The transformation in public perception of the gaming business is Sid Meier’s favourite change in the gaming industry since he began making titles. Meier is the inventor of the classic Civilization series. One of the first and largest strategy video games, Civilization has pioneered the 4x genre, which stands for exploring, expanding and exploiting and destroying. In total, there have been six major Civilization games, as well as a number of spin-offs, since the series’ inception in 1991. Throughout Sid Meier’s Civilization games, players begin in pre-historic periods and develop their own civilizations, aiming for one of the numerous ways to win the game, such as military success or high cultural levels.
In order to enhance and extend their region, players must gather resources, conduct research and development, negotiate with other civilization leaders, and more. Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri and a Civilization board game are only two examples of Civilization spin-offs in addition to the core series. As a strategy and simulation game developer, Sid Meier has released 26 titles to his credit. Sid Meier recently spoke with BBC News on the growing trend of new in-game monetization strategies, as well as the improving public perception of gaming.
Despite the growing popularity of what Meier views as a disappointing monetization tendency in the business, he remains optimistic about the changes the game industry has seen since he began in 1991. When he first started working in games in 1991, people told him he was ‘wasting his time.’ Now he grins when they remark, ‘I wish I could have a career developing games.” The negative connotations associated with playing video games have mostly faded in recent years. Meier points out a tendency that long-time players will recognise – for many years, gaming was viewed as a waste of time.
With more than 3 billion individuals across the world playing video games, these preconceptions about gaming have mostly fallen away. As Meier points out, a growing number of games are putting a major portion of their material behind paywalls or pushing players to spend money in order to progress more quickly. Companies that use unethical business practices will face a greater backlash if the number of gamers continues to rise. Because so many of Sid Meier’s products have been deemed historic landmarks in strategic gaming, his name is unquestionably one of the most known in gaming.
Having worked in the gaming business for more than 30 years, it’s encouraging to see him stay upbeat about the current state of affairs. Since Civilization’s release, many strategy games like Humankind have incorporated features of the game into their gameplay. It’s impossible to imagine the strategic simulation genre without the influence of Sid Meier’s Civilization series, which established the 4x gaming genre.