Even though the music of a more “traditional” game may not affect the gameplay on the level of the code, it can certainly affect the way we experience the game mechanics, just as the game mechanics can alter our understanding of the music.

Indeed, since experience is ultimately what matters, I would argue that any deeply synergistic soundtrack-gameplay relationship that acts on an emotional or cultural level can be just as "musical" as the formal mechanisms of rhythm games – physical game controllers or no.

... Take a closer look at Civ IV, and you’ll see that the real meaning of the game lies somewhere between the mechanics, at those interstitial places where gameplay slides into and intersects other forms of expression.

Is Civ IV a music game? My favorite films (and games, for that matter) manage to weave together story, music, visuals, and all those other little bits that go into the making of media — often to splendid effect. But does that make them musicals, or music movies, or music games? Or "just" splendid, thoughtfully produced media? I'm not convinced on some of Wilson's points, but his overall meditation is worth a read.

Grand Pianola Game Music [GameSetWatch]

A universal game design wouldn’t just stop with action games or titles where you’re directly in control of the protagonist. It could extend out to strategy, space combat, anything really. What else is Starcraft but an action game where you hover high above the battlefield? The concept has been experimented with before in games, but with the kind of refinement we’re talking about it’d be possible to mix completely unrelated players in one game. Take Left 4 Dead. One player controls all of the zombies, the others are all playing characters trapped in the fray. One is engaged in a strategic battle, the other is having a frantic shoot-out. A player who isn’t a huge fan of playing Halo may nevertheless buy a game where they get to control the battlefield while skilled players opt for FPS mode and try to take them out while they control armies overhead. Beyond the always promising broad economic perks of such a game, there’s the co-mingling of different players and preferences in one Universal Design. It’s not a game within the game, it’s a game that has every means of interaction possible in it.

It's an interesting thought, though the old 'jack of all trades, master of none' warning seems like it would come into play pretty easily. Co-mingling, though, is certainly intriguing. It's an interesting piece on choice and game design choices.

Universal Game Design [PopMatters via GameSetWatch]

Not playing Civ taught me some important lessons about the audience for games. Yes, I may want to screw around with history and make bizarre alternate timelines but most players want to be authentic to their perception of history, not to their boundless imaginations, at least in the context of nation-building games. I may feel constrained by a tech tree which encodes certain preconceptions about history, but most players of Civ find in the technology tree a vibrant advancement mechanic that they enjoy exploring and min-maxing to their benefit.

Not playing Civ taught me that I am not the audience for games, even though I have spent my life playing them. And that, I suppose, helped push me into further exploring just who the audience for games really were…

The whole Round Table set is worth a read, as always. There are twelve entries thus far, which is more than enough to while away an hour or two with.

What I Learned From Not Playing Civ [Only a Game]

Variety reporter Ben Fritz knows that Sid Meier made a Colonization game back in the day. And he knows that the new one, the upcoming Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization, won't quite force you to sail to a new land so you can kill all the natives and screw them with the exchange rate.

But he's troubled. He's spent a good amount of time on his blog to show that he's thought this through. Colonization was and is racist and appalling, he states. He doesn't call for a ban. He's a First Amendment guy. But he does call for a reaction.

Goddamit, am I the only one who think it's morally disturbing to make a game that celebrates COLONIZATION?

Bonus reader challenge: Reply to this post, pro or con, without using the old conversation-stopper: "It's just a game."

Civilization IV: Colonization... Wow that looks offensive [Variety's The Cut Scene Blog]

In light of "serious games" and "edutainment" discussions, I'm always interested to see what regular retail games are listed as good "educational" titles. College@Home has a pretty thorough list covering a variety of topics; some of the titles are expected (Civilization, Carmen Sandiego) to some slightly more interesting titles (Spore, Age of Mythology, a lot of regular retail sims). Makes me glad I just get to take the fun out of learning for undergraduates — I'm not sure I'd want to herd kids through Roller Coaster Tycoon.

Virtual Learning: 25 Best Sims and Games For the Classroom

[College@Home via Water Cooler Games]

Civ Revolution demo upends XBLA, PSN [GameSpot]

“I’m fortunate to be able to do what I love and am grateful for all of the wonderful recognition I’ve received over the years,” said Sid Meier. “It is every kid’s dream to make it into the Guinness World Records and I’m thrilled to be a part of the prestigious book. I’m thankful to the many game critics who have enjoyed our games and hope they are as excited about our upcoming Civilization Revolution title as I am.”

And there, my friends, is why great men are great. They are never too proud to slip in a little marketing. Go read some more marketing in the official press release, while I apply some watercolor photoshop filter love to this great, great man.

