Water Cooler Games
Water Cooler Games served as the web's primary forum for "videogames with an agenda" — coverage of the uses of video games in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.
The site was maintained at watercoolergames.org from 2003-2009, where it was edited by myself and Gonzalo Frasca. It is now archived here in full.
Browsing Political Games archives. View all categories
by Ian Bogost July 29, 2009
Cutthroat Capitalism
Educational Games, Political Games
Wired Magazine has published a game about the business of Somali pirating. The game, called Cutthroat Capitalism, accompanies an article published in Wired, An Economic Analysis of the Somali Pirate Business Model. Here's a description: You are a pirate commander staked with $50,000 from local tribal leaders and other investors. ...
by Ian Bogost May 28, 2009
Games for Change 2009: Nicholas Kristof Keynote
Political Games
I'm here at the Games for Change 2009 Festival in New York. Today kicked off with a keynote by New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winner Nicholas Kristof. Below is my rough capture of the session; my goal wasn't to capture what Kristof said verbatim, but the sense of it, ...
by Ian Bogost May 20, 2009
Bailout! the Board Game
Political Games
In beautiful 1960s styling, here's Bailout! a new boardgame. You are the Chief Financial Officer of a bank; your institution is hanging on by a thread. You must reach BAILOUT Bank before it is too late. So, you take a chance and follow the money trail.Along the way you will ...
by Ian Bogost May 10, 2009
Debt Hole
Political Games
A game after my own heart: political content and 6502 assembly. Garnet Hertz's Debt Hole is a little game about the treacherous path one's financial interests must take through 2009's "colon of debt." The player pilots a flashing pixel through a generated maze, attempting to avoid touching its walls. In ...
by Ian Bogost April 25, 2009
A Pig, a Watercraft, and a Credit Card
Educational Games, Political Games
mtvU, MTV's college network, has held a contest each of the past three years, inviting college students to submit game designs that address a current social issue. The first of these was Darfur is Dying, about the Sudanese conflict, the second Pos or Not, about HIV. This year, the theme ...
by Ian Bogost April 22, 2009
Bailouts for your iPhone
Newsgames, Political Games
PlayScreen Games has released a sort of newsgame for iPhone, a sendup of the recent financial market bailout we know about all too well. Bailout Bonanza is essentially a clone of the classic Activision game Kaboom! -- the player moves or tilts the iPhone to maneuver a bucket at the ...
by Ian Bogost April 13, 2009
George W. Bush Presidential Librarium
Political Games
This isn't really a game, but it is a somewhat interactive map of a fictional theme park. From the creators of Goodnight Bush, behold the George W. Bush Presidential Librarium, offering such attractions as the Fox News Spin Zone, the Down Jones Rollercoaster, and the Prisoners of the Caribbean. All ...
by Ian Bogost March 17, 2009
Layoff, the Game
Political Games
Mary Flanagan announces a new game from her Tiltfactor lab, created in conjunction with the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Game Design and Development program. The game, Layoff, is billed as "an examination of the current financial scandal." The game is more or less a Bejeweled clone in which players ...
by Ian Bogost March 12, 2009
Vote for the Best Online Political Game of 2008
Political Games
Every year at the Politics Online Conference, the Golden Dot awards are given for "best achievement in online politics." This year there is a category for Best Online Game. The two finalists are: Bush Move In Day and Dress Like Palin, both by the California Nurses Association. I'd not seen ...
by Ian Bogost March 10, 2009
Hit the Christies
Newsgames, Political Games
The halted Christie's auction of two looted Chinese bronze figures has spawned a game, Hit the Christies. The game is, well, it's a punching bag emblazoned with "Christies" in Chinese. The player can hit it. According to the Wall Street Journal, the game has been played over 340,000 times. Despite Game ...
by Ian Bogost March 3, 2009
Jetset Sale, Optional Fairness
Game Design, Political Games, Social Games
I previously announced the release of Jetset: A Game for Airports for iPhone. We've finally done a formal press release about the game. As a part of that effort, we've temporarily reduced the price of the game to $3.99, so now's a good time to buy it on the iTunes ...
by Ian Bogost February 13, 2009
Executioner Tetris
Political Games
In his book A Theory of Fun (now finally back in print), Raph Koster proposes a hypothetical modification of Tetris in which the blocks are replaced by human beings, Jews being dropped into a gas chamber by their Nazi imprisoners. In the book, the game is a thought experiment meant ...
by Ian Bogost February 4, 2009
Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds
Political Games, Social Games
Rita King and Joshua Fouts send word that they have released findings from the "Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project." The project explores how people can learn about Muslim cultures through Second Life. The report comes in three forms, one a written report about digital diplomacy through virtual worlds, one ...
by Ian Bogost January 29, 2009
Geo-Political Simulator
Political Games
CNN reports on Commander in Chief, a game that lets you play the President. The title appears to actually bear the title Geo-Political SImulator 2009, and has been around at least since 2008, although I didn't know about it. The developer describes the game as "an extremely thorough and realistic ...
by Ian Bogost January 26, 2009
You Have To Defecate Upon King Bhumibol
Political Games
You've seen IGF finalist You Have To Burn the Rope, right? Well, here's You Have To Defecate Upon King Bhumibol. That's Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej of course, and the game is presumably a statement of objection to Australian author Harry Nicolaides's 3-year jail sentence, handed down last week for defaming ...
by Ian Bogost January 22, 2009
Jetset: A Game for Airports
Casual Games, Political Games, Social Games
Over at Persuasive Games, we've launched our first iPhone game, Jetset: A Game for Airports. Here's the short blurb: A game for the frazzled globetrotter in all of us. Keep up with the changing rules of airport security on your iPhone or iPod touch. Play in airports to earn ...
by Ian Bogost January 20, 2009
Goodbye Mr. Bush Game
Political Games
Dare I hope this is the last vaguely political whack-a-mole clone we ever see? In honor of today's innauguration, The Huffington Post offers the Goodbye Mr. Bush game. There is a twist. You can choose items of "love" (daisies, candies) or "unlove" (eggs, boots) and see the tally of each ...
by Ian Bogost January 14, 2009
The Bailout Game
Political Games
Have you been wishing you had a say in how the government bailout of financial institutions went down? Now you have your chance in The Bailout Game, a cute-looking board-game themed romp down Wall Street in a truck full of money. The game itself is a repetitive and seemingly meaningless ...
