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
A PUBLICATION OF THE ECA
SUBSCRIBE
LOGINGamePolitics ShoutBox
Posted 11/23/09 at 07:56am
DarkSaber: http://tinyurl.com/yl2vfw6 Here's the link, good for conspiracy theories.
DarkSaber: http://tinyurl.com/yl2vfw6 Here's the link, good for conspiracy theories.
Posted 11/23/09 at 07:42am
JDKJ: Leaders never follow. Followers never lead.
JDKJ: Leaders never follow. Followers never lead.
Posted 11/23/09 at 06:48am
DarkSaber: Anyone been following this Hadley Climatic Research Centre server hack story?
DarkSaber: Anyone been following this Hadley Climatic Research Centre server hack story?
Posted 11/22/09 at 11:48pm
ZippyDSMlee: AE:they feeding you well? I am enjoying win7 and heading to bed...uhg I need to get up early and start back to cleaning/painting blahg >< need tog et stuff done befor thanksgiving....
ZippyDSMlee: AE:they feeding you well? I am enjoying win7 and heading to bed...uhg I need to get up early and start back to cleaning/painting blahg >< need tog et stuff done befor thanksgiving....
Posted 11/22/09 at 11:41pm
Andrew Eisen: Just got home from an eight hour recording session at Capitol Records. A lot of fun but damn exhausting.
Andrew Eisen: Just got home from an eight hour recording session at Capitol Records. A lot of fun but damn exhausting.
Posted 11/22/09 at 08:44pm
BearDogg-X: 10 N. O. Who Dat?
BearDogg-X: 10 N. O. Who Dat?
Posted 11/22/09 at 09:45am
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I think doc phill is still sout about the break up with his wife he dose not fill holes as much as make them bigger these day
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I think doc phill is still sout about the break up with his wife he dose not fill holes as much as make them bigger these day
Posted 11/22/09 at 12:06am
JDKJ: You should get Phil McCraken to help you spackle those banisters.
JDKJ: You should get Phil McCraken to help you spackle those banisters.
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:57pm
ZippyDSMlee: Oh in the pirate hunter article I need my song ieda heckled DS,JD,Beemon sic im !!!
ZippyDSMlee: Oh in the pirate hunter article I need my song ieda heckled DS,JD,Beemon sic im !!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:56pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:no I am tried from prepping the banisters for painting , worked on them from 12 to 4 and 6 to 8...after I got back from the store...got up early got ready...blah...been up all day..I need a nap...
ZippyDSMlee: JD:no I am tried from prepping the banisters for painting , worked on them from 12 to 4 and 6 to 8...after I got back from the store...got up early got ready...blah...been up all day..I need a nap...
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:42pm
JDKJ: No. You gonna stay up late tonight soldering?
JDKJ: No. You gonna stay up late tonight soldering?
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:41pm
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:Don't you mean Mctite?
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:Don't you mean Mctite?
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:33pm
JDKJ: @Zip: Neil, Bob, and Lik McTaint. The McTaint brothers. LOL!!!
JDKJ: @Zip: Neil, Bob, and Lik McTaint. The McTaint brothers. LOL!!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:44pm
Flamespeak: I still think military personell, killing other military personell, on a military complex should be handled by military courts.
Flamespeak: I still think military personell, killing other military personell, on a military complex should be handled by military courts.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:43pm
Flamespeak: I could see this a mixture of the two charges rather than just one or the other.
Flamespeak: I could see this a mixture of the two charges rather than just one or the other.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:43pm
Flamespeak: I think this was mainly a person who snapped, but evidence is showing he definitely had strong inlinations to islamic-extremism.
Flamespeak: I think this was mainly a person who snapped, but evidence is showing he definitely had strong inlinations to islamic-extremism.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:41pm
Flamespeak: People are trying to claim that Hasan's actions were not terrorism. I don't jump on the 'terror train' like others, however
Flamespeak: People are trying to claim that Hasan's actions were not terrorism. I don't jump on the 'terror train' like others, however
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:38pm
mentor07825: Britain certainly does deserve it! And the French! God damn it, it was a hand ball!!!
mentor07825: Britain certainly does deserve it! And the French! God damn it, it was a hand ball!!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: mentor07825:Well Brittan dose deserve it....
ZippyDSMlee: mentor07825:Well Brittan dose deserve it....
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:33pm
ZippyDSMlee: Alyric:I don;t hasliburton having to pay back billoins... don;t you love it when the rich roll over the goverment without a care?
ZippyDSMlee: Alyric:I don;t hasliburton having to pay back billoins... don;t you love it when the rich roll over the goverment without a care?
Copyright © 2007 ECA. All rights reserved.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
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
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/okceca
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1325674091
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.