Sid Meier's Memoir!: A Life in Computer Games
, subject: A memoir of building MicroProse and Civilization, and of the design principles behind Sid Meier's games., 2020
Sid Meier’s memoir ties game design to business choices: testing ideas fast, pairing with a partner whose strengths offset his, and keeping ownership of what he made.
About the book
Published by W. W. Norton in 2020 and written with Jennifer Lee Noonan, the memoir traces the experiments, partnerships, setbacks, and design choices behind Meier's career. It also explains his view of games as a series of interesting decisions and his rules for making them.
Why read it
Best if you build products and want a concrete account of testing ideas quickly, choosing a partner whose strengths offset yours, and keeping ownership of what you make.
Key themes
- Progress through fast, reversible tests
- Pair different strengths
- Keep the upside
Evidence and original sources
Sources: official Founders episodes — #195, #207, #209, #228
David calls the book, which came from a listener recommendation, an absolutely fantastic read.
- Sid Meier (Computer game designer) — David introduces Sid Meier's memoir as the book this episode is built around.
- Claude Hopkins (Scientific Advertising) — David gives a substantive adjacent discussion of Sid Meier's recently covered autobiography.
- Steven Spielberg: A Biography — David identifies the main lesson of Sid Meier's autobiography as the profitability of questioning conventional wisdom, illustrated by Civilization's success.
- Michael Bloomberg — David says he loves Sid Meier's book and that it teaches how to build a highly leveraged business.