Designer Bruce Shelley has worked on quite a number of games that have become beloved classics. He worked with Sid Meier on Civilization and Railroad Tycoon, and last year he helped make Age of Empires a hit for Microsoft.
Computer Games Online caught up with Shelley at the Microsoft booth today, where he's promoting the sequel, Age of Empires II. He not only described some of the changes in store for gamers, but he also talked a little about the upcoming add-on pack and how Ensemble Studios can be considered "Blizzard Wannabes."
First off, he explained that the decision to do an add-on pack for Age of Empires (dubbed Age of Empires: The Rise of Rome came after it became clear that Age of Empires II would not make it out this year. While the sequel will extend the game into the Middle Ages, the add-on disk will stick with the original's Stone Age-to-Iron Age time frame. The main additions will be four new civilizations: Roman, Macedonian, Carthaginian, and Palmyran. Palmyran? Shelley admitted he hadn't heard of that one either, but he assured us that their historical researcher came up with them. Apparently, the Palmyrans were a formidable force in the Middle East region during Roman times.
Other major additions will be new units, such as camels (Shelley explained they'll slow down the cavalry charges of opponents because horses, for some reason, hate mixing it up with camels) and slingers, a low-cost counter to archers. The Rise of Rome is scheduled for a September or October release, he said.
Apart from moving the game to the Middle Ages, Age of Empires II will have a host of changes and updates. Maps will be considerably larger, the economy will react to market forces, new formations will allow more control in combat, new graphics for the individual civilizations, new units, and gameplay enhancements.
Amazingly, the game will still be in 256-colors, which is something Shelley seemed proud of. "Our artists are really top-notch," he said, citing the fact that he's had people all day tell him they swore the game ran in 16-bit color instead.
Another minor, but important, change will be that every other villager will be a woman. Asked whether they received any complaints that the villagers in the original game were all men, he said that he actually got quite a number.
Shelley was also asked what he thought of the tie between Age of Empires and StarCraft for the Best PC Strategy Game Award from last night's Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences ceremony.
"We're real pleased to be linked up with those guys," he said. "We're a bunch of Blizzard Wannabes." Shelley explained that Ensemble wants to be in a position to be able to develop two titles at one time, much like Blizzard does currently. However, he admitted that they don't have enough personnel at this time but that they're also taking the time to make sure they grow carefully. He also said that they want to find another franchise to build on, apart from the Age of Empires series. If past accomplishments are any indication, success in that endeavor may not be far away.
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