Games About Politics

O’Connor-Backed Educational Games Examined

October 6, 2009

As a follow up to previous news of retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s new gig as a videogame promoter and developer, the Washington Post takes a look at the first two games to emerge from her stewardship.

Dubbed “the best” of the two titles currently available online, Supreme Decision centers around the rights of a student prevented from wearing his favorite band t-shirt to school. Players will take on the role of a Supreme Court clerk charged with advising Justice Irene Waters on the case.

Do I Have a Right casts players as a member of a pro bono law firm and has them introducing civil right case clients to lawyers.

O’Connor met a sixth-grade fan (and future World of Warcraft addict?), of the Our Court games, who told her that he stayed up until midnight playing them and now wanted to become a lawyer.  O’Connor  responded:

We're not trying to produce a new generation of lawyers; we have plenty already. But I was pleased by his response.

Ex-EA Dev Fashioning Game Set During Iran Riots

October 2, 2009

Backing up previous comments made about the value of including political statements in games, developer Borut Pfeifer is working on a title set amidst the riots of post-election Iran.

Pfeifer, an ex-full time Electronic Arts employee who is now developing his own games, while still working part time for EA, is attempting to fund his game’s development on the Kickstarter website. The 2D puzzle/action game aims to be a downloadable title for the PC or Xbox 360 and will feature around two hours of game play.

Pfeifer, who was one of the few developers to weigh in on the Six Days in Fallujah controversy, explained the impetus for making the game:

I’ve been really passionate about using games to explore more serious topics or themes. Most games are still about fun, diversionary topics. There’s even a lot of professional game designers who don’t think we can treat serious subjects appropriately, which I think is bullshit.

Pfeifer is aiming for $15,000 in seed money to develop the game. So far he has 30 backers and $2,107 pledged towards his goal.

Thanks to GP reader Shane for pointing us towards the story and also to DarkSaber for being another swell GP-er in general.

Play Where's the Naughty Governor?

July 9, 2009

New from Addicting Games is the tongue-in-cheek puzzler Where's the Naughty Governor?

The super-easy Where's Waldo? clone challenges player to find visual clues related to the cases of philandering guvs and ex-guvs like South Carolina's Mark Sanford, New York's Eliot Spitzer and New Jersey's Jim McGreevey. Philandering would-be president John Edwards is tossed in for good measure. Sarah Palin  made the cut too, but for quitting her post rather than for extra-curricular marital activities.

As an added bonus (and this lackluster game needs all the help it can get), the Los Angeles Times has an interesting article on the creative process behind Where's the Naughty Governor?:

The quintet [of game designers] quickly work their way through 15 politicians with slippery zippers before settling on five. Sen. Ensign of Nevada is labeled "kinda boring" and tossed out because he promptly admitted his infidelity; mayors Villaraigosa [of Los Angeles] and Newsom [of San Francisco] don't have big enough national profiles; former Sen. Larry E. Craig of Idaho is set aside because his arrest for allegedly soliciting sex in an airport bathroom by tapping his foot could... deserve its own game.

Those making the cut: Sanford, Spitzer, McGreevey and Edwards [Palin was apparently added later]. Dave Williams, senior VP of Nickelodeon's games group, even reaches into the past for one more addition.

"Could we end on Bill Clinton? He's the big boss!" [a designer] says with a laugh, using the video-game term for a final and most difficult opponent.

Teen Gamer Plays, Practices Politics

July 8, 2009

Tyler Hudgins plays politically-themed games like The Political Machine 2008 and Oval Office on his PC and dreams of a career in real - not simulated - politics.

Oh, and the Arizona teen just graduated from high school.

The East Valley Tribune reports that Tyler (left) is, for now, dedicated to local politics but has aspirations that extend beyond his home town:

Hudgins spends more time in the council chambers than just about anyone who isn't on the council or the town payroll. He hopes to be a councilman himself someday, a first step to what he says will be a long and illustrious political career...

 

But, for now, he's reading "How to Get Elected to Local Office" during breaks from his job at Liberty Market. He said it's a long road to the White House, and that's how it should be.

