Sid Meier's Memoir!: A Life in Computer Games
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- Author：Sid Meier
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Summary
The life and career of the legendary developer celebrated as the “godfather of computer gaming，” and creator of Civilization。
Over his four-decade career， Sid Meier has produced some of the world’s most popular video games， including Sid Meier’s Civilization， which has sold more than 51 million units worldwide and accumulated more than one billion hours of play。 Sid Meier’s Memoir！ is the story of an obsessive young computer enthusiast who helped launch a multibilliondollar industry。 Writing with warmth and ironic humor， Meier describes the genesis of his influential studio， MicroProse， founded in 1982 after a trip to a Las Vegas arcade， and recounts the development of landmark games， from vintage classics like Pirates！ and Railroad Tycoon， to Civilization and beyond。
Articulating his philosophy that a videogame should be “a series of interesting decisions，” Meier also shares his perspective on the history of the industry， the psychology of gamers， and fascinating insights into the creative process， including his ten rules of good game design。
Over his four-decade career， Sid Meier has produced some of the world’s most popular video games， including Sid Meier’s Civilization， which has sold more than 51 million units worldwide and accumulated more than one billion hours of play。 Sid Meier’s Memoir！ is the story of an obsessive young computer enthusiast who helped launch a multibilliondollar industry。 Writing with warmth and ironic humor， Meier describes the genesis of his influential studio， MicroProse， founded in 1982 after a trip to a Las Vegas arcade， and recounts the development of landmark games， from vintage classics like Pirates！ and Railroad Tycoon， to Civilization and beyond。
Articulating his philosophy that a videogame should be “a series of interesting decisions，” Meier also shares his perspective on the history of the industry， the psychology of gamers， and fascinating insights into the creative process， including his ten rules of good game design。
Reviews
Thaddeus Bradley
，
A must read not only for Civilization nerds， but anyone interested in game design and game history。
David Kopec
，
I’ve played far too many hours of Civilization throughout my life。 If you haven’t， or you’re not an aspiring game designer， then you may find large sections of Sid Meier’s Memoir！ hard to appreciate。 But I do love Sid Meier’s games and I do dabble in making games as a hobby。 So， I really appreciated this memoir that takes you through Meier’s entire career as well as some of his rules of game design that have made him so successful。This book is not a deep dive。 Each chapter， which generally cover I’ve played far too many hours of Civilization throughout my life。 If you haven’t， or you’re not an aspiring game designer， then you may find large sections of Sid Meier’s Memoir！ hard to appreciate。 But I do love Sid Meier’s games and I do dabble in making games as a hobby。 So， I really appreciated this memoir that takes you through Meier’s entire career as well as some of his rules of game design that have made him so successful。This book is not a deep dive。 Each chapter， which generally covers a game or two， provides some insight about how a game was developed and why it worked （or did not work） for the player。 But the chapters are short， and many of them concentrate on just one aspect of the game or Meier’s philosophy。 The two things I found most interesting were the inspiration behind each game， and the gameplay rules that Meier learned over time。It’s not a tell-all， and it doesn’t cover much about the video game business。 You won’t get a play-by-play about the development of Civilization VI。 Meier says that he left much of the business side to his partners。 Instead， this is a book about the creative process。Meier touches on enough of his personal life to give you a general outline of his life and some of the real-life hobbies that led to some of his best games。 Again， most of the details are left out， but there’s enough there to be inspiring。 The thing I found the most surprising in the entire book， is that despite his high position， Meier continued to be an active participant in the programming of his games （or at least the prototypes） late into his career。In short， Sid Meier’s Memoir！ is limited in its scope。 It’s mainly about game design and the creative process。 But it does that well。 You won’t quite feel like you’re in the trenches with the team making Civilization， but you will feel like you have a sense of where their head was at。 The lessons about game design and the creative process that Meier provides are drawn from deep experience and most seem self-evidently true。 The writing is clear and the insights are real。 If you loved his games or you want to make games， you should read this book。 。。。more
