Ahoy! Sid Meier’s Pirates! has set sail for uncharted waters on PC’s and console’s everywhere. GamersMark recently had a chance to interview Barry Caudill, producer at Firaxis Games, for an inside look into the development of this long awaited follow up to such a classic game. So without further ado, let’s dig up the dirt and see what kind of treasure lies beneath.

GM: Thank you for your time, Barry. Introduce yourself to the readers. What’s your name and what are your responsibilities at Firaxis?

BC: My name is Barry Caudill and I’m a producer at Firaxis Games. I have the honor of working with Sid Meier and the team at Firaxis on Sid Meier’s Pirates! As producer, my role is to manage the development team though out the entire project and make sure we deliver a great game to players around the world.

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Sid Meier - the man; the myth; the legend.

GM: It’s been quite a while since Sid Meier’s last Pirates! game. Why a sequel now?

BC: We knew from all the feedback that we have received over the many years that fans would really enjoy a new version of this game – many had written us to tell us they were still playing the original from over 17 years ago! We finally decided that the time was right and that technology had advanced to the point where we could really bring the world of pirates to life for the 21st century.

GM: How would you best describe the game, and which crowd do you expect it to appeal to?

BC: I think we’ve done a great job of enhancing the game while keeping the design simplicity and addictiveness of the original version. We’ve added new story elements and quests, upgraded dueling, land battles and ship battles to give players more options and control, and added new action sequences like dancing and sneaking into and out of towns. Our hope is to deliver an incredibly fun and compelling game that will give our fans more of what they’ve been wanting and appeal to the next generation of gamers.

GM: This game has a considerable following on the internet. Have the fans been helpful in designing the sequel? Do you expect them to like what you have done?

BC: The ground-swell for Pirates! has been wonderful and a real source of inspiration for us. It’s gratifying to read and hear how so many folks have played and enjoyed Pirates! over the years. Also, our fans are good about sending us ideas and suggestions for the game and many of these ideas have been incorporated into the new Pirates!. We used some of our die-hard Pirates! fans to beta test the game and they did a great job for us. If their enthusiasm for the game is any indication, I think fans of the original will be very happy with the new Pirates!

GM: What were some features that you wanted to include but decided not to for one reason or another?

BC: We’re really pleased with the game and happily there was nothing that we left out, needed to cut or weren’t able to get to.

GM: Aside from the obvious pirate theme, what helps to distinguish this game from Sid’s other efforts, like the Civilization series?

BC: The Pirates! game design is unique because it blends elements of action, adventure, role-playing and strategy allowing the player to tell their own unique story of pirating in the 17th century Caribbean. Easily the greatest feature of Pirates! is that the player is always in control and able to make lots of interesting decisions throughout the game. It’s different from Sid’s other games because Pirates! is centered on the life of one character rather then on decisions and gameplay that effect an entire civilization, your railroad empire or the success of your golf resort, etc.

GM: What other games have been inspirations for Pirates!, and how is Pirates! better than those?

BC: I know one of Sid’s inspirations was the classic C-64 game, Seven Cities of Gold. Sid really thought the exploration and trade was great and the time period was set in the Age of Exploration, similar to that of Pirates!. I think Sid’s real inspiration though, started with his fascination of pirates as a child. That timeless fantasy and allure of the swashbuckling life of a pirate is really what this game is about.

GM: Where do you see the Pirates! franchise heading in the future?

BC: There’s a lot of really fun things you can do with this franchise and we’re certainly investigating them. One of our goals is to bring this game to a new generation of gamers and the upcoming release on Xbox will be exciting. But, for now anything is possible!

GM: What will be Firaxis’ next project?

BC: As you probably know we are in development of Sid Meier’s Civilization 4 and we’ll be providing more info soon!

GM: Thank You for participating in this Q&A session!

BC: Thank you. It’s been a pleasure!

Sid Meier’s Pirates! is currently available for the PC and is coming to Xbox in May, 2005. For more information on this exciting new adventure, head on over to the Pirates! website at www.Atari.com/pirates.