"I'm stopping to study the issues that will come into play in the future," he said. "I feel like I'm going about this the right way, by starting at the grass roots."

In Lebanon, First Use of Games As an Election Campaign Tool

June 15, 2009

Here at GamePolitics we lay no claim to understanding the complexities of Lebanese politics.

But we do note that Lebanon-based WixelStudios has launched what it says is the first use of games for a political campaign in the troubled nation. From the company's website:

For the first time in Lebanon, games are used as an election propaganda! ...

Wixel Studios produced an interactive animated documentary for the Liberty Front... in addition to the documentaries you will find four games accompanying to the stories.

The four browser-based mini-games, which are nicely varied in presentation, involve themes in which the player does battle with Syrian forces. Based on its Wikipedia entry, Lebanon's dealings with Syria is a prime concern of the Liberty Front.

Check out the games here.

Check Out the Interactive George W. Bush Presidential Librarium

April 13, 2009

The authors of the parody children's book Goodnight Bush are back with a bit of post-presidential Dubya bashing.

While not excatly a game, The George W. Bush Presidential Librarium is an interactive parody:

Completion of the George W. Bush Presidential Library... may be stalled indefinitely, due to an apparent lack of funding, public support, and basic legality. Make no mistake, the public's desire to endlessly relive Bush's greatest achievements may go unanswered for years to come—and his legacy remain (like America) in limbo.

All hope is not lost. We at Origen & Golan Architects are proud to unveil the plans for the George W. Bush Presidential Librarium! Themed attractions provide more entertainment than a library, and more accurately represent Bush's remarkable legacy—start by exploring The Stax, Supreme Food Court, Book BBQ, and the ever-popular Golden Parachutes...

Via: Water Cooler Games

Online Game Challenges Players to Balance Philadelphia's Budget

March 24, 2009

Like chief executives in other big cities, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has been forced to make some tough financial choices of late.

Perhaps His Honor should spend some time playing Philadelphia Budget Challenge, a new online game offered by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia.

Alan Tu of Philly's public radio station WHYY has a review of the game:

This budget game asks 15 questions, giving you a choice to raise taxes or cut services in each case. My secret for solving the city’s budget crisis over the lunch hour is as follows.

The first thing to do is raise everybody’s taxes. That makes the game more fun. Who wants to be the mayor remembered for closing libraries?... The rest was a breeze. I ordered a 10 percent across-the-board cut to to all departments that were considered “administrative,” sold off 400 city cars, and then refinanced a loan the city has for paying into the pension fund...

It’s kind of fun, because it’s feels a little like playing Sim City. No big budgets to read. Never have to hear the citizens complain (although in the game they move away), and if you don’t like the results, you can play it over... the game is simplistic, but it is a wonderful way to generate debate in your office...

Cast Your (Very Limited) Vote For Best Political Game of 2008

March 13, 2009

At Water Cooler Games, Prof. Ian Bogost writes that the Politics Online Conference is accepting votes for 2008's best online political game.

Unfortunately, only two choices are offered: Bush Move In Day and Dress Like Palin. Both were publications of the California Nurses Association.

Bogost comments:

Neither of them are games; they're both little drag and drop toys that give more detailed information about what could have been done with Palin's clothing budget, or about the residue of Bush policy after his departure from office. It's disappointing to see that this is the cream of the crop among online political games this year.

GP: It's unclear why only two games from the same non-profit are on the ballot. Perhaps organizations needed to nominate themselves but didn't get the word. GamePolitics, however, reported on dozens of political games in 2008. These included commercial and amateur offerings distributed both online as well as on DVD.

Obama Simulators for PC

January 29, 2009

President Barack Obama's status as a pop icon seems to have breathed new life into the niche market for political strategy games.

GamePolitics has previously covered Commander in Chief: Geo-Political Simulator 2009 and CNN now has a video report on the game.