Jacob Vorstrup Goldman
，
Many interesting anecdotes about the development and design of Sid’s games， sprinkled with the odd personal story。 Overall very polished and straightforward， but it seems most of the dramatic events in his life have been glossed over or subdued。 That is a fair approach when writing an autobiography focused on the artist and their works， but will - unsurprisingly， my favourite word - also make it， like this review， a bit boring。。。Casual observations: surprisingly many Sid Meier games were not mad Many interesting anecdotes about the development and design of Sid’s games， sprinkled with the odd personal story。 Overall very polished and straightforward， but it seems most of the dramatic events in his life have been glossed over or subdued。 That is a fair approach when writing an autobiography focused on the artist and their works， but will - unsurprisingly， my favourite word - also make it， like this review， a bit boring。。。Casual observations: surprisingly many Sid Meier games were not made by Sid Meier， though they clearly benefited from his insight and ideas。 Also， while a personal interpretation， it is somehow quite clear that Sid in a sense ‘finished’ his career with Civ - it is his magnum opus， and the decades since have essentially revolved around it in one way or the other。 But I’m not sure Sid would see it that way。。。 。。。more
Sineala
，
Let's be honest: you already know whether you want to read this book， because either you recognize Sid Meier's name or you don't。 And if you do， you probably want to read this。There aren't any surprises here; Meier's memoir is pretty much exactly the book you think it's going to be。 He's a decent writer and obviously he's made a lot of interesting games。 It's not especially technically-minded， so if you're looking for programming details， this isn't that。 But if you're looking for a quick， light Let's be honest: you already know whether you want to read this book， because either you recognize Sid Meier's name or you don't。 And if you do， you probably want to read this。There aren't any surprises here; Meier's memoir is pretty much exactly the book you think it's going to be。 He's a decent writer and obviously he's made a lot of interesting games。 It's not especially technically-minded， so if you're looking for programming details， this isn't that。 But if you're looking for a quick， light read about the history of one of your favorite game series， you'll probably like this。Also， it has achievements。 。。。more
Mika
，
A biography which focus are on the games he has created。 But you will also get glimpse of his childhood and so on。 Achievements is also included。
Brian
，
While Sid's creations （primarily Civ 1 and Railroad Tycoon） have vacuumed away countless hours of my life， I didn't find this book nearly as compelling or insightful as I had hoped。 Primarily， I enjoyed better understanding the chronology of his works and gaining some insight into his very early years and the origins of MicroProse。 But insights into his process felt minimal; mundane anecdotes， with any pithy bits having already been assimilated into the public gestalt of Sid; e。g。 that one shoul While Sid's creations （primarily Civ 1 and Railroad Tycoon） have vacuumed away countless hours of my life， I didn't find this book nearly as compelling or insightful as I had hoped。 Primarily， I enjoyed better understanding the chronology of his works and gaining some insight into his very early years and the origins of MicroProse。 But insights into his process felt minimal; mundane anecdotes， with any pithy bits having already been assimilated into the public gestalt of Sid; e。g。 that one should double or halve numbers until they're right， etc。 I don't care much about his personal life， but even there， the book felt strangely anemic。 His divorce is given one sentence。 Is Sid a singularly obsessed auteur （he brought his computer on family vacations to work）， and did that cost him his marriage？ Or was it something else？ I guess we'll never know。 Similarly， Bill Stealey， a prominent figure in the early-to-mid Sid story is escorted out of the book faster than a red shirt is killed in an episode of Star Trek。 Didn't learn much there。In a memoir， I'm looking for more than an assemblage of public facts。 It didn't feel like there was much depth here and it felt like Sid avoided diving into what could have been some of the harder topics。 They're just breezed over。Back to Civ 1 for me。（Read in Quincy WA at the Cave B Ridge Condos） 。。。more
Scott Holstad
，
I've been a Sid Meier fan since the early 1990s， so it'd be pretty hard to go wrong here。 For fans， recommended in a big way。 I've been a Sid Meier fan since the early 1990s， so it'd be pretty hard to go wrong here。 For fans， recommended in a big way。 。。。more
Jet Simon
