Better Know Sid MeierThere are few people who can truly stand shoulder to shoulder with Sid Meier. Will Wright and Shigeru Miyamoto come to mind, but the list is a short one indeed. The Director of Creative Development at Firaxis is best known as the creator of the Civilization franchise and many have referred to him as the "Godfather of Computer Gaming." In 2008, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized Meier for having earned the most video game awards in the history of the industry.
IndustryGamers, in its continuing "Better Know" series with industry luminaries, is proud to present you with this Sid Meier Q&A. We talked with the 30-year games veteran about his career, his inspirations, advice for aspiring designers and more.
IndustryGamers: You've been in the games industry for a long, long time. What are some of the most interesting observations you've made over the last 30 years as the business of games evolved?
Sid Meier: I’ve always claimed that games will someday take over the world and from where things sit today, that seems to be happening. There are so many different gaming platforms and a constant stream of new games for players to enjoy in any way they choose, which is great for gamers.
Creatively, we’re still faced with the same fun challenges we had in the past…to make a really cool and engaging game experience for the targeted platform. I think now is one of the most exciting times to be a game designer. With the rapid growth of social network games there are new opportunities for smaller indie developers to make and distribute games, so we’re seeing a wider variety of games on all kinds of cool devices than ever before. That’s great for the whole industry.
IG: What would you say the proudest moment of your career is and what's your biggest regret?
SM: When you work together with a team of people over several years to create a new game, the time at which it is released to the public is always a very proud moment – and even after 30 years of releasing games, I’m just as proud each time we launch a new title. It’s great to make something that will go out into the world and bring many hours of fun to people. As far as regrets, I truly feel like the luckiest person in the world to be able to come to work every day and make games, so how could I possibly have any regrets?
IG: Who has been your biggest inspiration in the games industry and why?
SM: Some of the game designers who have inspired me over the years are Dani Bunten, creator of The Seven Cities of Gold – the first open ended adventure game, Will Wright – Simcity was the first “God Game” and it set the stage for Civilization, and Bruce Shelley, one of my early design partners at Microprose who went on to found Ensemble Studios and create the Age of Empires series – one of the greatest RTS games ever made.
"I can’t see myself doing anything other than making games. It’s what I really love to do."
And then there are games I wish I had thought of first like Guitar Hero – that’s a game that hits all sorts of right notes (no pun intended) in how it opens up the creativity and joy of music to a huge number of people who might not have had access to that before. It’s always inspiring to see developers take a great idea and make it a hit game.
IG: It seems like many traditional game designers are migrating into social gaming. You've been working on CivWorld, your old friend Brian Reynolds has been at Zynga for some time, and there are many other examples. Is this the new frontier? Is social gaming here to stay, or will the 'bubble burst' as some critics have predicted?
SM: Facebook has become an exciting new place to play games and we felt that we could create a fun and engaging Civilization experience for the platform, so we made a prototype and went from there. There are hundreds of millions of people on Facebook and it looks like they’re going to stay around for a while. The good news for all of us is that there are many different ways to play games today and all of them can happily exist together, so I don’t see a reason to predict the end of social games any time soon.
IG: Tell us something about yourself that most people in the industry don't know.
SM: Along with making games, my other passion in life is music. I enjoy singing and playing the keyboard and guitar – and I’m the music director for my church.
IG: What excites you most about the industry today?
SM: How widespread gaming has become in terms of geography, demographics, devices and content. There are so many great ways to enjoy games, and as an avid gamer and game designer, that’s really exciting.
IG: Many developers in recent years have lamented the incredibly long work hours and crunch time on some projects, which have been necessitated in part by consumers' ever growing expectations and ballooning game budgets. So what advice would you have for students and entry-level designers trying to get a foothold in this industry?
SM: If you love what you do, then the hard work isn’t so bad. It’s very important to get a good well-rounded education and combine that with the skill (art, programming, design etc.) you want to bring to game development. Particularly for designers, a broad education will help fuel the creativity behind new game ideas. And, start making games as soon as you can on your own. Showing a potential employer what you can do is much more powerful than telling them.
IG: Your contemporary Will Wright has moved on to work on entertainment other than games, producing a show for Current TV. Do you see yourself ever moving into other work, sort of tangentially to games?
SM: I have lots of hobbies I enjoy, but in terms of work, I can’t see myself doing anything other than making games. It’s what I really love to do.
IG: What's next for Sid Meier? Will you continue to work on Civ, go back to some of your older IP or perhaps create a new property?
SM: I’m still pretty busy working on CivWorld, but I do have some new things I’d like to start working on as soon as I have some free time, so stay tuned.
IG: What does your future for the games industry look like?
SM: The gaming world will continue to grow and expand to innovative platforms that deliver new experiences to players from all walks of life. And all of these fun ways to play games will coexist so that those of us who love to play games will have lots of great options available wherever and whenever we want to play.
IG: Thank you Sid.
