#217 10 Crowns: Designing 4X
Lifecycle of a DesignSeries
Dirk speaks with former Civilization designer Soren about his next game, 10 Crowns. This episode is the first in a series with Soren that follows different steps in the game’s development.
Episode Outline
00:51 What brought Soren back to the 4X genre
02:37 4X games and modern issues with colonization as a partial or central theme
13:36 Why some games fly under the radar with problematic themes
17:29 How a relatively small developer tackles a 4X game
25:39 Competing with a larger, well-known studio and franchise
30:39 Making 4X more accessible to a general audience
33:47 Why 10 Crowns and similar games are interested in the Roman time period
39:15 A general timeline for 10 Crowns’ past and future
42:02 The relationship and responsibilities of publishers and developers
44:44 How development team rates and contracts work
48:09 Design challenges the 10 Crown team has encountered so far
51:31 Differences in technology and the gaming environment since Civ 4
56:03 Why Soren doesn’t recommend the 4X genre to new developers
1:01:26 What sets 10 Crowns apart from other games in the genre
1:03:17 What listeners might expect in later episodes in this series
In this Episode
Soren Johnson - @SorenJohnson, mohawkgames.com
Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer