Publisher Wants Politicians to Practice with Computer Game
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
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GamePolitics ShoutBox
Posted 03/20/10 at 10:03pm
BearDogg-X: Andrew Eisen: I meant that it won't take as many people to change their votes next election. Besides that, it's become a moot point now that he's stepping down as AG as soon as the election's over.
BearDogg-X: Andrew Eisen: I meant that it won't take as many people to change their votes next election. Besides that, it's become a moot point now that he's stepping down as AG as soon as the election's over.
Posted 03/20/10 at 10:02pm
Flamespeak: Seems kind of early considering the PS2 didn't launch until well into 2000.
Flamespeak: Seems kind of early considering the PS2 didn't launch until well into 2000.
Posted 03/20/10 at 10:01pm
Andrew Eisen: Fleamespeak - I'd say since around the turn of the century.
Andrew Eisen: Fleamespeak - I'd say since around the turn of the century.
Posted 03/20/10 at 10:01pm
BearDogg-X: BREAKING NEWS: Atkinson will step down as South Australia Attorney-General; will remain in Parliament
BearDogg-X: BREAKING NEWS: Atkinson will step down as South Australia Attorney-General; will remain in Parliament
Posted 03/20/10 at 09:59pm
Andrew Eisen: BearDogg-X - Not sure what your point about Atkinson having only 8500 votes is, seeing as that's around 65% (of the total votes counted at the time).
Andrew Eisen: BearDogg-X - Not sure what your point about Atkinson having only 8500 votes is, seeing as that's around 65% (of the total votes counted at the time).
Posted 03/20/10 at 09:57pm
Flamespeak: I remember when the NES controller held that honor and the stand alone one button joystick before that.
Flamespeak: I remember when the NES controller held that honor and the stand alone one button joystick before that.
Posted 03/20/10 at 09:56pm
Flamespeak: artistic rendering of things associated with gaming? Even GP has a rough version of one in their logo.
Flamespeak: artistic rendering of things associated with gaming? Even GP has a rough version of one in their logo.
Posted 03/20/10 at 09:56pm
Flamespeak: Just out of curiosity, when did the PS2 controller become the 'standard' for video game controller representation in most
Flamespeak: Just out of curiosity, when did the PS2 controller become the 'standard' for video game controller representation in most
Posted 03/20/10 at 09:48pm
Flamespeak: Saw a post by DS earlier. Good to see you are still amongst us, bro. Your absence has been felt.
Flamespeak: Saw a post by DS earlier. Good to see you are still amongst us, bro. Your absence has been felt.
Posted 03/20/10 at 09:46pm
Flamespeak: Well, if the people would rather Atkinson be in power, then he should be in power, no matter what my opinion of him might be.
Flamespeak: Well, if the people would rather Atkinson be in power, then he should be in power, no matter what my opinion of him might be.
Posted 03/20/10 at 09:44pm
BearDogg-X: Andrew Eisen: He continues behaving like he's the Metropolitian Moron of Miami, the jabroni will lose the next election, I think
BearDogg-X: Andrew Eisen: He continues behaving like he's the Metropolitian Moron of Miami, the jabroni will lose the next election, I think
Posted 03/20/10 at 09:42pm
BearDogg-X: The Continental Cretin of Australia may be sitting pretty, but keep in mind he still only got about 8,500 votes.
BearDogg-X: The Continental Cretin of Australia may be sitting pretty, but keep in mind he still only got about 8,500 votes.
Posted 03/20/10 at 07:37pm
Andrew Eisen: However, if Atkinson continues with the recent threats, insults, and otherwise nigh JT-level absurd behavior, it will probably be a lot closer the next time around.
Andrew Eisen: However, if Atkinson continues with the recent threats, insults, and otherwise nigh JT-level absurd behavior, it will probably be a lot closer the next time around.
Posted 03/20/10 at 07:29pm
Andrew Eisen: The Liberal candidate did a bit better than G4C at a low 30s percentage of the vote but yeah, Atkinson is sitting pretty at about 65%.
Andrew Eisen: The Liberal candidate did a bit better than G4C at a low 30s percentage of the vote but yeah, Atkinson is sitting pretty at about 65%.
Posted 03/20/10 at 04:20pm
SeanB: Damnit, atkinson won by a HUGE margin. G4C did get more than 1% though!
SeanB: Damnit, atkinson won by a HUGE margin. G4C did get more than 1% though!
