▲
1
▼
In 2012, TV Tropes user Tunafish edited the site's page for the Civilization series to claim that Gandhi can become the most aggressive character in the original game due to a rollover error. World leaders' aggression levels drop by two points upon adopting democracy; because Gandhi's aggression is set to 1, the lowest possible value, the pacification allegedly lowers it to -1, which defaults to 255, the highest possible value.
Despite the edit not providing any evidence, the claim nonetheless circulated online in subsequent years. Because leaders will vehemently pursue a nuclear weapons policy when their aggression is high enough, the claim spawned the "Nuclear Gandhi" meme among Civilization fans, poking fun at the apparent dissonance between the real Gandhi's pacifism and his fictional counterpart's apocalyptic jingoism. A KnowYourMeme page on the memes further distorted the rumors by claiming that the bug first appeared in Civilization II rather than the first game; as of March 2024, the page now acknowledges that the rumors are false.
The Nuclear Gandhi claim was eventually debunked by series creator Sid Meier in his 2020 autobiography, Sid Meier's Memoir!: A Life in Computer Games. In the book, Meier revealed that Civilization and Civilization II are respectively programmed in C and C++, which are immune to the kinds of rollover errors that the urban legend describes. Consequently, Gandhi's aggression level remains at 1 after the adoption of democracy. Nevertheless, Meier admitted that he found the memes surrounding the urban legend funny.
Despite the edit not providing any evidence, the claim nonetheless circulated online in subsequent years. Because leaders will vehemently pursue a nuclear weapons policy when their aggression is high enough, the claim spawned the "Nuclear Gandhi" meme among Civilization fans, poking fun at the apparent dissonance between the real Gandhi's pacifism and his fictional counterpart's apocalyptic jingoism. A KnowYourMeme page on the memes further distorted the rumors by claiming that the bug first appeared in Civilization II rather than the first game; as of March 2024, the page now acknowledges that the rumors are false.
The Nuclear Gandhi claim was eventually debunked by series creator Sid Meier in his 2020 autobiography, Sid Meier's Memoir!: A Life in Computer Games. In the book, Meier revealed that Civilization and Civilization II are respectively programmed in C and C++, which are immune to the kinds of rollover errors that the urban legend describes. Consequently, Gandhi's aggression level remains at 1 after the adoption of democracy. Nevertheless, Meier admitted that he found the memes surrounding the urban legend funny.
Edit history on the TV Tropes page for Civilization showing Tunafish's edit:
https://web.archive.org/web/20120901052801/http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/article_history.php?article=VideoGame.Civilization&more=t
KnowYourMeme page about Nuclear Gandhi:
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/nuclear-gandhi
TheGamer article:
https://www.thegamer.com/nuclear-gandhi-meme-civilization/
GameRant article:
https://gamerant.com/civilization-gandhi-nuclear-aggression-bug-myth/
https://web.archive.org/web/20120901052801/http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/article_history.php?article=VideoGame.Civilization&more=t
KnowYourMeme page about Nuclear Gandhi:
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/nuclear-gandhi
TheGamer article:
https://www.thegamer.com/nuclear-gandhi-meme-civilization/
GameRant article:
https://gamerant.com/civilization-gandhi-nuclear-aggression-bug-myth/
▲
1
▼
The Amiga port uses a different piece of classical music as Frederick II's theme. Bach's "Goldberg Variations, 4th Variation" is normally used as the theme for Frederick, while the Amiga version uses Mozart's "Rondo Alla Turca" instead.
Related Games
Dynasty Warriors
Warriors Orochi 2
Dynasty Warriors 4: Empires
Persona 3 FES
Samurai Warriors 2 Empires
Sid Meier's Civilization II
Persona 3
Dynasty Warriors 3
Samurai Warriors 2
Dynasty Warriors 6
Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce
Makai Kingdom: Chronicles of the Sacred Tome
Croc 2
Dynasty Warriors 8
Sid Meier's Pirates!
Dynasty Warriors 5
Dynasty Warriors 6
RollerCoaster Tycoon
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar
Samurai Warriors
Worms Armageddon
Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender
Samurai Warriors 2 Xtreme Legends
Uncharted Waters: New Horizons
Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires
Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Pirates! Gold
Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories
Dynasty Warriors 7
Diablo II
Wolfenstein: The New Order
Super Smash Flash 2
Jumping Flash!
Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis
Sonic 3D Blast
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Grand Theft Auto Online
State of Decay
Mark of the Ninja
Doom
Assassin's Creed II
Half-Life: Opposing Force
Windows Solitaire
Door Kickers
Wipeout
Colin McRae Rally
Star Trek: Elite Force II
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code
Far Cry: Primal