Empire: Wargame of the Century

Empire: Wargame of the Century is part of Interstel's Star Fleet franchise, in which Krellans are enemies.{{r|randall198803}} While the franchise depicts interstellar war, the game's documentation describes a backstory in which the player opposes a Krellan strategy to use as few resources as possible to conquer planets. Both sides thus use World War II-era weapons such as submarines, aircraft, and armies.{{r|katz198811}}

Walter Bright in 1977{{r|katz198811}} wrote Empire, a strategy wargame, for the PDP-10 mainframe at Caltech. In 1983 he ported the game to PDP-11 assembly language and announced it in BYTE, but sold only two copies. After learning the C programming language ("it might as well have been called EIL, for 'Empire Implementation Language'"), Bright ported Empire to the IBM PC. With low commercial expectations, he again announced it in BYTE and received many orders.{{Cite web |last=Bright |first=Walter |year=2000 |title=A Brief History of Empire |url=https://www.classicempire.com/history.html |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=Walter Bright's Classic Empire}}

Bright licensed the game to Epyx. After seeing a public domain version of the game distributed by DECUS, Trevor Sorenson of Interstel approached Bright in 1985 and took over the license in 1986. Mark Baldwin coauthored the Interstel version, Empire: Wargame of the Century, which adds escorts, patrols, faster destroyers, and cruisers and battleship bombardment. Versions appeared for Amiga, Atari ST, DOS,{{r|CGW}}{{cite web | access-date=14 May 2024 | language=en | location=Mountain View, CA | title=Artifact Details | url=https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102715658 | website=Computer History Museum | date=1987}} Commodore 64, Apple II, and Mac.

Interstel warned customers "Don't buy Empire! It is a Krellan plot to reduce productivity",{{cite magazine | title=Christmas Buyers Guide | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=November 1987 | page=24 | url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_41/page/n23 | issue=41}} and the manual notes "Interstel assumes no responsibility for lost productivity on the part of the players".{{r|pournelle198901}} The mainframe Empire had caused video game addiction at Caltech, as students failed classes while playing the game.{{r|bright2000}}

Creative Computing in 1984 said that Bright's Empire for the IBM PC's "simple, yet elegant design offers challenging military campaigns". While criticizing the "complex command structure" and poor documentation the magazine praised its "nail-biting excitement", concluding that for military strategists, "Empire proves the glory that was the mainframe's continues on the microcomputer".{{Cite magazine |last=Lockwood |first=Russ |date=September 1984 |title=Empire |url=https://archive.org/details/creativecomputing-1984-09/page/n107/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=2025-03-21 |magazine=Creative Computing |page=106}}

Computer Gaming World stated that Empire: Wargame of the Century was "a fascinating grand strategic wargame, more sophisticated than Risk, but easier to play than Third Reich". William Kritzen's full review in the magazine noted the improved UI over the DECUS version, saying "the playability of an already successful system has been significantly enhanced". He concluded, "buy this game!"{{Cite magazine |last=Kritzen |first=William |date=January 1988 |title=Empire: The Rise and Fall of Random Empires |url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_43/page/n39/mode/2up?view=theater |magazine=Computer Gaming World |pages=40–42}} The game received the magazine's "Game of the Year" award for 1988;{{Cite news | date = October 1988 | magazine = Computer Gaming World | title = Computer Gaming World's 1988 Game of the Year Awards | page = 54 | url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_52/page/n53/mode/2up?view=theater}} in 1989 the magazine named Empire to its Hall of Fame for games readers rated highly over time, with a final score of 9.71 out of 12;{{cite news | title=Game Rating Chart | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=May 1989 | url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_59/page/n55/mode/2up?view=theater | accessdate=3 November 2013 | pages=56}} in 1990 readers voted for the game as their "All-Time Favorite";{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_67/page/n63/mode/2up?view=theater | title=CGW Readers Select All-Time Favorites | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=January 1990 | accessdate=15 November 2013 | pages=64}} a 1991 magazine survey of strategy and war games gave it four and a half stars out of five;{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_88/page/n137/mode/2up?view=theater | title=Computer Strategy and Wargames: The 1900-1950 Epoch / Part I (A-L) of an Annotated Paiktography | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=November 1991 | accessdate=18 November 2013 | author=Brooks, M. Evan | pages=138}} and a 1993 survey in the magazine gave the game three stars out of five.{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_110/page/n117/mode/2up?view=theater | title=Brooks' Book of Wargames: 1900-1950, A-P | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=September 1993 | accessdate=30 July 2014 | author=Brooks, M. Evan | pages=118}}

