As Rome: Total War has aged and we have played each faction thoroughly, trying every method of play and exploring every possible path and loophole, quite a few of us have put down Rome, sighed nostalgically and gradually slipped out of playing the game. I know of quite a few people who were, and still are, avid Rome fans who haven’t touched the game in months; I personally have not played it in over a year.
The question I ask myself is: why? Is it because Rome is such an engrossing game that we play it out in a few months and exhaust its (substantial) potential? Is it because Rome is not as random as its predecessor, Medieval? Or, possibly, is it because Rome’s community itself steals fans away from the game?
Huh? What? Where is he going with this? What do you mean the community can preoccupy fans more than the game itself? I’ll explain.
It is, in fact, a testament to the game itself that the community can be more amusing than the game. It is because Rome, unlike most vapid video games that fly through the gamer stratosphere and vanish (like Battlefield 2, which requires about as much skill as attacking an immobile walrus with a sack of potatoes - and quite a bit less courage) attracts a highly intelligent and dedicated community. Rome attracts historians and mere acolytes of the lore of the past, the casual armchair general or the dedicated battle planner who studies the generals of yore for valuable tactics. Rome attracts people who play games, not only for amusement, but for education – in the best sense of the word – and to satisfy the human thirst for knowledge. We learn all sorts of things from games like Rome and developers like CA we would not learn otherwise, even in the age of information.
The end result is that some Rome fans learn enough and then prefer to discuss these things with the highly intelligent gamers who are likewise attracted to the game and its community. Rome itself may not be immortal, but its community is, because of what the game tries and succeeds to accomplish. In essence, this is the best damn game community ever.
I look at Total War Center and all the dynamic, intelligent, humorous and knowledgeable people who post here. In the end, we all came here because of Total War, and it is that series that draws us together. On this forum I have seen more future leaders, if I may use a clichéd term, then on the rest of the internet combined. There are so many incredible people on this forum, people I am honored to know. And they’re all here because of one incredible series.
Here’s to Total War and its future, and the future of Total War Center and the Eagle Standard. We have a lot of things planned … and because of all the great people on this site, new and exciting things are going to happen.
- Justinian
Article I: The Total War Community
Originally Posted by silver guard
:tooth: 
Pillaging and Plundering since 2006
