As the latest Civilization V released in September 2010, Civilization series again become the hottest topic in game industry. Civ as world famous strategy game is well-known since its first version released in 1994. I was truly believed that Civilization can no doubt be one of our future canon games because of its unique game play format. It will be definitely leading the game industry in the future and no other strategy game can challenge its position.

So this report, I will try to use a simply and clear way to introduce this classic game and analyze the feature which make it as future canon game, also its potential improvements in the future with our improving technology.

Introduction

About the game

Civilization series starts from 1991 created by Sid Meier. The game’s objective is to “build an empire to stand the test of time”. With over nine million units sold worldwide, Sid Meier’s Civilization is recognized as one of the greatest strategy game of all-time. (http://www.Civilization5.com/#/information/) Its fifth full version is just released on Microsoft Window in September 2010, developed by Firaxis.

As usual, player are the ruler of the world, they make the decision. Everything starts from only one settle, by exploring, establishing new cities, developing new technology player organize their empire and try to build the most powerful Civilization ever.

In the previous Civ, players can victory the game by winning the space race or a military victory. Now cultural and technological victories are designed as well in the latest Civ V.

Genre

Civilization series are regarded as a turn-base strategy game and 4X games. 4X game means exploration, expansion, exploitation, and extermination which are a subgenre of strategy games. These kind of game are always more complex than other strategy game, they need more investment and research and usually have a technology tree. And also 4X games don’t have a scripted narrative or background story to follow, as this game play will have more freedom to make decision of all the changes in your empire.

Your empire, your story, your history

Compare with other famous game, most of them have narrative and base on the story, the game starts, but Civilization gives player a chance to write their own history. The game includes everything in the real world, diplomacy, technology, economy, government and military. Unlike being a player in a world, you are the one who play the world. It is good to be a king. Player is in control of their empire.

Different from other pc game such as World of Warcraft (world’s famous massive multiplayer online role-playing game), players in those game are just a single unit. They fight, they complete mission, and they follow the task list. But Civ allows player to be the king, the leader of their own about everything. Although Civ requires more knowledge to player on capability of overall organization, players can obtain more fun though the experiences of game play.

People like to be different from others; they want complete power of decision. Even in some scenario, they may lose the game, the game experience still let them enjoy being a king very much. You may be afraid of that how difficult to be a king without any experience in real life. Don’t worry! Civ will help you to establish the empire with all the adviser who really treat you seriously as a leader.

What make Civilization for becoming future canon game?__Unique Features

Combat System

Combat is important in strategy game especially 4X games such as Civ, because Civ allows player to win the game by conquering all the other civilizations. In Civ V, combat is much more exciting than before, as now player can not place two unit in one hexagon, that means the battle take place outside of the city and the position of each different army(unit) becomes more important than before, you have to think about their power carefully cause the balance between all armies can lead to the result of the battle.

Ranged units, like archers and catapults, can attack enemy units with two hexagons away. This will protect them from melee combat which can damage enemy units by not getting close to them and also not hurt themselves.

Unlike before, who has the best technology and stronger economy will win the battle, the new combat system are testing who can use the tactics better and who maximize the strength of each unit or avoid your army’s disadvantage to be breached. Another essential element in Civ V’s combat system is that use the terrains properly. In some circumstances, you may win a bonus by occupy a terrain during the combat, for example hills, but also you may decrease the strength by occupying a dessert or grassland.

Civ V keeps the best part of combat features before and developed them in a more effective way. They really think about how to make the war easier to control and made the battle mush more challenge and exciting, which also needs more ability of micromanagement from the player. This improves the game to a new level in the strategy game industry and change the whole game experience dramatically. Player will enjoy the combat in new Civ definitely due to these additions and eliminations of elements.

Changeable way to play

Civ is a game which let people play again and again. Because you will never meet two same situations n the game, the random-generated map makes the game dynamic all the time. Since the first Sid Meier’s Civilization released, it attracts people almost 10 years for the fact that it’s worth playing all the time. The world is completely different every time but you enjoy the same fun while you are in the game.

This random generated feature affects on all the scenery and landscape. It pushes you to make changes during the game play, and that’s the fun to play Civ which challenge you as the king of the world to deal with changeable issues.

