Chris Beatrice Interview

Scenario structure

ARR: If the scenarios are going to be shorter, then does this mean that there will be more of them?

Chris Beatrice: The quick answer is yes, but again, that’s tough to answer because the word “scenario” doesn’t really have the same meaning in Zeus as it did in Caesar III and Pharaoh. As I said above, each “campaign” or “adventure” involves the creation and development of a single parent-city and several colonies, known collectively as a “polis”. Though the ancient Greeks all certainly considered themselves one people, the Greek world was never really unified under a single ruler as were Rome, Egypt, and most other ancient civilizations. This is cool because the result is that each polis was really an independent kingdom, and the competition between polises, though friendly, was also fierce (hence the birth of the Games, such as the Olympic). Greek individuals felt somewhat attached to their fellow Greeks, but strongly affiliated with their polis. So a “campaign” in Zeus might roughly equate in terms of play time to a mission in Pharaoh, though it’s broken up into several sub-parts or goals…and yes, there will be many such adventures, though I don’t want to give out specific numbers at this point.

ARR: Will there be a Mission Editor included in the full retail version? Is there any chance of a Campaign Editor for Zeus?

Chris Beatrice: Hey, there’s always a chance, but you know better than to ask that kind of question now… You should have asked instead about sacrifices and naked sheep… 🙂