We've also stumbled across Oval Office from Zero G. Beyond its marketing blurb, we don't yet have much info on the $19.99 PC game:

Can you run the country better than the people in charge? Oval Office is the ultimate political strategy and simulation game! As president, you will have to balance the budget, keep taxes in check, make snap judgments, and much more.

 

Prefer a green paradise, or socialist utopia? Control crime without destroying civil liberties? These are only some of the tough issues you will face. But the biggest question of all is can you win re-election? It's not as easy as it sounds in the Oval Office!

GP: I've been playing a bit of Commander in Chief recently. It's fun, but fairly complex. The game has garnered a couple of glowing user reviews on GameSpot.

Kansas Offers Citizens Game-like Tool for Budget Play

January 23, 2009

The Kansas Department of Transportation is offering citizens the opportunity to try their hand at balancing its budget - or not - via an innovative web-based tool.

Writing for the New York Times' Freakonomics blog, UCLA transportation researcher Eric Morris praises T-Link:

I can’t help but wonder how many urban planners were inspired to enter the profession by computer games like SimCity or Railroad Tycoon... these programs convey information about arcane topics like utility maintenance costs and right-of-way clearance in a fun and accessible manner...

 

Now the Kansas Department of Transportation has come up with a neat way to both educate the public about its services and get valuable feedback about customer preferences, using a game-like format. The T-Link Calculator allows you to set transportation policy in Kansas and see the fiscal results of your choices...

 

By presenting the information this way, [KDOT] reaches out to voters (particularly younger ones) who are accustomed to interactivity and immediate feedback from their information sources. I have a feeling that many people who would never think of sitting down and reading the state budget will warm to playing “transportation god” on this site.

Moreover, the site makes it clear that we can’t ask for everything from our government; tough budgetary choices have to be made...

Online Games Lampoon Disgraced Illinois Guv

January 22, 2009

Shawn Recinto of HeadlineGames dropped by GamePolitics the other day to let us know that a pair of games loosely based on the misadventures of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich are available.

Blago Run, a Frogger-like affair, challenges players to guide Senate hopefuls past FBI and police patrols in search of President Barack Obama's former seat.

Meanwhile, Blago Red Tape Breakout is a Breakout clone in which Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan must get her supoena past rows of red tape in order to serve Blagojevich with impeachment papers.

One Final Bush-Bashing Game

January 20, 2009

As George W. Bush turns over the reigns to Barack Obama today, online gamers will have their final chance to zing the 43rd president.

Goodbye, Mr. Bush is a whack-a-mole sort of affair in which players hurl objects at a cartoon version of Dubya which pops up in various locations on the White House lawn. Weapons of choice include eggs, candy and, of course, shoes.

The game, like the man it lampoons, will soon be forgotten. But there is one clever moment. Players who choose Weapons of Mass Destruction to hurl at Bush are informed that WMD can't be found.

Hmmm... Where have we heard that before?

If you'd like to give it a try, click the thumbnail image to play.

Via: Huffington Post

 

Can You Save the Economy? Play The Bailout Game

January 14, 2009

While the current state of the economy isn't much fun, The Bailout Game offers a somewhat entertaining look at the financial mess wrought by the ugly marriage of Wall Street greed and governmental ineptitude.

The web-based offering uses board game-style interface and challenges the player to selectively bailout financial institutions and the auto industry, all the while trying to keep one step ahead of recession.

Although we found the game worth a try, Ian Bogost of Water Cooler Games was less enthusiastic:

The game itself is a repetitive and seemingly meaningless trudge from square to square (bank to bank), each offering the same basic question: Do you bail out: YES or NO? No matter your answer, you'll get an animation or video with some vaguely related news bit or textual riff...

 

I was never able to determine why or how the game wanted me to chose to bail out specific banks or to let them fail, save for invoking the "Ask a Greenspan" button or following obvious hints on the playing cards. It's games like this that make me wonder if I should give up tracking them entirely.

Latest Gaza Conflict Game is Pro-Israeli

January 14, 2009

In recent days GamePolitics has covered web games propagandizing the current Gaza conflict from both the Israeli and Palestinian viewpoints.

