Our full length name is now

Guns, Germs & Steel: Tools of Conquest

An open source civilization alternative

I would also like to say that we still want more developers to join the project. Both designers, programmers and artists (professional as well as amateurs) are more than welcome.

All you have to do is go to the Alternative Civilizations forum at the bottom of the list of forums, and post a suggestion or a reply to the existing posts.

Whether you just want to make a single suggestion or you want to dedicate a lot of time to the design or programming of the game you are welcome to. You don't have to register anywhere. Just post!

I am hoping to see as many of you as possible at the forum!

Well, here goes:

I don't really think the copyright thing would be a problem. First we are not making any money on the project (at least not directly). Second we are not writing a book, we're making a computergame. If we were writing a book and called it GGS I can see that there would be a problem, but this is not the case. Just because Firaxis (or whoever) has the right to the name Civilization when it comes to computergames it wont stop an author from writing a book with a title including the word civilization.

And I can not at all get why you don't think it is a good name. Everybody on the team thinks it is a great name. It describes perfectly what the game we are creating should include. We deliberately chose a name that weren't too similar to Civ, since we are trying to make a game that will not be too similar to Civ. We are trying to create something new, not just clone Civ.

I can't really say that I like your suggestions too much, DarkCloud. Everlasting War? Why would anyone want to have an everlasting war? That name would indicate a simple wargame, which is far from the truth. And Freedom, Trade, Republic is also a weird name. What if the player doesn't want to be a free society? What if he wants to be evil to his people and suppress them?

Both titles indicate that there would be just one way to victory. We are trying to have many ways to victory, and let the player choose which one to take. But all of these roads would include Guns (technological breakthroughs and military might), Germs (a bit of a streatch, but it would mean a large population) and Steel (an advanced economy able to produce lots of goods and raw materials).

But anyway, isn't anybody interested in contributing to the game? Everybody is welcome, just go to the Alternative Civs forum and post.

quote: Originally posted by The Joker on 09-24-2000 09:25 AM It describes perfectly what the game we are creating should include. We deliberately chose a name that weren't too similar to Civ, since we are trying to make a game that will not be too similar to Civ. We are trying to create something new, not just clone Civ. I can't really say that I like your suggestions too much, DarkCloud. Everlasting War? Why would anyone want to have an everlasting war? That name would indicate a simple wargame, which is far from the truth. Both titles indicate that there would be just one way to victory. We are trying to have many ways to victory, and let the player choose which one to take. But all of these roads would include Guns (technological breakthroughs and military might), Germs (a bit of a streatch, but it would mean a large population) and Steel (an advanced economy able to produce lots of goods and raw materials).

Doesn't the part "tools of conquest" at the end of the title also suggest the game is just about conquest?
"Guns" suggests military, "germs" makes one think of disease which might suggest either bio war or disease as natural disaster (Black Plague for example) and "steel" makes me think of industry.
Now I don't have any problem at all with these elements. But the title suggests that they are all means of conquest, suggesting the game is ultimately about conquest.

Please don't get me wrong: it is a good title. I am not trying to be mean-spirited. Obviously no title will be perfect, especially since there will always be somebody who will hate the name.

here are some titles that I would suggest (after all, would I really have the right to criticize your title if I did not have any counter suggestions of my own?)

just "Guns, Germs and Steel"

"War and Peace"

"History of Man!" or just "History!"

"Great Empires!"

"Rise and fall"

"Kings, Queens and Princes"

"Birth of Nations"

That book was one of the most brilliant societal studies I've ever read (any real lover of history should read it)!

I'd be happy to join your team, though I've only had 3 years of CS (C++) in high school. I wouldn't mind doing some of the algorithms or designing what the game should be about (I have no idea how the Windows GDI works, though)...

(Blood and Tears... Megadeth)
(Sun and Steel... Iron Maiden)

I don't think they'd mind...

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Hmmm...

I can see what you mean. But what is really great about Tools of Conquest is, that it sounds really cool, and that it supplements GGS nicely. I think that GGS alone simply lags something. It seems as if there is something missing in that title. Therefor I think that, despite it's flaws, Tools of Conquest is the best subtitle.

Ramo:

As I said in the pop thread: Welcome on board!

Sir Shiva:

I think that is a bit too heavy metal like for me.

But what about something to reflect diplomacy..

And what kind of programmers do you need?

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Anyway, we are programming in C++, so that's the kind of programmers we need. I, however, is just a mere designer, so I can't really say it more specific. I will ask our unofficial project leader Amjayee. He will be able to be more specific.