Looking from a distance, the development of video games for computers has been as fast as lightning. Since the emergence of arcade machines to the mass hysteria for computer games in the '80s, and up to today, many things have changed.
For the first time, the gaming medium has generated more revenue than the entire film industry, which has existed since 1908! All major companies (Sony, IBM, Warner, Novell, Corel...) have established departments for the production of computer games because they sensed a lot of money, as well as the possibility of taking basic ideas from games for films. Now, designing games in virtual reality is a race, as well as all kinds of technological innovations (online gaming); only the future can decide.
When we look at the media in chronological order, books came first, followed by newspapers, film, radio, TV, music, comics, and finally – computer games. The mentioned media are not the only ones, but they are the most significant, and at certain periods, they have changed their impact on all of humanity.
Many video games have emerged under the influence of these media. As an example, I would choose the best RPG game so far (for me), “Betrayal at Krondor,” created by Dynamix. This game was made with the help of Raymond E. Feist, an author of epic fiction, whom I would place alongside Tolkien. “Betrayal at Krondor” is almost a perfect experiment in blending the narrative side of a book with the medium of computer games.
Futurists predict a gradual merging of all media into one; information such as when it will be possible to acquire a new game, song, film, or any form of human creation from one central computer through the network.
In a few years, we might be playing very complex and interesting games on pocket devices, perhaps even those we currently play on PC... There are many types of computer games, and I wouldn't mention them now, but they are certainly not final! In the future, I can imagine a battle (for the market) of the advanced computer industry with giants like Sega or Nintendo.
Perhaps the battle will not happen, but the fact is that consoles are made from microcomputers and draw ideas (for games) from today's computer games for their new types, as initially, consoles had exclusively arcade games as an alternative. The situation is improving, but... I think that computer games will always be the ones leading in the race called: “Who will make a better game, not who will make a bigger profit.” A point in favor of computers is the age group of players: on consoles, it's up to 20 years, while on computers, it's even up to 70, which tells us about a more serious aspect of computer games.
The progressive influx consists of those who create games that never get boring, some of which have high artistic values and are true masterpieces.
Why should computer games be demonized, rather than stories about “pterodactyls laying their eggs in the fall?” Today, the population is bombarded with “important” information, people are skeptical of newspapers, and the devil is not as black as it seems. When a person does not see something, they cannot feel it either. Absurdity can be anything: if it is bad, then it is bad and cannot become good! Absurdity is not only in computer games, and if you don't see that, then play Interplay's “Neuromancer”; there you can buy new Japanese eyes, very cheaply, really... It is known that analysts played a simulation of the Gulf War two days before it started, and when the computer declared the defeat of Saddam Hussein, they were relieved!
I would place certain producers in a progressive influx: MicroProse, Westwood, Infogrames, Delphine, Cryo, Maxis, Dynamix, the former Cinemaware, somewhat Interplay, the former Free Fall Associates (now Crystal Dynamics), Silicon Knights, for some CD, and so on. You will notice that the cult SF novel "Neuromancer" by W. Gibson is still alive, so we can expect more cyberpunk themes. Even Billy Idol, the famous musician, released an album titled Cyberpunk. Cyberpunks advocate for the anarchy of information, and their slogan is: "Information wants to be free!".
Many so-called experts claim that computer games are for idiots. I say: you are right, but then stop watching movies, listening to music, and reading books; those things are also for idiots if the quality is poor and if there is no magic in them.
The problem is that these people have their favorite games in their offices, on their hard drives!
Plato said that good music corrupts people because it does not teach them obedience, so he gave his slaves bad music. I can say that more people are blinded by TV than by all the video games in the world. It is easier to turn off a computer than a TV because the TV is like a magnet. TV makes people selfish, hostile, and corrupts them. And then the question arises: how exactly does TV corrupt people? Many times TV shows nonsense, and some people turn that into good things!
TV offers an influence that penetrates the freedom and privacy of every person. Some have made a fortune on misery and apathy, and that is unforgivable. When people are unemployed (that is God's curse), TV comes, poisons them, and drives them to commit various horrors. Some people who control TV can hardly wait for that; computer games still cannot.
