BADA BING'S DYNASTY

To Seige or Not to Seige.

2007-05-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

Sid Meir's Civilization IV was a great game to play throughout the semester. It really had a good approach of teaching you how to build a civilization starting out with one city and building it into a dynasty. The accumulation of wealth, resources, land, and power seemed to be the primary aspects of the game that would really determine ones fate. However the way that you could actually win the game was very interesting. There were so many ways that one could win the game, that I really found it to be very difficult at times. The one type of victory that I thought was unfair and was the diplomatic victory. It was really annoying because it caused the game to be over as soon a solution was made. This was a unfair advantage to the leading team.

Diplomatic Victory was stated in the game to be a victory where any civilization can build the United Nations, but any leader in the game can become its Secretary-General, which means they can call for votes on various resolutions. One of those resolutions declares a diplomatic victory for them. If one civilization built the United Nations and than a higher scoring civilization became the Secretary- General you might as well say game over. There was no way around it to win when you are in that scenario. Its like a dead lock essentially. No matter what you do, what ties you break, or if you declare war, the end result is failure. I don't think that it is reasonable for a civilization to be able to be awarded the position of Secretary-General, but voting is fair I guess because its the only way to really be sure a decision is made right.

Ethics were a key player in this particular setup because while trading you could be unethical to sway the vote by offering resources for votes. The game didn't actually let you do it in that manner, but I saw that trade agreements could effect the outcome. Relationships made a significant impact as well. The only resolution that I saw to make this problem not last was to create the United Nations and than break ties with all trade, but even that didn't work. There was no way out. Utilizing a vote system doesn't prove justice it just expresses favoritism. There is no one way to make it right. There were many other ways to win and the only way to avoid the dead lock was to not build a United Nations and prevent anyone else from doing so.
My claim to fame was Time Victory. I ran the turns time after time till the clock reached zero. lol, or should I say 2050 A.D. At this point in the game everything is over. No matter what progress is made the leading team in the game with the highest score is declared the winner. I felt this was the best way to win. To make it happen I did like the saying goes; "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer". There was no use crying over spilled milk when I broke a friend's heart because I was able to counteract my decision by declaring war and gaining support to destroy them one by one. This method is what I like to call, process of elimination. If you build a stable trading relationship and have open routes with the opponents; you have area to work with and places to house warriors and other artillery. By placing them where they need to go than you can judge when to strike. It takes a lot of planning, but when done the right way I always came out victorious.
Costs are factored into everything and are the key contributors to global economy's'. This game was a very good learning experience and if there is one thing that I learned about victory, it was that victory always comes with a price; it's just to what point are you willing to pay the price and not only who, but what are you willing to put on the line.

Capitalist System Guiding A Civilization

2007-05-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

Civilization IV gave me a real good insight into developing a city that would stand strong and outlast the rest. I took the approach of looking at the various types of economic systems that I could put in place to have a stronger chance in winning the game. The problem I was faced with though, was trying to determine which economic system would be the best to follow through with. After playing this game on several occasions with many different types of groups, I found a niche. Capitalism. I narrowed my search to this one particular view. Capitalism is an individualistic based market, which made me very weary of the success that I would have. Effects of this market pose a huge risk, but would that risk be positive in the end or cause a downfall?
Before I chose an economic market based solely on a Capitalistic system, I had to research. From reading I found that Capitalism is as a way of thinking is fundamentally individualistic, that is, that the individual is the center of capitalist endeavor. This idea draws on all the Enlightenment concepts of individuality: that all individuals are different, that society is composed of individuals who pursue their own interests, that individuals should be free to pursue their own interests. All in all it provides economic freedom to everyone. This market provides an outlook in a democratic sense that individuals pursuing their own interests will guarantee the interests of society as a whole. The biggest dilemma that was created was solely based on the decisions that I made. No longer did I have the opportunity to seek support with the decisions that i made. The ball was in my court and now everyone waited in anticipation for what I would do with it. I felt like all the pressure was on my every move to make the right decisions, and if I followed my gut than I could disappoint the inhabitants of my city. It was hit or miss each and every time, but the one thing on my side was that no matter what decisions that I did make that could create tension and animosity toward, there was always a chance to turn things around for the good.
The fundamental unit of meaning in capitalist and economic thought is the object , that is, capitalism relies solely on the creation of a culture of consumerism. This meant that a large segment of the population that wasn't producing and goods or bearing resources were the ones responsible for the consumption of what was being produced. Since capitalism, like mercantilism, is fundamentally based on distributing goods consumers have no social relation to the people who produce the goods they consume. Making ends meet was what it was all about. I had to find ways to offset the consumption of goods by finding ways to produce more. The good thing about it was the land that my city was located on provided many renewable resources and had a large surplus of preexisting resources as well. Not only that, but being on the water and having the technology of fishing was very beneficial. I was able to fish to produce another resource to sell in the marketplace along trade routes, and was able to explore more areas to set up new settlements.
Capitalism was the greatest choice I ever made. In such a system, individuals and the industries I had situated in my cities had the right to own and use wealth to earn income and to sell and purchase labor for wages with little or no government control. The function of regulating the economy was achieved primarily through the operation of market forces where prices and profit dictated where and how resources were used and allocated. What the resources were used for was and how much people received was the brute force that impacted my economy. Domination and wealth resulted from the great decision. I became the greatest civilization in the game and claimed victory!!!

