Age of Empires
Age of Empires (AoE) is a real-time strategy (RTS) computer game released in 1997, developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. The game allowed the user to play as the "spirit guide", god, or immortal, more-than-absolute dictator of a historical tribe or civilisation.
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2 Competitors and criticisms 3 Expansions 4 Sequels 5 External link |
In AoE, twelve civilizations (often referred to as "civs") were available:
Overview
While a "single player mode" is available, the AoE series features online and network play in groups of up to 8 players simultaneously. A common problem, however, is encountering lag and internet disconnections.
World tournaments are played regularly to establish the best players.
Competing games with very much the same real-time character and motifs are Burden of the Tsar and Warcraft, both of which include a degree of non-persuasion magic in their unit capabilities. However, these do not have even the potential to convert enemies, requiring utter destruction instead. Mimicking these, the next game in Microsoft's series is Age of Mythology, in which mythological figures such as minotaurs can be summoned to play a role in slaughtering those who don't believe in them. Since this happens a lot faster than conversion, there is a lot more killing than converting taking place.
Age of Empires was followed by the expansion pack Age of Empires Expansion: The Rise of Rome (RoR) (1997). A few units but no mechanics of the original were changed, so the game promotes rather a more militaristic view than real historians ascribe to the rise of Rome, in that they tended to avoid tactics such as scorched earth and genocide when possible. In a sop to such sensibilities, holy men can be generated who are in effect employing persuasion technology to convert followers of other traditions to itself.
Competitors and criticisms
Expansions
Sequels
External link
