December edition, and I might also have something for a special Christmas edition as well...

 

[Tambien]

Yay! Can't wait,

 

[Tycho]

Glad we got the update finished up. Everyone did really good work .

 

[Tambien]

 

[SamSniped]

I might start a story soon...

 

[Tambien]

We could let authors do short summaries of their peices so far, kind of like reviews, but with an entire article devoted to one story.

This has been approved by the Times Board, so if you want to do this send me a PM in the following format!

Name of Story[Linked]
Summary
Any other comments you want to put in.

 

[Yoshiegg737]

I nominate MoreEpicThanYou!

(And me!)

I also nominate METY!

...

Ok, and you too

 

[MoreEpicThanYou]

That's 3 votes! *waits for interview PM*

 

[Jwitti]

Maybe I'll interview him.. anybody else want to with higher priority?

 

[mbkkbm]

I also nominate METY!

...

Ok, and you too

Excellent.

 

[Verarde]

Thanks for the mention of my story! Update 2 is still being worked on, it appears that it will be lengthy. Lots of background and plot details there.

 

[Tambien]

Special Edition!​

Interview with Helmling
by Mayor

This month I have the honour to interview Helmling. In the last month two CiV stories have been concluded, The Philosiper King and Unbound. Both stories were written at the same time, with a similar writingstyle but apparently by different writers.
When we started thinking about this edition of the Times I needed a replacement for the S&T Writer’s challenge. So, I chose Unbound, a story that I had grown to like over the length of its publication.

Q:Are you truly Helmling?

I am Helmling. That’s my real name. When I play Civ, I name my character after myself and then I make it worse and name my cities after family and friends. The protagonist of the Philosopher King ended up being named after my son. So it feels a little absurd--okay, very absurd. There’s something inherently vain about playing a game that simulates having complete control over a civilization for 6,000 years, but I guess I’ve taken it to a new level.

Q: How did you end up on CFC? And how did you end up writing stories?

You know, it’s been so long that I don’t remember why I settled into CFC as opposed to the other online Civ communities. I know the first couple of stories I wrote, which were really just game reports, were posted somewhere else, but I can’t remember where. I guess I’m a little like my Unbound character in that way. My memory is terrible.

Q: You have been a longtime writer starting in 2004 with ‘The Philosopher Kings’ series. You have written a lot of those, where do you find the inspiration for al these?

Well, Civ got its hooks into me many, many years ago. So usually my inspiration for writing a story is just having a really good game that I thought was interesting enough to share.

This time, though, I started considering doing another story after I read something about Plato’s Republic. Somewhere I happened to read that the Ayatollah had actually been inspired by the model of the Philosopher Kings. That got me thinking more about how manipulative Plato’s ideal society really was, which made me rethink the way I had used “the philosopher kings” as a utopian civilization in my games. I decided it was time to explore the dark side.

Q: Sisiutil, another great writer, can be quoted in saying that your Philosopher Kings series inspired him to write Princes of the Universe. How do you feel about that?

I really think he’s proven himself to be the ultimate Civ story teller so I’m very flattered that he would say that.

Q: In 2007 you began to write the story “Unbound”. This story ended prematurely because of a lost save. Why did you wait until now to give it another go?

Civ takes up so much time. It’s been nearly twenty years of addiction for me. So when that save game mishap occurred, I guess I decided it was fate telling me not to spend heaven-knows-how-long writing another series of stories. Obviously, though, the idea was always there in the back of my mind.

Q: You recently finished ‘The Unbound’ which was very well received by everybody. Where did you get this idea?

I really like the mythology I’ve built up to explain the Civ experience. Basically, I made Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri a prequel for Civ. In this mythology, each Civ game takes place in a different alternate universe after humanity has been wiped out and “rebooted” by some super-powerful aliens. That explanation also gets me off the hook a little bit with using my own name. Since it’s another dimension, that means the Helmling in the game isn’t exactly me. In fact, that’s something I started playing with in really subtle ways in Unbound.

Q: People were rather disappointed that your story was finished; I know I was. Why did you end the story and not include an extra part?

I figured people might be disappointed that none of the three games in the stories were played through to a victory condition. For me, though, the stories are really a single meditation on power. Once I’d followed the characters through the emotional arcs I wanted to take them through, the project felt complete.

Q: You recently finished a new story in ‘The Philosopher Kings’ series. Can your fans expect a new part in the near future?

I think “fans” might be exaggerating. I am grateful to everyone who read through the story and enjoyed it. Any writer just wants to be read, first and foremost.

I will say, though, that there are always possible stories buzzing around my head when I play this game. That said, I’m actually trying not to play right now. I have a few other writing projects that I want to focus on and Civ tends to push other things out of my mental queue.

I guess I’ll confess that there’s one idea in particular that won’t go away. If I ever sit down to do it, then it would be by far the most ambitious thing I’ve ever tried to write here--hell, it may be the most ambitious thing I’ve ever written, period.

 

[Tambien]

WARNING: DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, bump OLD, DEAD or FINISHED stories. They have been written and finished, they belong in the past, and any subscribers really don’t want more subscription emails. NEVER, EVER, NECRO THESE STORIES.

The Twelve Days of Civmas... well, it's old, but it's not exactly a story, is it? But it's Christmas, and this time round I thought I'd have a bit of fun with the article. A gift to all of you, so to speak.

It's not a long piece, I grant you, but the product of several posters, including the creator - PreLynMax - and Paradigm Shifter (producer of the unforgettable line

FIVE GOL-DEN AGES

) is both heartening and a good laugh, whichever Civ version you play. It includes a surreptitious reference to the old Spear beats Tank problem, and the good humour of all the participants makes for what is undeniably a good read.

And to all of you - Merry Christmas, wherever you are; whether you're playing in the snow, watching the rain or basking in the sun, make this giving (or should that be Civving?) season a great one.

~General Olaf

 

[Seron]

Great interview Tambien! I enjoyed reading it quite a lot.

 

[Jwitti]

Hey, he's back! I haven't seen you around since that Rome thing ended

 

[choxorn]

This isn't dead, is it?

 

[Tycho]

This isn't dead, is it?

Not yet.

 

[JamesCaesar]

Oh choxorn, if only you knew what was happening behind the scenes of the times.

 

[MantaRevan]

AHHH!!! Sub post!

 

[Alexius08]

Tambien himself has gone inactive for a few days. I'm expecting Dawn to take over for the meantime.