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''Sid Meier's Gettysburg!'' is a 1997
real-time Real-time or real time describes various operations in computing or other processes that must guarantee response times within a specified time (deadline), usually a relatively short time. A real-time process is generally one that happens in defined ...
wargame developed by
Firaxis Games Firaxis Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Sparks, Maryland. The company was founded in May 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds following their departure from MicroProse, Meier's earlier venture. They were ...
and published by
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the ...
. It was designed by
Sid Meier Sidney K. Meier ( ; born February 24, 1954) is a Canadian-American programmer, designer, and producer of several strategy video games and simulation video games, including the ''Civilization'' series. Meier co-founded MicroProse in 1982 with ...
, and followed by '' Sid Meier's Antietam!'' in 1999.


Gameplay

The game allows the player to control either the Confederate or Union troops during the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the ...
in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
. It can be played as single scenarios, or as a campaign of linked scenarios, either recounting the original history or exploring alternative possibilities.


Online play

There was a large online following when the game was being hosted on Mplayer (a multi-player game network bought by
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the Ga ...
industries). After moving to GameSpy, the game dwindled in popularity for online players. At the pinnacle of online play, there were many groups of players. A competitive ladder (league) was also a fixture of this time, where the hall of fame can still be viewed. "Case's Ladder" Online play is now, for the most part, impossible due to the shutdown of GameSpy's servers. As of 2017, the game is still playable online with
GameRanger GameRanger is a software for Macintosh and Windows created by Australian developer Scott Kevill, which allows multiplayer games to be played online and provides social features such as chat rooms and voice chat. It was first released for Macinto ...
.


Development

The engine was also used for the Napoleonic game ''Waterloo: Napoleon's Last Battle'' (as was a modified version for ''Austerlitz: Napoleon's Greatest Victory''), both by
BreakAway Games BreakAway Games is a video game developer based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, United States, established in 1998. Their executive staff is composed of several veterans from companies such as MicroProse, Origin Systems, Atari and Acclaim Entertainm ...
.


Reception

''Gettysburg!'' was a commercial success, with more than 200,000 copies sold by August 1999. At the time, Jeff Briggs of Firaxis commented that the game "did extremely well for us". From critics, it received "universal acclaim" according to the review aggregation website
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
. ''Gettysburg!'' was a finalist for the
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentatio ...
' 1997 "Strategy Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to ''
StarCraft ''StarCraft'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance a ...
'' and ''
Age of Empires ''Age of Empires'' is a series of historical real-time strategy video games, originally developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. The first game was '' Age of Empires'', released in 1997. Nine total games within the se ...
'' (tie). Similarly, the Computer Game Developers Conference nominated ''Gettysburg!'' for its "Best Strategy/Wargame" Spotlight Award, but gave the prize to '' Myth: The Fallen Lords''. However, it was named the best computer wargame of 1997 by ''
Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly throug ...
'', ''
Computer Games Strategy Plus ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October ...
'' and
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
. The editors of ''Computer Gaming World'' called it "the return to form of arguably the best designer ever", and wrote that "this is one game that really ''will'' play until Johnny comes marching home." '' Next Generation'' stated that "''Gettysburg'' is an excellent first offering from Firaxis. It not only overshadows previous historical sims, but it also beats most of the realtime strategy games available today." They cited its simple, intuitive control interface as key to making it stand out from the often overly complex games in its genre, stating that it allows players to more easily focus on the finer points of strategy and planning. J.C. Herz, writing for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', pondered the assumptions underlying the game's simulation of the historical battle. He felt that the game could be a useful tool to teach history but worried that the interactive medium could obscure historical facts behind its systems. In 1998, ''Gettysburg'' won the
Origins Award The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 a ...
for Best Strategy Computer Game of 1997.


Legacy

''Gettysburg'' had a large
modification Modification may refer to: * Modifications of school work for students with special educational needs * Modifications (genetics), changes in appearance arising from changes in the environment * Posttranslational modifications, changes to prote ...
("mod") community. Players can customize uniforms, maps, sounds, and units. This aspect of tweaking the game proved vital to Civil War aficionados looking for historically accurate models. This ultimately led to the creation of other famous battles such as the
Battle of Fredericksburg The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Bur ...
, the
First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas
, the Peninsula Campaign, and more.


References


External links

* {{Firaxis 1997 video games American Civil War video games Computer wargames Firaxis Games games Origins Award winners Real-time tactics video games Gettysburg! Video games developed in the United States Video games set in the United States Video games set in Pennsylvania Windows games Windows-only games Battle of Gettysburg Multiplayer and single-player video games