by Ian Bogost January 5, 2009
Free Political Game for Politicians
Political Games
Positech, the single-man UK developer of simulation games like Kudos and Democracy 2, has announced that it will give away copies of the latter game to any politician worldwide. In his Free Copies for Politicians announcement, Positech proprietor Cliff Harris describes the need thusly: The problem with running a country ...
by Ian Bogost December 15, 2008
Free Market Capitalism: The Game
Business Games, Political Games
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has announced a new Academy on Capitalism and Limited Government Fund, which has created quite a stir at the institution. Its supporters see it as a place to study "Western civilization and free market economics," while some faculty have accused the project of imposing ...
by Ian Bogost November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving Special! PETA's Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals
Activism Games, Political Games
As those of us in the States gluttonize on Thanksgiving turkey, those of you who haven't seen it might want to try out PETA's "unauthorized" Cooking Mama satire Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals, which hit the web a week or so ago. Like PETA's KFC attack game Super Chick Sisters, ...
by Ian Bogost November 19, 2008
Missile in the HASTAC
Educational Games, Political Games, Social Games
The HASTAC consortium has just announced a forum hosted by their HASTAC Scholars fellows on digital games, entitled Participatory Play: Digital Games From Spacewar! to Virtual Peace to "explore game innovations that surpass violent first-person shooters and military training simulations." Here's a further description: Beginning with notable exemplars of imaginative ...
by Ian Bogost November 18, 2008
Pekid Oil
Political Games
Molleindustria has released a new game about the history and hypothetical future of oil, called Oiligarchy. The game feature's M's characteristic attention to detail in simulation, blended with satire and abstract cartoonishness. In some ways, the collision of procedurality and cartoon comes to a head in this game, as the ...
by Ian Bogost November 14, 2008
Politics and Games at Harvard
Political Games
It's been quiet around here! Next week I'll share the cause of it. Until then, I did a talk at Nicco Mele's seminar at the Harvard Kennedy School this week, which Gene Koo cs/">liveblogged over at his Valuable Games site. ...
by Ian Bogost November 1, 2008
One More Election Game
Political Games
As the final days of the US election wind down, there's one more election game to report. Debate Smash 2008 was created by students at the ITU Copenhagen. Yes, it's "another" Presidential debate game, one that also borrows the core mechanic of the classic coin-op Pong. But in Debate Smash, ...
by Ian Bogost October 31, 2008
My New Column: The Birth and Death of the Election Game
Articles, Political Games
Gamasutra has published my latest "Persuasive Games" column, this one on the decline of election videogames in the 2008 cycle. Drunk on such video game election elation, I remember making a prediction in a press interview that year: in 2008, I foolishly divined, every major candidate would have their own ...
by Ian Bogost October 30, 2008
Truth Invaders
Political Games
From Tax Invaders to Pork Invaders, the classic coin-op Space Invaders has been a popular source for political game reskinning. Here's yet another one, but with a twist. Truth Invaders refashions the game's aliens as factually inaccurate statements from both Presidential campaigns. As the player destroys these, segments of the ...
by Ian Bogost October 15, 2008
In-Game Obama
Advergames, Console & PC Games, Political Games
According to the AP, Barack Obama has become thefirst presidential candidate to buy ad space inside a game. Nine video games from Electronic Arts Inc., ranging from the extremely popular "Madden 09" football game to the street racing "Burnout: Paradise," feature in-game ads from the Obama campaign. The ads — ...
by Ian Bogost October 14, 2008
Robotron without the guns
Advergames, Political Games, Public Policy Games
Such is how the creator of Consumer CULTure describes the game, which also offers "a satirical middle finger to consumerism and commercialism." The player moves around an enclosed space attempting to avoid an ever-increasing barrage of consumer objects and messages. While it doesn't take on a specific company like Disaffected! ...
by Ian Bogost October 4, 2008
New Game: Campaign Rush
Casual Games, Political Games
My studio Persuasive Games developed a new game that CNN International has just published. Campaign Rush is a light-hearted game on the theme of politics and the current election. It's a casual click-management game in a campaign office, in which the player helps volunteers respond to the barrage of incoming ...
by Ian Bogost October 2, 2008
Palin Generator, Chatterbot
Political Games
Two similar Sarah Palin generators have burst onto the scene like a moose-bound shell from a shotgun. The first, Interview Sarah Palin is a text generator that crafts answers to a few fixed interview questions, each varying slightly as it generates itself from the same base of Palin material. The ...
by Ian Bogost September 30, 2008
Debate Bingo Cards
Political Games
Did you watch the Presidential debate last week? And are you gearing up for the veep debate in just a few days? You might want to stock your debate party with these lovely debate bingo cards (PDF), created by UC Irvine doctoral student Lilly Irani and Chris Countryman. (thanks to ...
by Ian Bogost September 18, 2008
US Army Invades Schools
Educational Games, Political Games, Propaganda Games
The US Army has announced a "partnership" with a group called Project Lead The Way to "to enhance student curriculum by using a variety of Army technologies to promote student interest in the engineering and technical fields." Project Lead The Way is a 501(c)(3) focused on science and engineering education ...
by Ian Bogost September 17, 2008
Free Culture Game
Activism Games, Political Games
Take a look at Molleindustria's fascinating Free Culture Game. The game bills itself as "a playable theory," and the theory in question is a loose amalgam of critiques of knowledge capitalism, the principle that ideas are owned and subject to control. Through its rules, the game advances the idea that ...
by Ian Bogost September 15, 2008
Gonzalo's Obama Game
Casual Games, Political Games
Gonzalo Frasca, WCG editor emeritus and collaborator on theDean for Iowa Game, has just released Debate Night, an unofficial game his studio Powerful Robot created in support of the Obama campaign. Gameplay is derived from Zuma-type games; the player chooses a key issue (represented iconographically) and then uses a match-and-move ...
by Ian Bogost August 14, 2008
The Clintons on SNES
Console & PC Games, Political Games
For some reason, it was possible to select then-White House occupants Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, or Al Gore as players in NBA Jam Tournament Edition for SNES. The White House routinely issues cease and desist notices for using the President's likeness for marketing, but this wasn't exactly marketing, exactly. One ...
