Civilization IV: Colonization... Wow that looks offensive
I literally exclaimed "holy sh*t" out loud when I was reading an e-mail this morning listing the "Games for Windows" coming out this year and I came across this:
“Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization™” (2K Games). In “Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization,” players lead one of four European nations on a quest to conquer and rule the New World. Players will be challenged to guide their people from the oppressive motherland, discover the New World, and negotiate, trade and fight with both the natives and other nations as they acquire power and fight for freedom and independence. As a complete reimagining of the 1994 classic, “Colonization” is a total conversion of “Civilization IV®” that combines the latter’s addictive “just one more turn” gameplay with all-new graphics and features that add more depth to the franchise. (“Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: Colonization” does not require the original “Civilization IV” product in order to be played.)
Now yes, a simple google search tells me that the game was actually announced two weeks ago and I missed that, so forgive me my tardiness...
But goddamit, am I the only one who think it's morally disturbing to make a game that celebrates
COLONIZATION? It's ironic, actually, because just a few months ago a friend sent me a link to some information about the original "Colonization" game from 1994 (pictured left) that this one updates. At first, I thought it had to be a joke, but sure enough, it was real. However, I dismissed it as a relic from a time when neither developers nor players took videogames seriously as media with moral implications.
But the idea that 2K and Firaxis and Sid Meier himself would make and release a game in the year 2008 that is not only about colonization, but celebrates it by having the player control the people doing the colonizing is truly mind boggling.
(A huge caveat up front: Of course, the game hasn't come out yet. So this post is based entirely on that marketing blurb and the description on the website. If the game turns out to be something entirely different than it appears to be, that's fantastic and I'll withdraw everything in here.)
Remember all the debate when Newsweek's N'Gai Croal said of the "Resident Evil 5" trailer with the African zombies that "Even if you are familiar with the franchise, if you are familiar with those images and their historical weight, you look at it and say, 'Man, that’s kind of messed up.'" Well, I agreed with N'Gai on that issue, but in my opinion, a game about colonization is about 100 times more messed up.
And yes, while the description says that you "fight with... the natives," it also claims there is "improved diplomacy." It's entirely possible, even likely, that you can finish the game without killing any Native Americans. And I'm sure there are no options to give the Native Americans smallpox or send them on a death march. But that's irrelevant. A game about colonization that's entirely about controlling the settlers can either force the player to do horrific things or let him avoid doing it and whitewash some of the worst events of human history. Either option is offensive.
Forgive me if this sounds like an obnoxious history lesson, but the lack of outrage over the game does make me feel like I have to explain myself... Throughout history, colonization regularly involved stealing, killing, abuse, deceit, and the exploitation or decimation of native people. Anybody with a shred of a moral concience who studies the history will be appalled. Whether it
was British rule of India or slavery in Africa or Aboriginal children kidnapped and taken to Christian schools in Australia or the dislocation of Native Americans in the U.S., there were no positive colonization experiences.
Even more disturbing, though, is that colonization was and is a racist process. The colonizing people ALWAYS thought they were superior by dint of their ethnicity or nationality (often connected to their religious beliefs) and that this somehow justified taking land from native people, exploiting their resources, or simply "educating" them. In modern history, of course, this was always European racism playing itself out as they colonized other parts of the world. But this isn't a "white=bad" argument. It's a "colonization=racism=bad" argument.
So now, in the year 2008, we have a videogame being released by a major public company (2K is part of Take-Two Interactive) in which "players lead one of four European nations
on a quest to conquer and rule the New World." The obvious comparison that spring to my mind would be if somebody
released a game called "Civilization IV: Confederacy," in which players have to "lead a
proud people to defend their values and traditions against their oppressive neighbors to the North." Sure the game might not require you to own and abuse your slaves. But defending the Confederacy is inherently about defending the racist practice of slavery. And "conquer[ing] and rul[ing] the New World" is inherently about engaging in the racist practice of exploiting and abusing native people. (And I'm not even getting into the offensiveness of using uncritically using the phrase "New World" in the marketing material.)
