Greatest mighty clever game of all time? Dominions 4 & 5. Okay, so that's two games, but more or less just one.

The Civ Series’ Designers & What They’ve Done for Us Lately

So let's take a look back through the annals of the great Sid Meier's Civ series and see who the designers were and what they are up to right now. First thing to note is the interesting curse or blessing where in the designers who get the big chair as lead designer of a given Civ game make their rendition and then promptly leave the company. True of three of them anyway. Let's wind it back from Civ V:

Civ V - John Shafer - 2010
This guy designed a beloved mod of of Civ III in high school, then became a beta tester and coder/designer for Civ IV expansion: Warlords and Beyond the Sword (what some, okay I, see as the pinnacle of the Civ series.) When he got the chance to design Civ V (he was only, like, 24) he brought hexes, killing the stack of doom probably forever. We also minor civs and...a bunch of other stuff.

The big knock against the glossy Civ V with the approachable interface and gameplay was that the AI simply couldn't fight a war without the stack of doom of old. Couldn't play the theoretically cool tactical war game that the Panzer-Core-inspired hex map seemed to offer. The expansion Brave New World, however may have obviated the problem somewhat, by making all kinds of other victory conditions interesting, and with it bringing an interesting late game to the franchise (a first, one could easily argue). As I celebrate in my June 2 post, the expansion generally made cultural, espionage and diplo features, not just an adjunct to the inevitable military contest that you were a lock to win (or lose) 25% of the way through your many hour game, but real victory conditions that changed the way you approached the game.

The other thing to say about Civ V is that it brought real differentiation to at least some of the civs. Though the constant schilling of downloadable civs and other content a la Paradox games bummed me right out. Still, it's a big deal that tourism and cultural features make these kinds of games really real and bring a more global political vibe to the series that previously remained a longed for potential of the series.

So where is John Shafer now? His first move was to go to Stardock, the kingdom of Brad Wardell. Wardell likes Meier's talent. (More on this in the Soren section.) That partnership was short lived, however and about a year ago he started a little 3-4 person company called Conifer, and kicked up a Kickstarter to make a game called At the Gates.

The game to anticipate : At the Gates is a turn based 4X 'survival' game, presently well overdue of it’s 2014 kickstarter delivery date. It brings to the 4X turned based strategy genre some big new ideas: it has seasons and perhaps more interesting efforts at econ. You play as a barbarian tribe during the fall of the Roman Empire and can decide to battle or ally with the creaking empire. As a nomadic tribe, winter weather can starve you and keep you on the move. Other new stuff are tribal or family alliances that link to skill trees. The game is now playable in early access and is meant to arrive late 2015. You can check it out at the link below. Jon likes to talk, and especially write about design, back to his mod and forum days. There is plenty to read, a two hour intro...and he has a podcast about design. I think he is better to read (read scan) than to listen to. A monotone, has he. Earnest chap. I’m rooting for him. http://www.atthegatesgame.com/

Hello, my long neglected earholes! (Eyeholes?) Casting around for something clever to say about games, I net only this:

Is it possible that Civ V, Brave New World fulfills the long dreamt of notion of global politics in a civ game? It is a thing dearly to be wished. First flush indicators are rosy. Playing one or two full, peaceful toursim vic to completion, there was much manipulation of city states, voting meaningfully in the council and delicate manipulation of conflict to maintain a docile block of support whilst infultrating all with horrible burgers and that racket of rock and roll music. Also espionage and religion that was fun. In short: suspension of disbelief was a reliable chassis opon which to build the car of my booming civ, which I piloted through an overarching world domination to a culture vic. It felt as if this was only possible through a strategy made up of global political manipulation, sans very much warfare. Encore! But, can it last?

Other questions: can we play the multiplayer without abandoning the thoughtful decision making that is at the core of the actual pleasure of civ games (and without laying waste to the contentment of our fellow co-op mates, who must wait for our discernment to run it's course?) Is the combat ai still broken? Does this matter? Exactly how many cities are justifiable if you are playing 'tall?' These and other questions may be solve-ed in subsquent episodes of CIV V: A BRAVE NEW WORLD!