Sid Meier Enters Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2008

As Industry’s Most Award-Winning Developer

Sid Meier, creator of the Sid Meier’s Civilization® franchise and Director of Creative Development at 2K’s world-renowned Firaxis Games development studio, has officially won more game awards than any other video game creator according to the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2008.The Civilization series boasts some of Sid’s most impressive game awards, including Sid Meier’s Civilization IV™, which was selected as Strategy Game of the Year by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) and 1UP.com. Next up from the award-winning developer is Sid Meier's Civilization® Revolution™, which promises to uphold the franchise’s gold standard.

Sid Meier’s awards for his game design genius are numerous. In 1999, Sid was the second person ever to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Computer Museum of America's Hall of Fame in 2002 and received a commemorative star on the Walk of Game in 2006. Meier was recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 Game Developers Choice Awards.

“I’m fortunate to be able to do what I love and am grateful for all of the wonderful recognition I’ve received over the years,” said Sid Meier. “It is every kid’s dream to make it into the Guinness World Records and I’m thrilled to be a part of the prestigious book. I’m thankful to the many game critics who have enjoyed our games and hope they are as excited about our upcoming Civilization Revolution title as I am.”

Built from the ground up solely for console and handheld gaming systems, Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution features fast-paced, pick-up-and-play action involving strategic global domination and history's most intrepid leaders, as well as a highly competitive multi-player experience. Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution brings the renowned Civilization franchise to current gen consoles and handhelds for the first time, delivering the vast re-playability and unmatched addictive gameplay that has become synonymous with the works of Sid Meier. New graphical designs and a streamlined interface will transport the Civilization franchise to a level that fans have never seen before.

Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution is rated E10+ for everyone 10 and older and will be in stores beginning July 8, 2008 for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Nintendo DS™. For more Civilization Revolution information, visit www.civilizationrevolution.com.

Huge laughs from the audience. Damn there are a lot of dorks in the audience...present company included. Through the hour-long interview, Meier divulged all sorts of not-so-secret secrets, admitting his geek fetish of still programming his own titles. Here were some of our favorite things he said, organized for your easy digestion...

On Casual Games
"The word 'casual' is kind of a tough game to pin down...I'm not that interested in doing simple games, but, if you look at the budgets, games we made 10 or 15 years ago are 'casual' by that measure."

On Civilization 1 Addiction
"We hadn't made a game up to that point that had that addictive quality...kind of scary when we first realized...here was a portent of the future, how games could really become something people really wanted to spend a lot of time playing."

On Railroad Tycoon And Games Of Yore
"A lot of what we did was trigger your imagination...we just did a little bit, but the player added a lot of the experience...imaginations are still around today."

On Why He Programs
"I'm more willing to waste my time that somebody else's time."

On How You Design Civ
"The temptation with Civilization is to throw everything into it...computers can handle that, but humans can't."

On What He Plays (Tact Edition)
"I guess it's like, you do something all day, you want a change of pace. I haven't really played any other strategies."

On Vocation
"My hobbies are [in] music, but there's no money in music."

On The Era
"It's kind of a golden age, I think, for gaming."

On Civilization Revolution
"It's really kind of a designer's dream to repair a path...go back in time with a lot more knowledge and a lot more experience."

On Making An All-Encompassing, Career Highlight Game Like Spore
"No."

You might think Sid's tastes are singularly strategic, but he namechecks Okami, Gran Turismo 4 and Resistance: Fall of Man as some of his favorite games. Then, there's the gushing. Oh the gushing! Not only does he call the PLAYSTATION 3 "light years ahead" of the PlayStation 2, he's just enamored with Sony as a whole.

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.

Hints of a Meier-developed PlayStation bound game are not-so-subtly hinted at in the editorial, which could be very very interesting. I'm guessing it's going to be along the lines of Sid Meier's PlayStation Sonnets. Michael McWhertor

Armchair General [PlayStation.com via Game Daily]

The Wall is the first cross-platform current gen title from Russia. The PS3/Xbox 360 game combines genre elements from FPS, RTS and RPG games. Slated for a second quarter 2008 release, it's being developed by pc game maker Play Ten Interactive and will incorporate Emergent's Gamebryo dev tech, which was employed in Oblivion and Civilization IV. Says Dmitri Kruglov, CEO of Play Ten:

Only Emergent offered us a complete and flexible set of existing and upcoming tools and services to make the PC to console transition so smooth... Emergent gives us the flexibility we need as we break ground in Russia.

The Wall [Next-Gen]

In a recent interview Soren has announced that he is working on a secret project that will combine a game from the 1980's and another from a well established genre.

Of course no citation could be found. But, it does mention he has announced that he will be be getting married sometime in the fall. Awweeee. Kim Phu

Spore Gets More Civilized [Blue's News]

Computer and Video Games has posted wan interview with Soren Johnson, the lead developer for Sid Meier's Civilization III & IV at Firaxis, in which he praises Nintendo for the innovation they've brought to the industry.

Obviously, there will always be a place for a traditional console like the 360 and the PS3, but people forget so often that videogames are capable of almost anything. No one's imagination is ever big enough to grasp all the new ways people can play electronically - and great rewards are waiting for companies that actively seek them out.