I'm sure you can make a non-offensive videogame about colonization. But it would have to in some way show things from the perspective of the people being colonized and it would have to deal with all the horrible practices that colonization has involved in the world's history. "Civilization IV: Colonization," does not appear to be that game.
And yes, before anyone brings it up, I believe in the First Amendment. Of course 2K has the right to release it. Nobody should stop them from doing so. But I think personally think they shouldn't release it, if it's at all what it appears to be based on the early marketing. And I'm hoping a lot of people agree with me and will say so publicly.
As Leigh Alexander aptly put it in Kotaku on Monday, "It must also be our responsibility to uphold a willingness to examine games, to discuss them civilly, to be willing to see what we're saying about ourselves through play." If there was a major movie coming out that uncritically told the story of Europeans colonizing America, there would be a major furor, and rightfully so. Why should it be any different with a videogame?
(map of European colonization from the 18th century taken from here.)
Chris Morris reports on the business and culture of video games and offers analysis of recent events and industry trends.
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Posted by: replica handbags | October 25, 2009 at 07:44 PM
How about just not creating anything that may offend someone and all sit around doing nothing creative just in case someone gets offended... some people just miss the point? If you are that bothered then why not play Civ IV as the Native Americans and conquer the world or why not re-write history and go one of the Evil, Fascist European nations and instead of killing, conquering and spreading plague try a peacful game without religion where your population just hugs trees and smokes pot all day.
Posted by: Mark | October 23, 2009 at 08:19 AM
Excellent post, and well discussed position. I too have the same visceral reaction, and those who automatically disregard your perspective of being "wussy" or other equally demeaning terms probably don't have the ability to step back and regard the matter from someone else's perspective.
It is a shame that the knee-jerk reaction to concerns regarding colonization, race, gender, and sundry other political "hot topics" is to call names and spit vim. Would that that were not the case.
Continue writing, questioning, and thinking.
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The europeans were more advanced, thats why they won, quit making up attrocities that did not happen, the indians stood in the way of technology, and in turn were pushed aside by it. They were unfortunate victims of disease and their own collective stubborness. The liberal cause is just, I know I used to be one, we seek to avoid conflict and race wars, as happened in the twentieth century multiple times. We do this by saying that all are equal and that race is a "social construct". But by lying about the differences between races and cultures of man we will inevitably create the same situation again. When people figure out the liberals are lying, they will completely reject their message of peace and tolerance as well. The truth shall set you free, no matter how uncomfortable or pollitically incorrect it is, in the end truth shall prevail.
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Someone ought to make a truly brutal game about colonization, where massacres, enslavement and forced assimilation available as in-game actions in their rawest forms -- or not, as the player sees fit. I'd play that game.
It's both entertaining and realistic to have a simulation where you can balance the benefits and detriments of beneficent and evil styles of rule. Nobody ever got rich by being a nice guy every minute of the day, but at the same time someone who overindulges in evil will soon have too many enemies and too few friends.
By the way, Ben, nobody ever decided to "give the Native Americans smallpox" on purpose. That's a myth. In fact they didn't even know how smallpox spread because they didn't know what caused it. Suggesting that they did is as preposterous as suggesting that Mexicans have been intentionally spreading H1N1 flu around the world, or that the existence of that flu is somehow Mexico's fault. Likewise, we can't blame the Black Death on the Mongols who carried it to Europe. Humans can't prevent disease, or its spread. The death of the majority of the native population of the Americas from European diseases was inevitable from the day that Europeans set foot in the New World.
Bob, you are totally wrong when you say that nobody tried to colonize Europe during the Dark Age. In fact, the reason that we call it the Dark Age is because of a seemingly endless series of Germanic and other invasions from the east that ravaged the former Roman Empire as the invaders colonized large swathes of the Continent and Great Britain. The Romans themselves had previously been colonizing much of Europe and the Near East. The Celtic peoples, who inhabited most of Western Europe before the Roman and Germanic invasions, now only retain a semblance of their ancient culture in a few small scraps of northwestern Europe.
Posted by: Nate | May 05, 2009 at 09:24 AM
What an offensively stupid article.
