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Complaints about Civ's omission of the dark side of history ring hollow to me. Civ is, at its heart, a deeply aspirational and optimistic game. Watching the B

Complaints about Civ's omission of the dark side of history ring hollow to me. Civ is, at its heart, a deeply aspirational and optimistic game. Watching the Baba Yetu intro from Civ IV[1] gives me the same sense of wonder and pride in humanity that Chris Hadfield's rendition of Space Oddity[2] does. Dwelling on the darkness in our history would be so discordant for a game like Civ. [1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJiHDmyhE1A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJiHDmyhE1A [2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9danxNo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9danxNo

timo614 10y ago
Agreed; the point of the game is to make you feel like a God. Sid Meier gave a talk at the GDC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtzCLd93SyU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtzCLd93SyU In it he explained how Civilization tested random negative events that could shape your world. He mentioned how this had a negative effect on the player experience and many times people would just grab a past save to avoid them IIRC.
- redthrowaway 10y ago
  >Agreed; the point of the game is to make you feel like a God. I would actually disagree. There are plenty of power fantasies, most notably the spectacle fighter genre, which seek to make you feel powerful. Civ isn't about that. Civ makes you feel purposeful. You nurture and grow your civilization, not for personal aggrandizement but for a feeling of progress and accomplishment. Your goal is not to be the most powerful ruler, but to have the greatest civilization. Human achievement and ambition is the theme of the game.
- glandium 10y ago
  The game whose purpose is to make you feel like a God is Populous.
tdb7893 10y ago
I agree. I tell people about some of the things I've had to do in Crusader Kings 2 and they are horrified. Civilization 6 is a history themed 4x strategy game, not some hyper realistic history simulator.
- Bartweiss 10y ago
  The original Rome: Total War felt similar. You can't have enough sanitation to keep a truly enormous city happy, so what to do? Well, knock the population down. How? Either raise taxes until they revolt and then put them to the sword, or move plague carriers into the city to keep things in check. That was a properly dark game, and I'm glad Civ isn't.
Bartweiss 10y ago
The Civ intros are an impressive display of the game's whole aesthetic. Beyond Earth disappointed me in a lot of ways, but starting it up and feeling like it was a 'next step' from the history of Civ was beautiful. The voiced quotes for each tech in Civ V were downright haunting for me, and I'm pleased to see the game kept so bright. Even the military quotes strayed to optimism like "Happy are those whose walls already rise."

timo614 10y ago

Agreed; the point of the game is to make you feel like a God. Sid Meier gave a talk at the GDC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtzCLd93SyU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtzCLd93SyU In it he explained how Civilization tested random negative events that could shape your world. He mentioned how this had a negative effect on the player experience and many times people would just grab a past save to avoid them IIRC.

redthrowaway 10y ago
>Agreed; the point of the game is to make you feel like a God. I would actually disagree. There are plenty of power fantasies, most notably the spectacle fighter genre, which seek to make you feel powerful. Civ isn't about that. Civ makes you feel purposeful. You nurture and grow your civilization, not for personal aggrandizement but for a feeling of progress and accomplishment. Your goal is not to be the most powerful ruler, but to have the greatest civilization. Human achievement and ambition is the theme of the game.
glandium 10y ago
The game whose purpose is to make you feel like a God is Populous.

tdb7893 10y ago

I agree. I tell people about some of the things I've had to do in Crusader Kings 2 and they are horrified. Civilization 6 is a history themed 4x strategy game, not some hyper realistic history simulator.

Bartweiss 10y ago
The original Rome: Total War felt similar. You can't have enough sanitation to keep a truly enormous city happy, so what to do? Well, knock the population down. How? Either raise taxes until they revolt and then put them to the sword, or move plague carriers into the city to keep things in check. That was a properly dark game, and I'm glad Civ isn't.

Bartweiss 10y ago

The Civ intros are an impressive display of the game's whole aesthetic. Beyond Earth disappointed me in a lot of ways, but starting it up and feeling like it was a 'next step' from the history of Civ was beautiful. The voiced quotes for each tech in Civ V were downright haunting for me, and I'm pleased to see the game kept so bright. Even the military quotes strayed to optimism like "Happy are those whose walls already rise."