Master of Orion: The Original XXXX-Rated Game
Happy 25th Anniversary to Master of Orion
Genre designations generally come about organically and it can be difficult to pin down exactly when and where certain terms were first used. It is generally accepted that Donkey Kong was the first true “platformer”, but who was the first to coin it as such? The term “beat 'em up” was sometimes used to describe games that are now regarded as fighting games, so who can be sure exactly when the term was being used as it is understood today?
On the other hand, the origin of some terms is extremely well understood. For instance, Capcom famously invented the term “Survival Horror” to market the original Resident Evil. Then there is a genre that many gamers, particularly those who prefer consoles, may be unfamiliar with: the “4X” subgenre of strategy games. The origin of the term is so specific, in fact, that it can be traced back to a preview of Master of Orion in the September '93 issue of Computer Gaming World.
The article in question, by Alan Emrich, is titled “Microprose' Strategic Space Opera is Rated XXXX!” Emrich admits in the beginning of the article that the title is jokingly provocative, but there was serious meaning to the four X's. Each “X” represented an element that he believed to be an essential part of the PC strategy genre: EXplore/EXpand (“player must rise from humble beginnings”), EXploit (“build up the largest most efficient empire possible”), and EXterminate (“other players will be trying to do the same”). After the article was published, the “XXXX” was shortened to “4X” and retroactively applied to classics of the genre like Sid Meier's Civilization and SSG's Reach for the Stars.
The fact that Emrich's article had such an impact on gaming vernacular is a testament to what a small community gamers were a part of back then. He and his friend and fellow strategy game enthusiast Tom Hughes (who he credits with coming up with the term “4X”) appear in the credits for Master of Orion under Special Thanks for “invaluable design critiquing and suggestions,” and the two would even go on to work as designers on Master of Orion III. In a retrospective written for the Master of Orion III website, Emrich would further clarify his role in previewing the first game:
“After intense, repeated playing of the game, Tom and I were soon making numerous suggestions to the game's MicroProse producer who, in turn, got tired of passing them on to the designer and lead programmer, Steve Barcia. Soon, we were talking to Steve directly. The telephone lines were burning regularly and a lot of ideas went back and forth.”
It's difficult in the modern era to imagine a journalist ending up in the credits of a game after simply being asked to preview it, but such was the state of the gaming community in the early nineties.
Emrich's article may not have resonated the way it did if Master of Orion had not become a classic, but it is certainly that. Few games before or since have so perfectly balanced the four X's of the genre. Exploration is simple, requiring a simple point and click to send a ship to an unexplored star system, but vital to efficient expansion of the empire. Colonizing planets is not cheap in the early parts of the game. Sending a colony ship to a random system could result in wasting resources on a poor planet that won't contribute much to the empire or wasting turns flying to a planet with a hostile environment that can't be colonized yet.
Expansion is the most basic way to increase the empire's resources. Resources are represented by factories and factories cannot be built without more land or operated without more citizens. Colonizing new planets provides more of both, which makes expansion essential to increasing the number of factories that can be built, which in turn allows each planet to do research, build ships and planetary defenses, and make ecological improvements.
It is this Exploitation of resources that forms the meat of the game. Each planet has a set of sliders that determine how that colony's resources are being used. Balancing the use of resources is essential to efficient expansion of the empire. Devoting too many resources to building more colony ships and transporting colonists to new planets can spread the empire thin and leave little leftover for developing new technologies and defending against hostile races. Conversely, spending too much on research can stagnate the empire's expansion and allow other races to claim the largest, most mineral-rich planets.
Don't laugh at my thematic ship names for the ant-like Klackon race
The final component of the game is interacting with other races and, if the player so chooses, Exterminating them. Much like in Civilization, where winning the space race would end the game, total annihilation of other races is not necessary in order to achieve victory. Through diplomacy it is possible to enter into trade agreements and alliances with other races, exchange technologies or, naturally, declare war. Spies can also be sent to perform sabotage, incite rebellion, steal technology, or simply gather information. How the player chooses to interact with other races greatly affects their path to victory. Through diplomacy it's possible to play a relatively peaceful game that ends by being elected High Master of the Galaxy by the High Council. It's also possible to ruthlessly annihilate every other race in the game as soon as possible.
Which race a player chooses to play as will also influence how they play the game. Each race has unique advantages and disadvantages that encourage the player to try different strategies. Humans, for example, gain bonuses in diplomatic relations, so it behooves a player who chooses them to interact peacefully with other races as much as possible. On the other hand, the bear-like Bulrathi only have an advantage in ground combat, which requires the player to invade other races' planets on foot to exploit their strength. Needing to learn how to maximize each race's advantages makes the game endlessly more replayable than if they were all essentially the same.
All of these systems are simple enough on their own. It is the way in which they interact that creates the complexity necessary for players to develop unique strategies and express themselves through gameplay. That bit of self-expression is at the core of what makes a 4X game so fun. There is very little in the way of plot in Master of Orion because, like its board-game ancestors, it is more of a set of rules for players to create their own narratives. Each game plays out differently, and there is even an inherent morality that emerges based on the decisions a player makes. Is it better to honor pacts and alliances or to destroy other races at the first sign of weakness? Is it worth using powerful biological weapons that other races will not approve of? These decisions allow the player to play the part of ruthless dictator or benevolent ruler as they see fit.
Zak Snyder presents: Yoshi
Like many games of its vintage, Master of Orion can be difficult to recommend to younger gamers. Some of the finer points of the game (including specific racial characteristics and the nuances of battle) can only be learned by reading through the manual, as was often the case with PC strategy games of the day, and the presentation is what one would expect from early-nineties VGA graphics. The game's own sequel would add more depth and some quality of life options (such as the ability to automate ship design or skip turns where nothing happens), but there is something comforting about the simplicity and almost board-game-like quality of the original. It may be a bit of a slow-burn, but the more time spent with Master of Orion, the easier it is to appreciate its greatness. In Emrich's article for Computer Gaming World he expressed doubt that Master of Orion would ever measure up to Sid Meier's Civilization. In the retrospective he wrote while working on Master of Orion III, he mentions a conversation he had with his friend Tom Hughes shortly after the article was published:
“We talked about Master of Orion, of course, and Tom said, 'You know, I think this game might become more addicting even than Civilization.' I replied, 'You know, I think it already is.'”
Emrich, Alan (1993, September). Microprose' Strategic Space Opera is Rated XXXX!. Computer Gaming World, volume 110, pp. 92-93.
Barcia, Stephen (1993) Master of Orion Game Manual. Retrieved from www.gog.com
Emrich, Alan (2001) Master of Orion: The History of a Game Series - One Man's Telling of a Cosmic Tale. Retrieved from http://moo3.quicksilver.com/game/history.html