MIGHTY CLEVER BOOK
Playing at the World. This book and this interview are so very good, it makes the Mighty Clever Gamer physically ill, that's how good they are
:
Playing at the World by Jon Peterson.

Here is the man, laying it down to the brain surgeon, Bruce Geryk and the Doctor of History, Troy Goodfellow on the old Three Moves Ahead:
http://www.idlethumbs.net/3ma/episodes/playing-at-the-world

If "understanding is a form of ecstasy" then Mr. Peterson has been assembling and is now distributing the finest store of crack we have possibly ever seen. What an act of research, where he follows the geneology of not of tropes or bloodlines, but of game mechanics, the moving parts that comprise games. ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥! Demand that your library gets a few copies.

There are a number of interesting games out right now for the Mighty Clever Gamer. FTL: faster Than Light is a crazy little rogue-like/strategy game set in space with simple graphics and elegantly combined systems. Firaxis' XCOM: Enemy Unknown seems to have passed the test for many people of iterating on a classic and a very-most-favorite-game-ever for those who have playing seriously for over 20 years. You can read good things about it from the wicked wasp of games journalism, Tom Chick, here: http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2012/10/16/the-xcom-enemy-unknown-review-that-took-18-years-to-write/ I am really interested in his Pomo/New Journalism way of approaching this review and love the direction it points for creatively interacting with games.

You can also listen about XCOM, Enemy Unknown here: http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2012/10/01/three-moves-ahead-episode-188-we-will-be-watching-commander/
and here:
http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2012/10/15/three-moves-ahead-episode-190-the-xcom-review-show/

Then there is Mark of the Ninja, a stealth game that people seem to feel has really broken new ground. It has a crazy metacritic score. It seems stylishly indie and elegant.

Speaking of those descriptors, another mighty clever game is Thirty Flights of Loving from Blendo, makers of the weirdo-kistch, artful freebee short game called Gravity Bone. Play free here: http://gravity-bone.en.softonic.com/

...wow do I follow Three Moves slavishly? Seems I do. What can I say, they've steered me right many, many a time.

A few words on The Deep End. It's not a new game. The deep end is the end of the pool for adults. It's for those who are serious. The deep end in our idiom, however, is also a place that one can "go off." That means the person has gone so far with his deep end as to be wacko, crazy, bonkers...as you Brits say, he's lost the plot.

There is a deep end to games. It's more of a massive or several massive deep water reefs where all sorts of exotic things grow and strange and awesome things happen. The deep end often requires a kind of eonic heft of time for things to develop. Seems to be a key ingredient. When you discover a piece of it, it's astonishing and it feels like a privilege.

I am more an observer of the deep end(s) and its denizens than a card carrying member: a visitor, an enthusiast, a flaneur, an aficionado...even a booster. But I'm a reluctant specialist. So I generally take a lap through the deep end, and bring goggles to gaze at the crazy ♥♥♥♥ they built up on the bottom.

Random egs of the deep end: Dwarf Fortress. It's maker, Tarn Adams, is an emperor of the lands in yonder deep end. Believe it: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/magazine/the-brilliance-of-dwarf-fortress.html?pagewanted=all . Eve Online. Some of you have frequented those waters. How about folks who do simulcasts of the fictitious sporting event Bloodbowl to glorify the league they play in, complete with interviews with coaches and craven species of bloodthirsty fans, sound effects, music? Arma has a major deep end that I've only heard about, a simulation that begins to approach the planning and application of actual military maneuvers. Seems like someone has figured out how to build computers with the mechanisms of builder games like Dwarf Fortress, Mine Craft and Terrieria. What? How? The hinkiness and detail of Men of War: Assault Squad engenders the commitment that is the essential ingredient for deep water dwelling. Bet AI War has a great deep end, too.