by Ian Bogost August 11, 2008
Atari Licenses Too Good to be True
Advergames, Console & PC Games, Political Games
Our readers probably know well my interest, even obsession, with both the Atari VCS and licensed games. As Nick and I put the final touches on our forthcoming book on the Atari, I've been doing a lot of final fact confirmation online. In the process of doing so this weekend ...
by Ian Bogost July 30, 2008
Local Conflicts
Political Games
The Jerusalem Post has published a very negative, dismissive review of Serious Games Interactive's Global Conflicts: Palestine. Apart from noting that the paper does game reviews, at least when the topic is close to home, it's fascinating to see how a "local" player reacts to the game's "global" framing: The ...
by Ian Bogost July 16, 2008
Yes Men Exhibition
Political Games
Culture jamming collective The Yes Men are holding their first exhibition of work, starting this November at the Miller Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University. While the group's work is not necessarily game-related, some may remember their spoofing of a serious games conference in the UK two years ago. Details on the ...
by Ian Bogost July 11, 2008
McCain's Pork Invaders
Political Games
As Gonzalo says, not again. Not another Space Invaders clone campaign game. But, alas, it's true: the McCain campaign offers Pork Invaders. It's a game about pork barrel politics, the appropriation of government funds for pet projects or constituents. Thus the pigs, which are indeed very cute. Unlike the bizarre ...
by Ian Bogost June 26, 2008
Simulating Torture
Console & PC Games, Political Games
Thanks to an article by regular MSNBC game columnist Winda Benedetti about it today, Torture Game 2 has been popping up on blogs and in my inbox. In the game (which is really more of a toy, if that's a fair word for it), the player can inflict a variety ...
by Ian Bogost June 16, 2008
Rohrer sketches on Police Brutality, Immortality
Political Games, Social Games
Last year I wrote briefly about Jason Rohrer's excellent game Passage. Since then, in addition to a couple more small games, Rohrer has been writing a monthly column at The Escapist called Game Design Sketchbook. Among them, two are of particular interest to readers here. The first is Police Brutality, ...
by Ian Bogost June 11, 2008
Randy Balma: Municipal Abortionist
Political Games, Religious Games
Randy Balma: Municipal Abortionist is a trippy, disturbing game from Messhof, aka Mark Essen. It's very abstract, often frustrating, and will likely make you physically ill. The compelling title is indeed tied to the game's themes, although don't expect them to cash out in a tidy fashion. You'll have to ...
by Ian Bogost June 9, 2008
Pictures for Truth, an Amnesty International Game
Activism Games, Console & PC Games, Newsgames, Political Games
Pictures for Truth is a game about human rights violations in China, and also the first game developed for Amnesty International, according to its developers. Created by a group of professional game developers and volunteers from Quebec in their off time, the game puts the player in the role of ...
by Ian Bogost May 26, 2008
Danny LeDonne and Jack Thompson on Free Talk Live
Political Games
On Saturday, libertarian talk radio program Free Talk Live aired an interview with Super Columbine Massacre RPG creator Danny LeDonne and well-known attorney Jack Thompson. LeDonne promoted the special edition release of his documentary film Playing Columbine, about the game and video game controversy more generally. Jack Thompson, the hosts ...
by Ian Bogost May 22, 2008
Free Pixels for Obama
Political Games
One of my former students, Andrew Trusty, has created an online quiz game called Click 4 Obama. For each question about American history and government you answer correctly, the site donates 500 pixels of online banner ads to Obama, which they buy on the web. If you think it sounds ...
by Ian Bogost May 18, 2008
Budget Hero
Educational Games, Political Games
Budget Hero is the new serious game about balancing the federal budget, from American Public Media. I've been out of commission recently, so instead of writing my own thoughts on Budget Hero I want to encourage you to read a thorough review by Georgia Tech Digital Media Ph.D. student Ben ...
by Ian Bogost May 5, 2008
Boxing Politician Games. Again.
Newsgames, Political Games
It happens every election cycle, it seems. Games that allow players to make their favorite candidate box against their least favorite candidate, or some variation on a theme of same. We had Kerry vs. Kerry back in 2004, as well as the mobile game Bush vs. Kerry Boxing that same ...
by Ian Bogost April 30, 2008
Libery City Satire
Console & PC Games, Political Games
In case you didn't notice, Grand Theft Auto IV was released yesterday. The coverage is predictably overwhelming, although standing out among the noise about sales records and politicians is Heather Chaplin's piece on NPR's All Things Considered, which includes a series of interviews with GTAIV writer Lazlow Jones. I've criticized ...
by Ian Bogost April 16, 2008
Our Article on the Dean Game Goes Online
Political Games
A couple years ago, Gonzalo and I wrote an article, Videogames Go To Washington, about the creation of the Howard Dean for Iowa Game. The article appeared in Pat Harrigam amd Noah Wardrip-Fruin's collection Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media, which was published last year. Pat ...
by Ian Bogost April 15, 2008
Wark on Debord
Political Games
Following our coverage of the legal flap around Alex Galloway's digital adaptation of Guy Debord's Game of War, McKenzie Wark (author of the excellent book Gamer Theory) has published a short, thoughtful essay on Debord's original. The piece is forthcoming in Wark's new book project, 50 Years of Recuperation: The ...
by Ian Bogost April 5, 2008
The Revolution will be Litigated
Political Games
Friend, theorist, and author Alex Galloway, working with several collaborators under his software art shingle RSG, recently created a cracking digital version of Guy Debord's Kriegspiel, a little-known board game created by this famous Marxist and key figure in the Situationist International. Debord is best-known for his influential book ...
by Ian Bogost April 3, 2008
Play the News Game
Newsgames, Political Games
ImpactGames, creators of PeaceMaker, have just soft-launched a public version of their title Play the News. new web-based news prediction game. It's a bit like fantasy sports, in that you play by predicting future performance, but instead of assembling a custom news docket, you play smaller mini-games for each story. ...
by Ian Bogost April 1, 2008
Out Overfishin'
Political Games
Ocean Survivor is an advocacy game created by Conserve Our Ocean Legacy, a nonprofit campaign to reduce the rate of bluefin tuna decline in US waters. The game is simple but well done. The player takes the role of a swimming bluefin tuna. The core mechanic is borrowed from the ...
by Ian Bogost March 27, 2008
Eurogamer on Wafaa Bilaal
Political Games
I've been following but not yet writing about the controversy at RPI regarding Wafaa Bilaal and his hacked version of Night of Bush Capturing. (If you need to catch up on the project, check out GamePolitics' extensive coverage). Eurogamer just published an article, including an interview with the creator, which ...
by Ian Bogost March 26, 2008
We pwn free games
Advergames, Casual Games, Political Games
PC World's new list of "101 Fantastic Freebies" is out in the forthcoming May 2008 print issue, also available online now. There's a category for games, and I'm happy to say that two of the nine on the list are Persuasive Games titles. One is our send-up of the TSA, ...
by Ian Bogost March 21, 2008
Knowledge is Nothing. Tenure is Everything.
