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PREVIOUS ARTICLES

#111 HOW TO RUN BEFORE YOU WALK Earthing7 conveys why he will not by CivIII, but not CTPII. #112 CIV3 EXPANSION OR NEW GAME Grier grows weary as he explores the immense expectations imposed upon the upcoming Civilization III. #113 CIVILIZATION III: WARGAME OR DEVELOPMENT Be not a warmonger, Father Beast comandeers -- let peace lead you down a more enlightened path. #114 CIVII: DEITY STYLE Bauser discussed his strategies at winning at the Deity level in Civilization II. #115 TERRAFORMING ALPHA CENTAURI Alexander shares his future Civ suggestions. COLUMN ARCHIVE

What really makes a great game? You already know the litany of components: graphics, sound, playability, re-playability, ingenuity, atmostphere, user-customization, blah blah blah. That's all great, but here's the real measure (philosophically).

When you see a game on the shelf or in a magazine, you hear for the first time it's promise, its claim to greatness. When you play it, you see how it pays off. Let me explain: Half-Life promised to be an absorbing experience of one guy desperately shooting the hell out of a lot of people and creatures. And that's exactly what it was. End effect: great game. Civ, however, has a promise so big that it turns into a question: Can a computer game be a reasonable simulation of... of... the entirety of human history?

And the answer is... yes?

I'm really getting at a perrenial topic here: a Civ wish list; what we want in the game. In other words: how we feel the game has let down its promise. Don't get me wrong, Civ is undeniably great (not to mention ballsy) just the attempt. But what's not there? Again, the answers are as varied and numerous and the players. But, in my opinion, the best way to really get at this stuff isn't to crow about what we want (did I just say that?) but to ask--what's missing? What parts of history is Civ _unable_ to really recreate? If we have been promised everything, what should we really demand? And so the rest of this is questions...

The Roman world had political hegemony but was otherwise culturally diverse. In other words, the conquered Greeks, Arabs, Gauls, Phoenecians, Etruscans, Egyptians, etc., etc., all answered to Rome but were all recognizably different. Civ just has...colors. What could be done about this? The history of the Jewish people is one of being perenially and painfully landless (until this century). Is there such thing as a landless Civ?

European economic needs coming out of the Rennaissance produced massive slave raiding and trading between African kingdoms, New World plantations, and European ports. This led, eventually, to the American Civil War, and even further on, to the Civil Rights movement. Is there any way to really reflect the interconnectedness of these events? (CtP notwithstanding) The British Empire existed on the use (exploitation?) of colonies. Was India ever really British? Why would they want to be free? Why would Britain need to quell revolt? Could their empire have worked if their subject peoples have been treated the way the British themselves were? These seem like simple questions and they are...but they can't even be asked of a Civ game.

Why do people want new goverments? Why do they want to go back to old ones? Has there ever been a change from one type of government to another without heads rolling? Has any government remained in power without heads rolling? What are unhappy citizens really unhappy about? America, as a Civ, started out way too late to be worth anything. But people left their homes and came here (or were taken). In the millions. Who's Top Nation now? How does that work?

The current explosion of global capitalism means that the economy may soon supercede the state...especially if you're dirt poor. What happens when borders become obsolete? How can the West consume so much? What does it get for being on top? How can it get away with it? The 600's saw the spread of Islam from the deserts of Arabia. 500 years later, The Middle Ages saw the Crusades try to push Islam back. 700 years after that, industrialization with its train of immense affluence, immense poverty, and unprecedented cultural contact gave us...Communism. And Fascism. And Capitalism. So, what really makes people fight over any of this stuff? Who cares? What's at stake? What, really, drives history? Money? God? A crummy AI?

D'you see what I mean? Questions. Just questions. Beleive me, I have sat down to play Civ and looked up to see the sun rising again. How many other games even need a column for people to wax on and on about? But because its concept is so big, it's always left me with a little bit of disappointment. All of these amazing, enthralling, absolutely crucial bits of history just aren't there. Can we have them? Do we want them?
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The author notes: "MisterHungry has nearly graduated from college. After that he plans to be destitute".

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