Considering colonization is what created the United States - and is such a deeply ingrained part of this nation's rich heritage - I find it equally 'mind boggling' that Ben Fritz would have such a 'moral' problem with this game.
The Civilization game that Colonization was based on was all about empire building. Was that any less 'morally dubious?'
Certainly, American colonial history has some dark patches - the genocide of the Indians being the worst. However, it's also the process in which America - then the most progressive nation in the world - was created.
The fact that we study American Independence in school and it's such an important part of our cultural identity makes it highly appropriate material for a strategy game. What were the challenges the founding fathers faced? What were their ultimate aims?
Admittedly, it's a censored version of playable history - the 'indentured servants' in the game probably represent the slaves who built much of the Americas. However, it's still valid, educational and thought provoking.
Ben Fritz clearly believes that if a part of history is less than spotless, it should be erased from the public consciousness - or only touched by the thought police who make up the politically correct mafia.
While bad things happened during American colonialism, it was also the process which created this great nation and provided freedom and sanctuary for Fritz' ancestors when they moved here.
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Posted by: mesos | April 10, 2009 at 11:55 PM
To the author of the above post,
Civilization IV does allow to play civil war scenarios where you can choose your side! You can even adopt slavery as a civic option and be the Confederate States of America or the Germans in WW2!
Civilization is an amazingly addictive and open-ended game, very well designed. There are far worst games on the market than Colonization.
I thought your post was a joke at first, and I still think it might have been...
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Posted by: knight online noah | March 11, 2009 at 07:19 PM
Colonization is the act of moving a small group of one nations populous to an area outwith the political and cultural borders of the parent country.
With this said I believe Sid Meiers representation of the process to be as accurate as the civilization 4 engine could allow. His handling over a delicate subject is well though out and open.
The real genius behind said game is the ability to choose a path. One may quite easily decide not to encroach on the natives territory and respect cultural differences. It must be considered that were the settlers that did arrive in America to deign this course of action the correct one then the USA would most certainly have never existed.
Mr Fritz you're ability to comprehend moral complexity seems somewhat lacking. Perhaps it is your history that may need revised. The only real difference between the europeans and the natives were that we had guns.
Posted by: Not importamt | March 07, 2009 at 08:25 PM
It's just a game. Does Grand Theft Auto glorify murder and car theft? Do the already released civilization games where you can adopt such civics as slavery or police state glorify those things? There's nothing wrong with a game where you can do something evil, because it's JUST A GAME!
Although I do think it would be fun to have the option of playing the game as one of the Native civilizations or even as the Mother country(who has to go in and try to prevent the colonies from successfully becoming independent).
Posted by: Fridgid | February 28, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Oh bite my ass you liberal dumbass!
Posted by: Sid Meier | February 20, 2009 at 11:48 PM
Wow, yes, the problem is with games like Colonization, not things like GTA/Manhunt et al.
Our kids can grow up to be murderers, as long as they don't become racist...
Posted by: Johnny English | February 13, 2009 at 11:06 AM
He's a liberal, I feel so sorry for him.
Posted by: Tek | February 12, 2009 at 01:05 PM
sorry dude, this is real mode. Colonization is not a cruel thing, its a fact of the world. I like how you don't think that the natives thought they were superior, many were. So I assume you'd like to play as the Aztec and be a tyrannical nation? Or the Inca? Not only that, but colonization has been blacks whites gorillas blue people monkey beasts and all sorts of things. This game is not racist, its a historical reenactment game and the more realistic the better as to show people the reality of this world. Everybody kills lies cheats and steals and is a fucker regardless of race, the end. Not only that, slavery is not racist. During that time period if you were black you were not automatically a slave. Though dumb shits did use peoples inferiority as a basis for slavery as many people have done.
Posted by: Kaiser_wilhelm | February 10, 2009 at 02:14 AM
Eddy Izzard told us the reason colonization was fair: We had a flag.
But seriously, chill out. This isn't the first game based on the "racist qualities" you state. I've played civil war games, both sides by the way, WWII Games, and the Wermacht was rather good with it's Blitzkreig doctrine. Do I support racism? Not at all.
