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SpencerH
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Co-Ruler of my patch of land south of Birmingham Alabama
Feb 2002
time: 23:18
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I'm not rabid about it, I realize its just typical interview banter, but here are a few quotes from Sid and Soren that caught my eye
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Well, we've been able to keep the things that really made Civilization popular and fun to play - that one-more-turn idea |
Maybe its just me, but I dont get that with civ3 (as I did with all previous versions)
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People had been asking for us to expand the diplomacy system, give them a lot more options and this game really has a lot that you can do in terms of negotiating |
Its better than civ2 maybe not as good as SMAC, but it still could be better
From Soren
quote:
We almost wish they could come to us earlier on in the process! We've seen a number of great ideas from the fans since they actually got hold of the game and we've incorporated a lot of them into the patches that we've released. |
How could it have been earlier? There were ideas from fans (as there are now for CIV4) from day2 (if not day1).
From Sid
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What we saw with Civ II, and we're starting to see also for Civ III, is that a community evolves around the game using the tools that we provide for creating scenarios and maps, changing rules and adding units, that really extends the lifetime of the game through a number of years. |
Well hopefully we'll get the editor to do that at some point in the future
quote:
but we've been very happy working with Infogrames too, they've done a great job supporting Civ III |
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Velociryx
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of Candle'Bre
Apr 1999
time: 05:18
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 Og...yep....now hand over that banana if you know what's good for you! I'm jonsing for one! 
And Spencer....quite right! In fact, we're gonna be making use of what we jokingly refer to as the "pusher-model" for marketing our game (first one's free...after we get you addicted we'll start charging).
For the most part, with the advent of a growing number of high speed connection solutions on the 'net, I'm hoping we can avoid traditional media anyway. Oh sure, we'll need to burn some copies and send out to folks who have no access to fast connections, but where possible, I'm hoping we can handle the bulk of game requests via download.
So the plan goes something like this: We're doing this open source and in java....that rings all the right bells over at the Source Forge and Slashdot sites (LOTS of potential eyeballs there). We're planning to give it away when we're finished with Version 1.0....get a buzz going on about and around it, get people hooked on playing it, and talking with us about ways of improving it, and at that point, when it's time to secure financing for the company and doing it for real, we can go to the money-men with live data in hand (x-number of users right now, x-number of fansites right now, and the following plans for taking the game commercial.
Contrast that with the way most businesses approach the money guys....with a sheaf of papers outlining what they wanna do, and no clear idea if it'll even be popular or not! I'm hoping that with our approach, we can generate such momentum behind the game, that securing a round of financing to make an even better version won't be seen as much of a risk at all....
-=Vel=-
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SpencerH
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Co-Ruler of my patch of land south of Birmingham Alabama
Feb 2002
time: 23:18
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quote:
Originally posted by fezick31
That's a great idea and all, but for all the bad, there is the fact that publishers also provide legal backing. Case in point is CtP vs Civ2. IF sid had pushed Civ 2 out of his garage, he would have had a tough time of sueing Activision, as he would have had to hire his own lawyer (and a cheap one at that), and would of had to stop development in order to pursue the legal action.
For all the crap that comes with using publishers, there is the positive. It may screw the consumer over sometimes, but it is usually a much better deal for the developer. |
I agree that publishers can provide many levels of support, but I'm not sure that seeking one out because of the possibility legal action is a good enough reason to do so. There are lots of lawyers in this country who will work for their cut of the damages. It may take time, but if you've covered your bases you'll win, and in some cases win big.
Publishers can (and do) promote and support "struggling artists" of all kinds, but they can also hinder the ability of others to find a market. Lets not forget that they can take a huge cut. For example, if you compare the beatles to the rolling stones you'll find that the net worth of each of the beatles was about 10 times the net worth of Mick Jagger. Part of the reason for that difference was Abbey Road studios that the beatles started. Once they had the clout and money to do so, they got out from underneath the record producers. Today we have the internet, and if we support "guerrilla game designers" we'll be better off and so will the designers.
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fezick31
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Cliffs of Insanity
Nov 2001
time: 00:18
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SpencerH -
I completely agree with you, I am alll for freeware and open source. I'm just saying that when it comes to producing anything on a large scale, you have to concerned with legality.
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...Abbey Road studios that the beatles started. Once they had the clout and money to do so, they got out from underneath the record producers... |
That's my point. The beatles needed the record company until they could pay for all the legal stuff and overhead costs themselves. Once they could, they did the smart thing and got rid of them.
I doubt you would find a lawyer (or team of lawyers, which is what it takes), that would work for a percentage of winnings. This is not normal civil court, as you usually don't sue for damages. You have to prove that the defendents violated copywrite, and then they are ordered to stop making their product or change it to comply with the order (Activision, for example, had to remove the word "civilization" from CtP II). There usually aren't any monetary penalties, and if there are, they wouldn't cover all the legal fees.
Also, if you happened to get picked on by large company, you'd be sccrewed. For example, say Infogrames likes your concept, so they steal it and publish their own version. You'd have to find one hell of a lawyer to represent you to even stand a chance of winning against the team that works for Infogrames and is funded not just by the game in question, but by sales from every game infogrames sells.
Not saying it's good, just that that's how it is and you gotta be careful. You are right in saying you gotta cover your bases. A cheap copywrite technique is take your Intellectual property, create a hard copy (assuming it's code, burn it on a CD), then mail it to yourself. When you recieve the package, it will be sealed and dated by the US post Office. This is a quick and easy way to prove that you did it first  .
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Soren Johnson Firaxis
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Hunt Valley, MD
May 2001
time: 00:18
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quote:
Originally posted by SpencerH
From Soren
"
We almost wish they could come to us earlier on in the process! We've seen a number of great ideas from the fans since they actually got hold of the game and we've incorporated a lot of them into the patches that we've released.
"
How could it have been earlier? There were ideas from fans (as there are now for CIV4) from day2 (if not day1).
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Well, we certainly looked at fan suggestions concerning Civ2, but at a certain point the two games were different enough that Civ2 suggestions were no longer applicable (such as with the culture system and trade/resource network). I hope that clarifies my point (I explained this fully in the interview, but my response was abridged in the final piece...)
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12-04-2002 20:41
. I'm looking forward to my first version. 
. I like Civ3 very much but this article is made to sell the game. Civ3 is not that complicated and the diplomacy system is really NOT as good as Sid says it is. And he didn't mention that the game crashes for no reason and kills my saves once in a while.
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