Metacritic shows TotA's average rating at NINETY-FIVE percent!

Seriously, am I the only person who thinks this is awesome?

  

Yep, Kudos -- again, once more.

There is no "secret" to making an immortal game, it is in fact very easy. You have to not just "Like", but "Love" the Vision, the Concept, the Game. Finding the people prepared to dedicate themselves to that (The Stardock Team) - and find a suitable Leader - not manager - Leader (Brad) to come up to their aspirations and demands is the very hard part.

For me, amidst all the reviews, articles, competition to sound more profound than the last, yacking about

- iconic
- immersion factor
- playability index
- genres
- no multiplayer
- yaddi yaddie ya-di-damn-boring-yadda

Only one review has ever really hit the nail on the head as to why the game has a unique character, why it is now considered a Classic, and that was William Abner at Gameshark. His first paragraph says it all:

"The sad truth in today’s videogame industry is that a lot of developers don’t love their own products. It’s true. Many go through the motions, programming away on games that they’d just as soon not play themselves. It’s a job. This is in part what makes the Galactic Civilizations II line of games something special. When the people making the game are devoted, inspired, and truly care about the project, nine times out of ten that is going to show up in the final product. Such is the case with Twilight of the Arnor, an expansion pack by name but a labor of love for the developer and a tasty reward for its fan base. "

If I was Brad, I would be doing two things:
First: getting this first paragraph framed and put up in Reception, not the code room, Reception.
Second: handing this, on a an otherwise blank sheet of paper to prospective candidate employees of the future - together with the remark - "Thats our culture, and if you are not prepared to put your heart, soul and personal time into your work to come up to that standard, you will hate working here, so make up your mind right now".

Its a Team that makes unique talent and unique games, not individuals or particular individual skills. So take a deserved bow guys, whatever post you have in Stardock - coder or non-coder - great result for all your hard work both in and out the office to make this game fly.

Its a lesson I wish to God other Businesses, not just the Games Industry, would learn ......

Regards
Zy

I catch your point, but I hardly think it's easy to make such a game. Very very difficult, in fact.

It's true, though, that the concept is both easy to understand and at least work toward, and yet so hard for big companies to care about. When you're seven levels of management above your product and its developers, all you care about is money, and it will show. I doubt people like Trip Hawkins (3DO's CEO, AKA He-Who-Destroyed-the-Heroes-of-Might-and-Magic-Series) even play computer games in any serious way, making it just that much worse. No inspiration from the top levels, and look what it gets your company, your employees, and your fans.

Yup, re-reading that, I didnt exactly express it well

We're on the same page tho

Regards
Zy