Mercantilism

2007-05-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

Economic markets are formed for many different reasons that have a large impact on goods and society. Making the decision of what type of economic market that a country will utilize to regulate the country is a big decision in itself. Throughout the playing of this game, I had many instances where I had to make the determination of what type of market that I wanted to make my country stabilized with. The market choice one time that I had chosen was Mercantilism. Would my country rise or would it fall from the type of decisions this market had in place? This market had many highs and lows, but I wasn’t sure what impact that would have on my civilization being a prosperous one.
Mercantilism is a medium-upkeep form of economy that requires banking. It gives the civilization one free specialist per city and doesn’t allow trade routes with foreign cities. This protects wealth but also risks economic health on the ability of the few to make good business decisions. Since I was unable to create trade routes with foreign cities, I was forced to make do with the current circumstances of my own cities. I had to learn how to trade within my own civilization to profit. This choice of market was a very difficult one to maintain for self gain because I was unable to really make an impact on the rest of the cities. I had to depend on cross-selling goods within my cities which wasn’t the best idea because it caused the cities I had developed to be scarce with certain resources.
Trading within your own cities can be advantageous if you have a large amount of resources or if you can find other methods to make large amounts of money. The advantage of trading with other cities is the ability to have a wide variety of goods and resources to choose from and you can develop many relationships with other cities not only on a trading level, but a personal one as well. Trade is a very imperative aspect of the game to be successful because it helps build the economy, develop lots of capital, and allows for you to explore land to find new resources. Working with other cities helps develop friendships. That is very important especially when having war declared on oneself because they can provide goods at a good negotiated price when aid is needed.
Utilizing mercantilism as my primary form of economy had many pros and cons, but in the end the solution to the problem was that I was able to expand my borders to a large enough are to have the land necessary to get the surplus of resources. This plan enabled me to keep my strong and maintain a very stable environment. My economy thrived. The basis of mercantilism was to restrict trade it wasn’t the best system to use in this game, but at least kept my civilization stable so I was able to survive and not be overtaken by other civilizations in the process. The end result was a functional economy for the people of my economy and balanced market.

Civilization Difficulties

2007-04-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

Throughout this mind boggling game, I have learned many different things that shape a civilization into being what they are known for. There are many different ways to succeed in this game, but the question is what way is the best way to do that? Do you sit back and play it safe or do you go all in and go with the roll of the dice?

Looking at the areas of game-play that effect the outcome and progress of the civilization’s in the game show why some are on the top and why others are on the bottom of the totem pole. The essential aspects of the game that I have grasped to make me better at this game was my plan of attack. The problem that I was faced with prominently in the game was starting my civilization. It became a very tedious task trying to figure out how I wanted to start my civilization up. You start out in the middle of no where with the goal in mind of survival.

