Soren Johnson Audio Interview (Part 3/3)

[DanQ]

Apolyton Civilization Site ( http://apolyton.net ) [ACS], one of the oldest and premiere online fansites for the Civilization computer strategy gaming series and its extended family, is today releasing the third part of an audio interview with Firaxis Games Designer/Programmer Soren Johnson on Civilization IV. It`s the final instalment in a three-part verbal chat with Johnson, CivIV`s Lead Designer, as part of ACS` "Game Developer Series" (GDS) served through its Radio (ACSR) service.

Johnson is interviewed by ACS Co-Owner/Administrator Daniel "DanQ" Quick, who is also ACSR`s Station Manager. Topics include but are not limited to genders of world leaders, the game's soundtrack, Soren's own playing style and the Civ series' future. The full 48m:23s of this concluding part of the Quick-Johnson discussion is available for streaming on demand at 64kbps in MP3 format. It is 23.2MB in size.

For best results, ACS recommends the Winamp application from Nullsoft.

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Dan; Apolyton CS

[Son of David]

I really enjoyed listening to these shows.

Although I really wish you'd done less of your 'humour' and let the man speak more.

[DanQ]

Originally posted by Son of David
I really enjoyed listening to these shows.

Although I really wish you'd done less of your 'humour' and let the man speak more.

Son of David,

Thank you for the feedback. I appreciate the fact that not only is your criticism constructive in terms of its wording and reason for it, but that you balanced it with a positive comment as well. Since you have said you quite enjoyed listening to these shows, perhaps you liked the humour if not more than you are letting on than on some sub-conscious level then...  

In all seriousness, though, I understand that the style of humour I incorporated in the interview is not for everyone but 'is' for someone. As such, I tried to work it so that while present this element was not overpowering. Something similar, I believe, can be said for the nature of the questions that I was asking Soren about not only of the game but of himself -- working so that hopefully at least every listener would be able to identity at least one area of inquiry that interested them.

I believe I succeeded on both fronts, but to each his own.

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Dan; Apolyton CS

[Robert Plomp]

Now I'm curious!
What's Dan's humor about? I'll listen to it this evening
Maybe a transcript overhere online for those who don't want to listen but just want to scan

[Son of David]

Soren made a very interesting comment touching upon his playing style (Dan didn't follow-up nearly enough on this, e.g. what difficulty do the Firaxis guys play at when not playing each other? The things I'd like to know! ). He said that playing the AI is like playing himself and whenever he beats the AI he wonders if he hasn't programmed it well enough.

I always wondered if the AI was what the programmers thought was the 'ideal' or if they deliberately design it so that it is beatable/unbeatable at certain difficulty levels, or if it is programmed to follow particular strategies according to personality/cirumcstance etc, or if it always follows the same strategy under the same conditions ....

I guess, what I'm saying is - does the AI typically play very well, or are there 'killer strategies' that humans can devise to beat it under almost all conditions?

[Jaybe]

I guess, what I'm saying is - does the AI typically play very well, or are there 'killer strategies' that humans can devise to beat it under almost all conditions?

No, you (and especially I) do NOT want to know those killer strategies. The game would grow stale much more quickly if you did.

I want this game to last me for multiple years ... at least until Civ V arrives, or I'm in my grave.

[Son of David]

Originally posted by Jaybe
[q]I want this game to last me for multiple years ... at least until Civ V arrives, or I'm in my grave.

That's true. I agree.