Soyoufeelkindofincontroltheideaforfor a techtreewhich I thinkwasuniqueandoriginaltocivilizationcamefrom a bookthat I waslookingatthisonehadkindof a timelineofhistoryinitwhereitwouldlayoutdifferentpoliticaladvancementsorsocialpoliciesormilitarythingsand I wouldget, I wentkindofwithmy, myyellowmarkerwentthroughthatbookandsay, okay, bronzeworkingishere, aren't working, youknow, gunpowderuhthatalmostbecamethetemplateforthetechtreeanditjustfeltlike a veryeasytounderstandmechanismforshowingtheplayerhowthingsareconnected, givingthemkindofaninsightintothefuture, givingthemgoalsandthingstolookforwardto.
Soourfirstapproachtothisgrandtopicofcivilizationwasinspired a lotby, bySimCity, theideaofzoningandpartofyourmaptobuild a newcity, maybecreating a zoneoverhereforfarmers.
Um, andhavingeverythinghappenedin a kindof a realtimeprocesswhereyouwatcheditgraduallygrowandnowyou'rereadytozonethis.
Soweactuallyputthatprototypeawayfor a whileandwecompletedanothergame, whichwascovertaction, which I startedandalsoputaway.
But I think I thinkactuallybuildsdailyourpresidentwaspartofthesaidsaidyouneedtofinishthatcovertactiongame, whichwasprobably a goodthingbecausethatthatkindoftookusawayfromthetherealtimezonebasedversionofcivilization.
Theconceitbehindthatgamewascreatinganinteractivestory, theideaofcreating a story, butthatwasgoingtoturnoutdifferentlyeachtime.
UhSoinordertokeepthecomplexityundercontrol, itfocuseson a shorterperiodoftimeand a smallerareaofoftheworldofthemap.
Um I thinkthosearethosearesmartdecisions.
I thinkthere's a certainamountofcomplexitythattheplayercancankindofenjoyandthere's a largeramountthatbecomeswork.
So I thinkthatumtryingtodo a realtimeversionofCiv, thattriedtocovertheexpanseofwhattheturnbasedgamedoeswouldwouldjustbecompletelyoverwhelming.
I thinktheturningpointforCivwaswhenweswitchedfromrealtimetoTurnBase.
Andthatreallyonlyhappenedbecause I finishedanothergameinintheroom, I puttherealtimeversionontheshelf, finishedcovertactionandkindofcamebacktoitwithuhwithkindoffresheyes.
Anduh I hadthisideaaboutabout, youknow, making a turnbased, makingitgiving a lotofdifferentthingstodocontrolindividualunits, etcetera.
Andthatwaswhatreallymadethedifferenceinthegameprobablywhatwhattriggeredthatinmymindwashavingplayed a gamecalledEmpire, whichhadthecharacteristicsofunveiling, exploring a mapandhadindividualunitsmovingaround.
And I kindofrememberthatthoseahamomentsofuhyouknow, anotherunit, enemyunitsshowingupandyousay, ohthey'reovertherenow, I seehowthatthisisgonnaworkorthekindofimmersionthatmovingindividualunitsgaveyou.
I realizedthatthatwassomethingwasmissingfromouroriginalprototypeandweweslammeditinthereandallof a suddenmagicstartedtohappen, civilizationisisnowknownfortheonemoreturnphenomenon.
And I wouldlovetosaythatweuhyouknow, ondayonewesaidthishasgottohaveonemoreturn.
Uhweactuallydidn't realizetherewassuch a thingasonemoreturnuntilreallythegamewasoutthereandwestartedgettingfeedbackfromfromplayersandwewouldgettheseletterslikeuhyouknow, I I couldn't stopplaying.
I lookedupattheclockanditwasthree o'clockinthemorning.
Anduhsowe, wekindofanalyzedwhatwashappeninganditwasthisideaofthegamegivingyoushorttermandmediumtermandlongtermgoalsthatwereall, uh, kindofinyourmindatonetimeandyoumight, youmightcomplete a shorttermgoal, butbang, anothershorttermgoalpoppedup, andyou'restillworkingonthismediumtermgoal.
Andum, therewasnever a timeinthegamewhereyou, kindof, had, hadcompletedeverythingthatyouwantedtodo, you'realwayslookingforwardto, um, youknow, when I getthatnewtechnology, I candothiswhen I explorethatnewcontinent, thisisgonnahappen.
So, we'vecreatedthisphenomenonthatwereallydidn't uh, anticipate, butwe'renowproudtoclaim.
So, myadvice, ifyoufindyourselfinthe, intheValleyofdespair, istotrysomethingnewanddifferent, Wehaveanotherrulewhichistodoubleit, orcutitinhalfrule, whichis, ifyou'regonnamake a change, makeitdramatic, ifthenumberiswrong, youknow, don't add 10% ortakeaway 3% youknow, doubleitorcutitinhalf, youknow, sothatifyoutry a lotof, kindofdramaticchangeissomethingthat's gonnastick, somethingthat's gonnawork.
It's gonnashowyou a newdirectionandyoucanclimboutoftheoftheValleyofDespairWhenthe 25thanniversaryofcivilizationrolledaround, I realizedwehadinourbasementsomeoftheoriginalcomputersthatwereusedtocreatethegame.
I thoughtitwouldbefuntotrytoresurrectthose.
Therewereactuallytwoofthesecompactdeathpro-386 computersthat I hadsavedforallthoseyearsandwebroughttheminhereandtriedtofirethemup.
Oneofthemactuallyexplodedwhenwepluggeditin, therewas a bunchofdustaroundthepowersupplythatcaughtfireandthefanblueflamesoutthebackofit.