One task that was a very big headache for me had to find out how to create a settlement in the right place. I had to make a list of priorities to create distance between my competitors. It became more of a job when I had to deal with other civilizations trying to take over my civilization, and barbarians participating in the same actions. I felt like no matter what I did to get my civilization going, there was always someone who came around to knock me back on the ground. It was almost as if every step I took forward was like taking three steps back when trying to make progress.

I tried many different ways to make my civilization gain rank and advance. To solve this problem I built one settlement and placed two groups of warriors around my main settlement to have a foundation, and protection to that establishment. Than I created farms and mines for gathering of resources. Doing this allowed me to have tradable resources necessary for building an economy. These steps were the first ones to put me on the path to victory. I continued my search for new places for establishments and started to increase the strength of my civilization. Strength was increased through trade and technological advances. I started to see things turn around for the betterment of my civilization. At one point I was at the top, but slowly my civilization took a turn for the worst and went backwards. I didn’t loose enough ground to put me at risk for being destroyed, but I loss ground to my competition.

Looking at my methods of being good player in this game, I found that I was too conservative with the choices I made. I had a tendency to hold myself back because I felt that it would not permit me to win. Remaining neutral is a constant trend that I found to describe my style of gaming. I have consistently stayed middle-of-the-road. The resolution is take more risks and me more belligerent in my gaming experience. This will enable me to take over others and gain absolute advantage. Instead of being a follower, I intend on leading the pack and becoming the great and not the forgotten.

This game taught me risk. Risk causes decision that can have negative impacts and costs, but those looses aren’t as long lasting as the return in the in. The gains will be more advantageous. It’s like the saying goes, “Go big or not at all”.

Post #3

2007-03-21T16:22:00.000-07:00

During the course of playing this game there were many aspects that made it very difficult overcome the other civilizations. In the game there were lots of problems presented to me that made my experience very intense. Trade is an issue in this game that is very difficult to manage and understand. To go create trading relationships with other countries was a huge task in itself and not an easy one at all. I had the experience of having to deal with civilizations wanting me to break ties with one country to keep them happy and others that wanted to declare war on me if I didn't do that. It definitely created a headache and unnecessary tension in the game. I was forced to make a decision each and every time, and little did I know whether or not the decision that I made was a good or a bad one. Sometimes it came to the bone where my choice was basically on the flip of a coin and my fate could be decided by those decisions. It seemed to me that I was rather lucky because every time that I decided to break a tie with a trading relationship it didn't come back to bite me in the ass. Either I was rather lucky or my rational really was good enough to prevent any added problems throughout my gaming experience. The main question that I always asked myself was, What will make my opponents happy, but benefit me? It was clear to me that bargaining technologies, gold, and resources for respect would be the only way. Some of my opponents were quite stubborn and that put me in a tiff sometimes. Through trial and error I slowly learned the process of elimination. I also was able to come to the realization that in economics everyone can't be a winner. Like I remember from discussion in class there is always going to be a country that has an absolute advantage when creating some goods, and other countries will have a comparative advantage. One situation that I had was the Roman empire wanted me to break ties with Egypt. This was a rather interesting scenario that I was presented with. I didn't know what to do. Should I break the tie and loose one of my most dependable trading partners who provided very useful resources, or go against the superior power and risk being destroyed by their empire. The decision brought sweat to my palms and a severe migraine. lol, well maybe not that extreme, but nonetheless it required a lot of thought. It wasn't just some click of the mouse and ok were done, it could drop my rank and loose my balance of neutrality amongst my competition. I decided to break the ties with Egypt. Of course they weren't very happy and they were reluctant to actually speak to me for any trading agreements. Their status moved to cautious as I closed borders on them. Rome was happy, but I noticed they still stayed cautious of me. So in the end it was worthless to break the tie. To solve this heart pounding dilemma, I opened borders with Egypt again and brought them to a happy state, and in the meantime gave about 120 gold to Rome just to keep them quiet for a while each turn so they could go amongst their own business and give me a break. Rome reminded me of one those fly's that keeps buzzing in your ear and won't leave you alone, but I swatted that fly and was able to handle the situation reasonably. Of course I made a little loss in gold, but not much since other civilizations gave me gold in return for furs. I had a very lucrative business going at that point in time and was able to stay what I call, behind the scenes for a little while. I took place in the trade, but stayed out of the fight. I was quite pleased with the outcome. I came to the conclusion that my problem was a very important one because to make an economy thrive their must be balance, and decisions must be made to counter act the problems that an economy may potentially face. Trade effects every civilization one way or the other because every country can't produce every resource to a high quantity otherwise their wouldn't be imports and exports. My claim to fame is keep you friends close and your enemies close, but trade with each of them wisely. Basically cover your ass in the process and you won't have to worry about screwing anyone over or being screwed yourself.