It would be negative if computer games created alienation and mass hypnosis, becoming like drugs, religion, football, politics, or bad music. It is essential to stick to other activities alongside computer games. It is not bad to play one or two games sometimes; everything can be resolved, sleep like Napoleon, two hours a day! I wouldn't spend much time talking about the usefulness or downsides of arcade games because I simply am not qualified.
But for MicroProse games, I would say: they definitely increase lucidity and concentration, educate, relax, improve imagination, and are fun.
Moreover, I now know English very well. I know one thing: MicroProse games will not turn you into a remote-controlled horse. Some games are unhealthy, while some are not, just like in all other artistic or non-artistic forms. I do not deny that these games have some negative effects, but if played in moderation, they will not send you to the hospital. In the old temple at Delphi, two of the seven maxims are "Know thyself!" and "Nothing in excess!", everything is a risk, but what isn't? Where my freedom ends, no one should be forbidden their right to be different and to have their own taste and identity. A friend of mine said: "I hate acting in other people's films!", and I replied: "Be another Miloš Forman and make your own films!".
Today there is a tendency for PC computers to take over the computer game market, even from Amiga computers (a long time ago). Nothing is worth graphically or perfectly produced if there is no idea, like inspiration from God.
"You need a ton of roses for a bottle of perfume."
There is another logical question: how much are computer games under the control of the establishment and so-called censorship? I would say they are under great control because it is a big business; more money, more control...
I must quote a man I truly admire, Branimir Štulić: "All young people are revolutionaries because they fight for a better life and better positions. With the establishment, enthusiasm fades. During the sixties, the Western establishment almost lost control over music. But, the counterattack began and still exists, which we can see in the monotonous brainwashing music called rap, sound and drums, music for monkeys."
Perfect games, like everything else perfect, are not close to the ordinary person because they intend to kill emotions in him, and man is imperfect. The goal of technology and consumer society is to eradicate emotions and turn people into slaves, a large animal farm, and then serve the white cow as a rock star or something similar, a true Orwellian world...
People, especially in the West, are full of material demands and get everything on a platter: music, movies, even video games; most of them are unable to choose. Thus, people buy what is most often advertised, in the case of video games:
Sega and Nintendo, I hope you got the point... The danger of technology overpowering people is greater than ever. A friend of mine said: "I wasn't bought by the computer, I bought it!!!" A society of slave owners was not created to live in the past; it is possible that it never died... A true revolution in the computer game industry is still expected... It is necessary to stop the hyperproduction of garbage and make some people realize that they have no talent and go sell concrete or bananas, which sounds somewhat utopian.
Games are primarily made for people, for their entertainment, and they could teach them something along the way. It is certain that their impact in the future will be much greater. Pay and you will see...
Artists often record their ideas in codes (due to censors), and today there are not many good flows of ideas in the world. For example, if someone else had made the game Pirates before Sid Meier, the idea would have failed and he probably wouldn't have made Pirates!, and that would be a shame because good things are built only on good things, not on bad ones!!!
Above all, I appreciate good artists because they are heroes in the true sense of the word. The symbiosis of politicians and economic tycoons can be seen in their hypocrisy. For example, they use the poor for their interests (the so-called "patriotic"), perversely exploit them (in wars...) and betray them for their sick ambitions and interests...
Why are entertainers here? What is their task? So that we can forget (if only for a moment) all the suffering and transience of human life. These are all pressure valves, without which we would burst.
To conclude this introduction, here is how Sid Meier explains the human need for play: "In 50 years, we will probably be wearing 3D helmets and will barely be able to distinguish games from reality, but the motivation for playing will remain the same: it is a place where a person experiences his imagination, becomes bigger, braver, better than in reality."
MicroProse Retrospective (1983 - 1996)
MicroProse Entertainment Software, Inc. is a corporation founded in 1983 by former pilot Bill Stealey and programmer Sidney Meier. Today, in 1995, everyone employed at the company has reason to be satisfied, as MicroProse is now, overall, number 1 in the entire world, and that is not just my opinion. The road to the throne has not been easy and full of flowers, and the competition has been fierce, but that is how man defeated the beast, he was weaker and thought so. MicroProse is not the most profitable computer game production company, but as Sid Meier says: "I don't care whether we grow or decline, what matters is that we who create games feel good!" In terms of revenue, MicroProse stands alongside giants like Electronic Arts, Sierra, Mindscape... but in terms of its influence, it has no equal.
