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Not many turn-based strategy titles, most "made badly" says Card
Posted: 28.10.2009 06:12 by Technet2k Comments: 3
Orson Scott Card has said how there aren't enough turn-based strategy games out, and he doesn't want to get locked into "endless battles." He would rather create than just war.

Card nods to Sid Meier as "the only guy" who does turn-based "reliably." More should learn lessons from the "way he does it." Others "emphasize the tedium", but not Civilization.

"I like the turn-based strategy game and there aren’t very many of those made, and most of them are made badly," bestselling author guy, Orson Scott Card, told Big Download.

"Really Sid Meier is the only guy who does it reliably. And I wish more people would learn the lessons from the way he does it. Because I’ve looked at some of the other offerings and they emphasize the tedium and the fog of war." Is he ribbing the Total War franchise?

"You have to fight these endless battles. And I don’t want to play war. I want to play Civilization. And Civilization, you have to be able to fight, you have to be prepared to fight, but the main business of Civilization is being civilized –creating stuff, building. That’s what I want to do."

Honestly what most gamers want is Sid Meier to obey his destiny, and give us a Pirates! sequel sometime in the very near future. Do agree that too many turn-based strategy games embrace 'endless' battles and war over the finer, more civilized things?

Civilization Revolution
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User Comments

By Megadeth (SI Member) on Oct 28, 2009
Megadeth
Its sad how wargamers like Card are stuck in the turned based mentality. Turned based is a boardgame mechanic, computer games don't need to follow that convention. Excellent games like the Close Combat Series, Sid Meyer's Gettysburg, X-COM apocalypse, Highway to the Reich, Hearts of Iron series, have shown wargame designers how to make real time games free of the tyranny of hexes and turns, but people like Matrix games and Card are stuck in this AH wargame design mode.

I don't consider the Total War series a wargame, but its does something that other wargames don't: tactical battles with ancient armies. The last Empire game was badly designed and shows how stale a game can get when it doesn't adapt itself to its subject matter. Sid Meyer is a design god, its a shame that there are so few out there like him. I would rather be designing strategy games myself, but the twitch market is bigger and therefore I go with the flow (of the money). I think the turn based people like Card are responsible for the strategy market become so niche, insisting that its not a strategy game unless it has turns.......
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Oct 28, 2009
herodotus
I agree there aren't many, and most of the older wargames can only be found at Matrix Games, at a bloated price. Still, Heroes of Might and Magic is still going strong.
By FoolWolf (SI Core) on Oct 30, 2009
FoolWolf
Personally I like both types, I do appreciate turn based games but I also like games like StarCraft, Dawn of War etc. I think certain elements of gameplay seems to fit different types of setups.