Sid Meier facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sid Meier
Meier at the 2010 Game Developers Conference
Born	(1954-02-24) February 24, 1954 (age 71) Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Education	University of Michigan (BA)
Occupation	Businessman, computer programmer
Years active	1981–present
Employer	2K Games
Known for	MicroProse, Firaxis Games, Civilization series
Spouse(s)	Susan Meier
Children	Ryan Meier
Awards	AIAS Hall of Fame Award (1999)

Sidney K. Meier (born February 24, 1954) is an American businessman and computer programmer. He is famous for creating many popular strategy video games and simulation video games. His most well-known work is the Civilization series.

Sid Meier started a company called MicroProse in 1982 with Bill Stealey. Later, in 1996, he co-founded Firaxis Games with Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds. He is now the Director of Creative Development at Firaxis Games. Because of his big impact on the video game industry, Sid Meier was added to the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.

Sid Meier's Early Life and Education

Sid Meier was born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. His parents were from the Netherlands and Switzerland. When he was about three years old, his family moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he grew up.

He went to the University of Michigan. There, he studied history and computer science. He earned his degree in computer science in 1975.

Sid Meier's Career in Video Games

After college, Sid Meier first worked on systems for cash registers in stores. Around 1981, he bought an Atari 800 computer. This made him realize how much fun it could be to make video games using computer programming.

He met a co-worker, Bill Stealey, who also loved making games. They decided to start a new company for computer game development. This was a great time because the software and personal computer industries were growing fast in the early 1980s.

Starting MicroProse Games

Sid Meier and Bill Stealey founded MicroProse in 1982. At first, they made simple 2D action games. One of these was Meier's game Floyd of the Jungle.

Then, MicroProse started making many flight simulation games. These included Hellcat Ace (1982), Spitfire Ace (1982), Solo Flight (1983), and F-15 Strike Eagle (1985). Sid Meier designed and programmed all of these games.

In 1987, MicroProse released Sid Meier's Pirates!. This was the first game that had Sid Meier's name in its title. Bill Stealey thought that putting Sid's name on the game box would make more people buy it. He wanted to show that Pirates! was a special game, different from their flight simulators. This idea worked very well!

Even though many games have "Sid Meier's" in their title, he isn't always the main designer. For example, Brian Reynolds was the main designer for Sid Meier's Civilization II. Jeff Briggs designed Sid Meier's Civilization III.

After making F-19 Stealth Fighter, Sid Meier started focusing on strategy games. He was inspired by games like SimCity. He then created Sid Meier's Railroad Tycoon. After that, he made the game series he is most famous for: Sid Meier's Civilization. He designed only the first game in this series.

Around 1990, Bill Stealey wanted MicroProse to make arcade games. Sid Meier thought this was too risky. He sold his share of the company to Stealey but stayed on in his role.

Creating Firaxis Games

MicroProse later joined with another company called Spectrum HoloByte in 1993. In 1996, Spectrum made big changes to save money, which meant many jobs were cut at MicroProse. Sid Meier, along with other MicroProse employees Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds, were not happy with these changes. They decided to leave and start their own company, Firaxis Games, in 1997.

Firaxis Games continued to make the same types of strategy games that Sid Meier had created at MicroProse. Many of these were new versions or follow-ups to his earlier games. This included new Civilization games and a remake of Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004).

Firaxis employees say that Sid Meier has been working on a special game engine since 1996. He uses it to test out his new game ideas. Sometimes, he comes to the office with a new game idea he's prototyped for the team to try.

In 2020, Sid Meier released his autobiography, a book about his life in computer games. It is called Sid Meier's Memoir!: A Life in Computer Games.

Sid Meier's Game Design Style

Sid Meier has often said that he focuses on the "fun parts" of a game. He removes anything that isn't fun. He believes finding what makes a game fun is the hardest part of designing it.

Even though his games are often about battles or historical events, they never show blood or gore. He designs his games by playing them over and over again until they are truly fun.

Sid Meier's Personal Life

Sid Meier lives in Hunt Valley, Maryland, with his wife, Susan. He is a Christian and helps with music at his church. Susan was one of the first employees at Firaxis Games when it started. Sid Meier has a son, Ryan Meier, who has also worked in the game industry.

Awards and Recognition

Sid Meier's star at the Walk of Game in San Francisco

Sid Meier has received many awards for his work:

• In 1996, GameSpot named him the most influential person in computer gaming of all time.
• In 1999, he became the second person ever to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame.
• In 2008, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developer's Conference.
• In 2009, IGN ranked him second on their list of "Top Game Creators of All Time." They called him a perfect role model for anyone wanting to design games.
• In 2017, he won the Life Achievement award at the Golden Joystick Awards.

Sid Meier's Games

Sid Meier has been involved in developing and producing many games. Here is a list of some of his well-known works:

Images for kids

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  Sid Meier at the 2010 Game Developers Conference

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  Sid Meier's star at the Walk of Game in San Francisco

See also

In Spanish: Sid Meier para niños