Educational Games, Political Games, Social Games
Thanks to David Wessman on the IGDA Education SIG mailing list for pointing out Survival of the Witless, a card game about the academic tenure process. The title above was the game's tagline. It’s a brutal game, where the most common card is "ass-kissing" (to simulate the most common action ...
by Ian Bogost March 17, 2008
Review of I Can End Deportation
Political Games
Last month a human rights organization called Breakthrough released a videogame that makes claims about the lack of equity in today's U.S. immigration laws. The game, called I Can End Deportation (or just ICED, which is also the acronym for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department) is a free PC/Mac ...
by Ian Bogost March 10, 2008
World Without Oil wins at SXSW
Political Games, Social Games
The Alternate Reality Game World Without Oil, in which thousands of people simulated their lives after a major oil crisis, won in the "activism" category at the SXSW Web Awards. Congrats to friends/colleagues Jane McGonigal and Cathy Fischer, and comrades-in-spirit Ken Eklund, Dee Cook, and others who were involved in ...
by Ian Bogost February 26, 2008
Politics Online Conference
Political Games
Next week I'll be running a panel at the 2008 Politics Online Conference hosted by the Institute for Policy Democracy and the Internet. The Panel, Designing Outreach in Virtual Worlds, will include me, Ben Sawyer from the Serious Games Initiative, and Sue Singer from Linden Lab. The conference is March ...
by Ian Bogost February 18, 2008
GDC 2008: Out of the Box, EA Fuels New Ideas with Madden and Sims Titles
Educational Games, Game Design, Political Games
Presentation by Rob Moore, Steve Seabolt (EA) at the Serious Games Summit, Game Developers Conference 2008. Moore got stuck in bad weather but sent along some materials about A number of EA Sports titles are used by athletes, including by NASCAR drivers to get used to tracks, by pro basketball ...
by Ian Bogost February 12, 2008
My new column: Videogame Vignette
Articles, Game Design, Political Games
Gamasutra has published my latest "Persuasive Games" column, this one on a student game from USC Interactive Media called Hush, an unusual game about an unusual historical and political moment. The article uses Hush as and the idea of adapting the vignette style to videogames. In literature, poetry, and film, ...
by Ian Bogost February 6, 2008
How Wrong I Was about Political Games in 2008
Political Games
During the height of the 2004 election, when Persuasive Games had released a few officially endorsed games about various issues and candidates, and after this website was scarcely six months old and everything about mainstream political games seemed new and shiny, I remember making a prediction in a press interview. ...
by Ian Bogost February 4, 2008
CNN Political Market
Political Games
I've been a bit out of it thanks to new projects taking the place of completed ones, but I just noticed that CNN has launched CNN Political Market, "where you get a chance to predict the future of 2008 presidential politics." After logging in you get $5,000 virtual dollars to ...
by Ian Bogost January 23, 2008
Molleindustria's Faith Fighter
Political Games, Religious Games
Molleindustria's at it again, this time taking on religion. Faith Fighter aims "to push gamers to reflect on how... sacred representations are often instrumentally used to fuel or justify conflicts." In other words, a critique of the exchange value of religious figures and icons. It's a much less controversial topic ...
by Ian Bogost January 18, 2008
Harpooned, an anti-whaling game
Political Games
As a statement against and satire of Japanese whaling, three Australians have created Harpooned: Japanese Cetacean Research Simulator. The tongue-in-cheek creator's statement amounts to a sentence: "You play the role of a Japanese scientist performing research on whales around Antarctica." It's probably one that will . Additional coverage at NineMSN. ...
by Ian Bogost January 17, 2008
White House Joust 2008
Political Games
Blockdot/Kewlbox have dusted off their four year-old concept White House Joust and renewed it for this election cycle. You guessed it, White House Joust 2008. Sigh. ...
by Ian Bogost January 14, 2008
Fat Monday
Health & Medicine Games, Political Games
As mentioned last week, today Fatworld lives. Trailer below. Press release here. ...
by Ian Bogost January 11, 2008
Prepare to Fatten
Health & Medicine Games, Political Games
The same week McDonald's is blaming videogames for obesity, we're preparing to release a videogame about that topic. On Monday January 14, Fatworld will be released. It's a game about the politics of nutrition created at my studio, Persuasive Games, published by ITVS Interactive, and funded by the Corporation for ...
by Ian Bogost January 7, 2008
Center for Social Media Event
Political Games, Social Games
The Center for Social Media is hosting an event, Making your Media Matter, on February 7-8 2008 at the American University in Washington DC. Among the panels is Games for Social Change: How Games and Video are Playing Well Together, which will be held the 7th at 5:30pm and moderated ...
by Ian Bogost January 3, 2008
Mega Man-styled Video is not Game nor Parody
Political Games
As reported at Game Politics, a Vancouver man has created a video based on the popular Mega Man series that comments on the tragic taser killing of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekánski at the Vancouver airport. You can watch the video over on YouTube. It depicts a classic Mega Man boss ...
by Ian Bogost December 8, 2007
DC Smackdown
Political Games
DC Smackdown is the latest vaguely political PC game out on the market. It's a satirical fighting game, in which players pit Presidential candidates and political pundits against one another in Street Fighter-style battles. Each character has a special move, of course, from Hillary Clinton's "Intern Trample" to Bill O'Reilly's ...
by Ian Bogost December 5, 2007
Playing Columbine Screening, Rejection
Political Games
While I was in Montreal at MIGS last week, the IGDA hosted a special screening of Danny Ledonne's documentary Playing Columbine, which tells the story of Super Columbine Massacre RPG!'s creation and subsequent controversy, including the now infamous pulling of the game from the Slamdance Guerilla Gamemaker competition. The version ...
