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Apple Games takes to the high seas with a review of the swashbuckling adventures in the recently release Sid Meier's Pirates! for Mac OS X. The game allows players to lead their own pirate band as they cruise the Caribbean looking for plunder and adventure. Apple's article includes an overview of the game's action, comments from Firaxis Games' Barry Caudill, and a list of tips and tricks to keep would-be pirates from walking the plank.

While a game like Pirates! is steeped in historical and cultural reference points, however, research isn’t front-and-center when Meier, Caudill, and their team embark on a new game. “We have a unique approach at Firaxis,” Caudill observes. “We do the research after we design the game. We do that for several reasons. First, the game is our main concern and all the research in the world won’t define the fun, so we do the research to support the game and fill in the blanks.”

He adds: “Second, when you spend a lot of time researching, you end up making a game that requires the player to have read the same books used in the research in order to understand that game, which can greatly limit the audience. Our goal is to make a fun game that anyone can pick up and play, and maybe they’ll end up learning a little something in the process, if they aren’t careful.”

Apple Games: Sid Meier's Pirates!

Feral Interactive

Pirates!

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