Firaxis’ Sid Meier Believes Graphics Are a Two-Edged Sword for Gaming

Graphics for high-profile video games have been steadily improving in the last few years, but at least one important designer believes that their importance might have been overstated.

Speaking to GameInformer, Sid Meier, now leading developer Firaxis and creator of the legendary Civilization franchise, has said, “We can bring the games to life in a much richer way than we could before.

“It’s a slightly two-edged sword. I used to love to challenge the player’s imagination, to show them a few pixels in 16 colours and try to convince them that they’re ruling an empire to stand the test of time. But I think today’s player is not really able to make that investment.”

The graphics advances make it easier for new gamers to try out genres that had been intimidating, like turn-based strategy, but at the same time a focus on the development of looks in video games has meant that the core design has not seen as many innovations as it might have had.

Meier added, “In a lot of ways, that’s what really changed about games. Game design hasn’t really changed as much as it might appear since the good old days, because a lot of the things that were true there, that makes games fun, still apply today.”

At the moment Firaxis is working on XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a re-imagining of the classic strategy game that pits the player against an alien invasion, allowing him to research weapons, recruit soldiers, create hardware and then engage in turn-based battles with alien troops.

The game seems to stay close to the legacy of the series and is slate for release during the fall of this year on the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the PC, which will get an improved version with more features and better User Interface.