Civilization IV as a Game of Strategy

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This paper is dealing with the extent to which Civilization is viewed as a game of strategy. This includes expounding on the whole issue of what a strategy is. This paper also has an explanation of how knowledge of the literature on strategy affects one’s experience of the perception of the play. This also includes how one’s experience and perception of play affects how one understands the entire literature on strategy.

A strategy can be described as a plan of action that is quite a long term in nature that is normally designed so that a particular goal can be achieved. In most cases, a strategy makes a problem easier to understand and also easier to solve. A winning strategy is quite different from immediate actions or tactics by the resources that one has (Dore, 1995).

The word strategy comes from a Greek word called Strategos. This is also derived from two words, namely; ago and Stratos. In this case, Stratos means army while ago means leading according to the ancient Greek. Therefore, strategos refers to the military commander in the era of Athenian Democracy. Strategy is also known to be the entire subcomponent to tactics when carrying out. It is quite adaptable in nature (Ackoff, 1970).

This can be clearly elaborated by having the scenario of a football match. This is whereby the team organizes such that the ball is passed in a particular sequence amongst the players. This clearly indicates that the success is based on how the players are placed, and they have to know to who they are passing the ball. This plan can be simplified into a strategy where there is a specific pattern in the football team. When this actually occurs, then it is called a strategy.

Research shows that strategy actually deals with or rather carries with it notions of leadership. It is good to note that strategy is not just associated with planning but actually involves beating an opponent and deceiving. It also involves ploys. The word strategy also has got some Latin roots. Latin has got very many terms that resemble the word strategy.

There are words like stratus and strategies. These mean coverage and spread. Research also reveals that there is no clear indication of what the edifice is really built. This includes a set of rules that are clearly set, and the parties involved have to follow them. This calls for thinking strategically such that the participants make good use of the strategic arts and sciences in their decision making (Forster, 1996).

In any strategy that is being carried out in order to achieve a certain goal, there are always difficulties that are involved. It calls for making calculated moves. Strategies need not be always stressful, but they can also be fun and enjoyable.

Nowadays, there are various computer games that have been developed based on the knowledge of strategy. Strategy can also be described as scope and direction, and steps carried out to achieve something over a period of time. It calls for making strategic decisions that help meet the desired goal.

Civilization IV is a strategy based computer game that was developed by Soren Johnson. This computer game was released in the year 2005. This was under the direction of Sid Meier. In this game, there is a player who actually builds the empire from scratch level. The game begins in 4000 BC where there is a settler who builds up a very large city.

From there on, the player actually expands the whole empire until he utilizes the geography around. There is the development of infrastructure and encouragement of both cultural and scientific progress. It is possible that in this game, the players can also win when they accomplish one of the five goals. These goals include the following;

By a player increasing culture ratings of the three different cities such that they are declared leader of the world and therefore becoming Secretary-General of United Nations.
I am being capable of colonizing Alpha Centauri by being the first to construct a spaceship.
By being in a position to control the majority of the population and the world’s land.
In case the clock just runs out in the year 2050 AD, this means that the nation that has a very high score will be declared the overall winner. (Forster, 1996)

The diagram below shows Civilization IV’s screenshot of the civics menu option.

The civics model is a replacement for the governments. They are found in five different categories. They are as follows;

Religion
Economy
Labour
Legal
Government

Diplomacy in civilization involves the entire trading of goods. This is where specific technologies have to be used or incorporated so that there is trading in the different commodities. In this case, the player has to know the whole secrete of paper so that they can be in a position to trade world maps. The players can also trade resources, technologies, gold and resources (Forster, 1996).

The resources include wine and luxuries. There is also advanced diplomacy that includes seeing the entire creation of embargoes. This falls in the category of advanced diplomacy. The other advanced diplomacy options include the following; adoption of particular civics and the promise of military aid. The diagram below shows a screenshot of the civilization IV game.

Figure 2. The screenshot of the civilization IV game.

The game also has got the United Nations wonder, and this actually allows resolutions to be passed globally. These include the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. Compared to the other real-world resolutions, the resolutions in Civilization IV are quite binding in nature. This game has got approximately thirty-two types of resources that actually require that the terrain like oil and farm be well utilized. These resources are then used in the entire construction of the whole empire (Althusser, 1971).

There is the building of pyramids which is carried out using the available stone at a very fast speed. There is an addition of happiness, food and gold to the output of the city. In order to send the goods to the other cities that are around someone’s border, one has to have a certain form of connection that is between the city and goods. The connection is made through the use of ocean tiles (Blackmur, 1997).

This is just limited to the rivers and the roads that are within the play. For instance, if a player was building a church and then decides to change and build a harbour, then the entire construction of the harbour has to start up from scratch. The church then will remain at the level which it was left. There will be the retaining of the progress in the church building as it remains in the building cure of the player.

There are rules that are found in this game. One of them is called the ancillary rule. This ancillary rule states that if one culture is actually building something like a world wonder, then the other empire completes it, and then the culture that has lost has to be compensated not with anything but with gold that has to be exactly proportional to production points that are lost in the whole trial of building the world wonder. Below is the technology tree that is found in Civilization IV.

In the civilization game, there are various technologies. They consist of a total of 85 technologies. These technologies are used for many purposes. One of them is for trade, for starting up new religions and also building world wonders, among other things.

Looking at Civilization IV, one realizes that it is actually a game of strategy. This is because there are various goals that are aimed at in the game. The goals include Being capable of colonizing Alpha Centauri by being the first to construct a spaceship. By being in a position to control the majority of the population and the world’s land.

