Empire I: World Builders

About

Empire I World Builders is a space colony strategy RPG where players take control of a fledgling interstellar society. On the Apple II you manage exploration resource gathering and territorial expansion across hundreds of star systems. Characters range from rough mining crews to diplomatic envoys each pursuing the trilogy's core goals survival conquest and economic growth. Turn-based mechanics track population food supplies and technological progress as you balance expansion with defense against rival factions and environmental hazards. Released in 1981 this first entry in the Empire series leans heavily into procedural world generation and economic simulation. Community archives note its pioneering use of hex-based galaxy maps and branching narrative paths shaped by player choices. While graphics are limited to basic text and symbols the game's focus on long-term planning and emergent conflict echoes later 4X titles. Over 4000 stars to chart and 128 possible colony sites make each playthrough distinct.

Storyline

The Empire gaming trilogy is a magnificient projection into the future, where the rise and fall of an intergalactic civilization is played out over light years of time and space. World Builders marks the dawn of the Empire, when citizens of this still infant society harness their crude technologies, seeking to conquer and colonize the galaxy. As you enter this gaming system, you will join the pioneers ... space travelers and scouts, relentless plunderers and honey-tongued missionaries, petty bureaucrats and their henchmen, asteroid miners and high-technology homesteaders. You can be any of them...or all of them. Three overriding objectives govern your every move... Survive! Conquer! Prosper!