The latest of these is Iron Dome which takes the Israeli perspective. Along with a Missile Command-esque interface, Iron Dome offers three levels of difficulty as well as several links offering the Israeli version of the issues behind the conflict.

GP: Thanks to GamePolitics reader Itamar for the tip!

New Game Is a Protest of Israeli Invasion of Gaza

January 7, 2009

At the Georgia Tech News Games Project, Ian Bogost discusses Raid Gaza!, an editorial game dealing with Israel's offensive against Hamas in Palestine.

Raid Gaza! is hosted at Newgrounds and has an RTS-like interface in which the player, acting as the Israeli side, builds structures and uses them to create military units which are then launched against the Palestinians.

Of the game, Bogost writes:

The game argues against the justification of Israeli attacks on Gaza, representing them as unprovoked and characterizing Israel's response as overt aggression. The game's goal is to kill as many Palestinians as possible in a three minute session...

The game is headstrong, suffering somewhat from its one-sided treatment of the issue at hand. But as an editorial, it is a fairly effective one both as opinion text and as game... It's release on user-contributed animation and games portal Newgrounds came on 30 December 2008, only three days after the Israeli Defense Forces launched airstrikes...

Raid Gaza! was probably not created by a journalist nor a professional game developer (it was submitted to Newgrounds eponymously). Still, the piece was timely, coherent, and exerted commentary that is appreciable, even if it is not profound...

Publisher Wants Politicians to Practice with Computer Game

January 6, 2009

Before taking office on January 20th, Barack Obama might want to spend some time playing Democracy 2.

At least, that's the view of Cliff Harris of UK publisher Positech Games. Harris has offered a free copy of his firm's  political sim to any politician or candidate who would like to "practice."

Are you a politician? a candidate for real political office? an MP in the UK? A Senator or member of the House of Representatives in the US? or the equivalent anywhere in the world? If so, I...a humble games programmer from the UK would like to give you a free gift. a FREE copy of Democracy 2 for you to practice with.

 

There are no strings attached whatsoever, I won't publish your name anywhere unless you say I can, I'm not getting anything out of it other than the knowledge that just *maybe* I'm helping to make our current crop of politicians more prepared for the task ahead, especially with a global recession on the horizon.

Go on, give it a try, make your policy errors in a game, rather than making them for real...

For non-politicians, Democracy 2 is US$22.95, available for PC or Mac.

Via: Water Cooler Games

Games Based on Iraqi Shoe Toss Incident Keep on Coming

December 19, 2008

By our count, Bush's Shoe Dodge (screen shot at left) is game #5 based on the now-famous incident in which an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at President George W. Bush during a recent news conference.

Flash games based on Muntader al-Zaidi's shoe toss have been arriving on the Web at the rate of one per day. The latest offering comes from Atom. It's the second game in which you play as the President with the goal of dodging al-Zaidi's shoes. The other game based on Dubya's perspective is Flying BaBush.

Of the remaining games, in two (SockAndAwe and Can You Throw a Shoe at Bush?) you play as al-Zaidi, while in Bush's Boot Camp players assume the role of a Secret Service agent.
 

Have Browser Games Taken Over the Role of Politicial Cartoons?

December 19, 2008

On Sunday, an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at President Bush during a press conference.

Within days, nearly a half-dozen Flash games lampooning the incident appeared on the web (you'll find all of them linked here on GamePolitics).

Given the speed and reach of the web, the Amazon Game Room Blog wonders whether browser games have replaced the role of the political cartoon in modern society:

Web-based flash games continue to take over the satirical role that political cartoons once filled... Our country has a rich and scathing history of political satire in cartoon form in newspapers and magazines and anyone who noticed how fast the [various Bush/shoe games] popped up on the Web after the footwear was flung... should be able to acknowledge the potential for this in flash technology.

 

The games are certainly is no works of art, but they were not designed to be awe inspiring. They were instead designed to capture the moment, and immortalize it from a particular point of view that people in this particular time can appreciate, or at least recognize. In a hundred years... these snippets of code will offer a window into the past... it is all just part of a media continuum that stretches forward and back further than we know.

