I have been a devotee of Sid Meier’s Civilization games for nigh on 15 years, beginning with Civilization II (rather like Star Trek, it seems that the even-numbered editions of Civ are the better ones; Civ II was an absolute classic and Civ IV stands as the best iteration so far, while Civ I, III, and V have all been lacking). The complexity of the game is such that an uninitiated player is likely to be overwhelmed if they simply sat down and tried to play the game without at least a short perusal of the manual, and more experienced players spend countless hours working out detailed strategies and analyses that are shared on the several must-read fan forums to help other players improve their game.
Recently, some researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab found that a computer programmed to play Civ II was able to improve its winning percentage by using language processing software to “read” and “comprehend” the game’s manual. The experiment is considered an interesting development in figuring out ways for computers to process meaning in written language, but frankly, I’d be a lot happier if these people woud go to work for Firaxis to help them develop an AI that can play the fucking game without cheating in time for Civ VI.
