Software:Imperialism (video game)

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Imperialism
Developer(s)Frog City Software
Publisher(s)Strategic Simulations
Designer(s)William Spieth
Ted Spieth
Platform(s)Macintosh, Windows
Release
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Genre(s)Turn-based strategy
Mode(s)Single-player
Multiplayer (up to seven players)

Imperialism is a turn-based strategy game for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh computers, developed by Frog City Software and published by Strategic Simulations in 1997. In Imperialism, the player is the ruler of a 19th-century country and aims to become ruler of the world by conquest or by vote. Imperialism was followed by Imperialism II.

Gameplay

There are two ways to play Imperialism: in a fictional, randomly generated world, or in a historical scenario. In the first case, the player selects one of seven "great powers" and starts ruling in 1815, a year considered by many historians the beginning of the 19th-century era in the real world. The goal is to be voted world ruler by a two-thirds majority in the "Council of Governors", in which all provincial governors of the world convene once in a decade. Governors in "minor nations" tend to vote for great powers that have favored their country in trade and diplomacy, whereas governors in great powers vote for strong military powers. If no two-thirds majority is ever reached, the game continues until the year 1915, when the power with the largest number of governors behind it wins the game. Although victory is determined by the Council of Governors, the game score is determined by how much a player has built, including the size of a Great Power's military, workforce, transportation network, merchant marine, diplomatic standing and number of provinces controlled.

Empire building can be achieved either through diplomacy or through conquest. In either case, the empire must have a solid economic grounding, which is established by the exploitation of the country's resources (wood, ore, etc.), by industry (for example, turning raw materials iron and coal into steel) and by trade.

In the historical scenarios, the player chooses a European power - available are Great Britain, France, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Russia, and, depending on the period chosen, Prussia and Sardinia, or respectively Germany and Italy. The game starts not in 1815 but either in 1820 (apparently so that France isn't too weak at the start of the game), in 1848, the year of revolutions, or in 1882, at the start of the arms race that eventually led to World War I. The end of the game is still the same, except that in the third scenario (1882) the Council of Governors does not convene until 1915.

Imperialism is entirely turn-based. Each turn, players make their decisions in five screens: the map screen, where "specialists" (prospectors, engineers, etc.) are put to work, and military orders are given; the transport screen, where transport capacity is allocated; the industry screen, where production is determined and workers are trained in various ways; the trade screen, where offers and bids for the next trade session are determined; and the diplomacy screen, where diplomatic decisions are made.

As the game progresses the players will also be given the option to buy Research. Research can allow increased production of some raw materials, or allow for military upgrades, or in some cases render parts of the navy fleet obsolete.

When all the players click the "End turn" button, the orders are processed. Turn-based trade sessions, diplomacy sessions (the acceptance/declining of treaties) and battles follow. Battles too are turn-based, and they can be either fought by the player or left to the game AI. Naval battles are always handled by the AI.

In multiplayer mode, at most 7 players can play together over a network. Games can be played over a LAN or the Internet. Imperialism offers a tutorial mode and five levels of game difficulty. Game editors and mods have also been published to create new scenarios, such as a world map.

Economy

In Imperialism's economic model, states control production and engage in trade. To produce anything, raw materials are needed. These can be bought on the world market, or gained by exploitation of resources in the player's country. For instance, timber can be obtained by exploiting forests. It can subsequently be transformed into lumber in a lumber mill. Lumber can be used to expand internal transport, to increase factory output, or for producing merchant ships and warships. It can also be processed further into furniture, which is used to recruit new workers, but more commonly is sold on the market to produce revenue. Timber can also be processed into paper, which is used to train workers for higher levels of productivity, and then educate them so that they can serve in more advanced military units. Paper is also necessary to train expert workers as specialists (i.e. prospectors, engineers, miners, ranchers, farmers, foresters and oil drillers).

Often a Great Power will buy raw materials (such as timber) from a Minor Nation and sell the refined goods (furniture) back to the same or another minor nation, generating revenue as well as improving diplomatic relations. From the start of the game, Great Powers compete to be the favored trade partner of resource-rich minor nations, using trade subsidies and various forms of diplomacy.

Diplomacy

In the Imperialism diplomacy screen, various treaties can be proposed to other countries, and war can be declared on them. Also, trade subsidies may be offered. These increase the prices paid for a country's export goods and decrease the price the other country pays for the player's exports, making trade more profitable for the other country and thus more likely.