by Ian Bogost November 26, 2007
Another Political Whack-a-Mole Clone
Political Games
Matt Blunt: Document Destroyer is a simple game about Missouri Governor Matt Blunt's alleged destruction of official documents. It's another -- yes ANOTHER Whack-a-Mole clone. Go ahead, search this site for more. I thought that Whack-a-Mole was a stepping stone for political games, but it seems that its the one ...
by Ian Bogost October 30, 2007
Right-Wing Swiss Political Games
Political Games
The Swiss Volkspartei (Swiss People's Party, abbreviated SVP or UDC) has created some truly unbelievable political games. Help Zottel the goat keep Swiss passports out of the brown and yellow hands of immigrants, or help him kick "black sheep" foreigners over the border. And there are more (thanks to Marie-Laure ...
by Ian Bogost October 1, 2007
Game Installation about Northern Ireland
Political Games
An interesting installation from Northern Ireland, called Block H. It features a FPS game built as a Counter-Strike mod, which uses environmental cues from Northern Ireland, including the sectarian murals that are fast disappearing from that landscape. The installation also hopes to ask questions about media, memory, and "militainment." Here's ...
by Ian Bogost September 16, 2007
Terrorist Attack Disasters
Political Games
University of Colorado student Devin Monnens sometimes sends around thoughts by email about topics of interest to a few of us. Recently he brought up New York Defender. In a part of that discussion, Josh Fishburn asked if you could conjure a terrorist attack in new versions of Sim City. ...
by Ian Bogost September 9, 2007
Army of Two's Political Agenda
Console & PC Games, Political Games
There's a good interview up at Gamasutra with Chris Ferriera, lead designer of the forthcoming EA Montreal shooter Army of Two. Fans might know the game for its innovations in collaborative play, but Ferriera discusses the title's political content and inspiration -- private military contractors (PMCs) -- in encouraging detail. ...
by Ian Bogost August 27, 2007
Strong Speech in Film and Games
Political Games, Social Games
Just as Take Two announces that Manhunt 2 has been "revised" and ESRB rated at M, news comes that Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee's new film Lust, Caution has been rated NC-17 by the MPAA, for graphic sexuality. The difference is, film studio Focus Features is going to release the ...
by Ian Bogost August 24, 2007
PETA's KFC Anti-Advergame
Advergames, Political Games
I've previously suggested the term anti-advergames, games that critique a company's products or business practices rather than promoting them. Disaffected! is one, as is Molleindustria's McDonald's Videogame. Here's a new anti-advergame from PETA, the animal rights organization, created as a part of their ongoing campaign against KFC's breeding and slaughtering ...
by Ian Bogost August 15, 2007
Tactical Iraqi's Wikipedia Spin
Political Games, Propaganda Games
A year and a half ago, Gonzalo ignited a debate here on WCG about Tactical Iraqi, a game funded by DARPA and created at USC ISI. Gonzalo's took the position that there is no moral way to support U.S. military aggression, even if it seems Sometimes I follow referral links ...
by Ian Bogost August 6, 2007
Skinning Politics
Political Games
There are a number of forthcoming mainstream commercial games that seem to contain meaningful political commentary. One is Midway Austin's forthcoming BlackSite, lead designed by Harvey Smith, formerly of Ion Storm. Another is the forthcoming Sim City Societies, which promises social simulation that will change the way your city operates. ...
by Ian Bogost July 31, 2007
Playing Columbine Trailer, Reactions
Political Games
As several other sources have already noted, Danny Ledonne has launched a website for his forthcoming documentary Playing Columbine, along with a new trailer for the film. Kotaku's Brian Crecente, who published the first mainstream press coverage of the game, makes an interesting observation: "it feels like the documentary is ...
by Ian Bogost July 19, 2007
A Taste of Our Own Rhetoric
Political Games
The big story this week in political games is Rescue the Nuke Scientist, the Union of Students Islamic Association's videogame response to Kuma\War's Assault on Iran. Most of the coverage I could find described the game's basic premise: In "Rescue the Nuke Scientist," U.S. troops capture a husband-and-wife team of ...
by Ian Bogost July 1, 2007
Italian Government bans Operation Pedopriest as child porn
Political Games, Religious Games
Recently we covered Molleindustria's Operation Pedopriest, a game we suspected would cause controversy. And it has. Molleindustria has removed the game from their website after a point of order in the Italian Parliament move to call the game "virtual pedo-pornography" under an Italian law that makes it illegal to depict ...
by Ian Bogost June 25, 2007
Molleindustria's Operation: Pedopriest
Political Games
Molleindustria, one of the only outfits that has devoted their entire artistic practice to videogames with an agenda, has released a new game, and this one's a doozy, bound to be either hated or mildly appreciated, but maybe never loved -- and that's by design. Operation: Pedopriest is a game ...
by Ian Bogost June 20, 2007
Denver Police Test Racial Bias with Videogame
Political Games
The Denver Police recently conducted a study of racial bias using a videogame. The idea was to determine if officers were more likely to fire on assailants with firearms if they were black or white. The game itself is rudimentary and somewhat disturbing. Here's how it works: +5 points for ...
by Ian Bogost June 18, 2007
Click to Gerrymander
Political Games
My colleagues at the USC EA Game Innovation Lab and the USC Annenberg Center released The Redistricting Game last week, not just at the Games for Change Festival but also on Capitol Hill (via NPR). Comments on GamePolitics, as well as in an article from last Sunday's Washington Post (in ...
by Ian Bogost June 14, 2007
My new column: Designing for Tragedy
Game Design, Newsgames, Political Games
Gamasutra has published my latest "Persuasive Games" column, Designing for Tragedy, about V-Tech Rampage and making games about profoundly tragic events. Today, a month after Lambourn first released the game, discussion of it has all but disappeared. Some might point to this fact in an argument for the game’s insignificance; ...
by Ian Bogost June 12, 2007
Games for Change 2007 (day 2)
Political Games, Public Policy Games
Continuing coverage of Games for Change Festival 2007. Yesterday's coverage is here Funding Perspectives Connie Yowell, MacArthur Foundation Diana Rhoten, NSF Allyson Knox, Microsoft Lucy Bernholz (moderator) Games, Civic Education, and Engagement Joseph Kahne, Mills College Doug Thomas, Tiltfactor Angela [did not get her last name, sorry], Hunter College/Tiltfactor Ben ...