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Really great insight into Sid's process and a great story。 Really well done。 Really great insight into Sid's process and a great story。 Really well done。 。。。more
Stephen
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First half is a fantastic tale of what it was like to be developing computer games almost at the beginning of the industry。 He toots his own horn a bit here and there but it's pretty clear that the guy is very clever。 It is a shame though that he does not delve more into technical details of some of the problems and solutions he faced。Second half lags and meanders a bit。 It also becomes less clear what input Sid had over the more recent games （though I am aware that in some cases it was very lit First half is a fantastic tale of what it was like to be developing computer games almost at the beginning of the industry。 He toots his own horn a bit here and there but it's pretty clear that the guy is very clever。 It is a shame though that he does not delve more into technical details of some of the problems and solutions he faced。Second half lags and meanders a bit。 It also becomes less clear what input Sid had over the more recent games （though I am aware that in some cases it was very little）。 The highlight of this part is investigating the origin of the nuclear gandi meme。I wished there was more on Civilization 4 but then again I suppose no amount of discussion on that game would ever satisfy me， so there's no winning for the book there。 It's not the best autobiography I've ever read， but for me Civ 4 was （and still is） quite an important part of my life so I can hardly rate it too badly。3 Montezumas out of 5The other 2 died in a suicide war against fake nuclear gandi。 。。。more
Mindaugas Mozūras
，
We are surrounded by decisions， and therefore games， in everything we do。I finished this memoir in five days。 If not for the side effects of a COVID-19 vaccine， I might've been finished reading the book even faster。 Sid Meier's Memoir！ was a fun and easy read， with occasional deep insights into the fundamentals of game design。 If you've ever played a Sid Meier game， you should consider reading it。 We are surrounded by decisions， and therefore games， in everything we do。I finished this memoir in five days。 If not for the side effects of a COVID-19 vaccine， I might've been finished reading the book even faster。 Sid Meier's Memoir！ was a fun and easy read， with occasional deep insights into the fundamentals of game design。 If you've ever played a Sid Meier game， you should consider reading it。 。。。more
Nick Raven
，
When I discovered Sid Meier as an alm0st-teenager reading PC Gamer in the late nineties， he was already a reputable giant。 The magazine even featured him alongside dozens of other legendary game designers of the 80s and 90s in an epic photoshoot called Game Gods along side Ron Gilbert， Roberta Williams， Peter Molyneux and Will Wright， among so many others。 I've long forgiven PC Gamer for the slight blasphemy， but also found myself in a one-two punch of "Civilization 2" and "Alpha Centauri"， his When I discovered Sid Meier as an alm0st-teenager reading PC Gamer in the late nineties， he was already a reputable giant。 The magazine even featured him alongside dozens of other legendary game designers of the 80s and 90s in an epic photoshoot called Game Gods along side Ron Gilbert， Roberta Williams， Peter Molyneux and Will Wright， among so many others。 I've long forgiven PC Gamer for the slight blasphemy， but also found myself in a one-two punch of "Civilization 2" and "Alpha Centauri"， his first big Civ-like strategy game after leaving the company he co-founded， MicroProse。 Over the years， it's been easier to understand Sid Meier as a brand rather than as a designer。 He hasn't been the key designer of a Civilization game since the first one over three decades ago， so what has Sid been up to？Organized in chronological strata by games he developed， Meier works backward and forward in time through flashbacks that encapsulate what kicked off each era of his career or what inspired a particular game。 Whether it's youth spent in his paternal Switzerland inspiring "Railroad Tycoon" or the picture-based "Ace of Aces" inspiring his first mobile game "Ace Patrol"， Meier is clearly well-versed in his predecessors。 It's fascinating to read about his early career as a programmer at General Instrument in the late 70s before gradually turning his attention to gaming with the help of his friend， "Wild Bill" Stealey， a military veteran， pilot and simulator enthusiast。 The two founded MicroProse and through the 80s， Meier created a number of military simulators that he gradually grew weary of。 It's "Sid Meier's Pirates！" （1987） that serves as the first game to feature his brand （to capture customers who may have been familiar with his work on the "F-15 Strike Eagle" simulator， but also a clear demarcation between the games he did to build MicroProse's success and the games he wanted to make。 