The creation of Railroad Tycoon was a watershed game for Meier and Microprose. Railroad Tycoon's interplay of various game systems logically led to the creation of Civilization, one of the most compelling and addictive games ever made. Civilization mixed the idea of creating and building that was capturing gamers' attention (particularly the games by Will Wright) with the intricate interplay of diplomatic, military, economic and technological systems with the added element of exploration. That vast interplay of game systems let players create their own world and captured that one-more-turn feeling we all know from Civilization.

When asked about the exquisite balance between different units in Civilization, Meier attributes his success to his development technique. Unlike most game designers nowadays, Meier believes strongly that all designers should learn programming, and prefers to prototype his own games. Ideally, he thinks that a game should be playable within a few weeks of starting development, and then the team can keep playing and revising the game. Meier attributes the balance of the units in Civilization to that iterative process, proudly pointing out that thanks to that process, "We have a new game every week."The other important factor Meier emphasized was engaging the players' imagination. He clearly believes many of his early games were successful because he focused on the play and on involving the imagination of his players in that play. As Meier pointed out, gameplay hasn't changed nearly as much over the years as the technology that produces better sound and graphics. Meier also warned against the desire of some designers to shove too much story into games. Game designers should ask the question, "Who's having the fun?" With a heavy-handed story, there's a temptation to let the designer or writer have the fun instead of letting the player and the player's imagination have the fun.

Finally, Meier talked a bit about Civilization: Revolution, the game that will revisit the Civilization formula and bring it to consoles. He excitedly discussed the upcoming game as an opportunity most game designers don't get: "It's a designer's dream to go back in time to repair the past." With Civilization: Revolution, Meier said that he gets to approach the Civilization franchise from scratch and consider everything about Civilization that he wishes he'd done differently. He described Civilization: Revolution as a game that will combine his current experience with something that emerged from the energy of his youth - a game that will put players back into the King's throne.

To conclude, Falstein drew a brief comparison. He described Meier and Will Wright as two of gaming's most influential designers, and pointed out that in Wright's upcoming Spore, nearly every sort of game Wright has ever created will be presented as parts of a single game. Falstein then asked if Meier would ever consider a kind of combination game that would tie together everything he'd ever done. Meier simply said "No."

Author: Kyle Ackerman