I met the wonderful guys at Ensemble while browsing through the web for information on the upcoming Conquerors expansion pack. A friend told me the Aztecs would be on it.
I was really excited, and I found out that these people were very accesible: they posted journals on the development of the game, and they participated in forums! I was only 13 then, but it made an impact on me. It was the first time I had contact with the creators of something I used.
Throughout the years, Mr. Sandy Petersen answered a couple of my questions (as he did with many many others), and Mr. Greg Street put up with my 14 year old self bugging everyone about the *infamous* 35% cheaper Goth infantry as opposed to the reported 25%. I was an Aztec player, you know? And I was 14...
Ensemble was the source for many hours of fun with my friends. In 2001, 16 of us created a "league". We played for over three months against each other, we had play-offs and all...
I participated in the Make Texas Beautiful Contest, and I received a CD, a T-Shirt and a cap, which I still keep in a special place.
I participated in the historic scenario contest... I followed Gamespot's Civ Showcases, and I was there when the first Age of Mythology screenshot surfaced.
I was chosen as an Alpha Tester for Age of Mythology, a game I unfortunately could not play, for my computer didn't support a 16 MB video card... those days, huh?
When I finally updated my computer, I played some Age of Mythology still. Some of you might remember a little project of Zalpacuiztli, Rodya and I, called the "Aztec Civilization Outline for AoM"; we created one of the earliest, most complete, historically accurate templates that ever existed, even if it was only in text.
I was there when Age of Empires 3 was announced, and I was one of the leading speculators in this community. Always hanging out in the "Future ES Games" board, not so often in the strategy one.
I was never a great player by on-line standards (I only ever played against my friends) but I loved those games. Conquerors is to date my favorite game, and even spin-offs like SW: Galactic Battlegrounds are among my all time favorites. Age of Empires and Age of Mythology taught me strategy, some history, and introduced me to on-line communities.
Ensemble Studios certainly holds a special place in my teen-years' memories.
Now I am 21, and many of you might not know me because I left regular activity in these boards for almost 2 years now, but when I heard of this, I had to come and say thanks to anyone, and everyone at Ensemble that will read this.
Mr. Street, Mr. Petersen, Mr. Shelley and everyone else: my deepest admiration, and the most sincere thanks.
To Heavengames, thanks for being a channel to meet other fans and the creators of this saga.
Age of Empires will live forever! And with it, Ensemble Studios.
Thank you, Ensemble Studios (1995-2009)
One request though: before everything's over, it would be nice if you could post all the journals, Civ Showcases and every such article that was created in these 14 years. Let the fans save it in their hard drives for nostalgia, if not for anything else. Those things should never be forgotten. I am thinking "Age of Empires II: Not necessarilly The Conquerors" in which you spoke of the other possibilities you had for the x-pack, and articles of the sort.
Co-Author of the Aztec Civilization Outline for AoM.
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