Today, after merging with Spectrum Holobyte, MicroProse has 425 employees, including a large English branch. From MicroProse's portfolio, I would like to highlight the acquisition of the English company "Telecomsoft," which was purchased for several million pounds in 1986. MicroProse is a public corporation located on the east coast of the USA, in the city of Hunt Valley, surrounded by horse farms, in the state of Maryland.
MicroProse has branches around the world: in England, France, Germany, and Japan. The English branch, like the American one, creates its own games while also licensing games from other smaller publishers... It has also established a fictitious company in America called MicroPlay, and in Europe, MicroStyle, which deal with arcades, strategies, and licensed games...
In 1989, the top executives of MicroProse wanted to change the name to Medalist International, MPS Technologies, etc., but they backed down because the name MicroProse sounds artistic and romantic, which, along with a successful logo, contributes to better product marketing.
MicroProse operates professionally, employing various graphic artists, programmers, designers, music experts, along with other support services, distribution, sales, marketing...
It is important that MicroProse owns a production line for games, posters, newspapers, advertisements, and other items. MicroProse or MPS has an excellent marketing department, so you can find them in ads in newspapers and on MTV! MicroProse's slogans have changed from: just for fun, serious fun software, to "the action is simulated, but the excitement is real"!!!
In the history of MicroProse, there is a story about the founding of the company. Bill Stealey and Sid Meier met in Las Vegas in 1982, both playing the Red Baron arcade machine and having many complaints. Sid Meier bet that he could make a better game in a week, he lost the bet (it took him more than a week), but the game Hellcat Ace came out, along with MicroProse. Initially, MicroProse was an ordinary company engaged in a hobby, but it gradually grew from 2 to 425 employees!
The former president of MicroProse, Bill Stealey, as a pilot with over 3000 flight hours, wanted MicroProse to primarily produce flight simulations. Initially, it was so, but today they have various types. Bill Stealey still flies in "Miss Microprose," a Navy T-28 aircraft, and sponsors a local soccer club from Baltimore (which was five years ago).
In 1993, MicroProse suffered a loss of nearly 12 million dollars due to a poor decision to purchase the German distribution company United Software (and the arcade game F-15 and the large development of the unsuccessful RPG game called Darklands).
The bank that approved the loan was waiting for the money, and something had to be done. The rescue of MicroProse from bankruptcy is one of the most unusual events in the software industry that I can remember. What happened? MicroProse, a company then worth about half a billion dollars and with a 14% share of the global market, was helped by Spectrum Holobyte, a much smaller company that held only 4% (sic!) of the global market. However, we must not forget that Spectrum Holobyte is just part of the far more powerful company Sphere Inc., which is swimming in money.
The merger of the two companies was a disaster for MicroProse. Spectrum Holobyte provided the money, but MicroProse had to lay off 160 workers (ah, what an industry!). Bill Stealey was forced to resign, and 8 out of 10 managers of the new company came from Spectrum Holobyte, with only 2 from MicroProse. The headquarters of the new company was in Alameda, California, in the simple offices of Spectrum Holobyte. Spectrum Holobyte owned 60% of the new company, while MicroProse held only 40%. Spectrum Holobyte still left the option to conduct business from Hunt Valley (how nice)...
Another phenomenon of MicroProse is its golden goose, the computer game genius Sid Meier, the avant-garde of computer games, the man who brought art into computer games through the back door. It can be said about him: "one man is worth more than a hundred men, and a hundred men are worth less than one man," and: "who sees the sky in the water, sees the fish in the tree!" It can be freely said that without him, there would be no MicroProse! He appeared out of nowhere and became a legend! For 12 years (in many types of computer games), he has been trying to infuse these games with a dose of his energy, a different style, and image. This is a real challenge for most authors, think of companies like Activision and others. They were good companies, but as soon as they ran out of creativity and inspiration, they were doomed to become dinosaurs, waking from decadence and lethargy only when a young team full of enthusiasm appeared, needing money and a distribution network. There are many bad companies (not just in the gaming industry) that are at the top, but the problem is the following:
Why doesn't a bad company leave the market if it has nothing good to offer? But we all know the reason, don't we?
Many people entered the computer game business, not just out of love.