"I never played Empire" on mainframe, said Neil Randall of Compute!, "and I'm glad I didn't know it existed", agreeing with the warning on the game box of its addictiveness ("I had enough trouble just writing this review"). Praising the Atari ST version's UI, he said that the "superb" game combined aspects of exploration and strategy.{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1988-03-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_094_1988_Mar#page/n27/mode/2up | title=Empire | work=Compute! | date=March 1988 | accessdate=10 November 2013 | author=Randall, Neil | pages=26}} Kritzen mused that Interplay's improvements made the game "too user friendly", because he found it difficult to stop playing to write the review.{{r|CGW}} While wishing for improved pathfinding, Antic{{'}}s Steve Panak said that the ST version was "so good and so addictive that I find myself starting a game in the late afternoon, and the next time I look at my watch it's 2 a.m."{{Cite magazine |last=Panak |first=Steve |date=March 1988 |title=Empire |url=https://archive.org/details/1988-03-anticmagazine/page/46/mode/2up?view=theater |access-date=2024-08-17 |magazine=Antic |pages=47, 49}} Rating the Amiga version with 4+ stars, Info{{'}}s reviewer stated that "Empire is the most entertaining 'world conquest' game" he had played, and called it "extremely addictive".{{Cite magazine |date=September–October 1988 |title=Empire |url=https://archive.org/details/info-magazine-22/page/n15/mode/2up?view=theater |magazine=Info |page=14}} The magazine also rated the Commodore 64 version 4+ stars citing "the game's [historical] significance and absorbing playability", but wished for clearer graphics. Info concluded that "Empire is showing its age, but it's still a must-have for wargamers everywhere".{{Cite magazine |last=Malcom |first=Tom |date=July 1990 |title=Empire |url=https://archive.org/details/info-magazine-31/page/n51/mode/2up?view=theater |magazine=Info |page=52}} While stating that the UI could be better, Jerry Pournelle of BYTE noted that Empire avoided the need to micromanage units that made games like Anacreon: Reconstruction 4021 tedious. Ease of play, fast and simple combat, and intuitive UI made the game addictive, he said, tempting players to find out what would happen next.{{Cite magazine |last=Pournelle |first=Jerry |author-link=Jerry Pournelle |date=January 1989 |title=To the Stars |url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1989-01/1989_01_BYTE_14-01_PC_Communications_and_Annual_Awards_and_Digitizing_Tablets#page/n137/mode/2up |magazine=BYTE |page=109}}

ACE rated the Amiga and ST versions 618 and 606 out of 1000, respectively, citing the non-sophisticated graphics and sound. The magazine stated that "the gameplay's good and it's fun to play" but quickly repetitive, concluding that "you'll soon find that one war's much like another".{{Cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Andy |date=October 1988 |title=Empire |url=https://archive.org/details/ace-magazine-13/page/n84/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=2024-08-17 |magazine=ACE |page=84}} Noting that games require many hours, Ahoy!'s AmigaUser concluded that "for those who relish total immersion in a stimulating strategic environment ... this fascinating wargame is a perfect choice".{{Cite magazine |last=Katz |first=Arnie |date=November 1988 |title=Empire |url=https://archive.org/details/Ahoys_AmigaUser_Issue_3_1988-11_Ion_International_US/page/n36/mode/1up?view=theater |magazine=Ahoy!'s AmigaUser |page=37}} The ST version of the game was reviewed in 1988 in Dragon #131 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.{{cite journal

|title=The Role of Computers

|last1=Lesser|last2=Lesser|last3=Lesser|first1=Hartley|first2=Patricia|first3=Kirk

|journal=Dragon

|issue=131

|date=March 1988

|pages=78–86}} The Lessers reviewed the MS-DOS version of the game in 1989 in Dragon #142, and gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.{{cite journal

|title=The Role of Computers

|last1=Lesser|last2=Lesser|last3=Lesser|first1=Hartley|first2=Patricia|first3=Kirk

|journal=Dragon

|issue=142

|date=February 1989

|pages=42–51}}

• ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) – March 1988{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/asm_magazine-1988-04/page/n63/mode/2up|title=Aktueller Software Markt (ASM) Magazine (April 1988)|date=April 1988}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.classicempire.com/ Walter Brights Collection of Empire: Wargame of the Century versions]

Category:1987 video games

Category:Amiga games

Category:Apple II games

Category:Atari ST games

Category:Commodore 64 games

Category:Computer wargames

Category:DOS games

Category:Interstel Corporation games

Category:Turn-based strategy video games

Category:Video games based on board games

Category:Video games developed in the United States