What's more, by being completely PC on all this, you're perpetuating racism. "RAWR! Defend the Native American's and Slave's honor by not allowing people to interact with the possibilities of history!" If anything, concieling history is what would allow the circle to come around. Turn a blind eye to events transpired, and you often recreate those events.
So, yeah, like, by the way... If I remember right, Disney did make a movie about colonization... Something about... I dunno, John Smith and his interactions with Pocahontas? You know... Jamestown? Yeah... Parents took their kids to see that... rawr and stuff.
Get a flag, maybe I'd listen then.
Posted by: Aaron | February 07, 2009 at 07:14 PM
we should remove all history classes from all schools. we might offend somebody.
Posted by: ddc | January 24, 2009 at 01:47 PM
This guy is a complete idiot. How many other games involve war, colonization, gang violence, murder, sex, thievery, etc? And you're picking on a 2D history game just because of the title??? Ever think of becoming a Florida lawyer?
Posted by: Lolling at Ben Fritz | January 15, 2009 at 04:39 AM
Oh my....
You are a very political correct weasel, aren't you?
There are games on the market where the bloodshed is really glorified, but Colonization is surely not one of them.
You can choose to cooperate with the natives if you prefer.
If you are too narrowminded to write reviews, don't.
Posted by: Mr WIllow | January 15, 2009 at 03:37 AM
Idiot.
Posted by: anonymous | December 23, 2008 at 06:09 PM
I'm really sorry that this guy gives us liberals such a bad name. We're not all as "Oh, horrors, how benighted you are for even thinking such a primitive thought" as he is.
What was even more priceless was when he brought up the evil slavery of the Civil War as a way of making his point. It just goes to show how disconnected from reality he is. It's almost like he's saying, "Well, at least they haven't made any video games supporting the evil Confederacy, because that would be giving tacit approval to slavery." How can he be so removed from reality? There are hundreds of Civil War video games. (In most of them, you can play the Confederates.)
If I play a video game set in World War II, I'd often get the option of playing the Germans. Does this mean I'm giving tacit approval to the Holocaust? He reminds me a little of my sister, who was horrified when I bought a video game about hunting deer. (Poor Bambi!)
None of the Colonization video games allow us to remake history in our own (more enlightened) image. If you'd like to try that, start with Orson Scott Card's excellent sci-fi book "Pastwatch : the redemption of Christopher Columbus." It's fantastic (in more ways than one).
Colonization is evil. Hell, war is evil. Thankfully, not everyone thinks the best way to deal with evil is by saying, "Oh, horrors, let's cover our eyes and ears and not even talk about such things."
No, burying your head in the sand is how things like the Holocaust happen. It's far better to see it and try to understand it, so that we're better able to deal with it. And if we really understand evil, we see that it's not just "out there," but also "in here," inside each one of us.
I often delude myself into thinking that it's the Evil Conservatives who refuse to see reality. (Like Bush and Iraq.) What an idiot I've been! This author certainly proves that liberals can be equally blind.
Posted by: If Necessary | December 17, 2008 at 12:07 PM
This is..unbelievable, I admit my response is very late, beyond late maybe. But I must speak here.
To say that all video games, historical or not, are evil and satanic is just...beyond idiotic.
Has America really devolved to this level?
The sniper that blamed grand theft auto for his choice, the game didn't force him, he "CHOSE" to snipe people, he chose to kill people. He blames the game, but a game doesn't make a person kill people in real life, because its fiction. The moment a video game of any sort is created, no matter if its historical based or not, is fiction. Its instantly fictitious.
History has had one major thing that most people don't pay attention to, choices.
Hitler chose to be a genocidal dictator/tyrant. American colonists CHOSE to subjugate the natives. Not all choices were good, History shows us the consequences of our actions, and some people attempt to not repeat them again, others do not care.
But video games are a completely different story. If video games were bad, they would never have the popularity they do now. They would have been outlawed from the get go, even MILITARY people love video games. I'll bet you, I'll bet you thousands of dollars that even george bush plays video games when he can spare the time.