Posted 03/20/10 at 03:01pm
GoodRobotUs: Interesting comments on games from Dara O'Briain
GoodRobotUs: Interesting comments on games from Dara O'Briain
Posted 03/20/10 at 03:00pm
GoodRobotUs: http://tinyurl.com/yg64kws
GoodRobotUs: http://tinyurl.com/yg64kws
Posted 03/20/10 at 09:40am
JDKJ: You accusing someone else of flagging for attention is just too funny for words, Zippy. After all, you're an obvious graduate of the Jack Thompson School for Attention Whores.
JDKJ: You accusing someone else of flagging for attention is just too funny for words, Zippy. After all, you're an obvious graduate of the Jack Thompson School for Attention Whores.
Posted 03/20/10 at 09:38am
ZippyDSMlee: JD:BREAKING, JD wants attention!
ZippyDSMlee: JD:BREAKING, JD wants attention!
Posted 03/20/10 at 09:35am
JDKJ: BREAKING: House votes unanimously to close Zippy's doughnut hole.
JDKJ: BREAKING: House votes unanimously to close Zippy's doughnut hole.
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
A generous offer, but i wonder how many politicians will actually take him up on it. The way i see it, most of the established Republicans and Democrats in the US, and the equivalents in other countries, will just laugh it off, whereas the new politicians, the ones who are starting their careers and are looking for a hook, might just be persuaded to give the game a go.
Still, its a nice idea...
Exactly, just like with SimCity some politicians hit it up just for the PR, saying it helped with city planning and so on. Though I could see a minor help, there is no comparison to the real thing, which is as slow pace as can be because everyone takes forever to do the simplest of things.
Oh wait, we need a study on this first, you know, because every state, county, or city around us has already done their own, we need our own too. We can not just average theirs together, especially since they all came to the same conclusion. We may come up with something different, then have to retest again to find out we were wrong.
Politics is just getting too washed out by BS and greed. Who was it that said, every mother wants their son to become president, but not a politician.
Nido Web Flash Tutorials AS2 and AS3 Tutorials for anyone interested.
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls
How do we know a policy error in a game will be one in real life, unless the dev thinks they know exactly what the public wants.
They don't. That is why it is called a simulation. I am surethe game is not hardcoded with what the dev's think the public wants. At least I hope not.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
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Then what opinion on the public's desires IS it coded with? Or is it random? Because either way, the game is worthless as a 'learning tool' or anything like it. This whole thing smacks of a pompous developer making snide, passive-aggressive comments.
Isn't public opinion random anyway? I thought it was. Well, maybe not. Public opinion seems to flow in the following manner: Public demands A...two years later they are disatisfied with A and now want B...Two years later they are dissatisfied with B and now want A again. All the while ignoring C, D, E etc.
THat could be real easy to code.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
What about all the other things you have to consider? The fact that in quite a few countries (America, for example) the average voter is uninformed on the basics of what they're voting for? How about the fact that opinion is easily swayed via the media, which can create an altered picture of reality, or, even fabricate an all new one (my favorite spin is the one where Dick Cheney supposedly made billions off the war in Iraq, nevermind that in all his time at Halliburton he worked pro bono). How about those issues that change all the time, like how everytime some idiot kid shoots up a school video game legislation and anti-gun legislation becomes popular? What about the whole gay rights issue (where it changes state to state every other year in some places)? There's a million little nuances and that's just for one country. I don't believe for one minute that a game that costs $22 dollars took all that into account. Fuck, I don't believe that any game does.
Like I said earlier, I think the developer's just being a pompous dick while making snide, passive-aggressive comments.
The limits of training simulators are that they work best in representing scientific or mechanical models, but not on models based on "soft sciences" or social sciences such as politics, where the outcomes are dictated by humans and not a fixed system. It would take some intense fuzzy logic programming as well as continuous updates to reflect the real world political climate to some degree.
GameSnooper
I think it would be neat if they ran a site that did monthly polls asking people what they want, and have the game work off of that as long as the person has an online connection.
Nido Web Flash Tutorials AS2 and AS3 Tutorials for anyone interested.
How to set Xbox 360 Parental Controls
Polls that would be completely useless due to a skewed sample.
Well. I really don't see the usefulness of this. A simulated model is only as good as the assumptions it's built on.
In lamen's terms: If a communist made the simulation and you played it as a capitalist, you would fail.
'The only model complex enough to simulate reality is reality.'
I seem to recall that axiom from somewhere..
I don't know where it comes from, but it's definitely accurately applied here.
That aside, I can't expect a politician to take such a thing seriously any more than someone else could expect me to play some kind of author/publisher simulation before I dive into the world of professional writing.
Protip for professional writing:
Use words that are offensive as often as possible. It worked for that jackass who wrote lost in the city, people think it's profound, when really its a collection of 'short stories' that use the same plot over and over with interchanging names and is just as cookie-cutter as some of the newer Tom Clancy books.