In the computer game industry, many risks arise, market fluctuations, migrations of programmers, stock brokering, bankruptcies, just like in Hollywood, and only the strongest could survive. Many companies fell into the trap of repeating the same and only motive, as it is the hardest to find new ideas, new genres, and a new approach to making computer games. Freedom is essential for every creativity, talent, happiness, individuality, and love for work. In South America, you can become famous as a race car driver or a football player. The spirit draws from human misery.
I don't know much about Sid Meier from his biography, I know he graduated from the University of Michigan, but if he had died, it would all be known tomorrow. Before he got into the gaming business, he worked as an analyst at "General Instruments." Sid Meier has sold several million games, which has brought him wealth, but I don't consider him a commercial author because for him, money is not the most important thing. Sid Meier understood one thing well: the best referee in a football match is the one you don't see often on the field, which means there are few rules, and that's even better. Therefore, Meier's games are not complicated, but simplified, and maybe that's the reason for their popularity.
His artistic contribution can be recognized as a universal story that we all love to tell sometimes. Meier's games are raw, original, obsessed with Bach's divine music, I wish there were more of them, I can't stand black-and-white authors, they inject nonsense into art. Mozart created perfection from perfection. Bach created perfection from the raw, and that's exactly what Meier does. I even read that Kevin Costner was supposed to play Sid in a series about Meier's life! When we look at Meier's games, we can see that they are written in the C programming language with clearly defined programs, in which everything works according to a set mathematical model. All this indicates that a huge amount of energy is needed to keep it all together. That's why we shouldn't expect graphical and musical masterpieces from him! He is known as the last defender of gameplay versus stunning graphics: Meier – "The way of playing is my character, we prefer games with an interactive aspect. We have good graphics, but it serves the game and is not just a pretty picture on the screen. We intend to provide the player with enough information so they can imagine the things happening on the screen. My philosophy says that the game must exist in the player's mind; they will always imagine a better picture than we could ever create on a computer.
I think that has been a successful idea so far! If we put more effort into graphics, it must come at the expense of game quality. We create games that are interesting. Time will tell which people prefer more! New technology is very interesting, but it cannot replace the quality of gameplay because that is the most important element in games. If you want to see good graphics, go to the cinema! Computer games offer interaction that other forms of entertainment cannot!" Meier does not directly influence his players; he believes it is difficult to send a message without using codes. The games are made according to his greatest childhood interests: railroads, pirates, airplanes, whatever! Sid Meier stated that his main inspiration was social (Civilization...) and card games he played as a child. Sid Meier: "When I was younger, I played a lot of board games, but with the advent of computers, I realized there was a possibility of creating games instead of settling for things that others came up with."
As he says, he used to write games by himself, but they were only interesting to him and he could play them. Meier's new games are made by him and dozens of designers, programmers, and music experts. This is not explained by a lack of love and energy. The reason is that games are more complex and larger, so each game takes about two years of work and a lot of research. This justifies the prices that are always around $50. Prices are high, and founders Bill Stealey and Sid Meier did not want to turn MicroProse into a "public company," knowing that it would soon be bought by some senile tycoon who would probably destroy it. Therefore, they issued internal shares, "the more you work, the more you have," and Sid Meier was motivated to give his best because part of MicroProse belongs to him. He invests most of his earnings back into MicroProse, and that is the whole secret of success. Business is business!
Unfortunately, in 1991, MicroProse became a public company, which brought many difficulties despite the fact that MicroProse was a software house with most titles in 1992. The first game he made was Hellcat Ace (the second part of the game Spitfire Ace), a great flight simulation at the time, although more focused on shooting.
If you saw it today, you would die laughing, but it was 1983. Then came Mig Alley Ace and Air Rescue, still nothing compared to later masterpieces. Solo Flight was a slightly better simulation, something like Flight Simulator... After that came the gems of strategy games that are still unmatched today:
Crusade In Europe (battles in France 1944), Conflict in Vietnam (battles in Vietnam), Nato Commander (hypothetical conflict between superpowers), Decision in the Desert (Rommel, 1942). I still love those games and it's a shame they are not on PC platforms (in Deluxe versions!). In 1985, there was a lawsuit between the company MicroPro from California and MicroProse. The well-known producer of the word processing program "Wordstar," the company MicroPro, sued MicroProse for using a name that resembled the name MicroPro. MicroPro won the case, but after MicroProse paid a large sum for the use of the name in 1989, MicroPro changed its name to Wordstar Inc. and thus concluded the whole case.