The treaties which may be proposed are:

  • Non-aggression pact. Only possible between great power and a minor nation. When a minor nation is attacked by another great power (they never attack each other), the minor nations will request help from any power with which it signed a non-aggression pact. If the request is honored, the minor nation joins the great power's empire.
  • Alliance. An alliance can only be forged between two great powers. When any of them enters a war, the allies are asked to wage war as well.
  • Request to join an empire. Minor nations will voluntarily join the empire of any power that has been sufficiently kind to them in the past (lots of trade, financial grants, a pact).
  • Peace treaty.
  • Declaration of war. This is the only treaty which may not be refused (although no minor nation will ever refuse a non-aggression pact).

Before a Great Power can reach a trade agreement with a Minor Power, the Great Power must build a Trade Consulate in the Minor Power. Before the Great Power can sign a treaty with a Minor Power, the Great Power must build an Embassy in the Minor Power. The money required to build Trade Consulates and Embassies is significant, especially early in the game, when the player's revenue is limited. All Great Powers automatically possess Embassies with each other at the beginning of the game.

Great Powers can encourage closer relationships with Minor Powers and each other with subsidies and grants of cash.

Building Diplomatic power can be key to winning the game. When a Great Power is in an alliance with another Great Power or has signed a non-aggression pact with a Minor Power, the Great Power is expected to go to war if the other Power is attacked. In the case of two Great Powers that share an alliance, if one Great Power starts a war, the other Great Power is also expected to go to war. If a player decides not to honor an alliance or non-aggression pact, the player's Great Power loses diplomatic standing and may find it harder to negotiate alliances in the future. Negotiating a separate peace instead of waging total war will also break an alliance, with the same effect on a Great Power's diplomatic standing as if the Great Power had refused to go to war in the first place.

Compatibility

Although the program was written for Windows 95, it can be run under other versions of Windows using the Windows Compatibility Wizard and a change of screen resolution to 640 x 480 for complete stability. The GOG.com edition runs under Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8.[2]

Strategic Simulations Inc. also published a Macintosh version of the game, which runs on System 7 and MacOS 8.

The game also runs on Wine with occasional crashes.

Development

Imperialism underwent several name changes during development, such as Sphere of Influence, Age of Industry and Sid Meier's Industrialization.[3] Since 2004 Ubisoft holds the copyright.[2]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGWStarStarStarStarHalf star[6]
PC Gamer (UK)78%[4]
PC Gamer (US)87%[5]
MacworldStarStarStarHalf star[8]
Computer Games Strategy PlusStarStarStarStar[7]

According to former members of Frog City Software at Sidecar Studios, Imperialism's commercial performance was unexpectedly strong.[9] In December 1998, Barry Brenesal of CNET Gamecenter called it a "sleeper hit" and "extremely successful for a turn-based strategy title". At the time, he noted that it was "still selling and has even topped the 100,000 mark."[10] Sidecar's staff noted that Imperialism outsold the "original sales goal more than seven-fold", and reached sales surpassing 300,000 copies by 2007.[9]

Macworld's Michael Gowan wrote, "While it lacks tactical realism, this sim provides strategy buffs some compelling management challenges."[8]

References

  1. ↑ Staff (September 3, 1997). "Now Shipping". http://www.pcgamer.com/news/news-1997-09-01.html. 
    "A slew of new games have been released to retail outlets over the last few weekends, including...Imperialism..."
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Imperialism" (in mul). GOG.com. https://www.gog.com/game/imperialism. Retrieved 2017-11-29. 
  3. ↑ Chick, Tom (April 2002). "Cove Sweet Cove". Computer Games Magazine (137): 48–52, 54. 
  4. ↑ Butcher, Andy. "Expansive". PC Gamer UK (49). Archived from the original on May 23, 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20010523154557/http://www.pcgamer.co.uk/games/gamefile_review_page.asp?item_id=555. 
  5. ↑ Bates, Jason (November 1997). "Imperialism". PC Gamer US. Archived from the original on December 22, 1999. https://web.archive.org/web/19991222195139/http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/555.html. 
  6. ↑ Carter, Tim (October 22, 1997). "Imperialism". Computer Gaming World. Archived from the original on December 3, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20001203153400/http://www.gamespot.com/strategy/imperial/review_cgw.html. Retrieved January 22, 2020. 
  7. ↑ Udell, Scott (1997). "Imperialism". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on April 18, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050418173701/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/004/016/imperialism_review.html. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Gowan, Michael (February 1999). "Name Your Game; From Goofy to Gory, Macworld Reviews 48 Ways to Play". Macworld. Archived from the original on August 10, 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20010810062339/http://www.macworld.com/1999/02/games/games.html. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "About Us". Sidecar Studios. Archived from the original on March 20, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070320225535/http://www.sidecarstudios.com/about.html. 
  10. ↑ Brenesal, Barry (December 22, 1998). "Sneak Peeks; Imperialism II: Age of Exploration". CNET Gamecenter. Archived from the original on August 23, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20000823041255/http://www.gamecenter.com/Peeks/Imperial2/. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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