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Preview: Elemental: War of Magic
Stardock's Elemental: War of Magic is already extraordinary, smashing genres together that may have been too big on their own in the first place. At its heart, it's a 4X game in the style of Civ or Galactic Civilizations, but it's also a fantasy RPG with a deep and long story, and a tactical battle game. It has a huge singleplayer campaign, a sandbox mode that creates gigantic maps at random, and even a multiplayer mode. It's vast and confusing and intricate, and while there are certain gamers who just won't vibe with all of the numbers and how open the gameplay is, there are others – probably old-school strategy types – who will love it for everything it is. Stardock's CEO Brad Wardell is one of those for sure -- as he showed me the latest beta of the game earlier this month, his enthusiasm for the game he's built was quite clear. Elemental: War of Magic, like all of Stardock's titles, is as "homespun" as any video game can be, and Wardell's personality and preferences shine through almost all of its (sorry) elements. %Gallery-94332%
Civilization 5 public demo coming in September
Oh, so you think you're heading off into space for some distant world in September? Nope, you've got more pressing matters here at home. A public demo for Civilization 5 has been confirmed for September, "before the full game is released." The missive can be found over on the game's official site, which promises more details on the exact nature of the demo and when rowdy road-builders can get their cultivation on, "coming soon." We'll be sure to update you all when we hear something, but in the meanwhile, you can get back to filling the coffers for that special edition you've had your eye on.
Direct2Drive's Spring Sale: Star Trek Online, Civ 4, Torchlight and more discounted
Once again, downloadable gaming retailer Direct2Drive has chosen to reduce the price of a whole gaggle of its offerings. Encheapened titles as part of the "Spring Sale" include interstellar MMO Star Trek Online ($29.95), Nazi-vanquishing sim The Saboteur ($14.95), mine-raiding RPG Torchlight ($9.95), world-dominating strategy title Civilization 4: Complete Edition ($9.95) and every X-Com game ever made, except for, you know, the new one ($4.95). To see the complete list of discounted games, click past the jump. Now look, Direct2Drive. You really, really need to chill out with all of these sales. If you keep discounting the prices of your games with such regularity, then people are going to start thinking that these are your normal going rates for these titles. During the off-times when you're not holding a sale, they're going to start thinking that you're just having a temporary ... expensiveization. That can't possibly be good for business.
Sid Meier's life, career and a 48-hour game design contest packed into documentary short
Regardless of whether or not you've played any of Sid Meier's games, or whether or not you find yourself curious as to how he became a gaming luminary, or whether or not you've got 24 minutes to kill -- you've got to watch Motherboard's latest documentary. Its focus is on the history of Meier's game development career, as well as his participation in the 7th Annual Wolverine Soft 48 Hour Game Design Contest held at his Alma Mater, the University of Michigan. More importantly, this short film contains all the requisite components of a gripping piece of cinema: hardship, confrontation, self-improvement, triumph, and the imbuing of a lingering desire to go back and play all of the Civilization games again. Seriously, go check it out.
April Fools: Civilization V to feature 'Extreme Diplomacy'
Firaxis and 2K Games today announced "Extreme Diplomacy," a new feature for Civilization V, the upcoming installment of the tired strategy series. In an attempt to get the masses playing the turn-based snore fest, the series will add a fighting game death match arena: "two world leaders enter" ... "one world leader leaves." The victor is said to gain control of the defeated's empire. The publisher has also announced an Über Edition of Civ V, which includes an 8-button joystick "to bring the classic fighting arcade game feel to these Extreme Diplomacy battles." Each faction leader will also have a super move, and we've listed the first six moves to be revealed after the break. Finally, Civilization will have some action!