At that time, the first simulation of the F-15 Strike Eagle combat aircraft was released (two more sequels have been released to date), which sold over a million copies. Excellent combat simulations followed: Gunship (Apache helicopter simulation, over 300,000 copies sold of the first part) and Gunship 2000 (a significantly improved version).
It is interesting to note that that board never considered games like Rambo II or Green Beret harmful, in which you kill several thousand Vietnamese or Russians. The affair ended with Bill Stealey suing that board and a settlement was reached.
Red Storm Rising is a game made based on the book (and advice) of Tom Clancy, a well-known writer of technical thrillers (The Hunt for Red October...), I remember that simulation as very good...
In 1987, F-19 Stealth Fighter (the second part of F-117A) was released and caused a stir. It was a simulation of an American stealth bomber.
In 1988, it was declared simulation of the year. A fact related to this game is that the Pentagon denied the existence of such an aircraft even after such a game appeared, and it was later explained that Bill Stealey was an advisor at the Pentagon!
In 1987, the classic of computer games was released in a version for Commodore 64, Pirates!
The game brought a true revolution to the world of computer games and left the competition stunned!
What is it? A rebellion!? No one expected such quality in 1987, and even more interestingly, it’s about the theme of pirates! It remains unique even after eight years!
Various companies have tried to imitate Pirates! and Civilization (for example, Impressions), but to no avail. Pirates! puts you in the role of a pirate captain and the game is (for that time) fantastic: sword duels, plundering towns and ships, romance, sailing, trading, buried treasure, lost relatives, a game you can play for three years. It’s full of Bach’s music and hidden humor.
Here are a few examples from the game: once I captured a pirate ship in front of a town, and when I entered the town, the governor thanked me and told me I had captured the pirate who had just plundered the town!!! There are situations where you capture 400 people, and then you (yourself!) put them in chains!!! Pirates has an incredible algorithm, so all the towns in the game change depending on the situation, which will be applied many times later...
Sid Meier said about Pirates!: "I wanted to create a game where courage would be the most valuable, and then the speed at which you achieve a certain goal, all in a time very different from our own."
It’s surprising how a simple idea and arcade elements in the game have been brought to the best possible combination (like Infogrames' game "North&South," which is simple, or "Archon," from the former company Free Fall Associates). Many will wonder how simple and incredible this is, just like Edison’s light bulb.
Maybe Meier found inspiration in "Pirates!" by Roman Polanski, who knows...
Meier, obsessed with Bach’s music and character, seeks world recognition and fame (we can’t be against that). The fact is that if everyone succeeded, no one would, so I like his boasting that is visible in his stamp on every game he designed, something like a quality seal.
Interestingly, Pirates! and many other Sid Meier games are better than the versions for other computers programmed by other developers according to Meier’s instructions, despite better graphics and sound in the new versions!!!
This speaks volumes about Sid Meier!!! Meier is an author who spends a lot of time researching the theme before starting a project. For Pirates!, Meier often traveled to the Caribbean, observing Spanish fortresses, museums, reading books for the new game Colonization, and as he says, he watched "The Last of the Mohicans" many times!
After Pirates!, Meier created Railroad Tycoon (in the game you build tracks, trains, industry, an economic empire, an excellent idea!), and then the second part Railroad Tycoon De Luxe (which has better graphics and many improvements, not particularly important...) Covert Action (an arcade spy game, you are a CIA agent).
In 1991, after MicroProse's stocks hit the market, Civilization was released.
This game, like other Meier's games, has won many awards, and Sid says that a lot of work went into it (it certainly is a huge job that deserves respect!!!). The story of Civilization is about building your own civilization over 6000 years of rule, through all the trials of rival civilizations. The goal is to build more cities, promote science, achieve cultural, technical, military, and economic progress, and survive, build a spaceship, and escape from Earth or destroy all other civilizations, but every year of peace in the game is rewarded!!! He explains this by saying that he is a pacifist, but that war is a civilizational legacy that he could not avoid!!! In Civilization, you can see that ruling the world is not difficult, and now I see why mediocrity rules! Civilization is the best game so far and contains humor: the wheel (on a peasant's cart!) has existed since 4000 B.C., when the wheel had not yet been invented, or the leader representing you lives for 6000 years!!! The real thing would be to make Civilization&Pirates for two players (on one computer). The only bad thing about Civilization is its cruelty towards humanity, there is no individuality, people are represented by numbers.
