Sid Meier is likely a name known to many gamers – not least because dozens of games bear his name and have a large fanbase. On the occasion of the anniversary of his famous Civilization series, the game maker recently spoke about the industry’s problems and about good games.
Who is the legend? Sid Meier is one of the most important game makers of the last few decades. His most famous works include the Civilization series and the well-known “Sid Meier’s Pirates!”
He has been working in the gaming industry since 1982 and has founded several studios. In his portfolio, he can count over 50 games during this time, in which he has participated or that even bear his name.
In an interview with BBC, Meier spoke on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Civilization about what makes good games – and why developers should pay attention to where they focus their efforts.
Studios like Ubisoft, for example, are fully embracing the NFT trend, and that is exactly what is dangerous, says Meier. The focus on monetization misleads studios.
“If you don’t have good gameplay at the core, it simply doesn’t work”
This is what Meier says: According to Meier, the great challenge in game development is to choose the right focus. It should always be on gameplay – that is what is special and appealing about video games:
If we forget that and decide that monetization or other non-gameplay-focused [things are more important], if we forget to make good games and think of games as a vehicle or an opportunity for something else, then we go off track.
People may assume that a game will be good and fun and that what it needs for success are cinematics or monetization or whatever. But if the core is not there, with good gameplay, then it won’t work.
Gameplay isn’t even the biggest hurdle for a game or costly at all. It doesn’t require a “crew of thousands” for this and that is exactly why it’s easy to overlook. But there are so many distractions that it is necessary to make good games to keep gamers engaged.
The fact that Meier specifically addresses monetization is, according to BBC, related to the new NFT trend. Many studios are currently trying to attract players and encourage investment.
What are NFTs? Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are like digital trading cards. Virtual items are uniquely made over a blockchain and thus become objects that players can trade directly.
The idea behind this is that gamers actually “own” their items through NFTs. In our article, we explain to you in detail, what NFTs are and why they cause such controversy.
The trend among developers and influencers has been growing since 2021. There has been and continues to be trouble with fraudsters exploiting the system and profiting at others’ expense. Among other reasons, this is why the topic is so controversial and many gamers resist it. However, MeinMMO author Maik Schneider has a different opinion:
The harsh criticism of NFTs in gaming is unfair – They are more than microtransactions
By the way, Meier has no plans to retire just yet. Perhaps with his works he can indeed help other studios return to the “right path”.