This is the main qualification for Civ to be the future canon game in my opinion. Civ has been already played 10 years, the whole game idea didn’t change much though releasing the new generation. Why people around the world keep playing this classic turn-based game? Reason is its changing all the time and will keep changing in the future. Unlike other pc game, you level up and there is always a highest level. If you reach the highest level, the goal of playing the game suddenly disappear even the game producer adds more new item for attract you to collect or new mission into the game, there is always an end. But Civ is not like that, although game will end, you can still try different way to play next time. In Civ V, you can either achieve military victory by conquering all the other empires, science victory by building the space ship to be the first civ reach Alpha Centauri, cultural victory by acquiring five complete branches of social policies or diplomatic victory by getting enough votes to qualify you as the World Leader. Multiple paths to win the game create more possibility for the player as well. Again Civ is all about your decision, your willing. The world is on your hand.

Treat you as a real king

Players will have four advisers to assist them in every aspect. They are expert in their field, from economic, military, foreign issue to science. Each adviser will show up when they think you have to know something important at this stage. But you can ask them for advice any time you want.

This feature first showed in Civ II, as a helpful partner with players during the game play. They all concern about the empire, give their opinion on how to develop the country in their aspect. You are not alone when you play the play even though that’s your first time ever playing Civ, you will still feel confident with all four advisors.

Another interaction in Civ V is that each civilization is the game is unique and has only one leader. You may have chance to talk with other civilization’s leader dealing with foreign issue, at that time, the leader will be in a specific scene talking to you with his/her unique characteristic in their own language, which will give player a feeling that they treat you as a main leader of the world seriously. This kind of interaction in Civ really upgrades the experience of game play. You may stand with George Washington in his office together in some time.

Technology tree

Technology decides everything you can do. For instance, if you want to grow and thrive, you need to acquire the technologies of agriculture and fishing first. Country which is advance in medicine technology will be good at treat to disease.

So by researching new technology and acquire them, you can make your civilization stronger, bigger and smarter. You can not trade technologies any more, but you can make research agreements with other civilizations which will help you increase the gold. Civ V removed everything related to religion and espionage.

Multiplayer feature

Not just single player on pc, you can now try multiplayer online with global civ fans. Multiplayer games are played in simultaneous turns, which means you and your opponents take their turns as the same time. When everyone finish what they want at this turn, the turn ends and another begins. Simultaneous turns can offer players more fun but require more skill of playing civ. You are no longer fight with the artificial intelligence with computer, now you are dealing with other real leaders just like you.

Online experience offers player another fun from Civ. Competition activates players’ willing of winning. It offers stimulation for player being a king of whole world. Human are more logical than computer and more changeable, in other word, more smart. So playing with other players will have more challenge for you. It is not just a game more like a battle of everything.

(http://www.gametrailers.com/video/comprehensive-walkthrough-civilization-v/704646)

Improvements all the time

From square to hexagons

The develop team change old square tile to hexagons. Hexagon idea was inspired by the 1994 game Panzer General, according to lead designer Jon Shafer. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization_V#Development) This small change brings huge effect on the way we play Civ. It allows deeper strategy, changes the whole graphic of the game, the graphic become more realistic and organic than usual. Because square has cheap corner, it makes movement difficult. Hexagon tile provides more nature line of the terrain, which makes the world look more nature. This improvement leads to the new combat system in Civ V. It makes the battle of warfare more interesting and easier to control. You can now protect your city by placing units around.

Way to victory

Civ V gives four paths to win the game, compare with two victory ways in older version like Civ II, the addition of cultural and diplomatic victory expand the way people play the game. Players have more choice than before to focus on. “We’ve done what we can to pull all the players back into diplomacy instead of being an observer to diplomacy.” Civ V’s leader producer Shirk says. Culture and diplomacy parts become more important than before. More way to victory opens up more style of playing the game.

Although you may select one of the methods to be concentrate on developing, you can’t ignore other part. The game was built up by all four part, military, science, culture and policy. Their relationship are tight and your world will not be powerful without any of these important elements.

Graphic and interface improves

Because of new tile shape changed to hexagons in Civ V, the graphic improves a lot like I said before more nature. The game world looks like a real map. Nowadays, leading technology increases people’s expectation of everything. The amount of your unit can be recognized from the screen, which makes the battle more interesting and easy for player to know the general situation. You can see your working building the city or your army fighting against enemy. Those efficient interactions in Civ V give a good response to the player.

You can get any information you want though the interface. From map to score, advisors window to city screen. Other game information screen will tell all the useful data about how well you are doing at that moment. You can access these screens by clicking the button on the main map and also via shortcut key.

All of those information are very important to your game, they approve the data for you on whether making settings of your world. You have to keeping in touch in the infor screen because after playing Civ V for a long time, you may have several cities in your country. How to organize them properly in their different duty will impacts on the further game play for sure.