by Ian Bogost June 11, 2007
Games for Change 2007 (day 1)
Political Games, Public Policy Games
I'm in New York at Games for Change Festival 2007. I'm going to attempt to liveblog some of it here. Keynote Conversation with Chris Melissinos and Alan Gershenfeld Alan Gershenfeld, CEO of Netomat and former head of Activision Chris Melissinos, Chief Gaming Officer, Sun Microsystems Virtual Activism: Exploring Nonprofits in ...
by Ian Bogost May 21, 2007
Shoot an Iraqi over the Internet
Political Games
No, it's not what it sounds like. In this unusual exhibition by Iraqi artist Wafaa Bilal, called Domestic Tension, website visitors can shoot a paintball gun at the artist. From his statement: Bilal's objective is to raise awareness of virtual war and privacy, or lack thereof, in the digital age. ...
by Ian Bogost May 10, 2007
Playing with Oil
Political Games
Gas prices are back up in the States, and with them more predictions of just how high they might rise. CNN/Money published an article a few days ago, Get ready for $4 gasoline, predicts that prices will rise above that psychologically significant figure. The culprits include the ongoing geopolitics of ...
by Ian Bogost May 1, 2007
World Without Oil
Political Games, Social Games
A new Alternate Reality Game called World Without Oil has launched, taking on the end of oil. As described in a recent article on the game, in the game's fictional world, "gas prices will skyrocket, a dwindling food supply will rot, and the oil crisis literally will stop Americans in ...
by Ian Bogost April 16, 2007
Art does not take exit surveys
Educational Games, Political Games
I should be frank: I'm actually a bit tired of hearing about Super Columbine Massacre RPG. That's not because I don't support the game -- I was one of its earliest supporters, and I remain impressed and intrigued by the way the game attempts to put the player in the ...
by Ian Bogost March 20, 2007
PeaceMaker
Political Games
We've been remiss in failing to mention the release of PeaceMaker, the game about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict created by former Carnegie Mellon ETC students under their new shingle ImpactGames. I want to write a more detailed review of the game, but I haven't yet played it enough to be prepared ...
by Ian Bogost March 1, 2007
Take a survey on videogames and political engagement
Political Games
University of Amsterdam Masters student Joyce Neys is working on a master thesis about online political games. You can help by participating in a survey that will become a part of the research. From Joyce: My research focuses on online computer games that are not made by commercial companies but ...
by Ian Bogost February 27, 2007
Serious Games book for Japan
Educational Games, Political Games, Social Games
Toru Fujimoto let me know that his new book Serious Games: Transforming Education and Society Through Digital Games has just been published by Tokyo Denki University Press. If you don't know Toru already, he's the source for serious games related material in Japan. So it's not surprising that he wrote ...
by Ian Bogost February 26, 2007
Politics in Commercial Games
Political Games
MTV News games reporter Stephen Totilo is one of the best and most prolific game journalists out in the field. He recently write two stories about politically-charged themes in commercial games, a welcome topic. The first is an interview with Harvey Smith of Midway Austin about giving political teeth to ...
by Gonzalo Frasca February 16, 2007
Enemy dolls: my new column at SGS
Political Games
A big part of my upcoming PhD dissertation (I'm working hard to remove the "upcoming" part from that sentence) deals with toys. I'm convinced that there is a lot of knowledge and design wisdom in toys that can be extremely useful for videogame design. This also applies to issues of ...
by Gonzalo Frasca February 1, 2007
The Watergate Game
Political Games
This is just too pretty. An old arcade machine called the "Watergate Caper" which, according to its brochure, "stimulates the larceny in all of us to see if we can break in and not get caught". The machine is from 1973 and according to KLOV it's very rare. Here are ...
by Ian Bogost January 23, 2007
Article on the Dean Game in a New Anthology
Political Games
Pat Harrigan and Noah Wardrip Fruin recently announced the availability of a new anthology, Second Person: Role-Playing and Story in Games and Playable Media. The table of contents demonstrates the richness and variety of the book, covering topics from tabletop role-playing games to improvisational theater. Contributors include Greg Costikyan, Chris ...
by Ian Bogost January 22, 2007
President Forever updated for 2008
Political Games
If you've been reading Water Cooler Games since the beginning, then you may remember the bevvy of election games from the 2004 election cycle (to wit, Frontrunner, The Political Machine, President Forever: 2004, and Power Politics). President Forever has been updated for 2008, and now you can buy President Forever ...
by Ian Bogost January 21, 2007
Slamdance Panel Discussion
Political Games
As Kotaku reported a couple days ago, Slamdance updated their official statement on the controversy surrounding their removal of Super Columbine Massacre RPG! from the festival. Today at 5pm MT, they'll hold a panel discussion about the issue. I'm not sure who is participating, but Slamdance president Peter Baxter and ...
by Ian Bogost January 19, 2007
Alien Hominid developer withdraws from Slamdance
Political Games
Just in case you haven't been refreshing our Slamdance updates, here's the latest (and maybe last?) salvo. The Behemoth, developers of the hand-drawn 2d GameCube and PS2 hit Alien Hominid, have withdrawn their forthcoming XBLA title Castle Crashers from the Slamdance Guerilla Games Competition. You can read their short statement ...
by Ian Bogost January 17, 2007
DigiPen forces Slamdance Reinstatement
Political Games
Slamdance finalist Toblo, a capture-the-flag style game in which players use the world as weapons, withdrew their game from the competition in protest of the SCMRPG removal, on Jan 9. The Toblo team let us know today that they have reinstated the game. Apparently they were forced to do so ...
by Ian Bogost January 16, 2007
Clive on SCMRPG
Political Games
Wired published a really good article by WCG friend Clive Thompson on Super Columbine Massacre RPG. We've been talking mostly about the Slamdance controversy, but he takes the time to actually discuss the game. ...
by Ian Bogost January 15, 2007
Super Slamdance Excuses
Political Games
A week has now passed since the Slamdance Guerilla Gamemaker Competition pulled Super Columbine Massacre RPG from its list of finalists. If you're just coming to this story now, we've tried to keep a running update of news and commentary. In short though, six finalists and one sponsor have subsequently ...
