Fade-in to a corner pub circa 1982. In the corner of the old bar stands an air combat arcade game. Sid and his friend Bill Stealey, a former military pilot, were enjoying a cold one. Bill, thinking of his real life experience, challenges Sid to game or two, or 10. Bill coolly walked across the 
sticky floor and won the first game. And then Sid won the next and the next. Bill was flabbergasted! “The enemy AI is so predictable, I’m sure I can design a better one,” Sid said. “If you can, then you have a job!” exclaimed Bill. And so Microprose was founded. Oh, how I wish I was in that bar with Sid Meier.
Sid’s game, Solo Flight was released in 1982, along with his first fighter game Hellcat Ace. Sid honed his skills at authoring several flight simulations over the next several years, including Spitfire Ace, F-15 Strike Eagle I, II & III, Acrojet, Gunship, F-19 Stealth fighter, Night hawk 117a, and Gunship 2000. In the 1980s and 1990s many gamers craved flight sims with some degree of realism, but which were still playable and fun. Sid’s work fitted that model quite well. I have great memories of unwrapping my F-15 Strike Eagle and launching Gunship on my Atari 800 and Atari ST. To this day you can see the evolution of Sid’s work in any flight simulator on the market.
Although Sid’s flight sims sold well, his first big hit came with his WWII submarine simulator Silent Service. In this game you were the captain and crew of a WWII attack submarine. Through the interface you controlled the whole ship. I loved the game because it didn’t sacrifice fun for realism. In a real sub a captain could spend hours or days setting up for his torpedo salvo. Silent Service spared us the boredom while giving us the thrill of a burning tanker or the terror of trying to evade a depth charge attack. Later, Sid would produce Silent Service II, which included a campaign mode. His other submarine simulation Red Storm Rising was a modern day sub simulation based on Tom Clancy’s best selling book. In this game you commanded a nuclear attack sub, and Sid allowed you do everything from destroying land targets with tomahawk missiles to engaging in sub-to-sub warfare.
You felt like you played a big part in stalling the communist invasion depicted in Tom Clancy’s book. Just thinking about this game makes me want to dig it up and play it again. It was a truly outstanding piece of work.
Sid also became involved in converting strategy board games to the computer. Before the computer became king, complicated strategy board games were widespread. Many of the programmers of that time had played these games and there was interest in converting them for computers. Sid’s first stab at this genre was Nato Division Commander 1985. Many felt that this game was extremely complicated and had a steep learning curve. Sid did other board game conversions; Crusade in Europe and Decision in the Desert were simpler and, in the opinion of many gamers, more fun to play. When looking back, it seems that this is the time when Sid realized fun, not realism is what most gamers crave. That led him to write one of his most popular titles ever – Pirates.
Oh how I wish I was in the bar that day when Sid came up with the Pirates idea! Pirates has a little bit of Action /Adventure, Strategy, early Real Time Strategy, and Role Playing. Recently it was reincarnated on the Xbox and my son and I enjoyed playing it all over again. Sid’s genius comes in with his basic idea, military fighting pirates = boring – being a Pirate = fun! Few games appeal to all, but if there is a game most people enjoy playing, it’s Pirates. If you are interested in adventure and haven’t played Pirates yet then run out and grab a copy. You won’t be disappointed.
Sid was inspired by Will Wright’s Sim City and decided to make Railroad Tycoon. The goal in Railroad Tycoon was to build, manage and expand a railroad. Wikipedia calls it “an economic simulation and a strategy game.” The game has had great success and has many sequels, including Railroad Tycoon 4 slated for release this fall. Many of the features of the original Railroad Tycoon show up in Sid’s greatest game – Civilization (1991), the title for which he is probably best known.
According to Wikipedia, Sid borrowed many technology tree ideas from a board game by the same name published in the UK in 1980 and by Avalon Hill in 1981. Civilization is a turn-based strategy game in which you attempted to take a group of settlers all the way to the space colonization age. Along the way there are other leaders to conquer and technologies to discover. The game has stood the test of time by being continually for sale and expanded upon for 15 years. The latest incarnation, Civilization IV is published by Sid’s Company – Firaxis software. Sid also made a space based game similar to Civilization called Alpha Centauri (1999).
Sid Meier’s more notable releases, as listed in the Wikipedia entry:
- 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 railroads 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 Antietam! (1998)
- 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 Software 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.
There are few in the gaming business that have the creativity seen from Sid Meier. The Academy of 
Interactive Arts and Science voted him into its "Hall of Fame," and in 2002, he was honored with an induction into the Computer Museum of America's Hall of Fame. I doubt Sid was in that bar, heck I don’t even know if he drinks. I do know that he has fed my gaming appetite since there was something upon which to play games. So today, I raise my glass to a brilliant game designer. Long live Sid Meier!
More info at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Meier
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