Armchair General

From dashing corsairs to futuristic settlements, golf courses and even the entirety of human history itself, if there's a subject of interest to joystick jocks, chances are visionary designer Sid Meier has already explored it.

A legend in the PC strategy and simulation arenas with over 25 titles to his credit spanning a nearly three decade-long career, happily, he's now turning his attention to a subject presently much closer to heart… Next-generation console gaming.

"Thanks to the launch of platforms like PLAYSTATION®3, the time is finally right for this transition," explains the perky auteur, whose most recent awe-inspiring work includes swashbuckling action-adventure Sid Meier's Pirates! for PSP® system. "Computers no longer have the edge on set-top systems. The technology is there; the audience is ready for deeper and more gripping experiences; and the bar's formally been raised in terms of enthusiasts' expectations. I hate to use the word convergence, but I don't know how else to describe the situation… The timing couldn't be more perfect."

Granted, those are pretty fancy words for a guy whose award-winning creations (e.g. Civilization, Railroad Tycoon, and Alpha Centauri) traditionally find their home on desktop systems. Not to mention one who got his start as a systems analyst back in the early ‘80s, helping retailers make the jump from manual cash registers to fancy new digital models. (Yawn…) Regardless, if there's one thing the celebrated development guru – who still sneaks in 4 hours a week with titles like Guitar Hero™ and Resistance: Fall of Man™ – has always been, it's an iconoclast.

For example: Though a superstar now, rewind the clock 25 years, and you'd find Meier, then a nebbish programmer, lounging around a Las Vegas convention sponsored by his Maryland-based computer networking employer. A chance meeting with a fellow coworker (J.W. "Wild Bill" Stealey) in an arcade housing a now-archaic flight simulation leads to the sort of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you only hear about in dime-store novels.

Stealey, a former air force pilot, scores 10,000 pts on the game; Meier 25,000, simply because he "was a computer geek who saw how the program worked and formulated simple strategies based upon it." Stunned, the two start talking, and Meier casually comments that he can program an even better aerial combat game on his home PC. And then Stealey utters the famous phrase, which Meier remembers fondly even to this day: "If you can make it, I can sell it!"

Cue the launch of multimillion-dollar company MicroProse, which Meier co-founded and led to smashing success until he left in 1996 to form independent development outfit Firaxis. According to Meier, it was the desire to get back to creating boundary-breaking strategy titles in "a small, fun, startup-style environment," that led to this decision. And a smart choice it would prove to be: Since then, he and his cohorts have gone on to sell more than 10 million units of their almost universally well-regarded and commercially successful creations.

Nonetheless, despite an obvious fondness for tactically-minded desktop outings, Meier's man enough to admit he now looks mainly to console gaming for satisfaction. "Sony's done an amazing job of establishing a quality standard and delivering on systems' promise. Look at the caliber of titles we're suddenly seeing from machines like the PlayStation®2 – the company takes a long-term view and really focuses on delivering amazing hardware right out of the box."

 

In an even more surprising turn, strategy isn't even his favorite genre of choice. ("I get enough of that in my day job, thank you very much.") Nowadays, Sid says it's high-octane racing titles like Gran Turismo™ 4, innovative outings such as Okami™ and killer first-person shooters ("Resistance is a recent favorite") that really captivate him. Say what you will about the man, but you can't fault his taste: "I just picked up MotorStorm™, and can't wait to give it a spin."

If it seems strange coming from a 53 year-old industry veteran who's spent the bulk of his years playing to a more cerebral paradigm, blame his changing tastes on a 16 year-old son… And constant drive to innovate.

"Here at Firaxis," he explains, "we're gamers at heart. We spend tons of time seeing what works and what doesn't. The most important parts of any design are fun and accessibility – even when we're covering deep, historical topics, we always look to take a playable approach that gets gamers moving quickly. For example, Pirates! focuses on bringing a cinematic, action movie sort of flavor to what's traditionally been treated as more serious subject matter."

Nonetheless, Meier, who owns a PlayStation®2, PLAYSTATION®3 and PSP® systems personally, believes there's still room to revolutionize in the strategic category, especially on Sony's signature consoles. And while he won't slap his seemingly ubiquitous name on any project that comes his way ("Sorry, don't expect a Sid Meier's Knitting Derby anytime soon"), he does have several interesting projects in the works.

While unwilling to elaborate at the moment, he does admit that he's got teams whose size ranges upwards of 50 individuals currently cranking away on a surprise or two as we speak. Meaning that it shouldn't be long before you'll be able to plop down in front of your living room TV and enjoy tactically-minded diversions that top anything previously seen on the PC, a platform such outings were once synonymous with.

"Look at the level of content you're seeing on current-gen systems right now in the form of games like God of War® II," he explains. "Remember: The PLAYSTATION®3 is light years ahead of this technology. As with any new platform, it's going to be a challenge and take designers some time to come to grips with the hardware. But believe me, you'll be amazed by the possibilities."

We, for one, agree wholeheartedly, even if only at the prospect of seeing such a storied name trade his thinking cap for a riot suit and heat-seeking rifle. And, of course, the thought of forcing him to eat hot plasma as payback for consuming so many *#@$ hours of our childhood once upon a time…