A video game satisfies humanities "What If?" Imagination.
What if Hitler was assassinated before he could take over Nazi Germany? What if England had been taken over by a dictator instead of Germany in WW2? What if Hitler WASN't EVil? things like that, The Human imagination is vivid and...suffice to say, downright epic in scale.
That is why many people consider your opinion a load of tripe, Yes. History has been violent, Yes, racism is not good. But your load of whitewash comment and just sheer ignorance of the fact that. No. Matter. What, it comes down to the fact that Video Games are works of fiction, No matter what universe its in. A video game about this arguement right here would STILL be a work of fiction.
Humanity as a race are violent and hostile. But to be honest, the crime rate has gone down due to video games. Truely, look up the information, the crimerate has gone down since the inception of Video Games. I do not like to compare people to Jack Thompson, but you are truely as ignorant as him. Please do the world a favor and quit your job until you truely study history and learn the difference between history and video games.
That is all.
Posted by: Amasari | December 12, 2008 at 12:21 PM
It is only a game, and how it is played is entirely up to the person playing it. I play a free version called FreeCol available for both windows and linux. I like playing the French who were very friendly with the native peoples, or the Russians who settled near Alaska. In all my games, I never have any need to destroy any native villages. Quite the opposite, it is very profitable to trade with them, and use them to train new settlers in skills such as farming, trapping, lumber cutting, ore mining, etc.
Posted by: Roland F. Arms | December 09, 2008 at 05:24 AM
It is only a game, and how it is played is entirely up to the person playing it. I play a free version called FreeCol available for both windows and linux. I like playing the French who were very friendly with the native peoples, or the Russians who settled near Alaska. In all my games, I never have any need to destroy any native villages. Quite the opposite, it is very profitable to trade with them, and use them to train new settlers in skills such as farming, trapping, lumber cutting, ore mining, etc.
Posted by: Roland F. Arms | December 09, 2008 at 05:22 AM
Why are you so concerned only with how well off you are? Are the Sioux better off? Are the Inca? The Aztec? So the U.S. came out of bondage from England. So American colonists were better off, as were their decedents. Can we say the same for the decedents of the Native Americans?
Posted by: Robert | December 02, 2008 at 05:47 PM
??????
since when was colonizing a bad thing? last time i checked America was a colony and look how many great things have come out of the USA.
Posted by: nayr | December 01, 2008 at 07:29 PM
I would like to point out that it is a historically based game, therefore, what happened in history must be portrayed. The game is not meant to say colonization is right or wrong, but to show what happened in history, and possible change it.
(as an aside, there was a lot of uninhabited land in the Americas, therefore colonization could have been done peacefully without slaughtering the natives, the act of forcing ones cultures and beliefs on someone is called imperialism, not colonization. Colonization can be good or bad, depending on how it is achieved, where as imperialism is just bad.)
(And as another aside to you,WartyX, Britain, Germany, Greece, and Rome WERE European natives, you fool! The Huns raided Rome! They didn't colonize it! And Towns were burnt down in WAR! Use common sense!)
( one last aside to "concerned citizen" ...YOU SOCIAL DARWINIST IMPERIALISTIC IDIOT! "I LOVE colonization, since the world would be far worse off without it. " IS IT BETTER FOR THE NATIVE AMERICANS? DO THEY NOT COUNT AS PART OF THE WORLD?!
" But as in everything in life, there are winners and losers. If you can't defend your nation, and your way of life, then you are a loser. I am a winner...I guess that makes you a loser." So does that mean that if a nation can't defend itself it has no right to exist? So, say, China were to invade Japan, they have no standing army! So using your logic, they have no right to exist, and must be allowed to be wiped off the face of the earth, culture and all...YOU ARE A MORON!
"If it wasn't for Europe colonizing the world, half the world would still be in the dark ages. That is a fact and you know it, but your politically correct warped mind can't see that." HEY! Notice how no one colonized Europe, but it still came out of its dark age! The Inca were pretty advanced, even having bronze weapons, in time, they would have developed more and more, and eventually would have led The Americas out of their dark age!
