developer civilization iv: warlords
A video game is an electronic game that involves human or animal interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device such as a TV screen or computer monitor . The word " video " in " video game " traditionally referred to a raster display device , but as of the 2000s , it implies any type of display device that can ___MASK37___ two - or three - dimensional images . Some theorists categorize video games as an art form , but this designation is controversial . ___MASK26___ was a video game developer initially established in 1995 as an independent company by Tony Goodman , Rick Goodman and John Boog - Scott , but was acquired by Microsoft in 2001 and operated as an internal studio until 2009 , when it was officially disbanded . Ensemble developed many real - time strategy games , including the " Age of Empires " game series , " Age of Mythology ", and " Halo Wars ". In addition to game development , ___MASK26___ also made the Genie Game Engine used in " Age of Empires ", "", and "". The studio sold 20 million games and was worth an estimated $ 500 million . Age of Empires III is a real - time strategy video game developed by ___MASK33___ Corporation ' s ___MASK26___ and published by ___MASK33___ Game Studios . The Mac version was ported over and developed and published by Destineer ' s ___MASK73___ . The PC version was released on October 18 , 2005 in North America and November 4 , 2005 in Europe , while the Mac version was released on November 21 , 2006 in North America and September 29 , 2006 in Europe . An N - Gage version of the game developed by Glu Mobile was released on April 28 , 2009 . It is the third game of the " Age of Empires " series and the sequel to "". Sid Meier ' s Civilization IV ( also known as Civilization 4 or Civ4 ) is a turn - based strategy computer game and the fourth installment of the " Civilization " series . It was designed by Soren Johnson under the direction of Sid Meier and his video game development studio ___MASK12___ , and then first released in North America , Europe , and Australia , between October 25 and November 4 , 2005 . Soren Johnson is a video game designer and programmer . He was employed by ___MASK12___ from 2000 to 2007 , where he co - designed several of their most popular games . In 2013 he co - founded Mohawk Games . In , Falcom released " Sorcerian Forever " for ___MASK33___ Windows - based PCs . In , Falcom released " Sorcerian Original ", a remake of Sorcerian for ___MASK33___ Windows - based PCs . In addition , console versions of Sorcerian with somewhat differing content from their PC counterparts were developed : A version for the Mega Drive was developed by ___MASK83___ , a version for the PC Engine CD was developed by Victor Musical Industries , and a version for the Dreamcast was developed by ___MASK21___ . ___MASK12___ , Inc . is an American video game developer founded in 1996 by Sid Meier , Jeff Briggs , and Brian Reynolds upon leaving MicroProse . Now a wholly owned subsidiary of Take - Two Interactive , the company is best known for its " Civilization " series of games , though it has had notable success with other titles as well . Firaxis is based in Sparks , Maryland ; Sid Meier continues to lead creative efforts there . Civilization IV : Warlords is the first official expansion pack of the critically acclaimed turn - based strategy video game Civilization IV . ___MASK61___ is a video game developer located in Timonium , Maryland . The company was founded in February 2000 by four veteran game industry developers : Tim Train , David Inscore , Jason Coleman and Brian Reynolds ( lead designer of " Alpha Centauri ", et al .). Their first game , " Rise of Nations ", was a critical and commercial hit . The original studio became defunct in May 2012 , but the name " ___MASK61___ " was later reacquired by Reynolds and Train for their new venture ( previously known as SecretNewCo ). The revived studio released the mobile game " DomiNations " on Android and iOS in April 2015 . Sidney K . " Sid " Meier ( born February 24 , 1954 ) is a programmer , designer , and producer of several popular strategy video games and simulation video games , most notably the " Civilization " series . Meier co - founded ___MASK80___ in 1982 with Bill Stealey and is the Director of Creative Development of ___MASK12___ , which he co - founded with Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds in 1996 . He has won several prestigious accolades for his contributions to the video game industry . An expansion pack , expansion set , supplement , or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role - playing game , tabletop game or video game . These add - ons usually add new game areas , weapons , objects , characters and / or an extended storyline to complete an already released game . While board game expansions are typically designed by the original creator , video game developers sometimes contract out development of the expansion pack to a third - party company , ( see "" for " Diablo "), it may choose to develop the expansion itself or it may do both ( ___MASK26___ developed the real - time strategy game Age of Empires III and the first expansion called itself , but contracted Big Huge Games for the second expansion pack , the Asian Dynasties ). Board games and tabletop RPGs may have been marketing expansions since the 1970s , and video games have been releasing expansion packs since the 1980s , early examples being the " Dragon Slayer " games "" and " Sorcerian ".