In One and One, Game|Life asks a member of the gaming industry two questions: one about gaming, and one about something completely random.
The co-founder of MicroProse and founder of Firaxis Games, Sid Meier is a veteran designer of such classic games as Pirates!, Railroad Tycoon, and the Civilization series. His latest project is Civilization: Revolution, which is due out for Xbox 360, PS3, and Nintendo DS this spring.
In an industry that tends to favor relative designer anonymity, a few individuals, such as yourself have achieved name notoriety. What kind of effects, if any, can this have on a game project? Do you feel added pressure because the gaming public has specific expectations about a "Sid Meier" game?
Meier: I think my name on the game box has come to mean that people can expect a certain type of game experience when they buy one of our games. Our games are known for addictive, fun gameplay delivered in exciting environments that offer players lots of choices and interesting decisions to make.
There isn't any added pressure -- we want to deliver a great game every time and having my name on the box is like a seal of approval that tells people we've done just that. It effects the game design in that
I'm not going to make an M rated game (our games are typically E-10) so that sets certain parameters from the beginning of development. I have never found having my name on the box to be a bad thing.
When was the last time you got nervous?
Meier: Honestly, I rarely get nervous. However, I was heading to Leipzig,
Germany to attend the Games Convention last August (my wife and son were with me) and when I was checking in at the airport in Baltimore they informed me that my passport had expired (I'd been so busy making
Civilization Revolution that I had forgotten to renew it).
The problem was that they could let me leave the country, but wouldn't be able to let me back in without an updated passport. I knew the 2K International
PR team had planned a bunch of events and interviews for me and I would really leave them hanging if I didn't show. Fortunately, we were able to call some folks who helped us expedite the passport renewal process
– we missed our original flight, but made one later in the day that got us to Leipzig in time. So I was sweaty and nervous for about 5 hours.