But then there are deep-enders everywhere for nearly every game. The forum people, the 100 episode you tube let's play folks, the wiki makers and the modders. Hell, if you play your average Paradox game and you are not a deep ender, you are probably kind of missing a fair part of the experience. I think some of the best gaming experiences, esp in strategy games, involve interacting with the hard core folks. More power to game developers who take that into account.

There is a tendency to dismiss the whole rich region with some hand waving about those folks have no life or too much time or what not. Bullcrap. These folks just kept going where other folks went home and their passion makes folks defensive. I say viva the deep end and it's weirdo citizens. What goes on down there is rich, unexpected, complex and full or heart.

The Mighty Clever community would like to welcome another member, Grenal Spark, into the world of Company of Heroes. That makes at least 6 of our happy few.

In related news we are pleased to witness the usurpation of MW3 by that mighty clever chestnut: Sins of a Solar Empire in the most played standings. This most recent incarnation adds some wrinkles, but it is really just nice to get back to the core game again.

It would appear that cleverness is on the rise. And a fine thing it is.

800 years. That's how much time MW3 racked up in mulitplayer user playtime, in it's first day of release. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/326425/modern-warfare-3-sets-5-day-entertainment-sales-record/

Strong reccommendation for skype for the rest of your life and teamspeak 3, yes definitely teamspeak 3 for your gaming life. Check it out lads, you don't have to listen to ole Known breathing in your ear and I don't have to hear your interesting emmissions. There is excellent mic tuning on set up. State of the art clarity. Ability to record in there, also can stream from teamspeak. Helpful admins (least I found one) on a welcoming server called Wargame labs. We can meet there for a start. Heavily grognardian (arma, Il Sturmovic). But it's a world out there...

Get teamspeak 3 for free, me droogs.

"One of the best looking shooters of the year." -PC Gamer
Free. Here:
https://account.hirezstudios.com/tribesascend/?ad=1&utm_source=Liquid&utm_medium=Adwords&utm_campaign=Adwords
...downloading now.

What horror is this? MW3 dominates playtime of the Mighty Clever Gamers? I thought you were the best. Well there is little to be done. Will post my view of the game here as penance.

Sit tight, kiddies. If this stuff can already do what it is doing...and maybe solve the riddle of the universe into the bargain, I bet it could make a pretty nifty game, the likes of which we have never seen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60P7717-XOQ

What Makes for a Great Game - 1st draft

1) It raises your heart rate from time to time.
2) You think about it when you are not playing it.
3) It engenders emergent stories in your brain. (When you are writing dialogue in your geeky head while playing a game, you know you are playing a great game.)
4) It benefits/calls for a planning and an execution.
5) Teamwork is real - often best with different roles that fit together as pieces of a whole. Communication is baked into execution.
6) The learning phase of the game is fascinating.
7) It makes you cry. (Admittedly still rare.)
8) An impassioned community sprouts around a game with attendent learning/discussion around strategy but also: history, math, sciences. Also of course modding, fiction, art, file/game sharing and sub communities for joint participation.
9) You can study it.
10) You inhabit it's systems as if you were a part of it's world.

...a personal list and may be remixed or added to. I invite you to make your own.

LoL: League of Legends. Good, free to play, heavily populated, documented, balanced, updated game.

Freebee, not to be missed. Sword of the Stars, the original game, gratis.
http://www.anpdm.com/newsletterweb/45475A4774444B5842704743/4142504775414658437042415A43

Armaggedon Empires is easily one of the best strategy games I have ever played. As an emergent story engine, it is the best game I've played. Also, great AI, each game differrent. All conventions of the genre (4X, turn based strategy) re-invented and re-modeled. One more turn syndrome. Real decisions. Inherently/easily modable. I have more on this...

I will buy everything Vic Davis does does on the strength of this game. Link below. Maybe I will bloviate with great vigor about this game in a future post...

http://www.crypticcomet.com/games/AE/armageddon_empires.html

Definitely renews my trust that strategy games can fulfill all the potential that one senses they have.

