The appeal of Civilization 7 and the series comes from how it simulates the vastness of history. Normally, players guide a single civilization over thousands of years, which is satisfying in a story sense, but it misses the real-life changes that cultures go through. History isn't just a straight line; societies change, grow, and adapt due to new technologies and social shifts. Past games often overlooked these significant changes by focusing on a single civilization, so players missed out on understanding how culture and technology influence each other.

Civilization 7 introduces a new Ages system that, while initially controversial, offers a more nuanced view of civilizations. By recognizing that cultures are fluid, the game provides a more accurate representation of history's complexities. This new approach allows players to see and influence how nations evolve over time, making the experience more immersive. This dynamic representation opens up more strategic choices and creates a more realistic and interesting simulation of history's transformative nature.

Why Static Civilizations Ignore Technological Leaps

We Like It Better But It's Not Accurate

Civilization 7 has a lot of hype because the series lets players experience history over a long timeline. However, earlier versions tended to simplify and misrepresent how history actually develops. The main gameplay involves picking one civilization and guiding it through thousands of years, which feels satisfying but doesn't effectively show how real civilizations change a lot over time.

Take the Roman Empire as an example. Over the centuries, it went through major changes in its government, technology, and culture. Suppose a game portrays the Romans as a static civilization for thousands of years. In that case, it misses significant events like the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the rise of new states, and even different names we call Rome, like the Byzantine Empire. Similarly, the shifts from Classical Greece to the Hellenistic period caused major changes in politics and culture, making it hard to represent everything accurately with just one version.

These limitations become even clearer when looking at major technological breakthroughs. Things like iron weapons, gunpowder, and the Industrial Revolution drastically changed civilizations and often led to the rise and fall of empires. A static model doesn’t do a good job of showing these transformative moments or their impacts. Instead, it gives a misleading view where societies seem to evolve without significant changes.

This lack of internal development makes it difficult for the game to explore how culture and technology affect each other. Although the new Ages system in Civilization 7 has stirred some debate, it takes a more realistic approach by recognizing these historical changes. For example, the Colonial United States didn't have the same politics or ideals as the current country, so it would be accurate to separate them in a Civilization game.

Embracing the Evolution of Nations Through Eras

This Newest Civ gets it right

Civilization 7 introduces a new system that allows players to experience how civilizations evolve over different historical periods. This innovation adds depth and accuracy to the game, showing how societies change over time. Instead of forcing players to fit their chosen civilization into different historical scenarios, the game now allows for the natural development of new states and various cultural expressions within the same timeline.

The way it looks to be happening is that players need to discover or do things in civilization to unlock the next one they're looking for in the next stage. For example, Egypt could become Abbasid, and Rome could eventually become Italy. The player path isn't set in stone, but players can set the course based on what they've unlocked and the direction in which they set their civilization.

This isn't to say that the Ages system will always be accurate, just that it is more accurate than the previous games.

So, it makes a lot of sense to change with each age. Throughout history, civilizations have grown, declined, transformed, and even completely changed. The rise and fall of empires, the blending of different cultures after conquests, and the adoption of new technologies all shaped societies in diverse ways. While it's true this could definitely lead to Civilization 7 missing the point of the Civilization franchise, it could also be a really great change.

This new approach improves the strategic possibilities in the game and provides a more realistic simulation of history. Players can witness and influence nations' growth and change over eras, creating a more strategic experience. Civilization 7 developer Firaxis abandoned technology eras for a more balanced approach, which may improve gameplay and bring even more players to the series.

Civilization Has Always Had To Combat Accuracy vs Gameplay

Making The Original Wasn't Always Easy

The struggle between being historically accurate and keeping gameplay fun has always been challenging for Civilization 7 and the rest of the series. In earlier versions, the focus was on making the game easy and enjoyable, sometimes at the expense of gameplay. Sid Meier's Memoir! by Sid Meier goes over many design decisions, and many were made to make players happy, even though they didn't make logical sense to Meier.

When discussing how the computer calculated odds when two armies went against each other, Meier relented and let significantly bigger armies have higher chances of beating other armies. He also changed the programming to lean on ing the player over the computer, even when it wasn't fair. He did this due to comments from the other developers, even if it meant sacrificing a bit of his vision.

Sid Meier's Memoir is a great book that goes over many games made by Sid Meier, but the development of Civilization in particular is full of surprises.

Developers have had to make tough decisions, simplifying certain historical elements to ensure the game remains engaging for a wide audience. That's what is being done now because the game could be friendlier for newcomers, and simplifying gameplay works. Comparing Skyrim to Oblivion and Morrowind provides a good example of how streamlining gameplay can work in a game's favor by allowing everyone to jump in and play.

Finding this balance is difficult because the game covers thousands of years and many different civilizations, each with its own story. As a result, previous versions have leaned towards a simpler, more straightforward view of history, which, while enjoyable, does lose some of the finer historical details. This ongoing tension between accuracy and gameplay is a key part of deg the game, requiring a regular reassessment of priorities and innovative solutions. Civilization 7's new stage system is one way to address this long-standing issue, even if it's the game's biggest change.

How Civilization 7's Evolving Stages Resolves Endgame Monotony

How Civilization VII Keeps Things Fresh

Civilization 7 tackles the issue of boredom that can come with long strategy games that cover extensive historical periods. In past Civilization games, a slowdown in excitement during the late game has been common thanks to a surplus of micromanagement. The gameplay can become repetitive and predictable while pushing towards the same victory condition with an unchanged civilization over hundreds of years. Players find themselves stuck in a cycle of doing the same things, turn after turn, without much change or new challenges.

Civilizations in real life never stay the same, and the way that Civilization has traditionally represented technological advancements and social changes isn't very comprehensive. To address this, Civilization 7's Ages system features different technologies, units, and civilizations in each stage. This means players must adjust to new situations, choose civilizations that fit the current period, and learn new gameplay mechanics as the game progresses.

By doing this, Civilization 7 creates fresh challenges and keeps the gameplay dynamic, which helps avoid the stagnation that previous games faced in their later stages. Instead of having a straightforward path to victory, players encounter various challenges that require them to rethink their strategies. This new system aligns better with how real civilizations evolve and makes the game more enjoyable and replayable by consistently presenting unexpected scenarios and choices. So, by breaking up the gameplay into distinct Ages, Civilization 7 could stay interesting from beginning to end.