Approach 1 – JamesA

BACKGROUND

The goal of my project was to create a game that would put the player in charge of an American Presidential campaign. My aim was to show the player that the only winning strategy is to take advantage of large donations and political lobbies. Furthermore, the game would teach that debates are less about facts and policy and more about “scoring points” over your opponent. While the game would offer multiple strategies and paths to the Oval Office, many would be difficult or impossible, while the one I’m talking about would be the clear favorite.

MECHANICS

The player would start each day with a certain amount of money. Funds would be subtracted daily for advertising, and weekly for staff salaries. Money would be a key component of the game, at the center of pretty much everything you do. The player would be able to hold rallies and press conferences to affect public opinion of them, and this would also be important, but without money they wouldn’t be able to hold these events in the first place. Here’s some pseudocode for what a day might look like:

display date;

funds – totalAdCost;

if today is Saturday:

funds – totalStaffSalary;

display funds;

if today.events is not empty:

display today.events.messageBox;

when endDay is clicked:

funds + totalDonations;

display donationList;

display funds;

The more involved portion of the gameplay would be the debate segments. In these debates, the players would have to respond to questions from the moderator and attacks from their opponent. In certain parts, the player could also go on the offensive by choosing counterpoints to their opponent’s remarks. However, they would have to be careful as too many counterattacks, or counterattacks at inappropriate times, could be seen as overly aggressive or even annoying (a la Tim Kaine). The player would be trying to manipulate values and score points over their opponent. Inspiration and divisiveness. If the player manages to have high values in both of these fields, and a higher total point value than their opponent, they will be judged as having “won” the debate. Not being divisive means people will see you as centrist or weak-willed. Not being inspirational means people just won’t be able to envision you as a leader. And not scoring the most points means people won’t see you as intelligent, or as a “good fit” for president. It’s important to win all three. Winning a debate will give you a large boost in the polls, but this can still be overcome by your opponent unless you also hold rallies and run ads.

BUDGET

With a project like this, the budget would largely depend on how invested I got into it. As you can see below, I am capable of making my own graphics, but not high-quality graphics. Drawing has never been my strong suit. This I know. Hiring a graphic designer would make my game a lot more appealing, but I probably wouldn’t be able to convince them to do it out of the kindness of their heart. I also considered voice acting, but decided the process would be lengthy, expensive, and ultimately unnecessary.

As far as time goes, this project is a rabbit hole. I would have to make a careful decision as to exactly how much I could include, what would be worth my time. Even then, it could take years for me to get a product I was satisfied with.

FEEDBACK

Some feedback I received was that the game might be too frustrating, and this would turn people off from the whole thing. I do agree somewhat, but at the same time I wouldn’t want to dilute the message of the game by making it enjoyable. Politics are not enjoyable. They are important. It’s important that people see my message. If I were a presidential candidate, I would want to be one for the people. I wouldn’t want to have corporate lobbies dictating my policy. But in America, if your opponent has more money than you, they have a louder voice. Corporate lobbies and private donations are the best way to secure that money. That’s why money is power in politics, and that’s what I want people to see.

FEEDBACK CREDITS: Issac S, Jayson V.