Sid Meier's Pirates!

Sid Meier's Pirates! (1987)
File:Pir cover.jpg
Developer(s)	MicroProse
Publisher(s)	MicroProse
Platform(s)	Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Macintosh, Amstrad CPC, NES, PC booter
Release	1987(PC booter/C64/AII) 1988 (Mac/CPC) 1989 (Atari) 1990 (Amiga) 1991 (NES)
Genre(s)	Action/Adventure/RPG
Mode(s)	Single

Sid Meier's Pirates! is a computer game created by Sid Meier published by MicroProse in 1987. The game is a simulation of the life of a pirate in the Spanish Main in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

The game was widely ported from the original Commodore 64 version. It was ported to the Amiga (1990), Apple II (1987), Apple IIGS (1988), Atari ST (1989), Macintosh (1988?), Amstrad CPC (1988), Nintendo Entertainment System (1991) and as a PC booter (1987).

The Atari ST version featured a copy protection scheme requiring the player to identify the first privateer ship they encountered by their flag. The Commodore 64, PC and Amiga versions also used copy protection, in which the player had to confirm the timing of the different treasure fleets by referring to the game manual. The Amiga and Atari ST versions featured the best graphics and audio of any of the original versions.

In this Macintosh version, graphics like terrain were painted with special glyphs in a custom font.

Description

Pirates! is a single-player game. The player does not in fact take on the role of a pirate at the start of the game, but rather that of a privateer, in the service of Spain, The Netherlands, England, or France (though his loyalties may change over the course of the game and he may turn to piracy at any time.) Gameplay is open-ended; the player may choose to attack enemy ships or towns, hunt pirates, seek buried treasure, rescue long-lost family members, or even avoid violence altogether and seek to increase his wealth through trade. The game also has no pre-determined end, although as time goes on, it becomes more difficult to recruit men for your crew. The game ends when the player retires, at which point he is given a position in his future life, from beggar to King's Advisor, based on his wealth, land, rank, marital status, and other accomplishments.

The game tests a wide range of skills: hand-eye coordination during the fencing sections, tactical ability during the land and sea combat phases, and strategic thinking, for everything from choosing a wife to deciding when to divide up the plunder. Moreover, each game can take a different course, as various events early in the game can greatly affect future strategic options.

Like many Sid Meier games, Pirates! is fairly educational by computer game standards. Reading about naval tactics in the age of sail is one thing. In the course of the game a player may try to tack in a frigate in order to run down a smaller and faster pinnace, but was fortunate enough to have the weather gage. This may give the player a unique perspective on the challenges of naval combat during the era.

Pirates! was a groundbreaking game in its era. Although other open-ended games had already been released (such as Elite in 1984), the style of player-directed game-play in Pirates! lead it to be the spiritual predecessor of countless others since, both by Sid Meier himself (Civilization, Railroad Tycoon) and many others, notably Will Wright (SimCity, The Sims). Not surprisingly, Pirates! won many awards at the time of its release, being named game of the year in its genre by at least three gaming magazines. Pirates! won two Origins Awards, Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game of 1987 and Best Screen Graphics in a Home Computer Game of 1987. It has continued to earn accolades ever since, having been voted one of the top 20 games of all time by Computer Gaming World Magazine.

Internal links

The open source game Crown and Cutlass (http://www.crownandcutlass.com/) is inspired by this game.

Other Pirates! Games

Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004)

Pirates! Gold (1993)

External links

• MobyGames entry for 1987's Pirates!
• OpenDirectory entry on Pirates!
• Original NES Theme Music