Shiver Me Timbers! Atari and Firaxis Evolve a Classic in “Sid Meier’s Pirates!”

by Louis Bedigian

“Our hope is to deliver an incredibly fun and compelling game that will give the fans more than what they've been waiting for.” Sid Meier

Patched eyes, missing hands, wooden legs – being a pirate is hard work.  They look glamorous on the big screen, earning the affection of beautiful women like Keira Knightley.  But in reality the only thing they earn the affection of is the stuffed parrot sitting on their shoulders. 

That’s why I love video games.  I can be the meanest, most ruthless pirate I please and not sacrifice a single appendage.  What about hygiene?  I don’t have to shower if I don’t want to, but here I have a choice.  I can always stop the game and brush my teeth, putting me back in the race for that one-in-a-billion chance of dating Keira Knightley.  The odds are against me, but at least I know I have a shot.  Real pirates don’t. 

This month, Sid Meier’s Pirates! will sail to a store near you.  Published by Atari and developed by Firaxis, Pirates! is going to show gamers what it takes to be a pirate, and entertain them while doing it.   

There's a reason why Sid Meier's name appears before all of his games.  There's a reason why many gamers, game developers and industry professionals recognize him as the Father of Computer Gaming.  There's a reason - a very, very good reason - why Sid was the second person to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Science's Hall of Fame.

Simply put, the man is a genius.

Civilization, Colonization, Gettysburg!, Alien Crossfire - those aren't just great games.  They're Sid Meier's great games, and that's why his name appears before them.

This week GameZone Online got the chance to talk to Sid about his next surefire hit.

When was it decided that a new Pirates game should be created?

Sid Meier: Well, from the feedback we've gotten from fans over the years, all of us at Firaxis knew this was a game that people really enjoy…in fact, 17 years later many folks are still playing the original game. We finally decided that the time was right and that technology had advanced to the point where we could really bring the world of pirates to life for the 21st century.

The Pirates game that you've made now – is this what you envisioned for the original but could not make it due to technological limitations?  Or is the game we see now something that has come out of the growth and evolution in gaming?

Sid: My approach to making games has always been to focus on creating a gameplay experience that offers the player hours and hours of fun…and I think we accomplished that with the original Pirates. Clearly, today's technological advances now allow us to deliver a great visual experience, along with the fun gameplay.

With the 3D engine we've created a gorgeous world full of interesting places to visit and characters to meet. We've added new story elements and quests, upgraded dueling, reinvented land battles and ship battles to give the player more options and control, and added new action sequences like dancing and sneaking in and out of towns.  Our hope is to deliver an incredibly fun and compelling game that will give the fans more than what they've been waiting for, and show a whole new generation of gamers how much fun it is to live the life of a pirate! 

Vast sea, tiny island.

How do players command their crew?  Do they have direct control over them?

Sid: Players don't command or control your crew directly in all cases.  In   ship battles, you give general orders for your flagship and your crew carries them out based on their morale, how many crew you have, and the presence of crew specialists.  In dueling, your crew fights the enemy crew in the background.  Their morale is basically determined by whether they are outnumbered by or outnumber the enemy crew.  They're also affected by how well you are doing in your one-on-one duel with the enemy captain.  If you do well, they will fight harder, and having them outnumber the enemy crew can help you in your duel.  In land battles, you control your troops more directly.  Telling them where to move and when to melee or fire from a distance. You can recruit crew in the town taverns or pirate havens.  You can also rescue men from the water in ship battles or men might be so impressed by you that they join from a defeated ship while you are plundering it.

One of the coolest things about Pirates! is being able to overtake an enemy ship and seize their booty.  Could you describe a scenario like this and how it might play out in the game?

Sid: Ship battles are thrilling in this gorgeous 3D world. The main controls are the arrow keys for direction and the space bar for firing. As the pirate captain you'll engage the enemy ship in a battle and with your navigation and firing skills revel in the excitement of watching your shots pepper their sails with holes, blow a whole in the hull (you'll have the option to change views and to choose different types of cannon shot - round for hull damage, chain for sails, and grape for crew), and either sink the ship or crash into them and storm the deck for a duel with the   enemy captain. Once you've over powered the captain and crew…throwing them overboard…the booty is yours for the taking!

Make a choice.  Just remember: there could be consequences.

How big are the game worlds?  How much is there to explore?

Sid: The game takes place in the gorgeous 17th century Caribbean where there's plenty to explore.  There will be an opportunity to play in different historical eras and that will affect city placement but the underlying map will be the same.  Also, smaller towns, native villages, missions, and pirate havens are randomly placed on each new game.

How are the reputation and skill aspects measured?  Are points gained for completing specific tasks, or does the game rate your character by some other means?

Sid: It's not so much a stat-driven version of role-playing as much as it is role-playing your life as a pirate.  You will be able to achieve various ranks with the four governments in the game, upgrade your ships, add specialists to your crew, collect items that aid your character in certain situations, and your character will age over time. You can also increase your notoriety and become one of the top pirates in the region by either outdoing the other pirates with your deeds or by besting them in a one-on-one match.   

Dancing is fun!

Let’s overthrow the ship while they’re distracted.

Tell us about your relationship with NDL and your use of their engine, Gamebryo.

Sid: We've been really happy with the both the Gamebryo engine and NDL as a company. NDL offers great support to our team and has been a pleasure to work with. We've used the Gamebryo engine as a base for our 3D game engine and built our own layers on top of it to make the entire engine for Pirates!

How soon into the game's development did Gamebryo come into play?

Sid: We've been working with Gamebryo since the beginning of production.

Are you satisfied with the new Pirates game?  After finishing a project, some developers say they feel like they could have done more if they had more time (this is especially true of Japanese developers).  Do you feel this way about any of your games?  Is it ever possible for an artist to be 100% satisfied with his work?

Sid: I'm very happy with this game. As with all of our games, we'll work on it until we feel it is as good as it can possibly be. Right now we're in the polish phase of production where every member of the team plays the game over and over and over again, making sure everything looks and plays well…and if they find something that could be better, they make it so. Once we're completely satisfied that the game is ready for prime time we'll ship it.

Thank you for your time Sid.

Sid: Thanks for the interview!