Of course， "Railroad Tycoon" and "Civilization" followed， but I couldn't blame you if you wondered what the big deal of his remakes and adaptations from the 00s was or what he was doing at all through the 10s。 While Meier has served as an invisible hand to guide "Civilization" games， even the "XCOM" reboot， his projects have remained small and largely out of the scope of the public。 Still， it may also feel that he hasn't had a hit all his own for longer than many gamers have been alive and as he approaches 70， it's doubtful he's even interested。Meier's "Memoir！" creates a very vacuum-tight bubble around his work that both informs us of his career from front to back， but includes countless anecdotes and a heckuva lot of good humor。 He skims over his personal life or his own belief system， letting that reflect in the design of his games。 He makes it a point to note that Railroad Tycoon， which featured bridges that could collapse under rumbling trains， allowed conductors to safely escape， avoiding an explicit death scene， something Meier worked hard to avoid as games gained the fidelity to become more graphically violent through the 90s。 Meier also comes off as strangely defensive of the content or addictiveness of his games or the industry at-large， prodding issues that seem to have died off with Jack Thompsons' career years ago。 He provides plenty of anecdotes for his defense of games， but rarely any statistical data。 If I didn't agree with his points， I'd say it was inadequate。 He also avoids the WHO's recent decision to declare a gaming addiction disorder entirely， an odd choice coming from a man known for his addictive strategy games （although merely playing Civilization a lot does not qualify you for this diagnosis）。 Disappointingly， Meier has almost nothing to say about the other games being developed at MicroProse before his departure。 While Stealey had managed to grow the company， he did eventually agree to an acquisition by Spectrum Holobyte in the early 90s and through this time， Meier became increasingly distanced from the direction of the company。 During this time， however， some of my favorite games emerged: "Master of Orion" and the "X-COM" series， a game he would eventually help designer Jake Solomon reboot at Firaxis two decades later。 He has nothing to say about these games， whether he had anything to do with them at all or not and it feels like a strange omission。Even with "Memoir！"'s omissions， it's a breezy fun read that illuminates the career of a gentle giant， a game designer from a class brought up on table-top games and pen-and-paper role-playing。 It will probably be the best telling of Sid's story to make interesting decisions and it's a must-read for game designers and PC gamers alike。 。。。more
Matthew Loftus
，
Interesting if you're into computer games。 If not， probably not the book for you。 Interesting if you're into computer games。 If not， probably not the book for you。 。。。more
Dennis Wong
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Mr。 Sid Meier is my most admired game designer。 I spent hundreds， if not thousands， of gaming hours on his games。 “Sid Meier’s Memoir！” is his memoir。 It is so nostalgic to read a book on how my favorite games were written。 Yet， it is also enjoyable to follow Mr。 Meier’s footsteps in his success and failure。 Life is a continuous journey and a “series of interesting decisions。” This book deserves a movie！
Fabricio
，
Extremely recommended， not only for fans of Sid's work。 Extremely recommended， not only for fans of Sid's work。 。。。more
Cheeze
，
Goeie tip Ton ;）
Jim Cooper
，
A must-read from one of the most successful computer game designers ever。
David Natiuk
，
I heard the name Sid Meier all through my growing up year's。 Probably somewhere around 1985 with my Commodore 64 I started hearing the name attached to some fun， advanced games。 F-15 Strike Eagle， Silent Service， Gunship， Pirates！， Railroad Tycoon。 I didn't get to play all of them， but the ones I had were fun， and the rest looked great。Then came his masterpiece which solidified not only his reputation， but his annals in videogame history -- "Sid Meier's Civilization"。 The game became legendary， I heard the name Sid Meier all through my growing up year's。 Probably somewhere around 1985 with my Commodore 64 I started hearing the name attached to some fun， advanced games。 F-15 Strike Eagle， Silent Service， Gunship， Pirates！， Railroad Tycoon。 I didn't get to play all of them， but the ones I had were fun， and the rest looked great。Then came his masterpiece which solidified not only his reputation， but his annals in videogame history -- "Sid Meier's Civilization"。 The game became legendary， and has continued to grow in stature and importance with revisions， ports， re-releases， advances。 But what is so enjoyable about this book is the stories behind the games。 Sometimes you wonder how these things get made， what the catalyst was， how the inspiration happened。 Sid Meier gets to share his favorite stories， his programming history and explain a little about the how & why he does what he does。 I found it fascinating and kinda think this Sid guy is pretty dang cool too。Whether you're really into videogame history， or computer programming （conceptually， not the specificss） or just like reading a biography of a guy who's career is creating videogames。。。 I think you'll find a lot to enjoy here。 Warm， caring， and down-to-earth， Sid Meier's memoir is not puffed up with a series of great accomplishments but tells a story about somebody who excels at his work in part because he finds what makes it worthwhile。 。。。more