by Ian Bogost January 10, 2007
USC Withdraws Slamdance Sponsorship
Political Games
USC Interactive Media Division, whose students created last year's Slamdance "design philosophy" winner Cloud and this year's former finalist flOw, has just withdrawn their sponsorship of the festival. Says USC professor Tracy Fullerton: In some of the blog posts responding to this action, reference is made to requests or pressure ...
by Ian Bogost January 10, 2007
Updates on Slamdance Controversy
Political Games
I had originally begun to catalog updates to this story in my analysis of the situation last Friday. Since then, there have been so many updates that I decided to create a new place for them after the jump. As of now, four five six finalists have withdrawn in protest. ...
by Ian Bogost January 10, 2007
Slamdance Judge Statement
Political Games
As we cover the continuing controversy around the Slamdance festival's removal of Super Columbine Massacre RPG, we've heard from the festival itself, former winners, former finalists, current finalists, and a whole host of pundits and commentators. Yet to speak about the issue is a member of the Slamdance 2007 game ...
by Ian Bogost January 7, 2007
Slamdance: SCMRPG removal was personal, not business
Political Games
I've moved updates on this story to another page Also read a statement from a member of the 2007 Slamdance game jury Yesterday I reported that the Slamdance festival had pulled Super Columbine Massacre RPG from its lineup of game finalists. Based on conversations with creator Danny Ledonne and ...
by Ian Bogost January 5, 2007
Super Columbine Massacre RPG pulled from Slamdance festival
Political Games
In what is apparently a first for any exhibitor, film or game, Slamdance has pulled Super Columbine Massacre RPG (read our previous coverage: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) from the Guerilla Gamemaker Competition. The decision was apparently driven entirely by pressure from festival sponsors, some of whom pulled funding after ...
by Ian Bogost December 27, 2006
Super Columbine Massacre RPG Trailer
Political Games, Social Games
In preparation for its appearance as a finalist at Slamdance 2007 (more on that in a future post), SCMRPG creator Danny Ledonne has created a game trailer, which you can now view on YouTube. If you haven't been reading WCG for the last six months or so, you can catch ...
by Gonzalo Frasca December 17, 2006
War on Terror: The Boardgame
Political Games
I'm briefly emerging from my dissertation-writing cave to let you know about this boardgame about the War on Terror. Too bad it's too late for it to ship in time for Xmas (unless you live in the UK). Not that I would have any time to play. The best thing ...
by Ian Bogost December 11, 2006
Preview Bogost's New Book, Persuasive Games
Advergames, Educational Games, Political Games
My new book, Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames, which will be published in spring 2007, now has an official page up at the MIT Press site. This is the major research project I've been working on for the last couple years, and I'm really excited about getting it ...
by Ian Bogost December 5, 2006
SCMRPG creator Danny LeDonne on violent games
Political Games, Social Games
Danny LeDonne, creator of Super Columbine Massacre RPG (previously discussed on WCG: 1, 2, 3) was on KPBS public radio (San Diego) recently, where he discussed the game, as well as violent videogames in general. Danny's explanation of the game is thoughtful as usual. You can listen to it here. ...
by Ian Bogost November 27, 2006
Call for Games: Computers and Writing Online 2007
Casual Games, Political Games
Computers and Writing Online 2007 has announced a call for games in which they seem to welcome small scale, online political games and newsgames of the sort that interest many readers of this site. The theme of the conference is "Technoculture" and games should address that theme in some way. ...
by Ian Bogost November 21, 2006
Serious Games Simpsons
Political Games
Liz Losh gave me the heads up on a recent episode of the Simpsons in which the army uses videogames to recruit elementary school students. Homer ends up joining up, somehow. The episode is G.I.(Annoyed Grunt), Episode 5 of Season 18 (#383), and you can now watch it on YouTube ...
by Ian Bogost November 20, 2006
Ignoring things as a political game mechanic
Political Games
This is a bit old, but one of my students, Brian Schrank, made a nice observation about it. On YouTube you can find this video mock up of a videogame in which the player takes the role of Kim Jong-Il. It's a platformer, but in addition to the common core ...
by Ian Bogost November 7, 2006
Political Games for Election Day
Casual Games, Political Games
We've probably been remiss in not pointing readers to Jay Bibby's excellent site on casual games, CasualGameplay (aka JayIsGames). In observance of Election Day here in the States, the crew over there has been reviewing political games, for the first time I think. Among those reviewed are Newsgaming.com's September 12th, ...
by Ian Bogost November 6, 2006
Simulation says Iraq Invasion Doomed
Political Games
According to Desert Crossing, a secret military simulation built during the Clinton administration in 1999, an invasion and occupation would require around triple the resources the U.S. has invested. "The conventional wisdom is the U.S. mistake in Iraq was not enough troops," said Thomas Blanton, the archive's director. "But the ...
by Ian Bogost October 27, 2006
Cost of Life: a life-in-Haiti sim
Political Games
Global Kids has launched Ayiti: The Cost of Life, a game about the challenges of everyday life in contemporary Haiti. The player must manage a small family, trying to make ends meet while providing a better education for the kids and avoiding illness and disaster. The game (developed by veteran ...
by Gonzalo Frasca October 13, 2006
Arabs and Muslims in Digital Games
Political Games
I just returned from the Mediaterra Festival in Athens, Greece, probably one of the best art-meets-academic game events that I've ever attended. There was plenty of interesting presentations and artworks -Ian could not make it but his Disaffected game was on display on the show. Among the articles that were ...
by Ian Bogost October 12, 2006
Persuasive Games: Games Phone Home
Political Games
The latest iteration of my "Persuasive Games" column is up at Serious Games Source, entitled Games Phone Home. In the article I discuss the game Darfur is Dying in relation to commercial games old and new. In particular, I try to recuperate the unfairly maligned Atari VCS game E.T. No ...
by Ian Bogost September 30, 2006
Iran releases state-funded oil disruption game
Educational Games, Newsgames, Political Games
According to the NY Times, the Iranian government has funded a videogame that illustrates how to disrupt world oil supplies by blowing up a U.S. tanker in strait of Hormuz. This recalls Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's warning that oil exports might be put in jeopardy if the U.S. doesn't back off ...
by Ian Bogost September 28, 2006
War on Terror Boardgame
Political Games
There is a really nice-looking war on terror boardgame now available. I haven't played, but it's got an Axis of Evil spinner, you can play as or against the terrorists, and there's even a balaclava of evil that players have to wear in certain circumstances. Here's the official blurb: The ...
