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

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.

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