Sid Meier talks player psychology and the year of Civilization
The "father of computer gaming" gave the keynote at GDC 2010 this past week, and while we really hoped he would tell us a lot about the upcoming Facebook version of Civilization, it got only the barest of mentions during the hour-plus talk. Instead, Meier shared wisdom with the gathered crowd, talking about the lessons he'd learned in player psychology over his long and storied career in game design. First, he talked about what he called the "Winner's Paradox" -- "if you've played Civilization," he said, "you're an egomaniac," since anyone crazy enough to think that they can actually "build a civ to stand the test of time," as it says on the game box, must be pretty full of themselves. And because of that, Meier says his players always believe that if they don't win for whatever reason, fate or the random number generator or the crappy AI must be out to get them. As a result, his policy has become to let the player win -- the threat of punishment is enough to keep it interesting, but in the end, the player should win the game. He also talked about the "unholy alliance" between players and developers -- not only is the relationship beneficial for both parties (players offer their money, developers offer their time and talent), but it's also one of "mutually-assured destruction," as players can break contact with (or even just belief in) the game anytime they feel it's not fun any more, and developers can "really mess up the game, too." Everything in the game, said Meier, should be designed with an eye towards this alliance -- the AI should live to serve the player, the graphics and gameplay should engage imagination, and even options screens and load/save settings should be developed with an eye towards preserving the relationship. Civilization Network was mentioned under a section Meier called "my bad" -- along with the original ideas to make Civ real-time (whoops) and make the tech path random, he said that the CN team had considered letting players give gold to each other on Facebook, but during playtesting, found that players never actually did. He did say that the game is deep into testing currently, and that it will allow co-op, singleplayer, and competitive gameplay, and that it will be interesting whether players play for just "a little time a day" or more than that. At the end of the talk, in reply to a question about where he saw gaming going, Meier declared that "this is the year of Civilization!" With CN coming soon and Civ V due out this fall, we can't wait to send our Settlers out into the world.
GDC 2010: Civilization V probably Mac-bound (eventually)
I've been working like crazy for TUAW here at GDC 2010 (and there's a lot more coverage yet to come), but I did take a little time for myself this afternoon and go see the demo that Firaxis is showing off here of this fall's Civilization V. The latest and greatest Civ is quite different from the past iterations. As you can see in the above photo, the squares have become hexes for the first time ever, units will no longer stack (I know!), and culture will grow only as you pay gold to grow it, one hex at a time. Even though I really only went to see this game because I'm such a huge fan, I did get to ask one question for you: when is this game coming out on the Mac? The rep was noncommittal, as you might expect, but he did say that every single previous version of Civilization has eventually come to the Mac, and that Civ V would probably not be an exception. He didn't have a timeline, but given the recent arrivals in the world of Mac gaming, I'd guess that it'll be sooner rather than later. The game's not due out until fall on PC, but I'll keep an eye out for it. Here's hoping that Valve's big announcement will encourage other great game companies to hit our platform as early as they can.
Impressions: Civilization V or 'I Wanna Hex You Up'
We already told you that Sid Meier's Civilization IV was finally getting a sequel with Civilization V later this year, and then we showed you the trailer that contained absolutely no gameplay. But now we've actually seen an early build of the game, and we can tell you how hexy it is. That's right, forget about old Civilization games which had four cardinal directions plus diagonals to choose from when moving your units; this installment ramps that down to to six. That's right! Two less directions! It's a brand new game! In all fairness, it is Civilization but Firaxis made plenty of substantial changes to it. Besides hexing it up, they've also added ranged units (think archers, artillery, ICBMs, etc) and taken out the ability to stack units up into an army. Also, only one unit can occupy a spot at any given time, meaning you won't be able to bulldoze your opponent from one hex. They've also built an entirely new engine for this game, meaning you'll see some really nifty stuff ... provided you have a DX11 card and a multicore processor. %Gallery-87799%
Direct2Drive discounts Civilization IV, Supreme Commander this weekend
Perhaps in celebration of Civilization V's recent reveal, Direct2Drive is offering Civilization IV -- as well as the standalone Civilization IV: Colonization -- for 33% off. Other deals on the direct download service this weekend include Supreme Commander: Gold Edition, Majesty The Fantasy Kingdom Sim: Gold Edition, and more. If you're one of the few who doesn't "get" the Civilization addiction epidemic, which has swept the world over the last two decades leaving workplace productivity in shambles, consider yourself luckier than the folks in the video after the break. Yes, Civilization Revolution was solid, but CivIV has the uncanny ability to turn the sweetest old lady into a crazed destroyer of all mankind. Basically, It's fun for the whole family. Shortcut: See all weekend deals on Direct2Drive
Report: Civilization Network beta coming in June
The problem with those hollow boxes littering the cubicles at your workplace is there isn't enough juice, enough substance, within to actually run any kind of program outside of Excel, Outlook or--when you're really bored--MS Paint. So if you're at work and don't really feel like working, you're forced to either scour the web for stuff or watch a neat screensaver. Then, there was hope: Civilization Network for Facebook. However, it looks like Civilization Network is still a ways off. Variety reports that the beta for the new Facebook game won't actually start up until around June. This will likely come as a big let-down to fans, as the initial announcement back in October mentioned a hunt for beta testers would be underway "soon." We guess "soon" means "maybe in a few months or something."