Perhaps this was done intentionally because the history of humanity is the history of battles, without mercy or morals, cruel like life itself, with a rose in one hand and a knife in the other. The great truth is that Civilization is a complex game with many factors. Examples in the game come from real life. We all know that there was no food in Sarajevo because it was under siege, the same happens in Civilization. The development of certain branches of science brings progress to society, for example, philosophy brings progress in literacy, etc. People are divided into workers, peasants, and gentry, which is not far from reality! As the city grows, you can hire tax collectors, entertainers (main job: keeping the herd in obedience, "slaves are entertained, and the boss takes the money") and scientists (all young Einsteins!).
Diplomacy in games like Civilization represents a large, simplified version at a high level. The difference is that in the game it is completely stripped down, while in reality it is conducted with kid gloves. Knowing these examples, it is not surprising that President Clinton plays the game, because it really is so!!! It is also predicted that the end of history, the end of civilization, can be apocalyptic black or a new beginning, full of hope.
Meier: "Civilization is one big game and it is hard for me to create a game of such quality without feeling like I am going backward!"
The game Pirates! Gold was released a few years ago, but aside from excellent graphics, it did not enhance the atmosphere of the game itself. These days, Pirates! Gold Multimedia has been released, graphically enriched, on CD-ROM media. What has Sid Meier done new? For some video game gurus?
CPU Bach is a program created by Sid Meier specifically for the new 3DO console (1994), and it creates original classical music in the style of Bach's baroque compositions, all at your request. Impressive! I notice that more and more games are being developed to stimulate creativity, and that is fine; it would be bad to convince an untalented user that they are talented using such programs.
Civil War is Sid's new game about the American Civil War, long awaited. On various BBSs, there is a program "multiciv.exe" (probably the work of some hacker) that allows multiplayer gameplay in Civilization. We tried it with a friend, but it's full of bugs... May 1995 - the game CIVNET was released, which allows up to seven players to play over the internet, local network, or via modem, and it will probably become the game of 1995 (at least for fans!).
Last autumn, Colonization was released, the second part of Civilization. What new things does this saga about colonizing new frontiers bring?
The mathematical model is the same, the routine is also the same, even the bug when sending units with the "go" option, but...
The game is a bit more complex than Civilization, for the simple reason that in this game only horses multiply! To be clear, there are many types of colonists; they cannot be created in colonies (they emerge in the last phase of the game!), but in the mother country, from baptized Indians or captured in foreign colonies... There is always a problem: many colonists in the wrong place at the wrong time, for example, a tractor driver is a politician, a distiller mines minerals (sounds familiar)! The game also has its charming moments, which guarantee four and a half stars out of a possible five!!! The author of this text allows himself to give five out of five stars for Civilization!!! The conclusion is that we can expect more familiar games, and I look forward to it, because it is much better than games like Space Invaders 13!!! It's a good thing to carry out a church mission in an aggressive Indian village and then attack them; a strange thing happens, 1-2
Indians will join you out of fear! It's best to play as a Frenchman and get along well with the Indians, but it's tempting not to attack the Incas or Aztecs, as they are very rich, every village has two good ships, hey!!!
Sid: "Many are never aware that they have a controlled simulation in front of them. Players are actually playing their own game, not 'mine', not thinking 'why did Sid do this or that'. These days, an improved version of the game Colonization was released for CD-ROM, actually a multimedia version. Everything a person does is like a fabric, and Mr. Sid Meier's fabric shines!!! Someone might consider him a megalomaniac, but the man does good things, and the more he does, the more he creates. There are people who create revolutions, some live off revolutions, and Meier is one of the few creativity revolutionaries in the world of computer games. This review is not final because a work is considered closed only with the author's death, and we can expect much more from Meier. Besides Meier, MicroProse has other well-known authors. Arnold Hendrick, a programmer and history professor, known for his team projects and games such as: M1 Tank Platoon (an excellent simulation of the Abrams tank), Darklands (adventure, medieval Germany).
