Alan Emrich
Encyclopedia
Alan Emrich is best known as a writer about and designer of computer games
, who coined the term "4X
", contributed to the design of Master of Orion
and Master of Orion 3, and wrote strategy guide
s for video games. Before the rise of computer games Emrich wrote about and designed board game
s and organized conventions about
them. He currently runs a small game publishing company and lectures in game design and project management. In 2001 Emrich received the Blomgren / Hamilton Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement from ConsimWorld.COM.
in Computer Gaming World
, describing strategy games that involve exploration, expansion, and exploitation of territory, and extermination of opponents. The design of Master of Orion includes several suggestions he and Tom Hughes made.
Until April 2002 Emrich was a lead designer of Master of Orion 3, which attempted to add a 5th X, eXperience, to the genre. Then he left the developer, Quicksilver Software
, for reasons neither party wished to explain.
s:
He has severely criticized recent strategy guides for:
The faults, he says, are mainly caused by the game publishers' and guide publishers' haste to get their products on to the market.
and card
games.
During the 1990s Emrich worked for Computer Gaming World
magazine as its first Strategy Game Editor and later its first Online Editor. In this period he also wrote or co-wrote the strategy guides listed above. Until April 2002 he was a lead designer of Master of Orion 3.
In 2001 Emrich received the Blomgren / Hamilton Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement from ConsimWorld.COM.
He is currently a professor at the Art Institute of California: Orange County, where he teaches Game Design, Prototyping, and Project Management to the next generation of game makers — he regards this as an "official" instance of his life-long passion for teaching. He also co-founded and owns Victory Point Games, a desktop publishing
company for small, budget-priced games based around submissions from students and professional game designers alike — in fact he founded the company in order to give his students experience of the business side of game publishing.
Computer Games
"Computer Games" is a single by New Zealand group, Mi-Sex released in 1979 in Australia and New Zealand and in 1981 throughout Europe. It was the single that launched the band, and was hugely popular, particularly in Australia and New Zealand...
, who coined the term "4X
4X
4X games are a genre of strategy video game in which players control an empire and "explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate." The term was first coined by Alan Emrich in his September 1993 preview of Master of Orion for Computer Gaming World...
", contributed to the design of Master of Orion
Master of Orion
Master of Orion is a turn-based, 4X science fiction computer strategy game released in 1993 by MicroProse on the MS-DOS and Mac OS operating systems. The purpose of the game is to lead one of ten races to dominate the galaxy through a combination of diplomacy and conquest while developing...
and Master of Orion 3, and wrote strategy guide
Strategy guide
Strategy guides are instruction books that contain hints or complete solutions to specific video games. The line between strategy guides and walkthroughs is somewhat blurred, with the former often containing or being written around the latter. Strategy guides are often published in print, both in...
s for video games. Before the rise of computer games Emrich wrote about and designed board game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
s and organized conventions about
Gaming convention
A gaming convention is a gathering that centered on role-playing games, collectible card games, miniatures wargames, board games, video games, or other types of games. These conventions are typically two or three days long, and often held at either a university or in a convention center hotel...
them. He currently runs a small game publishing company and lectures in game design and project management. In 2001 Emrich received the Blomgren / Hamilton Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement from ConsimWorld.COM.
4X games
Emrich coined the term "4X" ("eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate") in his 1993 review of Master of OrionMaster of Orion
Master of Orion is a turn-based, 4X science fiction computer strategy game released in 1993 by MicroProse on the MS-DOS and Mac OS operating systems. The purpose of the game is to lead one of ten races to dominate the galaxy through a combination of diplomacy and conquest while developing...
in Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
, describing strategy games that involve exploration, expansion, and exploitation of territory, and extermination of opponents. The design of Master of Orion includes several suggestions he and Tom Hughes made.
Until April 2002 Emrich was a lead designer of Master of Orion 3, which attempted to add a 5th X, eXperience, to the genre. Then he left the developer, Quicksilver Software
Quicksilver Software
Quicksilver Software, Inc. was founded in 1984 by three Intellivision programmers from Mattel Electronics. Two of the three, William Fisher and Stephen Roney, currently work there...
, for reasons neither party wished to explain.
Strategy Guides
Emrich wrote or co-wrote the following strategy guideStrategy guide
Strategy guides are instruction books that contain hints or complete solutions to specific video games. The line between strategy guides and walkthroughs is somewhat blurred, with the former often containing or being written around the latter. Strategy guides are often published in print, both in...
s:
- Sid Meier’s Civilization or Rome on 640K a Day (with Johnny L. Wilson)
- Official Strategy Guide for Master of Orion (with Tom Hughes)
- Official Strategy Guide for Master of Magic (with Tom Hughes and Petra Schlunk)
- Official Strategy Guide for Empire Deluxe
He has severely criticized recent strategy guides for:
- containing only facts which should have been in the game manual, e.g. about the user interfaceUser interfaceThe user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
. - failing to teach users how to improve their play.
- failing to provide information which helps them to makes decisions, e.g. about the capabilities and costs of units and buildings.
- being inaccurate, often because the developers have tweaked the game during the publication lead timeLead timeA lead time is the latency between the initiation and execution of a process. For example, the lead time between the placement of an order and delivery of a new car from a manufacturer may be anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months...
.
The faults, he says, are mainly caused by the game publishers' and guide publishers' haste to get their products on to the market.
Brief career history
In 1977 Emrich and John Meyers co-founded the ORCCON game convention in Los Angeles, and later Emrich helped in the start-up of the GATEWAY and GAMEX conventions, also in Los Angeles. Emrich was the first Vice-President of the Game Manufacturers Association. In the 1980s he founded a game company Diverse Talents Inc., which imported and exported games, ran the Los Angeles game conventions, and published several magazines including Fire & Movement. In this period he also designed some boardBoard game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
and card
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
games.
During the 1990s Emrich worked for Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
magazine as its first Strategy Game Editor and later its first Online Editor. In this period he also wrote or co-wrote the strategy guides listed above. Until April 2002 he was a lead designer of Master of Orion 3.
In 2001 Emrich received the Blomgren / Hamilton Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement from ConsimWorld.COM.
He is currently a professor at the Art Institute of California: Orange County, where he teaches Game Design, Prototyping, and Project Management to the next generation of game makers — he regards this as an "official" instance of his life-long passion for teaching. He also co-founded and owns Victory Point Games, a desktop publishing
Desktop publishing
Desktop publishing is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal computer.The term has been used for publishing at all levels, from small-circulation documents such as local newsletters to books, magazines and newspapers...
company for small, budget-priced games based around submissions from students and professional game designers alike — in fact he founded the company in order to give his students experience of the business side of game publishing.