The Patrician (game)
Encyclopedia
The Patrician is the title of a series of historical trading simulation computer games for the PC
, Amiga
and Atari ST
published by Ascaron Entertainment. In the games, the player assumes the role of a merchant in any of several cities of the Hanseatic League
, accumulating money, capital
and consumer goods, and real estate, expanding his company, and furthering his career at home and abroad.
The main action of the games typically consists of trading, using trading offices and ships. Supply and Demand play an important role in this game. Generally seen as one of the more complex business simulations, Patrician can overwhelm the player with too much information. Players can also build public works, private houses, and industries, pursue a career in politics, and interact with such characters as pirates and burghers.
The games features an advanced dynamic economy which can be influenced by the actions of both the human players and the A.I.-controlled players. This in turn affects the various towns (constantly buying high and selling low will cause a town to grow poorer, for instance).
By helping a town grow, the player will gain popularity there, which will help in the Hanseatic elections. The goal of the games is to be elected leader of the Hanseatic League, but the player can only take part in Hanseatic elections once he or she has been elected lord mayor of the home town.
As of 2007, Ascaron has released two sequels to The Patrician: Patrician II (2000) and Patrician III: Rise of the Hanse (2003). The Patrician series was continued in 2010 with The Patrician IV
, after Kalypso Media bought the licenses from the insolvent Ascaron
company.
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
published by Ascaron Entertainment. In the games, the player assumes the role of a merchant in any of several cities of the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
, accumulating money, capital
Capital (economics)
In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...
and consumer goods, and real estate, expanding his company, and furthering his career at home and abroad.
The main action of the games typically consists of trading, using trading offices and ships. Supply and Demand play an important role in this game. Generally seen as one of the more complex business simulations, Patrician can overwhelm the player with too much information. Players can also build public works, private houses, and industries, pursue a career in politics, and interact with such characters as pirates and burghers.
The games features an advanced dynamic economy which can be influenced by the actions of both the human players and the A.I.-controlled players. This in turn affects the various towns (constantly buying high and selling low will cause a town to grow poorer, for instance).
By helping a town grow, the player will gain popularity there, which will help in the Hanseatic elections. The goal of the games is to be elected leader of the Hanseatic League, but the player can only take part in Hanseatic elections once he or she has been elected lord mayor of the home town.
As of 2007, Ascaron has released two sequels to The Patrician: Patrician II (2000) and Patrician III: Rise of the Hanse (2003). The Patrician series was continued in 2010 with The Patrician IV
The Patrician IV
Patrician IV is the first computer game from Gaming Minds Studios and part of the Patrician series. It is a game simulating trading, piracy, politics, and economy.Originally the Patrician series was developed by Ascaron...
, after Kalypso Media bought the licenses from the insolvent Ascaron
Ascaron
Ascaron Entertainment was a video game developer based in Germany. Founded as Ascon and later renamed in October 1996 due to the possible confusion with the Swiss company Ascom AG, the company produced titles primarily for the PC until it was made insolvent in 2009.-Background and history:Ascaron...
company.
External links
- Publishers website