Bibor
Doomsday Machine
TLDR on what I expect from Civ 7: More of the same, with a new feature or two.
Computer games are simulations. As such, they have some great benefits over real life. They work within a finite set of rules, and offer a safe haven for honing your skills and abilities, providing you with an opportunity to communicate with others with a special, downsized version of language and emotion. I guess they are pretty similar to religion.
And if you look at discussions and arguments regarding any game, Civilization 6 being no exception, they often venture into a quasi-religious discussions with sides, groups, opinions, heated arguments.
We live in a world of significant and mass uncertainty, created by internet and globalization working hand-in-hand. When faced with a seeminlgy infinite number of languages, customs, connections, competitors, it's only natural that we seek solace in things that are easier to define. When faced with the infinite, simplification can be a good thing.
Thus, "computer games of old" which were merely (often powerful) mental excercises, turned into "computer games of new", into established religions. And Firaxis (and 2K) were smart to follow this trend, because that's where the tithe is.
Civilization 6 or 7 doesn't need to be a powerful mental excercise, it just needs to be reliably comprehensible. Elaborate, sure, like neogothic cathedrals, but also wary of thinkers, because these threathen to distrupt the doctrine.
I'm not saying this is bad, just saying this is not for me. I don't need a religion, what I want is free mental excercise.
Civ7 will be more of the same. Firaxis doesn't have enough additional intellectual capacity nor risk taking ability to produce something else. It needs ten Jake Solomons clashing with each other, which it doesn't have. Until it figures out it does, it will merely continue to grip onto the dead man's switch, while game-like features continue seeping into the real world, blurring the difference. We don't have IRL hexes yet, but it's merely matter of time.
Computer games are simulations. As such, they have some great benefits over real life. They work within a finite set of rules, and offer a safe haven for honing your skills and abilities, providing you with an opportunity to communicate with others with a special, downsized version of language and emotion. I guess they are pretty similar to religion.
And if you look at discussions and arguments regarding any game, Civilization 6 being no exception, they often venture into a quasi-religious discussions with sides, groups, opinions, heated arguments.
We live in a world of significant and mass uncertainty, created by internet and globalization working hand-in-hand. When faced with a seeminlgy infinite number of languages, customs, connections, competitors, it's only natural that we seek solace in things that are easier to define. When faced with the infinite, simplification can be a good thing.
Thus, "computer games of old" which were merely (often powerful) mental excercises, turned into "computer games of new", into established religions. And Firaxis (and 2K) were smart to follow this trend, because that's where the tithe is.
Civilization 6 or 7 doesn't need to be a powerful mental excercise, it just needs to be reliably comprehensible. Elaborate, sure, like neogothic cathedrals, but also wary of thinkers, because these threathen to distrupt the doctrine.
I'm not saying this is bad, just saying this is not for me. I don't need a religion, what I want is free mental excercise.
Civ7 will be more of the same. Firaxis doesn't have enough additional intellectual capacity nor risk taking ability to produce something else. It needs ten Jake Solomons clashing with each other, which it doesn't have. Until it figures out it does, it will merely continue to grip onto the dead man's switch, while game-like features continue seeping into the real world, blurring the difference. We don't have IRL hexes yet, but it's merely matter of time.