STOP DEFENDING THE ELIMINATION OF CULTURES OTHER THAN YOUR OWN!)
Posted by: Robert | November 30, 2008 at 01:49 PM
It must be hard going through life looking for reasons to get offended
Posted by: Dwight Benignus | November 28, 2008 at 09:36 PM
You are insane. In the originall civ you could colonise. Its only a game. In fing star wars people get colonized. go cry over your history books!
Posted by: max Lindon | November 27, 2008 at 03:14 AM
Playing colonization doesn't mean endorsing the slaying of native american. Have you ever played any video game? You can find something offensive in all of them, well, that is if you are a white guy obsessed with white guilt.
And talking about offensive, you shouldn't speak about "European colonization" but be more specific, a lot of European nations never had any colony.
Posted by: Hoyt VDB | November 26, 2008 at 07:37 AM
What a sensitive person who posted this article must be. I hope that my message finds that person. This is way too sensitive and comes off as sissified. You are a sissy. You relate a video game with references to historical events to racist propaganda and I relate you to a big headed baffoon. In your article you present ideas that bring to my mind someone else's opinion that has been pushed upon you. I don't believe that you really find this game offensive. Someone else thinks so, and you have either been forced to post an article in agreeance or you have been completely brainwashed and you no longer experience free-will.
I believe that any media that has anything to do with historical events is very valuable. Movies, games, songs, etc. are all extensions of education aside from books which are not always the most enjoyable forms of intercepting ideas. These various types of media are publishers ways of reaching a wider audience with educational material.
Think of this, most Americans have no idea who the Vice President is, yet they all know which fast-food chain's commercial featured a small talking dog. Any form of media that will garner interest in history or education is not bad. On the other hand: a public forum where a sissy is allowed to post an article attempting to scare people away from something they know nothing about or sim;ly don't understand is VERY dangerous.
Posted by: xcmhx | November 25, 2008 at 05:05 PM
This game is great. If anyone is offended by history, please do not read books, watch tv, play games, or converse with anyone else, lest you be possibly offended by related material.
To bash a video game because the game's lore surrounds some historical events and facts is absurd. It is a game, anyone that takes it farther than that should seek some sort of counseling.
Posted by: Zeb | November 23, 2008 at 03:39 PM
Wow this author is a moron. I'd suggest he never open a history book for the shock it might bring him. Anyway I was in junior high when the first Colonization was made. It started a fascination of that time period for me and really opened opened me up to history in general. It became my favorite subject. Games like these can be educational tools, they should not hide the past. This is just another case of thoughtless censorship and the stripping of our rights to learn what really has occurred in our global history.
Posted by: KnightSaber | November 22, 2008 at 09:17 PM
So everyone gets all offended when the history relates to what happened to the US natives?
I think we are forgetting the atrocities that happened to European natives (yes, believe it or not, much Europe was colonized and occupied by Greeks, Romans, Huns, the French, the British, the Germans, the list goes on). Slaves forced to fight to the death in front of audiences of thousands, whole towns burnt down to make a point.
I dont want to undermime what happened in overseas colonies, but this article is ridiculous. I personally believe a game 'celebrating' the Roman Empire or other such movements is far worse than the Westernisation of the Americas.
Posted by: WartyX | November 19, 2008 at 09:19 AM
I bought the game last weekend and I am totally addicted. It's a great game and I'm not offended at all.
Your "Civilization IV: Confederacy" idea was awesome! I would totally buy that. I'd prefer the option of choosing a side of course.
Posted by: Dave | November 18, 2008 at 05:37 PM
heh im gonna make a mod to give natives small pox :P
Posted by: David Davidson | November 18, 2008 at 05:35 AM
I am not an expert on history, but I do know enough to know one thing, it is written in blood. I have never played the game, but it is meant to be based on some kind of history, and this is the way history was, therefore they( the company that made the game) should not be blamed.
