Crowdfunding may be a fine way to raise money, but what if your vision for the game changes over the course of development? It's a sticky situation, luminary designer Sid Meier has said. Things are of course a bit easier when your name alone is enough to sell games, but he's pretty happy having a publisher handle the boring work for him.
Read more: "I think you kind of lock yourself into a lot of ideas early" »
Firaxis and 2K Games have been busy with Apple's iOS platform. On top of Haunted Hollow, the studio behind XCOM: Enemy Unknown has released another free-to-play game for Apple's mobile devices. This one comes from Sid Meier and ventures to the days of World War I. Sid Meier's Ace Patrol is a turn-based strategy game that mixes in enough RPG elements to make you want to fly beyond the free-to-play horizon.
Sid Meier's Ace Patrol is now available on the iOS App Store, and Firaxis has produced a trailer to show off the game in action. The newsreel presentation shows off a few glimpses of the strategic movements, in-air combat, and upgrades available.
Firaxis Games already has one original iOS game in the works, but the popular strategy developer is releasing a new game with Sid Meier's name attached and it is hitting the App Store next week, publisher 2K Games announced announced today.
Sid Meier has been in the industry for years, long enough to see new trends rise and fade. How does the luminary plan on approaching tablet and mobile games?
"Essentially, I think we would not approach [mobile/tablet gaming] differently," Meier said. "I think we would imagine, what would be a game we would like to play, on this platform with this technology, and then make that game."
Read more: Mobile brings new possibilities 'waiting to be explored' »
The long-awaited, web-based version of the critically and commercially successful Civilization franchise is now available in a public beta beginning today. Sid Meier's Civilization World takes the franchise to the 'free to play' realm on the growing platform of Facebook social gaming.
The social version of the Civilization strategy franchise was first announced in 2009 under the name Civilization Network, before being renamed Civilization World in early 2011. Read more »
In his keynote address at GDC 2010, Sid Meier discussed a few prototype designs for the original Civilization. If these had made it into the final game, the series--and gaming history as we know it--might be very different from what we know and love.
Originally, Meier designed Civ as a real-time game. Taking inspiration from SimCity, he wanted to have a player's civilization grow around them. In actuality, players became observers. The mantra was "it's good to be king," but this wasn't coming across in real-time. Then, the game switched to a turn-based design and the "lights flicked on". Read more »
"It's kinda a golden age of gaming. We're seeing some great games out there."
But after rifling through a half dozen titles he's played recently--including Advance Wars, Mercenaries, and Halo--Sid Meier, legendary Firaxis designer, admitted that he has yet to play Valve's Portal. Read more »
The original Xbox editions of Team Ninja's action-slasher Ninja Gaiden Black, Firaxis Games' swashbuckling simulator Sid Meier's Pirates!, and Criterion Games' first-person shooter Black will be available for download from the Xbox Live Marketplace beginning Monday, February 11.
GamersGlobal has posted a Sid Meier Q&A, asking the designer about his past, present and future.
Read more »2K Games has released the first screenshots of Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution for the Nintendo DS, which depict turn-based strategy goodness along with Gandhi and ninjas.
Developed by Firaxis Games, the Civilization Revolution will be televised on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS this spring. Though previously announced, the Wii version has been placed on indefinite hold. Read more »
The Wii version of Firaxis Games' Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution has been delayed indefinitely, according to publisher 2K Games.
"Development for the Wii version of Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is currently on hold," 2K Games told IGN. "We are focusing our attention on creating the best possible Civilization experience for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo DS platforms." Read more »
It turns out I was one of the winners in a contest to name an NPC in Flying Labs' just-released swashbuckling MMO, Pirates of the Burning Sea, the game our own Nick Breckon described as "Sid Meier crossed with World of Warcraft."
Rather than simply submit the first name that came to my mind, I decided to open up the creative floodgates of the Shack community. Go ahead and post your ideas in the comments--something Shack-themed would be appropriate, but be warned that offensive or explicit names are unlikely to be accepted by publisher Sony Online Entertainment. Here are the guidelines that were sent to me: Read more »
style="border: medium none ;">Sid Meier's Civilization is a long running PC classic currently being adapted for a new multiplatform style, and the progenitor of its own genre. One of the notable features of these games was picking your favorite civilization, be it for its leader, its cultural strengths, its special units, or just just the way they happen to talk. Well, we thought maybe we could have a little contest around here courtesy of a certain wonderful community manager over at 2K Games. Read more »
Often recognized as the "father of computer gaming", legendary designer Sid Meier (pictured left) will be recognized for lifetime achievement at this year's Game Developers Choice Awards.
Meier, creator of standout and genre-defining PC titles like Civilization and Pirates!, has already received just about every award the industry has to offer for his achievements in development and design. Meier was a co-founder of MicroProse and currently works as creative director at Firaxis Games. Read more »
"People crowdfund your game because they like the vision you have, not whatever you decide to ..."
- Kubiac See all 12 comments