In Philadelphia: Online Game Promotes Tax Reform

February 1, 2008
Right here in GP's backyard a civic group is making creative use of game tech to push its tax reform agenda.

In order to beat Philadelphia Forward's Tax Reform Challenge, players need to drop an urgent fax onto 17 City Council members as well as new Mayor Michael Nutter.

The game is a side-scrolling, whack-a-mole clone, but fun nonetheless. From the group's website:
Enjoy some light-hearted democracy in action when you try to convince City Council to vote for tax reform. In Tax Reform Challenge you have to battle against the clock to bring meaningful tax reform to Philadelphia.

Players who finish Tax Reform Challenge are greeted with:
The power to reform Philadelphia's taxes is in your hands! Take the next step and contact your elected officialsand urge them to adopt Tax Reform Now!

Philadelphia Forward maintains that the city has overtaxed residents and businesses, resulting in the loss of 250,000 jobs in recent years.
Buzz It

Comments

Submitted by E. Zachary Knight on Fri, 02/01/2008 - 09:15.
Specific issue. Check.

Localized Setting. Check.

Easy to understand Gameplay. Check.

Now all it needs is some exposure in the local paper and this could really make it's mark.

E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary

Submitted by Tom (not verified) on Fri, 02/01/2008 - 09:42.
Not a political game as much as a game used to draw attention to a political issue. I know that I'm splitting hairs but I really want to see a political game that uses that which makes games unique, gameplay, to present its political point.

That said, EZK's right - it's focused, simple and fun - the best way to get eyes on the issue at hand.

Submitted by Loudspeaker (not verified) on Fri, 02/01/2008 - 19:45.
Very cool!

Is it just me or does it appear that gamers are becoming more mobilized?

Submitted by BlackIce, Dragunov Marksman (not verified) on Sat, 02/02/2008 - 07:15.
I'm no economist - explian to me how overtaxing results in Job loss, if you please?

Submitted by E. Zachary Knight on Sat, 02/02/2008 - 11:00.
@ BlackIce

Over taxing the employer results in difficulty making a profit. So they have to lay off employees to stay out of the red.

E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary

Submitted by Mr.Skidster (not verified) on Tue, 02/05/2008 - 12:23.
Loudspeaker
Thats the problem now if we dont mobilize and get political the games we all love are toast and then what will we do
Forgot your password?
Username :
Password :

Shout box

You're not permitted to post shouts.
Andrew Eisen: That article is over five years old, Uncharted. A fun blast from the past though.02/12/2012 - 10:47pm
Uncharted NES: Critics: 'Left Behind' game glorifies violence- http://tinyurl.com/wu64s02/12/2012 - 4:34pm
Zen: I felt Brutal Legends was a funny & beautiful look at the world of rock from Double Fines point of view. The only parts I wasn't hot for were the RTS bits as it felt forced. Otherwise fantastic.02/12/2012 - 1:34pm
DorthLous: Passed 1.5M$. And I'd also say that Brutal Legend is far from being a bad game. I just think it was a few levels under what people expected from the people working on the project.02/11/2012 - 8:25am
Technogeek: Brutal Legend wasn't bad so much as "marketing had no idea how the game actually played", causing it to suffer accordingly.02/10/2012 - 10:38pm
RedMage: It looks the CIA's website has been DDOS'ed. Anon?02/10/2012 - 7:52pm
RedMage: Brutal Legend.02/10/2012 - 7:52pm
ddrfr33k: Has anything Tim Schafer ever made been of crap caliber? I'm struggling to think of one...02/10/2012 - 7:37pm
Guamish: I think it is in good hands. Tim did a game for the GDC award show and that was fun for how short it was.02/10/2012 - 12:22pm
Andrew Eisen: It'll be tragic if the game ultimately sucks.02/10/2012 - 12:17pm
james_fudge: $1.3 million02/10/2012 - 11:32am
Uncharted NES: Germany Says It Won't Sign ACTA [Update: ... Yet]- http://tinyurl.com/7r2twrg02/10/2012 - 11:21am
Andrew Eisen: Damn. Double Fine's Kickstarter fund has already passed a million dollars.02/09/2012 - 8:16pm
Andrew Eisen: Audrey didn't quote the sassy parts. Here's IGN's article: http://wii.ign.com/articles/121/1218359p1.html And here's my original post: http://tinyurl.com/7y68a3902/09/2012 - 7:50pm
james_fudge: I hope you some said something sassy! Where's the link?02/09/2012 - 7:46pm
Andrew Eisen: Hey, neat. IGN quoted a blog I had writen only two hours earlier. I certainly timed that one pretty well.02/09/2012 - 7:38pm
Andrew Eisen: Toki Tori has been added to the Humble Bundle for Android.02/09/2012 - 5:11pm
james_fudge: Thanks for the heads-up DorthLous02/09/2012 - 4:33pm
DorthLous: Will do, my apologies.02/09/2012 - 4:14pm
Andrew Eisen: I appreciate the heads up but please keep typo alerts to the specific article's comments or PMs.02/09/2012 - 3:33pm
All shouts

Be Heard - Contact Your Politician