New Landscape....

Game 3 is officially underway. Although I had started it when I was getting bored with the 2nd game, this game now has all of my focus. This time I have decided “randomly” choose a landscape. When I saw randomly I ran my finger up and down the list with my eyes shut and where I stopped is what I choose… I want to see if Diamond’s theory that people on the east/west axis along were Mesopotamia lied was holds to be true in the game of Civilization. People are born into their environment, like the people of Papua New Guinea in Diamond’s book- Guns, Germs and Steel. So I decided I would randomly choose my landscape. It will be a neat experiment to keep in mind while playing this game. I have been given the landscape of an “archipelago.” And it is different already. All of you neighbors are not necessarily on the same landmass on you. Which is a lot different from my previous games and already pretty weird. Because of this I have already began to focus on cities along the water and building all types of boats to strengthen a future navy because of this. I figure trade via water and protection is all going to occur through the use of ships, by developing this early I give myself an advantage in this new landscape.

Finally Finished

I have finished another game of civilization. I am really excited to be able to start a new game because I really do find the end of the game more boring the rest. Yes you get to get ‘Rock and Roll” and start to introduce Broadway plays, you city takes on a new look in the form of a New York Skyline, but the city and foundations are built, there is not really any new land to go discover or take. It just simply gets rather dry. I have started a new game and it has caused me to reflect on the beginning of this game. It is interesting though looking back on the game how other civilizations around you have changed. Or me civilizations that once rivaled mine at the start of the game either are no longer a threat or have been taken over. And once small civilizations that posed no threat are now my biggest competitor. It is funny how things change. On to the new game…

Industrialization

My civilization is thriving economically and trading with neighboring nations. One could say that I have strong economy. I am the richest civilization in the game, and other leaders tend to listen to me when I ask them to do something. In the game we industrialize our cities and create new technologies throughout the game. However there is a specific turning point where the more modern we become the quicker we are able to acquire new materials, technology and infrastructure. Our cities that were once small and condense expand exponentially before our eyes as a direct result of industrialization.

There was a point in time, which I had reached twice in the game where I reached the “Industrial Revolution” era in the game. To me it seemed to come out of the blue. Historically it occurred rather quickly also, however it took years to happen. Civilizations long before the Middle Ages had the technology that they would be discovering during the Industrial Revolution, it is just that these societies choose not to focus on these things. The game from this point on changes drastically is large part because of the discovery of new technologies. According to Heilbroner, “It is indicative of the lack of interest attached to productive technology that so simple and important an invention as the horse collar had to wait the Middle Ages for discovery; the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, who were capable of a magnificent technology of architecture, were simply not concerned with the technique of ever day life itself.” (61). In the Industrial Revolution we see the switch from the focus on everyday life techniques to a focus to invention, new technology and things that will make a drastic change in production.


Work Cited:

Heilbroner, Robert and William Milberg. The Making of Economic Society. New Jersey:

Pearson. 2002.

Okay, So I am getting frustrated with Civilization. I don’t know if it is because I have been playing it for two months and am getting tired of the same thing over and over again. I am finding that I am getting into a rut while playing the game using the same tactics throughout. In fact in order to make things interesting I have to come in with a focus or goal to get something done. Otherwise I get to caught up all of the hustle and bustle with multiple cities, explores, ships and settlers. All of it can be quite overwhelming when asked what you want to do with each individual EVERY turn. I have found that I need to slow done and realize I do not need to have a move for every player every time but it is more important to think individual moves through making sure it will benefit the civilization and economy to the fullest extent possible. I think maybe next time I begin the game I am going to start on an Island or something to see how far I get, a new landscape would shake things up a bit......