This sale is sick. I eyeball: Sanctum, BF2 (again), Dawn of War II...Deus Ex etc. etc. Would strongly consider Magicka if one or two of ya'lls wanted to clan up and co-op it.

Good strategy games abounding on the cheap.

X-com titles for $1.24 on Impulse
This is a revered series. From wikipedia, in reference to the first release, which was re-titled X-com: UFO defense:
"Often voted as a best video game of all time: "twice #1 IGN's list of Top 25 PC Games of All Time (2007) (2009), #2 Best Video Games Since 1992 by Pelit (2007), #3 & #11 Top 50 Games of All Time PC Gamer (2001) (2010), and #3 Best Games of All Time by Computer Gaming World (2001)[2]"

The short answer is: just buy X-com: UFO defense.

Frozen Synapse
Okay, it's not on sale anymore at Impulse, so one can get it on Steam. If you wanna go halvsies, I'm in. (Comes w\a free copy for a chum.) This just looks cool. Also:
http://flashofsteel.com/index.php/2010/05/05/three-moves-ahead-episode-63-frozen-synapse/

Dawn of War II, vanilla & Chaos Rising for $20
Not too bad.

Crysis II on Impulse for 50% off
Ok, this may not be a major thinker, but Crysis was the last FPS single player that did it 4 me.

By the by, in case there is any confusion, all are invited -nay, encouraged- to leave comments here! :)

Other cool games that I resist due to an abstemiousness both internally and externally imposed: Frozen Synapse (oh, dear me, Frozen Synapse), The Operation Art of War III ("Every war gamer must own," Troy Goodfellow.), Shogun Total War (really? Well, yeah, Bill Abner seems to think it's changed the call on the TW series. Really? Yes. Reeaaaaally? Well maybe not, no, but...), expansions to AI War*, War in the East*, Arma II*, Hearts of Iron III*, Dawn of War II, and that one other game...

*= If there were all the time in the world and more.
note: final handful of games presently on sale on Impulse.

ps- that one other game was Men of War Assault Sqaud.
pps-seems to be kind of a "war" theme going on here.

LA Noire in the Frackin Spotlight

http://features.metacritic.com/features/2011/la-noire-inside-th e-reviews/

One of the unique things about this "different, meditative, slow, thinking" game about a 1950's noir LA is that facial motion capture has been done with real actors (including, I guess, an actor from Mad Men) and that reading faces is part of the gameplay. You need to pick up if someone is hiding something, if they are feeling threatened, maybe even if they are in love as they claim to be. The clips I've seen reveal a kind of hyper real situation where faces seem to hover in the video game environs. Not saying this is a design flaw, but it can be uncanny.

LA Noire (cont.)

One of the not-unique things about this Rockstar game is that just moving around the environment is a big, incredible part of the experience. Previously that had been Modern LA (a few of the Grand Theft Auto's), Bush era New York (GTA IV) and the wild west (Red Dead Redemption). In each case, people would talk about "just driving around town," bcs. the world was such an amazing place to inhabit and see. Working radios, snatches of conversations among random passers by, every block or copse a unique, inhabitable place with the time of the day and weather all adding a sense of mood, of "being there." Only this time, it's the 50's, it's LA, it's noir. What, I ask you, is not to like?

Dislaimer: LA Noire is not released on PC and therefore will not be played by me.

The recent episode (#117) of Three Moves Ahead addresses Civ V & it's patches. I found myself surprised to hear that they were STILL PLAYING CIV V. I don't know if my view has rigidified or what, but it does seem to me that it's a simple line. Either the recent Civ is broken and the AI can't play the game or it is fixed and we can enter the wonderland made new, release the heavy baggage of dissapointment and play a whole new kind of Civ! But if it ain't fixed...jeez. Why not just play Civ IV, which still contends for the best game ever?