Step Into Barack Obama's Shoes with "Commander in Chief"

December 10, 2008

Barack Obama will take over a mess of historicial proportions when he is inaugurated in January.

Gamers can get a feel for some of the issues that will be faced by the President-elect with Commander in Chief, a soon-to-be-released strategy game for the PC.

AppScout previews Commander in Chief, which is being developed by Eversim, a Frech company:

Players begin by selecting members of the Cabinet and heads of states from "250 personality types and 20 variables including age, gender, political leaning, religion, charisma, competence, popularity, etc...."

The Player President then begins facing internal and external decision-making, and every decision comes with a consequence. The player must navigate budgets, security, education, health care, special interests, and critics. Cut spending, and encounter outrage from special interest groups; raise taxes, and hear the complaints of taxpayers.

In addition to domestic issues, the game proposes to replicate real-world international situations and circumstances with detailed maps showing 192 countries and 8,000 cities, and comes pre-loaded with information on each country, such as unemployment levels, arms production, inflation rates, stock markets, sports... Players can determine the course of world events by invading countries, plotting assassinations, brokering trade agreements and spending time with fellow world leaders.

GP: Obviously, a complex strategy game like this won't appeal to everyone, but it's definitely on my list. Commander in Chief will launch in the U.S. on January 20th, the same day on which Obama will be sworn in.

One We Missed: Steal This Election Game

November 14, 2008

Although GamePolitics tracked numerous election-themed games during the presidential campaign, we just stumbled across one of more unique and interesting ones.

Steal This Election is slick look at how to use dirty tricks to win the White House. The game has more attitude and atmosphere than most of the other offerings we've seen, which are generally variations on martial arts, FPS or whack-a-mole.

Our only gripe is that the online game is broken. GP's candidate (a Sarah Palin knockoff) won with 182% of the vote. Also, there doesn't seem to be much replayability. No matter which candidate you choose, the dirty tricks are the same. It made sense in the game for my Palinesque character to paint Obama as a terrorist, since that was, unfortunately, an actual theme in the election. It made less sense to have the same tactic available for the Obama-like character to use against the game's faux McCain.

Despite these rather significant flaws, Steal This Election is worth a look if political games float your boat. Let's hope that they fix the game mechanics by the time November, 2012 rolls around.

GP: Okay, that's it. No more election games. Probably...

GamePolitics ShoutBox

Posted 11/07/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:26pm
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:23pm
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:18pm
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
Posted 11/07/09 at 03:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:05am
JDKJ: I'm no psychologist, but I'm told that crazy people have a tendency to do crazy things.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:03am
chadachada321: Whoops, was out of the convo for awhile. I do wonder what type of ammo he used etc, but the real issue is WHY he did it, not HOW
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:56am
JDKJ: But if it turns out that they actually did, they'll have Hell to pay.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:45am
JDKJ: And I'd tend to rule out the possibilty of FN Herstal supplying restricted ammunition to someone merely because they're ordering it from a military base.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:37am
JDKJ: I know you don't leave your gated community and get around much in dark alleys, so you may be surprised to learn that there's this thing called "the black market" where, if you've got enough money, ain't too much of anything which can't be bought.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:36am
Austin_Lewis: Or, maybe he or someone else at the base ordered the SS190 from FN Herstal.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:32am
Austin_Lewis: the hands of private owners. They run about 300 dollars minimum for a box of 50, and boxes of AP 5.7 are extremely scarce, mainly residing in the hands of Class III stores or individuals who for one reason or another got a demo box of it.
Posted 11/07/09 at 09:30am
Austin_Lewis: There are other firearms that fire the 5.7. However, I too would like to know where he got the ammo and what kind was used. Maybe Hasan, planning not to live through this, went out and bought one the boxes of SS190 that are floating around in
Posted 11/07/09 at 08:44am
JDKJ: And it isn't yet clear what type of ammunition Hasan used. It's strange that he purchased a gun but didn't purchase ammunition for it at the same place and time. Especially because the calibre required is peculiar to the actual gun.
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