Caesar III & Caesar IV
シーザー3 & シーザー4
Hello. Cory Roberts here. I’m the owner and hobby writer of this very Substack newsletter (and the illustrator and manga artist). As you may have heard, Pope Francis died this week. It was the second time the incumbent pope died (the first time being Pope John Paul II, twenty years apart). This newsletter travels to Rome with the two games we’re viewing today.
The first order of business is Caesar III, a city-building game released on September 30, 1998, for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS, developed by Impressions Games (now closed) and published by Sierra On-Line (now part of Activision Blizzard). It is the third installment of the Caesar series of games and is part of Sierra's City Building series. Players assume the role of a provincial governor to build thriving cities across the Roman Empire, in which they must ensure their citizens have their needs met and deal with various disasters, angry gods, and hostile enemies. The developers of Caesar III designed the game in response to critiques of its predecessor, introducing branching missions, a merged map for city-building and combat, and a “walker” mechanic for citizens of the city to affect their surroundings. Caesar III was released to positive critical reception, with praise directed at the game’s visual presentation and complex design, and criticism levelled at its military features. David Lester designed the game, and Robert L. Euvino composed the music. Imagineer handled the game’s publishing for the Japanese release.
The gameplay in Caesar III involves the construction of cities on a map displayed in a two-dimensional isometric perspective. Buildings are selected from an interface under submenus categorized by building type. Players are required to manage several interconnected supply chains to sustain the growth of their city, which increases as more needs are met, including the supply of water, food, religious services, entertainment, education, and health. Caesar III features significant changes to its predecessor, Caesar II. In Caesar III, all actions occur on a single map, in contrast to the province and city maps of its predecessor. Caesar III also features inhabitants that provide services to buildings by walking past them, adding the element of strategy to road pathing. In addition, different areas of terrain generate different resources and obstacles, including river channels, fertile land, and mining areas. Progress in Caesar III is evaluated against the population of a city and four ratings: Culture, Prosperity, Peace, and Favor. Culture ratings are measured by the coverage of ‘culture buildings’ (such as temples, theaters, and schools) in a city. Prosperity takes into account factors such as employment rates, housing quality, and revenue. Peace ratings rise so long as no damage is caused by crime, riots, or invasion. Favor ratings are measured by whether players fulfill on time the requests from Caesar to pay a tribute or provide gifts. Players are provided with a series of advisors who can help them with various aspects of city life. These include a chief advisor, who summarizes key information and critical issues, as well as advisors who provide statistics and options for the provision and coverage of most services in the game, including labor, health, education, trade, and religion. The game menu also provides access to a map of the Empire to facilitate trade and identify threats from enemy invasions.
The next order of business is Caesar IV, developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment (possibly closed around 2016) and published by Sierra Entertainment (Vivendi Universal Games). The game was released on September 26, 2006, in North America (when Pope Benedict XVI took over following his predecessor’s death one year ago). The game features a three-dimensional game engine and individual modeling of game character behaviors. In a departure from older versions in the series, Caesar IV is equipped with variable, realistic 3D instead of fixed, isometric 3D. In addition, buildings and roads may be placed at 45-degree angles to the playing grid, as well as aligned with the grid, allowing game players more options in creating efficient and visually appealing city layouts. The game is divided into three parts, named after the three traditional eras of Ancient Rome: “Kingdom”, “Republic”, and “Empire”. The Kingdom part is a tutorial, while the Republic and Empire parts make up the campaign, where one can choose between peaceful and military assignments. Keith Zizza composed the game’s music. Jeremiah “Reed” (or “MobyReed”) Freyholtz, MobyGames’ current general manager, was involved with Caesar IV as the game’s webmaster and additional designer. Unlike Caesar III, Caesar IV has never seen the light of day in Japan.
I never owned or played either game, but I did watch YouTube videos of the game by GamerZakh, a Malaysian gaming YouTuber and Twitch streamer. Anyway, thanks for reading. Rest easy, Pope… Cory out…