Social Policy System

The social policy system replaces the government system in Civ IV, the system contains ten branches like Liberty, Tradition, Piety etc. If you unlock the tree underneath each branch, you will have opportunity to obtain the benefits such as bonus on building wonders and can even bring you the culture victory.

Even if you are not going to win the game by culture way, the updated social policy system will still help you to develop your military process or the science path. That’s other unique feature makes Civ V different from its predecessors and other strategy game.

Reception

Civilization was named one of the sixteen most influential games in history at Telespiele, a German technology and games trade show, in 2007. No doubt, Civ II used to be one of the canon games in the game industry. Civ V met with position reception from almost all the user and game websites. Although some players complain that the new AI performs so aggressive, IGN says “This is the first Civilization for PC that is worth just about every person’s time”. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization_%28video_game%29#Reception)

Big step in future

Civilization Network is planning to develop a unique new way playing Civilization this classic strategy game via Facebook. By expanding the experience of Civ game play from single player on pc to multiplayer though internet, now they want more cooperation between players like other game on these social website.

This step may give Civilization new idea of the game play. Social game is a trend nowadays, games such as Restaurant City and Farmville attract millions of people to play everyday. Their advantage is that you interact with your friend a lot. Now we still cant imagine how multiplayer can help each other in Civ’s play, but there is a potential there which may lead Civ to a higher level by adding more element of interaction with other player not just your opponents.

Future canon game should be influence the future game industry for a long time. The only way it can keep the leader position is to make change. The game should lead other game in the time and also contain the feature at that time. It should change with the game world as well. So the potential is also one thing we are looking forward to as one of the qualifications as future canon game.

Conclusion

Sid Meier’s Civilization series absolutely influenced majority of people who play strategy game and impact on the whole game industry a lot since it first released ten years ago. It has sold over nine million units worldwide until it’s newest version pops out. We believe that with all the improvements in the future version, game can only be better as usual. As its replayable feature, player will never stop playing it as time goes by.

Human are pursuing power all the time. Civilization gives people the chance to be the king who controls the world. The game idea of Civ will never be out of time. It is qualify as a future canon game of its powerful game-play systems and dynamic game world. Civilization has already impact on the game industry before and will lead future’s for sure.

Reference

http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/215018/civilization-5/

http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/216645/civilization-v-field-report/

http://www.gamepro.com/games/pc/164456/civilization-v/

http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/215052/history-of-sid-meiers-civilization/

http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/214082/civilization-v-announced-on-next-gamepro-cover/

http://www.civilization5.com/#/information/

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-hd-civilization-v/704829

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/99021-Civilization-V-Offers-New-Strategic-Combat

http://kotaku.com/5489814/civilization-v-preview-small-changes-big-differences?skyline=true&s=i

Heavy Rain

  In these days, The development of science and technology are rapidly, everything getting more and more are close to us, the game industry has been developed intensely, the games' platform already from FC(NES) transfers to PS3,XBOX360,Wii, the games' world not only have some maps,  the game's characters not like build by some boxes, even some pixels as well. Now days a lot of games are really big, because of we’ve got strong background story, very complicated storyline and actions, crazy pictures and special effects, thousand million polygons etc... We enjoy more and more which become a king or hero, and beats all enemies to save the world just like " Final Fantasy" series, we also can became a devil to kill all human just like "Darksiders", even we can fight against with Gods to change our own fate just like "God Of War" series... Those games are really great; they can take us into experience to the totally different world. Sword and magic, Knights and Warriors, Elves and Dwarves, they are the essential elements in the mainstream games, but sometimes we will be headache and tired to play those games, so many games style like same as the others, we need attempt to create the different style game, so the "Heavy Rain" now comes out.

Story

  The story happened a town in the east coast of the Unites States, When the heavy rain fall down, the police found a 8 to 10 year old boy's body in the rain, the origami was holding their hands, the orchids put on their chest. 8 boys were killed, but no one found the killer...Ethan Mars is the protagonist during this game, he lost his son -- Jason in the accident by two year ago, when the origami killer kidnapped his second son Shaun, he swear he must save his son Shaun at any costs.

   No AWP, no Desert Eagle, no magic and no sword, no elves and dwarves, no any super power, you can't jump from this building to other building, you don't need to fight with thousand million enemies, you don't need to crack the puzzle, you don't need to wait skill cool down and you don’t have any item list as well, etc, that's means, the game hasn’t used formula styles which has been existed 20 years, the "Heavy Rain" didn't follow the same old styles. Gloomy sky and the Ordinary peoples, driving in the rain and painful Ethan, everything getting close to real and normal, strong empathy let us enter this world. This is an emotional journey, we become the inner world of characters, make a choice for them.