Civilized Sid Meier presenting revolutionary keynote at GDC 2010
Sid Meier, creator of Civilization and unwitting architect of countless break-ups over the past 20 years, will keynote the 2010 Game Developers Conference. Meier's presentation will argue that "real-world, historical and mathematical facts cannot form the foundation of a successful game design," but that "the driving force of a game's design should be the psychology of the player." Meier's keynote will dig deep into psychology, showing designers that "egomania, paranoia and delusion" should be part of their toolkit. Hm, maybe Meier isn't such an unwitting participant in all those divorces after all? GDC will take place March 9-13 at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, and Meier will reveal his tips for mainlining e-crack to the brain on Friday, March 12.
The Digital Continuum: Socialize, now
Socialization is dead! Isn't it? Well actually, that's a tough one. Certainly, the perception that socialization is becoming a lesser factor to more and more developers has become the norm among most people. That doesn't necessarily mean they're correct. So, let's examine the general landscape of yesteryear and beyond to see what's really going on when it comes to human interaction in our massively multiplayer online games.
Unraveling the mystery of John Deere Online
Scott "Lum the Mad" Jennings, well-known blogosphere participant and game designer, has recently been working on a game that is now sadly canceled. This is bad both for the natural sadness of a game having been canceled and the voyeuristic MMO fan impulse to ask, "Well, what was it going to be?" We don't know. The only reference made was to the cryptic in-joke name of John Deere Online. In his own words: "As a condition of my severance I can't discuss a great deal, and anything I say here will most likely be picked up by the MMO news sites (wave, wave!)." Well, he's right about that last part. But neither waiting for him to change his mind nor camping outside his front door has yielded any new information, so perhaps we can take a look at more pieces of information and speculate? After all, we know of at least two of his co-workers. From them and from the little which Scott Jennings himself has said, we can derive the following bits of information: that they were working for 2K Games, developing an MMO based on an existing franchise, that the game would have been strategy-based, and that it might possibly have had something to do with tractors. Considering that Jon Jones mentions on his LinkedIn page that he "created a series of low polygon highly optimized building models with a small set of textures that can be reused across that nation's entire series of buildings appropriate to that age," it's difficult to argue with the conclusion that the team was working on a Civilization MMO. But 2K Games also could mean Elder Scrolls projects... which might be pertinent, as both Jon Jones and Matthew Weigel have been working on Dungeon Runners. It's all idle speculation, sadly, and for all we know the game really would have been a massively multiplayer tractor simulator. (In which case it might even be for the best - lawnmowers would probably have been totally overpowered against seeders in PvP.)
Ken Levine lists favorite games again, changes mind on a few
Ken Levine plays video games. Shocking, we know! Speaking with IndustryGamers, Levine, who is currently working on a super-secret project, listed his ten favorite games. Occupying the top five spots in descending order are: World of Warcraft, Civilization, Beyond Good & Evil, Ultima Underworld and Company of Heroes.Back in 2007, Levine produced a similar list for MSNBC. His top five have apparently shifted in the last two years, though, as Heroes of Might and Magic 2 and Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past have fallen even beyond the BioShock developer's top ten. How hast these games forsaken thee, Ken? What hast they done for thou to banish them from thy heart likest so?