Thomas Beard
，
Sid Meier's video games were a formative part of my childhood， and this memoir was a delightful romp through the work he put into them。 Another name on the list of people I'd love to sit and have a beer with。 Sid Meier's video games were a formative part of my childhood， and this memoir was a delightful romp through the work he put into them。 Another name on the list of people I'd love to sit and have a beer with。 。。。more
Shoshanah
，
I played a Sid Meier game before I even had a computer at home。 Instead it was on a day I went into work with my dad。 While he was in meetings he set me up on his company computer to play Railroad Tycoon。 （30 years later， there’s so many things in those last sentences that are hard to imagine today！）But what really got into his games was Civ II！Reading Sid Meier’s Memoir！ was such a blast from the past for me。 It was so interesting hearing how his early games were developed and where inspiration I played a Sid Meier game before I even had a computer at home。 Instead it was on a day I went into work with my dad。 While he was in meetings he set me up on his company computer to play Railroad Tycoon。 （30 years later， there’s so many things in those last sentences that are hard to imagine today！）But what really got into his games was Civ II！Reading Sid Meier’s Memoir！ was such a blast from the past for me。 It was so interesting hearing how his early games were developed and where inspiration came from。 （Robin Williams was actually who convinced his team to add his name to the game title！）There are bits of Sid Meier’s life in here， but things like the birth of his son or even death of his sister in childhood are mentioned more in passing。 Instead the focus is on the games themselves。In the early chapters there is a large focus on specific decisions made but a less of this in later chapters。 Which makes sense since it follows the projection of Sid Meier himself， as his “brand” expanded he was making less of the day-to-day decisions。This book was full of nostalgia for me！ Yes， it contained bits from other Sid Meier games I played， like Sid Meier’s Colonization or Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri。 But what was also fun was when games from other companies made cameos， ones like SimCity， The Secret of Monkey Island， or Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders。If you’ve played any of these games before， I’d highly recommend this one！ Or if you haven’t， but do enjoy playing computer games and have wondered a little more about their development， you’d likely enjoy this too！4。5/5 。。。more
Beth
，
Highly recommended if you’ve spent a great many hours playing Civ。
Darko Meszaros
，
Sid's games shaped my early years， and are in large part responsible for my interests and passions！ So this is a wonderful book to take you through the history of Sid as he was involved in making said games！ A very biased review！ Sid's games shaped my early years， and are in large part responsible for my interests and passions！ So this is a wonderful book to take you through the history of Sid as he was involved in making said games！ A very biased review！ 。。。more
Vasil Kolev
，
Very interesting。 And I'd be willing to pay 10 times more with a version that didn't omit the technical/mathematical details :） Very interesting。 And I'd be willing to pay 10 times more with a version that didn't omit the technical/mathematical details :） 。。。more
GuyGrand
，
Meier is a familiar figure in game design circles and is also a rare designer whose name gets above the title for many games （in this respect， he is comparable to Fellini， whose name is often the attraction for audiences）。 I was happy to learn through reading his memoir that this was not the result of some ruthless sense of self-promotion， but was the coincidence of working in a small company for a small community of users/gamers， and then later a business decision for MicroProse once he persona Meier is a familiar figure in game design circles and is also a rare designer whose name gets above the title for many games （in this respect， he is comparable to Fellini， whose name is often the attraction for audiences）。 