Lawrence Shick was known for his participation in: Airborne Ranger (arcade simulation of commandos, excellent), Sword of The Samurai (like Pirates!, but in Japan)
Task Force 1942 (naval battles in the Pacific, 1942), Andy Hollis created the last big hit of MicroProse, a game where you control the control tower of an airport: Kennedy Approach.
Let's also mention some other names from MPS Labs: Michael Hare (excellent graphics), Jim Synoski (programmer), Ed Bever (historian, programmer), Randall Masteller (programmer), Gregg Tavares (programmer), etc...
Let's mention some of the well-known games from MicroProse (including licenses):
Acrojet (airplane acrobatics), Command HQ (strategy), 3D Pool (billiards), Stunt Car Racer (stunt racing), Midwinter 1,2 (action), Knight Of The Sky (airplane simulation, World War I), Ancient Art Of The War In The Skies (strategy), Lightspeed, Hyperspeed (space simulation), MicroProse Soccer Golf (soccer, golf), B-17, Dogfight, F-14, 1942 (airplane simulations), NFL Football (American football), Across The Rhine (tank simulations), Master Of Orion, UFO, Fields Of Glory, Global Conquest (strategy), Bloodnet (cyberpunk adventure), Rex Nebular (adventure), Legacy (horror adventure), Formula One, Mantis (space simulation), Return Of The Phantom (adventure), Special Forces (commando action), Subwar 2050 (submarine warfare), Starlord, Dragonsphere (adventure), Wild Blue Yonder (educational CD, jet aircraft 1944-1994), Transport Tycoon (business empire, Deluxe version released), Zeppelin (airship company management), Master Of Magic (similar to Civilization, building a magical civilization), Pizza Tycoon (pizza industry management), UFO 2, Machiavelli - The Prince (similar to Colonization), Top Gun, Cyberstrike (for the USA only, online action game for the "Genie" mailbox system), online game for Europe is in preparation, robot battles.
New games (and releases from 1996) from MicroProse and Spectrum Holobyte: Grand Prix 2 (plus a management version), Virtual Karts, Aztec: Empire of Blood, Vikings, Master of Antares, This Means War!, M1 Tank Platoon 2, Little People, Command HQ 2, Necrobius, Magic: The Gathering, Star Trek: Generations, MechWarrior, Falcon 4.0, Sid Meier's Civilization 2000, Citizens: Backwater Affairs, Super Heroes.....
In addition to PC games, MicroProse started releasing games for consoles and created an arcade machine for the game F-15. One well-known user program developer says he could barely make games as good as MicroProse, which speaks to the effort put into such projects.
Regarding revenue, MicroProse had an annual net income of $47 million a few years ago!!! Now, together with Spectrum Holobyte, $100 million!!!
However, despite good profits (and large losses!), in 1996, an additional 19% of employees were laid off, and it was decided that four studios of Spectrum HoloByte (Spectrum HoloByte, MicroProse, MicroProse U.K., Simtex Software) would focus solely on making better games, rather than accounting, marketing, sales... Accounting will be easier to handle from one place (those are their words, we'll see!).
The latest news I received from Marco Polo, when he returned from China, is that Bill Stealey has not been the president of MicroProse since August 1993. I had no idea. I don't know who the new president is, but it is probably the CEO of Spectrum Holobyte. I read in Germany that Bill Stealey founded his own company "Interactive Magic" which imports licenses from Germany and England to the USA, and also produces its own games. Apache and Exploration have been announced.
Exploration is a pale copy of Colonization from the German company Software 2000, while Apache (Digital Integration, UK) is an excellent simulation of combat helicopters.
This would be a brief retrospective of the software house MicroProse, which clearly plays the role of the red cape (MPS Labs) in the hand of the torero; the bull is the competition, and we are all. MicroProse has proven to us that beauty is not created by art, but that art creates beauty. I didn't write this to praise anyone (MPS), I simply can't stand stupidity, not even in complete despair, and someone might find this interesting, so why not write a retro about my favorite software studio!
And to all those who know that a computer is not something that consumes two bales of hay at 60 miles, I say: "revolutions and revolutionaries may die, but the spirit never dies!"
Bloodstar, 1995.
