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Questions about Firaxis' present, past and future

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  • Questions about Firaxis' present, past and future

    Generic Questions Addressed to Anyone Willing to Answer

    LDespot: Are there any plans to do another historical game? Some of the suggestions on the message boards are a game based on Waterloo, etc.

    Sid Meier: We really enjoyed making and playing Gettysburg! and in many ways we think it is a next step in the evolution of war games, so we would like to continue down this path. There are all sorts of possibilities with the Gettysburg! system, it can handle anything from ancients all the way to wars of the nineteenth century. Interestingly, we've had a lot of requests for a Napoleonic war. But, right now we are very focused on Alpha Centauri. We haven't made any decisions about what we will do with the Gettysburg! system. We're listening closely to feedback on what people like and do not like about Gettysburg! and what gamers would like us to do next. As soon as we get a little lull from Alpha Centauri, we'll start putting some ideas together for our next project.


    LDespot: Why the exclamation point in SMG's title?

    Lindsay Riehl: We really wanted to show that this game was about being on the battlefield, hearing the gun and cannon blasts and feeling the adrenaline rush as you charge the enemy. We felt the exclamation point created a sense of action and excitement, similar to what MicroProse did with Pirates! a while back. It was very important for us to differentiate this game from the "more classical" war game approach and we thought the packaging and exclamation point helped to achieve this.

    LDespot: Can you give us any details on what we can expect from Alpha Centauri?

    Brian Reynolds: Specifically, Alpha Centauri is a science fiction strategy game set in on an alien world in the early 22nd Century. It will feature elements of exploration, discovery and conquest. Similar to the other games Sid and I have designed in the past, Alpha Centauri involves taking familiar concepts and gameplay, breathing new life into them, enhancing the original fun, and bringing in exciting new stuff. The idea is to create a synergy which moves beyond the sum of the parts. Alpha Centauri will include some cool features that we have not included in previous game designs, including the ability to play as the leader of one of seven different factions each with special benefits and drawbacks that greatly affect the outcome of the game. Players will be able to create custom units according to their needs and Alpha Centauri will feature full multiplayer support for up to 7 players over the internet, LAN, modem, or serial connection.

    LDespot: After Alpha Centauri, what can we expect from Firaxis? Is the company focusing on a specific game genre or will development be fueled by the ideas of the designers?

    Jeff Briggs: At Firaxis new game concepts are fueled by the ideas of the designers, which includes almost every member of the company. One of the reasons we formed Firaxis was to create an environment that is focused on making fun games and not driven by outside marketing/financial pressures. Our first two products have taken significantly different design approaches to creating, what we feel are, innovative, fun gaming experiences. I think we will continue down the path of not focusing on a particular style or genre but taking the design approach that we feel is the best way to present the fun.

    Next: Jeff Briggs

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    • Focus on Firaxis: A Look Inside the Company: What is this anyway?
      by Martin Gühmann
      Brought to you by The 14th Brigade and Beyond Alpha Centauri

      What is this anyway?

      "Focus on Firaxis: A Look Inside the Company" is an inside look, via interviews, at the company that brought the world a little closer to the Civil War through Sid Meier's Gettysburg! and is now taking us to the stars through their latest work, Sid Meier's Alpha Canturi. SMAC, which is the subject of this web site, is a turn based game similar to Civilization and will be released by Firaxis sometime in 1998. These interviews, done in February and March of 1998, were meant to give you a closer look at the minds that make up Firaxis.


      Questions about Firaxis' present, past and future

      To the Interviews...

      Company Founders

      Jeff Briggs, BMOC (Big Man on Campus)
      Brian Reynolds, Designer for Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
      Sid Meier, Designer for Sid Meier's Gettysburg!


      Artists and Animators

      Jerome Atherholt, Artist/Animator
      Mike Bazzell, Artist/Animator
      Greg Foertsch, Artist/Animator


      Programmers and Designers

      Tim Train, Producer/Designer
      Mike Ely, Programmer/Designer (kinda)


      People that don't fit into the above categories

      David Evans, Sound Stud
      Lindsay Riehl, Marketing
      Susan Brookins, Master of the Miscellaneous


      Thanks...

      Thanks to all the employees of Firaxis that took time from their busy schedules to answer the questions. Special thanks go to Lindsay Reihl at Firaxis for helping to set this whole thing up and acting as a middleman (middlewoman, whatever). Thanks go to Susan Brookins for listening to me whine. Thanks also go to Mike Ely for being the super cool guy that he is. And of course thanks to the Gamestats Family for supporting this web site.

      ...
      October 22, 2011, 19:04
    • Susan Brookins: Focus on Firaxis: A Look Inside the Company
      by Martin Gühmann
      Name: Susan Brookins
      Title: Master of Miscellaneous

      LDespot: What did you do for SMG?

      Susan Brookins: Kept coffee, soda and snacks in good supply and planned the "shipping" party. LDespot: What are you working on for Alpha Centauri?...
      October 22, 2011, 18:55
    • Lindsay Riehl: Focus on Firaxis: A Look Inside the Company
      by Martin Gühmann
      Name: Lindsay Riehl
      Title: Marketing

      LDespot: What did you do for SMG?

      Lindsay Riehl: I worked with Origin's marketing and public relations department to get the word out on how cool Gettysburg! is....
      October 22, 2011, 18:52
    • David Evans: Focus on Firaxis: A Look Inside the Company
      by Martin Gühmann
      Name: David Evans
      Title: Mr. Sound Guy

      LDespot: What did you do for SMG?

      David Evans: Sound fx, sound driver programming, recording, and anything else related to sound....
      October 22, 2011, 18:49
    • Mike Ely: Focus on Firaxis: A Look Inside the Company
      by Martin Gühmann
      Name: Mike Ely
      Title: Technically Programmer/Designer, but in practice I do all kinds of stuff. I'm also the Firaxis Webmaster, which is a pretty fun job.

      LDespot: What did you do for SMG?

      Mike Ely: I did a lot of work on both of the manuals, created the tutorials, helped a little with the multimedia, and wrote the line draw routine used to draw the fences in the game (yes, I'm pretty proud of that last one)....
      October 22, 2011, 18:45
    • Tim Train: Focus on Firaxis: A Look Inside the Company
      by Martin Gühmann
      Name: Tim Train
      Title: Producer/Designer

      LDespot: What did you do for SMG?

      Tim Train: My main contribution was writing, editing, shooting, and producing the multimedia footage in the game. This was a lot of fun, and involved combing through hundreds of hours of archival footage, as well as a trip to 1997's Gettysburg re-enactment for a little filming. I also assisted with the marketing\PR effort on the product, and worked on many miscellaneous development support tasks, such as manual writing, playbalance, and tutorials....
      October 22, 2011, 18:30
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