I was happy to learn through reading his memoir that this was not the result of some ruthless sense of self-promotion， but was the coincidence of working in a small company for a small community of users/gamers， and then later a business decision for MicroProse once he personally became synonymous with a kind of game （usually strategy， usually worlds removed from the mayhem and violence and hyperkinenticism of other popular franchises and figures）。 Even with later Civilization titles were not mainly designed by him （and when the franchise moved further away from his original conceits in III and IV）， his name remained above the title， though in the book he gives ample credit to the main minds behind those later games。 While all of Meier's career gets worked through， I found the chapters on the Civ games to be the most engaging， both in terms of how Meier came to process how much the games meant to others （players， academics， hobbyists） and how reactive the fanbase has been to the games， taking hemin all sorts of new directions in ways that seem appreciated by its creator。There are plenty of lived insights in the book with regards to the creative process; some fun "behind the scenes" anecdotes of working for MicroProse and Firaxis， and of encounters with a commercial gaming ecosystem which was never quite on the same page; a cool structuring device that ties stories of his life to the development of specific games; and， to gamify things further， "achievements" that unlock as you read。 I could not help but thinking as I read that Meier and his games are something of the vanishing "middle" of the games world: the scope and scale of his more recent titles are far bigger than indie， but seem a bit removed from the dictates of many AAA titles。 We're lucky that Meier seems as grounded as he is （no megalomaniac he， as might befall other critically acclaimed creative types）， and that he still seems to have some ideas left in him。 。。。more
Lizzy
，
I used to scour GameStop in search of every strategy and tycoon game。 I had an ongoing argument with someone in my high school about whether Age of Empires or Civilization was better （Civ OBVIOUSLY）。 My now-husband and I spent our entire second date discussing our best Civilization playthroughs。 When my oldest was born， I would play Civ VI at night while nursing her。 I have many fun and interesting memories that can be directly traced back to Sid Meier。 I was going to enjoy this book。
ShakeNBakey
，
There aren't too many mass published video game centric books， let alone memoirs， so this was a real delight。 Sid Meier's love for video games really shines， his philosophies on good game design are insightful There aren't too many mass published video game centric books， let alone memoirs， so this was a real delight。 Sid Meier's love for video games really shines， his philosophies on good game design are insightful 。。。more
Blake Rozendaal
，
I'm a little biased， I bought this book because I love Civilization。 There were plenty of great stories about starting out in game design， how he stumbled， and how he exceeded his own expectations。 It really gave me a full picture of how Sid built his career and how he finds joy in it to this day。 Now excuse me while I download some tools to start making my own games！ I'm a little biased， I bought this book because I love Civilization。 There were plenty of great stories about starting out in game design， how he stumbled， and how he exceeded his own expectations。 It really gave me a full picture of how Sid built his career and how he finds joy in it to this day。 Now excuse me while I download some tools to start making my own games！ 。。。more
Viktor Lototskyi
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For someone who grew up on games like Civilisation， it's like reading a history about your childhood。 I'm also happy to see how Sid brought his love to games and for making games throughout his life。 For someone who grew up on games like Civilisation， it's like reading a history about your childhood。 I'm also happy to see how Sid brought his love to games and for making games throughout his life。 。。。more
Timothy
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I have spent hundreds of hours paying Sid Meier's games through the years。This was an enjoyable sojourn through the history of his career。 For fans of his games， I absolutely recommend the book。 For people who aren't fans， this may be difficult to pick up and understand the context。 I have spent hundreds of hours paying Sid Meier's games through the years。This was an enjoyable sojourn through the history of his career。 For fans of his games， I absolutely recommend the book。 For people who aren't fans， this may be difficult to pick up and understand the context。 。。。more
Zachary
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Very accessible read filled with interesting trivia about the birth of commercial video games on the personal computer。
Cynthia Frazer
，