What the Europeans did to the Native Americans was unforgivable. To slaughter people in the name of "spreading one's religion" or "civilizing them" is too horrible for words to describe. So they were weaker, well, There was a time when Europe was in a Dark Age. Guess what? No one tried to colonize them. Racism is a word to be spit upon. No one has more right to live than another. And to those of you who think Colonization was a good thing, I suppose you thought the Natives to be savages,and Europe to be the guiding star, right? Well, did you know, that while the Aztecs practiced human sacrifice, Europe was burning people at the stake? Europe found all kinds of ways to torture people. Most Native Americans did not. Did you know in Aztec society, slaves were not much different than the free people? In Aztec society, To abuse a slave was to receive the death penalty. In Europe, no one cared.
In my opinion, Europeans were the true savages. I know this was originally talking about a game, but I must defend the Natives. I don't care how strong or powerful a nation is, it has no right to try and slaughter others just because it wants more money or power. And that is what Colonization was for, nothing more, nothing less.
Posted by: Bob | November 17, 2008 at 12:56 PM
This sort of reactionary liberalism is why the conservative right won't fade away from American politics. It is nonsensical, naive of actual history and guilty of the exact same tactics used for decades to stifle intellectual discourse and progress by conservative intstitutions worldwide. We don't like it! Ban it! That sort of idea should be HEINOUS for anyone to even consider! At any rate, a writer with no understanding that the original game existed is about as qualified to comment on the subject of video games as Sarah Palin had to comment on Russia.
But I digress. History was not pretty, and the European Colonial period is the pivotal moment of the modern world, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not. It isn't a question of good or bad. It simply is. To recreate it in a game creates an opportunity for discourse on the positives and negatives of the period. The fact that all you consider is the negatives is proof positive of the need (not to mention a further reason to question the value of your commentary) for said discourse. The more I consider the article the more inane it becomes. This is not a game about the specifics of the Holocaust, or the Slave Trade, or the direct and indirect massacres of indigenous peoples. It is a broad historical recreation of a period of time. Or perhaps you believe no games should involve history (CivCityRome, Medieval Total War, Call of Duty, Caesar et al)? History is not pretty, clean or p.c. Instead it is characterized by struggle, and this particular period actually graced us with many of the modern concepts you hold so dear that give you the reasoning(not reasons mind you) used to criticize the game in the first place(i.e. liberty, equality). Those who ignore the history are doomed to repeat it.
Posted by: batigol47 | November 16, 2008 at 08:51 PM
Well, I sure hope you never delve into being studious of history, you'll probably weep and moan more than you read.
Posted by: luciusETRUR | November 11, 2008 at 12:05 AM
Seriously, take your politically correct attitude and stick it up your.....If it wasn't for Europe colonizing the world, half the world would still be in the dark ages. That is a fact and you know it, but your politically correct warped mind can't see that.
Without colonization, we wouldn't have some of the greatest countries in the world. Heck, Germany would be running the world, since the UK couldn't fight WWII without all the resources and help from Canada, USA, Australia, Brazil, and New Zealand. All great colonized nations.
I LOVE colonization, since the world would be far worse off without it. But as in everything in life, there are winners and losers. If you can't defend your nation, and your way of life, then you are a loser. I am a winner...I guess that makes you a loser.
Posted by: concerned citizen | November 04, 2008 at 10:13 PM
I played the DOS version, it rocked.
And no, there wasn't an option to give the natives smallpox.
Though you could do things like dig up their ancestors' burial sites or initiate attacks on them, and then smoke them when they came to attack you.
You could also decide not to be a jerk and trade with them, though they'd get prickly the longer you were there and bigger you got, as I recall.
Fun times....before the internet.
Posted by: James | October 28, 2008 at 02:31 AM
Colonization, like Civilization, is alternate history. It is not about how things were (except for starting premises and what things are possible) but about how things could have been, might have been, or even should have been.
Games are behavior rehearsal. Just as a shooter rehearses shooting (preferably leading to a military career) so a game like Colonization rehearses the choices of a civilization, making the decisions (and in a democracy we do make the decisions).
So what is "whitewash" about a game in which you can rehearse American history as it should have been?
Posted by: Robert South | October 26, 2008 at 01:50 PM