Consistency

2007-02-22T08:34:00.000-08:00

As I continue my quest to play this very intricate game. The experience changes ore and more every time that I play. It seems like once you get a handle on how to play the game, the other civilizations just start coming at you left and right. The chances to succeed in this game for a while, I thought were by chance, but eventually I realized that it was more than just chance; it became a matter of using your knowledge of your competitors to succeed. Initially when I started playing this game the experience was a very confusing one. I had to feel my way around. It was like taking baby steps. You know the expression you have to crawl before you can walk. That's how this game made me feel. It was a very emotional experience. There were times that I wanted to quit multiple times just because of the results I was getting from the other civilizations always capturing and destroying my cities. I learned that by fortifying each and every city the defense outcome was more positive than just have them spread around the city. The units were much stronger and this allowed me to have a more lasting chance to successfully progress to the next age or era in the game. I never really lost ground except for during certain trades. It seems that every time you create trading agreements with one civilization another one will make a agreement, and than want you to break ties with the civilization you have an agreement with. Bargaining became a very valuable aspect to one who played the game. By bargaining with certain trade-able goods and technologies I was able to create a balance with all of the civilizations I had trade agreements with. Some threatened to declare war on me, but I realized that by giving them gold after declining their offer made them cautious and they didn't come after me. Neutrality is one of the biggest factors that I have noticed for myself based on my gaming style. I feel that when I have neutrality that I last longer and don't have to worry about the other civilizations coming after me. I consistently keep the neighboring civilizations on my side and allow my self to complete the game without loosing. Until my method fails I feel that I will stick with it. This game is more than a learning experience its reality from the perspective of the past to the present.

Civilization Craze

2007-02-22T08:20:00.000-08:00

From the time that I started playing this absolutely ridiculous strategy game, my mind has been stretched and confused. I have never played a game so in depth where it required me to actually think about the actions that I was taking to succeed. The first time around was absolute disaster. I guess you could say I was annihilated or should I say never even had a chance once I broke ground on my first city. The choices that needed to be made lye at my fingertips. For once I guess you could say it was like playing God , but not in a literal sense, more in the terms of a theoretical sense I guess. The trials and tribulations I faced from playing the first game leading in to my second game allowed me build a foundation and stand some sort of chance against my competitors. The other civilizations of course were very brutal and rude at many different times, always demanding this or wanting that. It got really annoying really fast. It was almost like listening to a little girl whining. Can you say headache? The fact that you had to use trade as a means to create relationships and maintain a steady ground was what drew me into the gaming experience a little bit more than usual. I really began to understand the methods behind the other civilizations madness, which led them to victory. I played my opponents off each other. Even though I didn't place first and become superior over the rest of the civilizations in the game. I placed fourth out of nine. I was able to aid in the defeat of my other minuscule competitors and move up the ranks swiftly and incognito. They never once declared war on me and that made me happy. I was looking for balance not world domination. Being neutral has more benefit than being on top. You gain friendship, wealth, peace and tranquility, and you aren't hated by everyone else for being so cocky and egotistic. Thus far, my experience has been a good one, and that suggests that I actually may have a opportunity that presents itself to allow me to be a better gamer during the semester, but lead a successful life as a business owner and economist. Hey if I can sucker these other civilizations into working with me than I am sure that I can build a dynasty on my own. That's not being cocky or conceited, its just realizing the facts. You have to use what is around you for personal gain and by giving to other and creating balance you will get that much more back, thus creating neutral ground for all to enjoy.