In order to prove that spolia is a useful analytic tool for videogames, this paper will first look at questions of appropriation within game studies, positing the need for spolia as a conceptual lens. Thus, by creating a long line of first-person shooters, companies can give the suggestion that games ought to contain violence. Secondly, at a macro level, such reuse by repetition insinuates that former games types and their gaming conventions are important, and alludes to the necessity of their forms. First, at the micro level, by spoliating a particular game or franchise a developer can consolidate and reinforce the importance of those franchises (hence we get a million Call of Duties and Civilizations, perhaps at the expense of other stories and gameplay mechanics). This reuse has two important ramifications. As an analytic tool, spolia allows for a more considered analysis of how powerful gaming companies (such as BioWare, Epic Games, Activision, etc.) re-deploygaming mechanics, digital assets, and even engines in the interest in keeping costs low and maintaining a link to the past. While Beyond Earth did not garner the critical acclaim Firaxis had hoped, (Rob Zacny (2016) memorably called it “the 4x equivalent of a shrug”), it is a useful case study as part of a larger discussion about reuse in games. In the context of games, the spoliated elements may be gaming engines, graphics-even the mechanics and rules of an early game that are integrated into a new game. Conquering emperors were quick to confiscate and reinstall older monuments, while scavenging builders often seized elements from dilapidated, older buildings to adorn their new creations (Alchermes, 1994). Spoliation describes the state’s and individuals’ reuse and adaptation of preexisting elements (columns, decorative sculptures, etc.) in the construction of new buildings (Kinney, 1997). Instead, the relationship between Beyond Earth’s and Civilization V is much closer to the art historical term spoliation. In fact, Beyond Earth borrows so much of its infrastructure from Civilization V that this paper will argue that the terms inheritor, sequel, and spiritual successor hardly explain the causal and physical nature of the relationship between the two games. Pitts’ review echos what many others said at the time- Beyond Earth is not really a distinct, discrete, stand-alone game that can be understood and evaluated outside of its relationship to Civilization V. Is that a problem? That depends on how much you like Civ 5, and how willing you are to take the ride and give Beyond Earth’s new space look a shot. It is in many ways exactly the same game as Civ 5, just spacier. ( 3) PC Gamer reviewer Russ Pitts (2014) summed up the problems and advantages of this closeness thusly:īeyond Earth, while bearing many attributes of a brand new game, is based in Civilization V’s engine and mechanics. The deep similarities between Civilization V and Beyond Earth (both developed by Firaxis Games) were immediately apparent to anyone who had played both games (Campbell, 2014 Peckham, 2014 Barnes, 2014). ( 2) Late in 2014, Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth launched, and its expansion pack, Rising Tide, premiered almost a year later. ( 1) The franchise’s most recent canonical installment, Sid Meier’s Civilization V (released in 2010 with the expansion packs Gods & Kings and Brave New World available in 20, respectively), continued the long tradition of Civilization. The turn-based strategy videogame series Civilization has been wildly popular since its first iteration, Sid Meier’s Civilization, was released in 1991. Instead of merely coopting Civilization V, Beyond Earth challenges it. While all three could be understood as simple changes to the basic Civilization formula, Beyond Earth’s use of spolia creates enough dissonance between itself and past Civilization games that it creates space for the player to question the underlying assumptions of the franchise itself. Specifically, this essay focuses on the shift from Barbarians to Aliens, the adaptation of the Technology Web instead of the Technology Tree, and the implications of early development of Affinities in Beyond Earth as opposed to late adoption of Ideologies within Civilization V. This process is visible throughout Beyond Earth–from small, seeming irrelevant spoliations of Civilization V, to much broader, systematic changes. The use and repurposing of ludic spolia from Sid Meier’s Civilization V within Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth conforms to the same patterns as architectural spolia: ludic spolia is both practical and symbolic, both about coopting the power of the past and about charting a new future. Ludic Spolia in Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth
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