

One of the most popular games in the history of computer gaming is making its way over to Facebook this summer, as Sid Meier attempts to transform his ultra-popular Civilization series into Civ World. All of the core components of Meier’s original Civilization series, which earned him the title of “Father of Computer Gaming,” will still be present in Civ World, but the Facebook environment in which the game will be played will fundamentally change the game, said Meier.

On Facebook, players won’t always be playing the multiplayer title simultaneously. “[…] If you are not there at the same time as other players, there needs to be ways of leaving messages, ways of communicating,” said Meier in an interview with CNN. “Things have to happen at a pace where everybody can be included. So that fundamentally changes the pacing and the mechanisms of the game.”

Civ World is designed with the concept of multiplayer gaming in mind, according to Meier. Players will be able to enjoy the game individually of course, but chances are you won’t end up with the dominant civilization unless you’re able to play nice with others. The Facebook version of the game will allow for up to 200 people per team.

Meier sees Facebook as a great environment for a team-oriented version of the game, as most Facebookers already have a network of real-world friends to play with. “What was really intriguing to us was being able to emphasize cooperative game play, which was something that really hadn’t been a major part of ‘Civilization’ up to now,” Meier said.

“A lot of our design in ‘Civ World’ was taking advantage and using these opportunities for players to work together — teamwork, communication, planning. Those are all the things that become really important to ‘Civ World.’”

[via CNN]