Civilization Network bringing Facebook persistence to Sid Meiers' series
Civilization Network may not exactly be an MMO, but it's the closest a new game in the series has ever come to the concept. The announcement isn't too surprising as we've heard rumors in the past of a potential persistent version of the game being developed. Frankly, it's nice to finally know the pioneering developer's next game. Meier himself explains the general design goal of Civilization Network on the official Facebook page, and it's more or less all about cooperation with friends and family. That's not to say there's no competition either, but the biggest edge a social networking game has is similar to an MMO -- cooperation with other players. We'll be watching this project closely, as the blending of MMO qualities with a series like Civilization is by far abnormal. The next piece of the puzzle is the game's business model, but as of yet there's been no announcement of how Firaxis plans on making any money with the game. You can watch for beta news on the game's official Facebook page, and we highly suggest it.
'Civilization Network' announced for Facebook, arriving in 2010
Sid Meier has announced a Facebook version of the epic Civilization franchise. Dubbed Civilization Network, the game will make its way to the popular social networking site sometime in 2010. The game designer notes on the CivNet Facebook page that the company will be on the lookout for beta testers soon.Meier mentions that the game will offer everything people love about Civ in a "fully persistent environment" and that it'll be "free to play." Coincidentally, Meier's announcement comes soon after Brian Reynolds, who designed Civilization II and Alpha Centauri, took the job of "chief designer" at social gaming developer Zynga. Apparently the two strategy designers see some major opportunities in the social gaming genre.[Via Games.com]
Blogger sued by Evony for defamation, libel
Serve me now, my lord!Blogger Bruce Everiss, author of the website BruceOnGames.com, has been sued by Evony LLC, the company behind the notorious online webgame Evony, formerly Civony. The suit stems from Bruce's Evony coverage and critical stance towards the game, including his assertions that Evony LLC is a company under the WoWmine.org network (a site that is allegedly part of a World of Warcraft gold farming network), his statements concerning the company being based in China, and that their game has infringed on other game IPs, including Civilization and Age of Empires.Evony usually comes under fire for their very transparent marketing strategy, which is usually slapping a hot woman (who has nothing to do with their civilization/empire building MMORTS) onto an ad to entice gamers to click. However, as we posted prior, some bloggers have found some content that was directly ripped off from Civilization and Age of Empires, however the Age of Empires assets have been removed from the current iteration of the game.
Civilization Revolution available now on iPhone
Civilization Revolution has apparently made it's way to the iPhone and its purchase can now be rushed for $5. There is also a "lite" version of the game to test things out. It's good to finally see an epic strategy title make its way to the iPhone/iPod touch. We'll have our impressions of the game up shortly (like, a couple hours from now). Impressions are go.
Civilization IV 'Complete' releases May 12 for $40
The Civilization IV franchise appears to have come to a close as 2K Games announces Civilization IV: The Complete Edition, releasing May 12 for $40 on PC. The epic bundle includes Civ IV, the Warlords and Beyond the Sword expansions, plus the standalone Colonization expansion (it's practically a different game)."The Complete Edition" title makes it sound like Civ IV won't be making another encore. We really have no idea what Firaxis is currently up to and we're unaware of any E3 plans.
First Impressions: SAGA
SAGA (not to be confused with Saga, who gave us the immortal "On the Loose") is an MMORTS -- massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game. While there are few enough of these on the market -- making its very existence worthy of approbation -- we thought it would be worth taking a closer look, to offer up an opinion of our first couple of hours into gameplay. Thus, this First Impressions post.Remember: this is not a guide, nor was this in any way influenced by the development studio. This is an entirely subjective look at SAGA, from an average gamer's point of view. And now, on with the show! Game. Thing. Whatever. Onward!%Gallery-28014%