The podcast doesn't provide a clear answer. What it does do is inform us that Troy Goodfellow has played 200+ hours of the imposter. We also learn that the AI still has it's head up it's ass when it's near a coastline. Also, the ai is better. It's better. Mhmm. So...

SO HOW MUCH BETTER?!!?? I may need to go back, swallow hard on my resentment for only owning maybe half the civs (bcs I only bought the $65 game, so ♥♥♥♥ me) and find out for myself.

Under a Star Filled Sky is available on Steam for 7 bucks and change. This is a no brainer for the mighty clever set.

World of Tanks. MMOTG. Massive Multiplayer Online Tank Game? Free? How are we not already doing this? Are we not men? Are we asleep? Have we somehow lost the will to rock? I ask you, gentlemen.

From FAQ:

"What genre does World of Tanks belong to?

World of Tanks is a huge mixture of multiple genres. First of all this is a global-scale MMO action game. Besides, there’s a combination of other genres, which are FPS, RTS, RPG, and the simulator."

So, uh...tout suite, forthwith, poste haste and the like, no?

Civ V Patch released today. Looks like some tactical AI fixes. Wonder if it works now?

I'm aware of mixed opinions amongst we happy few. For my part, I am in the "the AI cannot play the game Firaxis produced" camp. When the last patch came out, I checked in and trusted the advice of this old diehard/forum maven of series, Sulla:

http://www.garath.net/Sullla/Civ5/whatwentwrong.html

I took his word that the game was 'still broken.' I would love it if something substantial changed or I turned out to be wrong...

Note: Metro 2033 received praise from the ludoratti for it's use of bullets as currency and it's intense game world, and...some unique realism hit that I don't recall exactly. Not a perfect game, they said, but it was a unique, thinking shooter. It's now $10 on sale at Steam.

Would like to, but I think I may not buy it bcs. I gotta be discerning with these endless nickel and dime offers that are always beckoning. Having said that, Dawn of War (one), the semi-complete back was a major score on Impulse the other week for peanuts. My main game right now. Relic is clearly at the tops.

Speaking of Dragon Age Legends (the actual name of Soren J's Facebook game), it behooves me to go check that game out. Reason being it is the best example I know of for inspecting the front lines of the battle over social games.

To recap, all real gamers hate social games, apparently for good reason. They are as shallow as water puddling on formica. They have creepy monetization schemes. They force you to stop playing them. They try to exploit your friendships by using the player as a viral marketing node, all 2.0-like. Meanwhile they're making gagillions.

Then, there is a brain drain of gaming luminaries- selling out & getting paid to turn coat over to that arena. Soren, Steve Meretzky & Brian Reynolds are 3 prime examples.

But maybe it isn't that simple. Maybe social games could use great game producing minds to improve them. Maybe they could be made deeper and more interesting. While they are different by their nature, does that mean they must suck?

I should play DAL...

Question: who is your favorite games critic? Seems like that question ought to be busted out into categories, but for now, let's just go with favorite critic with an emphasis on interesting advice on what to play. 

For me, it's an impossible question and I flatly refuse to answer. But one guy that comes to mind is Rob Zacny. He thinks in paragraphs, conveys a picture, likes words, reflects on history and has some wit. He's a decent chap and quite sharp. And, his genre of concentration is strategy. 

He took over hosting duties at Three Moves Ahead after Troy left and he's brought in a lot of talented or even luminary brains to talk. Brad Wardell, dude from Paradox, Bill Abner and Soren Johnson (which he doesn't actually get any credit for, bcs Soren has been shillin' like a villain since the launch of Dragon Age, Facebook, whatever it's called...

Chris Crawford claims to have known 3 geniuses. One is Ken Wright (The Sims, Spore). The other two are Alan Kay and Randall Smith. The first two have given Ted Talks. Chris Crawford (above winner of holy cow award) does not beleive himself to be a genius, but merely brilliant. I don't guess he's too far off.