Sid Meier founded MicroProse together with Bill Stealey in 1982 . MicroProse is where Meier developed the game series for which he is most widely recognized, '' Civilization ''. Meier eventually left MicroProse and in 1996 founded Firaxis Games along with veteran gaming executive Jeff Briggs . Today Firaxis makes Strategy Game s, many of which are remakes of classic Meier titles, such as '' Civilization IV '' and '' Pirates! ''.
In 1999 , Meier became the second person to be inducted into the Academy Of Interactive Arts And Sciences' Hall Of Fame . The first to receive that honor was Shigeru Miyamoto from Nintendo .
Sid Meier is not always the main designer on titles that carry his name. For instance, Brian Reynolds has been credited as the primary designer behind ''Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri'' and ''Sid Meier's Colonization'' {Link without Title} {Link without Title} , while Soren Johnson held that role on ''Sid Meier's Civilization IV''. Currently Meier's role appears to be that of a creative director, simultaneously contributing to multiple projects.
Meier worked with a team on a dinosaur themed game starting early 2000 , but announced in an online development diary on January 24 , 2001 that the game had been shelved. Despite trying various approaches, including Turn-based and Real-time gameplay, he said he found no way to make the concept fun enough. In August 2005 , Meier said ''"We've been nonstop busy making other games over the past several years, so the dinosaur game remains on the shelf. However, I do love the idea of a dinosaur game and would like to revisit it when I have some time."'' {Link without Title}
Married to Susan Meier with one son, Meier makes his home in Hunt Valley, Maryland .
- Sid Meier's likeness is used in ''Sid Meier's Civilization III'' for the game's science advisor.
- The gameplay tutorial in '' Civilization IV '' is presented by a character modelled after Sid Meier and voiced by the man himself.
- Several of Sid Meier's most acclaimed games seem to have been inspired by board games designed by series), and Civilization by a board game of the same name also by Tresham. As an interesting side note, there was also a board game called "Spanish Main" by Tresham which could have been an inspiration for "Pirates!", but there seems to be no written evidence for that. Significantly, in 1998 Hartland Trefoil Ltd. was bought by MicroProse , so that any copyright issues (particularly regarding the brand name "Civilization") were settled.
Games that have been developed by Meier span three decades. Some of the more notable titles are listed below in chronological order.
- '' Spitfire Ace'' ( 1984 ) - is Sid's first game that he made while playing a major role in the game creation stage.
- '' NATO Commander'' ( 1984 )
- '' Solo Flight '' ( 1984 )
- '' Kennedy Approach '' ( 1985 ) - one of the first games to use a software voice synthesizer
- '' F-15 Strike Eagle '' ( 1985 ) - one of the first combat flight simulators
- '' Silent Service '' ( 1985 ), a World War II Submarine Simulation Game , and Meier's first foray out of flight sims.
- '' Sid Meier's Pirates! '' ( 1987 )
- '' F-19 Stealth Fighter '' ( 1988 )
- '' F-15 Strike Eagle II '' ( 1989 )
- '' Covert Action '' ( 1990 )
- '' Railroad Tycoon '' ( 1990 ), an Economic simulation game, that paints the early development of Railroad s in the United States and Europe , a time when competition between railroad companies was very fierce
- '' Civilization '' ( 1991 ), Meier's most successful game to date. It has lived through several versions (see below) and sold over 6 million copies. This game is a turn-based strategy game.
- '' Pirates! Gold '' ( 1993 )
- '' Colonization '' ( 1994 ), a turn-based strategy game themed on the early European colonization of the New World , starting in 1492 and lasting until the age of independence in 1850 . To achieve victory in this game, the player must declare independence, and win in a revolutionary war against their mother country in Europe ( France , England , The Netherlands , or Spain ).
- '' Civilization II '' ( 1996 ) A remake of Sid Meier's successful ''Civilization''; Brian Reynolds was lead designer on the game.
- '' Sid Meier's Gettysburg! '' ( 1997 )
- '' Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri '' ( 1999 ) Brian Reynolds was lead designer on this adaptation of ''Civilization'' to an outer space theme. ''Alpha Centauri'' is set in a futuristic setting on an alien world, with ideological factions substituting for civilizations. This is a much more versatile version of ''Civilization'', featuring economics and unique military customization, as well as Diplomacy .
- '' Civilization III '' ( 2001 ), a remake of his classic game with improved rules, graphics and gameplay. This is a turned-based strategy game allowing you to go from the Ancient Times to Modern Times. It features diplomacy much like that of Meier's other game, ''Alpha Centauri'', and also introduces Culture. This installment makes the Civilization series the best selling PC series to date.
- '' SimGolf '' ( 2002 ), a joint project with the Sim- masters at Maxis
- '' Sid Meier's Pirates! '' ( 2004 ), a remake of the acclaimed '' Pirates! '' game from 1987, updating the graphics and featuring some entirely new gameplay elements and an all new ballroom dancing segment.
- '' Civilization IV '', released October 25 2005 . ''Civilization IV'' is the newest game in the ''Civilization'' series. A full 3D engine replaces the Isometric maps of Civilization II and III. This installment adds the concept of Religion to the game, building upon both the Culture and Diplomacy elements from previous incarnations.
- '' Sid Meier's Railroads '' (expected Fall 2006) When Take 2 shut down Poptop and folded it into Firaxis , Meier once again became responsible for the ''Railroad Tycoon'' series, and this is billed as the sequel to '' Railroad Tycoon 3 ''.
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