He also touches on some interesting points regarding PC games, including the fact that most major developers are console focused as of late, the potential of the Games for Windows label to make computer games more consumer friendly, and the importance of digital distribution for the future of PC gaming. It's an interesting peek at the gaming industry through the eyes of an accomplished insider. Michael Fahey

State of play: Firaxis [Computer and Video Games via Blues News]

2K Games have announced that four of their games are being pushed onto Steam. The games are Sid Meier's Pirates!, Civilization III, Civilization IV and Shattered Union.

The list is pretty weird: who in their right mind would buy Civ III when they can pick up Civ IV for pretty much the same price? Civ IV is just hugely superior.

Pirates! is the real prize here, though. It was pretty much my GOTY in 2004, mostly because it just perfectly updated my nostalgic memories of entire nights spent with my buddy Mike as a teenager, drinking Coke, eating bacon cheeseburger subs and "Yargh!"ing at each other as we played Pirates! Gold on the Genesis. Give it a shot if you haven't already: I think it's my favorite Sid Meier game/. Florian Eckhardt

Steam Opens Up to 2K Hits [Next Generation]

Yeah, this is no good. Sorta notorious Sci-Fi novelist Iain Banks is blaming a computer game for missing a deadline on one of his novels.

No, it's not World of Warcraft, this time around Civilization didn't make him do it.

Banks, who works video games into his novels, was supposed to have his latest done in time for a Christmas printing, but the book's now been pushed back to next year.

"It's all because I became a serial addict of the computer game 'Civilisation' [sic]" Said Banks, "I played it for three months and then realised I hadn't done any work. In the end, I had to delete all the saved files and smash the CD. It is very unprofessional of me. I had to ask for an extension for the first time, which made me feel just like I was a student again."

Brian Crecente

Novelist Iain Banks Forgets to Work [Idle Thumbs]

Tekken: Dark Resurrection (PSP)
The portable port of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection is reviewing quite well, thank you. New characters, same proven Tekken gameplay. The fighting game PSP owners have been waiting for.

Painkiller: Hell Wars (Xbox)
The Xbox gets a bit of life support with this Xbox version of the hellacious FPS. Hot Havok based physics, too.

Civilization IV: Warlords (PC)
I'm not a Civ player, so let's let the marketing types take over: "New civilizations, leaders, units, and wonders that will offer even more fun and exciting ways for players to expand their civilization's military power as they strive for world domination."

CivCity: Rome (PC)
Cut from the official site: "An innovative city builder inspired by the world of Sid Meier's Civilization, and created by a collaboration between Firefly Studios and Firaxis Games, invites players to shift focus from building a multi-city empire and zoom-in on the great cities of the Roman Empire, culminating in Rome itself!"

Alright kids, I'm gonna see if I can hunt down a cheap copy of Exit and work my way through Half-Life 2 Episode I. What are you picking up this week? Michael McWhertor

But not Will Wright's kids. They play Guitar Hero. Meier's offspring play Oblivion. Oblivion! AOL Games has a feature on the coolest gaming dads in the biz, including those two and many more.

What about you, commenting crew? Tell us how cool (or uncool) your gaming dad is. Michael McWhertor

Father's Day Game Time

The 2K Games folk shot over three new screenshots for CivCity Rome, the city builder inspired by Civilization and created by FIrefly Studios and Firaxis Games.

Looks sorta interesting.

It came about two years too late, but there's finally a reason to buy an N-Gage.

The plucky cellphone-gaming conundrum just got classic Civilization.

"The addition of Sid Meier's strategy masterpiece to the N-Gage games catalogue creates a brand new way in which Civilization fans can enjoy this classic title," said Gregg Sauter, director, games publishing, Nokia.

I may have to dust my N-Gage off, Taco-style, and give the game a whirl.

You might remember those military and civilian units from Civilization 3. Alex Dragulescu has taken them and created an experimental graphic novel called What I Did Last Summer. Using software that harvested text from web blogs, the comic recounts cached versions of actual American army blogs. The result is a profound mash-up of images and words.

Watch it here via WMMNA

Civilization or Alpha Centuari may be announced for the Nintendo DS soon, according to the games designer Sid Meier.

Meier talks about the possibility of his famously fantastic turn-based strategy games going to the handheld in his Ask Sid feature. The occasional series lets fans submit questions to the designer.

Question: Do you have any plans to develop for the NintendoDS? Firaxis' strategy games are a natural match for the dual screen, touchscreen enabled handheld. Other strategy games such as Europe Universalis II, Age of Empires, and Command and Conquer have been announced. Civilization and/or Alpha Centuari would fit in nice.

Sid: It's certainly something we're exploring. Our goal is to make great games and deliver them to players on whatever platforms make sense for the game. I agree that the Nintendo DS would be a good match for some of our titles so stay tuned for more info. soon!

Ask Sid [Firaxis]