Games where you create a civilization

It describes it as differing according to geographic and other influencing factors. A seaside fictional town has different circumstances for economy, trade and travel to a land-locked one. Some world building questions to ask about environment :. Towards the end of the novel [skip this paragraph to avoid plot spoilers], the adventuring Hobbits return to The Shire to discover destructive industrialization underway.

A dark force is felling trees fast. Here, Tolkien shows the negative effects that result when self-interested individuals take over shared, communal environments and ignore the impact of their choices. In a modern or futuristic novel, leadership and power may be more bureaucratic. Think, for example, of J. It enables Rowling to satirize the workings of our own bureacracies.

Children are brainwashed with propaganda from young. These details combine to create a world full of irony and satirical of modern politics and the increased power of the state. Also ask questions about power at a smaller scale, for example personal identity and how people engage around it:.

A patriarchal world where men have more rights and power is different to a world of Amazonian warrior women leaders. Identity is a key aspect of world building. A good example for thinking through the world building questions above is Ursula K. Instead, they are sexually indistinguishable for 24 days of each day lunar cycle.

For a two-day period each cycle, they become either male or female which they become is not fixed. Le Guin shows how identity politics and larger power and culture affect each other.

By commanding your band of brave companions you will be able to expand your lands, fight your way through harsh wars and ultimately become worthy of the throne of Calradia.

Anno Set both in the medieval and the renaissance periods, Anno offers a complex gameplay that includes city-building, economic simulation and real-time strategy elements. The players are able to create and manage their properties alongside other AI entities. Actions such as colonizing islands, planning settlements and starting naval or terrestrial fights are just some of the elements that contribute to the extremely solid world of Anno It is one of the most appreciated titles of the series and it should definitely be tried by all the medieval games aficionados.

Stronghold A historical real-time strategy, Stronghold focuses on conquering new areas of land and expanding your territories through military force, but it also offers the possibility to use a strategy based on economy and development. The player takes the role of a Lord that must make his kingdom thrive by creating a steady economy, building powerful armies for defense and reconquer the lands taken by other rival lords.

Medieval II: Total War Combining turn-based strategic rounds with real-time tactically-oriented battles, Medieval II: Total War is based on medieval warfare, religion and political elements. Its storyline takes place between the years and and includes territories from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The gameplay has two modes: battles and single-player campaign, the battles being available in multiplayer, in user-defined scenarios, or in historical settings that simulate real wars.

In the campaign the player can take control of a faction and build a civilization in order to defeat other factions and take control of at least 45 rival territories.

Planetfall takes us — you guessed it — to space. This led to XCOM-style ground battles, which offer a welcome break from number crunching and look great to boot. Total War: Three Kingdoms gives many of us Western players the opportunity to learn about the Three Kingdoms period in China and meet its heroic generals.

While Civilization is more inward-focused, more occupied with the growth of your people, here you know eventually you get to the heart of the matter — massive real-time battles in which armies clash. Development on Freeciv started as a hobby between three students all the way back in Today in , the game still has an avid player base.

Whereas Total War offers a lot of different historical events to explore via the means of, well, war, Civ always kept things as global and neutral as possible.

Europa Universalis restricts itself to Europe, with all the historical imbalances that exist between nations. Because of this, no faction starts off under the same conditions. Overall, gameplay is similar to Civilization, but EU IV offers decision-making on a much more granular level, while at the same time removing some pressure by having no endgame.

Basically, Europa Universalis is a more detailed, more challenging Civ, due to its many management options. Publisher Paradox Interactive, who releases the most strategy and 4X games next to Civ publisher Firaxis, struck gold with Stellaris, its deep space grand strategy game.

Compared to 4X titles, grand strategy is more about waging war and fostering diplomacy, although depending on the game this difference can be fairly academic.

All you need to know is that thanks to Stellaris' great diplomacy system, you get to meet and deal with intricately and lovingly designed alien races.