  

Empathy

  How to make the game more realistic? "Heavy Rain" gets crazy, the highest level of the real time rendering pictures and prolific QTE control system, is that enough? The "Heavy Rain" will tell the player:"No". What? What it can do else? The details, the people always said, the details determine success or failure. When you wake up in the morning, what will you do? In the "Heavy Rain", you need Wash your face, brush your teeth, shaving, when you go to bathing, you also need take off your cloth and pants, after a bath, you need dry your body and open the wardrobe get a new clothes. They are look really cumbersome and boring, but actually when you play this game, you don't have any maladjustment, changeable camera, characters' natural motion, pleasant voice and prolific QTE control system, let you involuntary into the character of this game. The question is "Is it really needs the play to do these general things?" when the player does like this, How much realistic level do they have? The "Heavy Rain" try to get every things have interaction and Avoid adding unnecessary challenges in the same time, this game do not have any like "control joystick failure, loading archive play again" something like that. "Heavy Rain" emphasize thing is course of the game, not the results. Does push the joystick need to skill? Of course not, is that better than pure running stages? I think so; this is manifestation of "empathy". In the game, you also can go to toilet make piss, this is one of so many things you can do and this is also one part of "empathy". If you just watch this game you may feel this game running type is really boring, but if you sitting in front of the TV and pick up the controller, you will feeling a different life. You will feel this is a real world, all characters are real alive, even you can watch and listen the characters' view when you control this character, you become this character, go where, make choice, what they do, what they talk, all from your idea, like a second life, experience this different life.

"Heavy Rain" is a dark noir game, when we play this game we will feel nervous and oppressive and because of this game is really authentic, whether its screen shot or control system or sounds, we get tired and headache when you continuous play more than 3 hours and fall in the story, so some time we need relax and let us surprise thing is "Heavy Rain" was prepared a few small game for the players, to distract the players' attention, like play the apple, play the basketball, play the boomerang and some on. The small games are everywhere, in the backyard you can play the basketball, you can found the apples from the basket in the kitchen; even you can found the boomerang in the Shaun's bag. One kind of small games the players no worry about the story, you can play these many times if you want and the games' results will not affect the after plot and if you get a great games' results, sometimes you will get the prize. Some small game is not easy can found out, you need watch carefully and try more things, this function add more pleasure for this game and make this game more plump.

Comparison

  When we talk about the "Degrees of freedom", we have to talk about the GTA. GTA is a high level about the "Degrees of freedom" game. In this game you real can do every thing if you want and you get a big map, you can kill people, you can fight with cop, you can shoot, you can drive car, motor, boat, even the helicopter, this is GTA's style "Degrees of freedom", but it's totally different with "Heavy Rain". In my opinion, GTA is more like a action game and it didn't have very clear main storyline, in the GTA, you just get many mission and you can choice one to finish it, you don't real care about the story, you just need to know the conditions to complete the mission."What also you can do in the game?" This is GTA's emphasis. If we just only talk about the "Degrees of freedom", of course GTA is the best, but in the "Heavy Rain", it tell us a different style about the "Degrees of freedom", "What are you usually do in the normal day?" So we control the characters to brushing, wear the clothes, make up the face, and take care the children. Because of "Heavy Rain" get a very clear main storyline, in this game everything is work for it, so we don't need extra things, like big real city, if we get that, it must be affect the whole story's rhythm, it's not mean "Heavy Rain" just have few stages, on the contrary, this game have more than 70 stages, they just separate them, this effect is obvious. GTA can do everything in the city(but not details, like drive the car, you just get in and control the direction, you don't adjust the rear view mirror and put down the handbrake and push the car stalls), "Heavy Rain" can do everything in the small stage, it got many details. The other biggest difference between GTA and "Heavy Rain" is game idea. In the GTA, we can experience "What is freedom", we felt cheerful and comfortable. But in the "Heavy Rain" the players can really felt "What is the humanity" or "Moral and legal in front of the son's life, which one you want choice?" or "What is purely about a father's love" we can't arbitrary determine this is right or that is wrong in this game, that is just a matter of viewpoint. We can learn something from the "Heavy Rain", it's just like a emotional journey when you play this game. In my opinion, GTA like burgers and chips, you can eat everywhere and eat very quickly if your want. But the "Heavy Rain" just likes authentic French cuisine that you'd better sitting in a quiet environment and the taste of a mouthful slowly, savoring the taste of the inside. It’s not mean "Heavy Rain" is better than GTA, just like most people cannot refuse the burgers and chips or the authentic French cuisine's temptation, they all delicious, just a different type for you.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_rain