In case the clock just runs out in the year 2050 AD, this means that the nation that has a very high score will be declared the overall winner. These are some of the goals, and therefore it can be described as a game of strategy because of these goals.

The other extent that makes civilization IV be viewed as a game of strategy is that the player has to plan for every move in order to succeed. The player has to view or have the goal in mind as he or she makes calculated moves. For instance, when building a castle, the player has to ensure that he or she takes the right steps so that he or she doesn’t lose in the long run.

The other extent or way that makes it easy to see civilization IV as a game of strategy is that it has got rules just like strategy has. According to research carried out in the year 2006 on civilization IV. For instance, Civilization IV has got the ancillary rule that states that if one culture is actually building something like a world wonder, then the other empire completes it, and then the culture that has lost has to be compensated not with anything but with gold that has to be exactly proportional to production points that are lost in the whole trial of building the world wonder. This is included even in any strategy. Even in a football match strategy, there are rules that the players have to follow in order to achieve their goal (Day, 1988).

The knowledge of strategy highly affects one’s experience of perception of the play. This is because the players highly understand what the game is all about. That it is about being focused on the end result while at the same time being very keen on the steps that one takes throughout the game. The whole knowledge of the literature on strategy makes the players be too careful and therefore killing the whole fun of it.

One’s perception of the play after having the knowledge of literature is that the play is not that hard, and with taking the necessary steps, one can actually win. This makes the players be focused on winning and try as much as possible to take the right steps, for instance, in building a harbour. The entire knowledge in strategy opens the players’ eyes such that they are keen on winning (Dore, 1995).

After gaining knowledge of the literature on strategy, it becomes very easy for the players to use the eighty-five technologies in the game very effectively. The player will find it easier to use certain types of technologies to develop new forms of government, to found new religions, construct up new units and create wonders (Chia, 1996).

The entire knowledge of the literature on strategy affects a player’s experience because there will be the prior knowledge that there are various stages that have to be followed or accomplished before someone achieving the goal or even winning. For instance, in Civilization IV, a player can never discover democracy before the printing press. For instance, before discovering gunpowder, then education or guilds has to, first of all, be known first.

It is essential that a person gets some knowledge on strategy because it affects the players’ experience of civilization IV completely. This knowledge makes the players know that there are certain technologies that can just be discovered when the player follows more than one path. This simply means that various channels can be used for a person to reach the target destination or goal, for that matter (Bosanko, 1996).

There are other technologies that are not linked like the rest, but they are found by the player from scratch. Through this knowledge of strategy, one gains the confidence of handling the civilization IV technology tree. This is how they are related to each other and the multiple paths that the player can take, including knowing the shortest paths and the longest paths.

All in all, knowledge of the literature on strategy makes the whole experience good easy and quite achievable. It gives the player a wide focus and the various options that can enable him to achieve or win the game of Civilization IV. On the other hand, the experience and perception of the play also affect how one understands the entire literature on strategy.

The whole experience of the play makes the understanding of the literature on strategy quite easy. This is because the game gives the player a real opportunity to see how the strategy works in reality. It is well known that it is not very easy for a person to understand the theoretical without the experience of the practical side of the whole issue.

When a person lies in the civilization IV game, there is a clear understanding of the steps that are illustrated in the literature on strategy. It becomes very easy to understand the theoretical paths described in the literature on strategy. The perception of the play can also make the understanding of the literature on the strategy seem a little bit complex. This is because looking at the whole game of civilization, it is not very simple to understand. This means that it would result in the player having a very negative perception of the literature of strategy.

While the entire literature of strategy is very simple to understand, the civilization IV game is quite complicated because of the many components. Having the experience of the game can just make a player have a negative formed opinion about the literature on strategy. The play civilization IV includes so much history. This is because it involves a span of the whole entirety of human history (Blaug, 1999).

One begins at the dawn of the early Stone Age, and there are very primitive gatherers or even hunters that are clad in animal skins. They have got weapons that are made of stone. These primitive hunter-gatherers fear the encroachment of the hostile tribes, animal attacks and are on the verge of extinction from starvation. While the player needs to see that they found new technologies, dominate their neighbours and that they grow and prosper.

Looking at this whole issue, the play is based on history and characters that existed in the seventeenth and even the sixteenth centuries. Playing this game does not give a really direct understanding of the literature on strategy. The literature on strategy is quite relevant to the twenty-first century, while the gage of civilization is relating to issues that happened a very long time ago. While the concepts can be similar, it would give a better impact if the play was based on the current happenings that are relevant to the twenty-first century.

Finally, as earlier on illustrated, a strategy is an action that is planned in the long term. In most cases, it is designed to achieve a specific goal. When a strategy is implemented, then it becomes very easy for an individual to solve the whole problem. The word strategy comes from a Greek word called strategies which means. Civilization IV was developed by Soren Johnson. This game is highly considered to be a game of strategy because it has got various goals that have to be achieved like in any other strategy. For instance, one of the goals in this game is to be in a position to control the majority of the whole population and the world’s land (Bloomfield, 1994).

There are also rules that have to be adhered to in the game. One of the rules is the ancillary rule. The knowledge of the literature on strategy normally affects one’s experience and the perception of the play. The knowledge of strategy makes a player be prepared beforehand on what to expect in the play of Civilization IV. It makes it easier to understand the play, and it becomes fun and interesting. On the other hand, perception and the experience of play also affect how one understands the literature on strategy. The experience of the play makes the literature on a strategy to have a vivid picture and gives a more practical experience.

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Civilization IV as a Game of Strategy

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