Soren Johnson, game designer (Civ III, Civ IV, Spore, Old World)

Soren Johnson is an American programmer and game designer whose work has helped shape the modern strategy genre. After earning a master’s degree in Computer Science from Stanford University, he joined Firaxis Games, where he worked as both a programmer and designer on Civilization III before going on to lead the design of Civilization IV, one of the most celebrated strategy games yet made. Over the years he has contributed to a wide range of projects, including Spore, Dragon Age Legends, and Offworld Trading Company, bringing a distinctive blend of historical insight, systemic thinking, and player-driven design. Today he is the founder and design director of Mohawk Games, where he recently led the development of the acclaimed historical strategy game Old World. Alongside his development work, he continues to explore the craft of game design through his long-running blog and podcast, both of which are titled “Designer Notes”. Soren Johnson – website & podcast Soren Johnson – Designer Notes blog Designer Notes podcast – episode archive Designer Notes – Apple Podcasts Designer Notes – Spotify Mohawk Games & Old World Mohawk Games – official site Old World – official page Old World – Steam Old World – GOG Old World – Epic Games Store Old World: Empires of the Indus DLC – Mohawk Games Soren's Perfect Console Pinball Construction Set (1983) – Wikipedia M.U.L.E. (1983) – Wikipedia Seven Cities of Gold (1984) – Wikipedia Legacy of the Ancients (1987) – Wikipedia Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (1999) – Wikipedia Other games and references mentioned Civilization IV – Wikipedia Civilization III – Wikipedia Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004 remake) – Wikipedia Civilization Revolution – Wikipedia Offworld Trading Company – Steam Spore (2008) – Wikipedia Balatro – Steam Vampire Survivors – Steam Schedule I – Steam Lethal Company – Steam Bennett Foddy – personal site Danielle Bunten Berry – Wikipedia (designer of M.U.L.E.) Trip Hawkins – Wikipedia (founder of Electronic Arts) Jake Solomon – Wikipedia Game Developers Conference (GDC) – official site Simon's book Trial of the Space Invaders – pre-order (Bookshop.org UK) Trial of the Space Invaders – pre-order (Amazon UK) Support the show My Perfect Console – episode archive Support My Perfect Console on Patreon Become a My Perfect Console supporter and receive a range of benefits at www.patreon.com/myperfectconsole Take the Acast listener survey to help shape the show: My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin Survey 2025 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.