by Gonzalo Frasca September 27, 2006
Political games in Paris this Friday
Political Games
I'll be giving a talk at the Science Museum of Paris (La Villette) this Friday at 15:00 as part of their Digital Villette Festival (La Villette Num駻ique). I'll be talking about political games but there's plenty more on this 3 day festival, including demos, art games exhibits and workshops. If ...
by Gonzalo Frasca September 21, 2006
Night of Bush Capturing
Political Games
Both Ian and myself have been incredibly busy, so -it happens- this game went under our radar. I'll simply tell you that it's a FPS where you have to capture Bush. It's a mod for another political game, called Quest for Saddam, and according to sources, it's been released by ...
by Ian Bogost September 14, 2006
Montreal Gunman Aftermath
Political Games, Social Games
If you've seen the news in the past 24 hours, you've probably heard that a gunman, Kimveer Gill, opened fire at a Montreal college yesterday, killing one person and injuring 19 others. If you've read the headlines this morning, you may also have seen that the press has been highlighting ...
by Ian Bogost August 17, 2006
Have a Paris Riot
Console & PC Games, Political Games, Social Games
I've been increasingly interested in so-called documentary games (or docu-games), such as JFK Reloaded and Escape from Woomera and Waco Resurrection. In fact, Cindy Poremba and I wrote an article on documentary games that should be out in the coming months (click over to her blog for more links on ...
by Ian Bogost August 12, 2006
Surgically remove the Bush Administration to win Ice Cream
Casual Games, Political Games
Ben Cohen (of Ben & Jerry's fame)-created TrueMajorityAction has created a cute little web-based political game. Operation: Cure the Cabinet is a reskinning and digitization of the popular board game Operation. Instead of removing body parts, the player extracts key components of the Bush administration, which have been cleverly mapped ...
by Ian Bogost August 4, 2006
Bush Backrub
Newsgames, Political Games
A new little newsgame over at AddictingGames.com, this one taking on the much-publicized impropmptu backrub Bush performed upon German chancellor Angela Merkel. The game, Bush Backrub, is simple enough: move Bush around behind cleverly selected world leaders. Click rapidly to offer a "Texan backrub." Keep the comfort meters full or ...
by Ian Bogost July 23, 2006
NY Times on Serious Games
Political Games
I've tried to avoid posting every single press mention the field or we personally garner, but videogame stories in the Grey Lady always get a nod. WCG friend and Clive Thompson wrote a story about serious games for the New York Times, which appeared in print today (and online, here). ...
by Gonzalo Frasca July 11, 2006
Mexican Campaign Games
Political Games
Unless you have been living under a rock (or watching the World Cup) you may have heard that Mexico recently had Presidential elections and, surprise, the tally was way too close. Officially, Felipe Calderon (right-wing) has been declared the winner, but Lopez Obrador (left-wing) is contesting the results under claims ...
by Gonzalo Frasca July 9, 2006
Global Conflicts: Palestine
Political Games
The Serious Games Source interviews Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen about his upcoming game, Global Conflicts: Palestine. Simon is my colleague at the IT University of Copenhagen and has recently finished his PhD thesis on educational games. The game is scheduled to be launched in 2007 and deals with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. ...
by Ian Bogost July 4, 2006
Top 10 Disaffections
Advergames, Business Games, Political Games, Social Games
Since we launched Disaffected! back in January, we've enjoyed a continuous stream of feedback, some good, some bad, all interesting. I've shared portions of it in private presentations, but when I showed the game at the Games for Change Exhibition last week in New York, I reminded myself to write ...
by Ian Bogost June 23, 2006
Nightline on the Terrorist Video Game
Political Games, Propaganda Games
Last month we reported (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) that consultants from SAIC testified before Congress, mistakenly identifying a fan video created by a Dutch Battlefield 2 player as terrorist propaganda. Nightline ran a story on the topic last night, in which they both show the absurdity of the whole ...
by Ian Bogost June 21, 2006
Boot the Bigot
Political Games
From the Human Rights Campaign comes Boot the Bigot, a game purportedly about Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who has recently been derided for his public statements against homosexuality and sexual privacy. Santorum is up for re-election this year, so it's not surprising to see a little extra digital bling from ...
by Ian Bogost June 12, 2006
Review of Cyber-Budget, the French Budget Game
Educational Games, Political Games
I mentioned the French Cyber Budget game a week or so ago, but I couldn't find the actual game until Mark Nelson sent me the link this week. You can play Cyber-Budget online, but keep in mind that it's in French only, and pretty language-heavy. Budgets are comprised of multiple ...
by Ian Bogost June 9, 2006
Conference organizers unknowingly set stage for McDonald's Interactive hoax
Business Games, Political Games
Stephen Totillo of MTV News has written a great story on the McDonald's Interactive hoax we covered a couple days ago. Here's what the real McDonald's had to say: Reached for comment Friday (June 9), McDonald's spokesperson Julie Pottebaum said, "This is an outright hoax and a complete misrepresentation of ...
by Ian Bogost June 7, 2006
McDonald's Interactive Sticks it to McDo... or do they?
Business Games, Political Games, Social Games
This post has been updated, please see below. This story has also been updated, please read here According to their website, McDonald's Interactive was founded to help the parent company strategize about future markets. Yesterday, they announced their "intention to split from McDonalds." Why? Said co-director Andrew Shimery-Wolf: "We can ...
by Ian Bogost May 21, 2006
Columbine, Videogames as Expression, and Ineffability
Political Games, Social Games
A few weeks ago I wrote about Super Columbine Massacre RPG. The game puts the player in the shoes of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold and attempts to paint a picture of their motivations, plans, and actions on that terrible day. It's a controversial topic to be sure, but exactly ...
by Ian Bogost May 16, 2006
Drive Like a Kennedy
Casual Games, Political Games
Frequent WCG ire target Blockdot has just released Drive Like A Kennedy. The game challenges players to avoid guardrails and traffic to reach the Capitol while under the influence. From the press release: A new online political parody pokes fun at Congressman Patrick Kennedy, who took a mysterious spin around ...
by Ian Bogost May 3, 2006
Columbine RPG
Political Games, Social Games
I've just learned about the Super Columbine Massacre RPG. It's a deep and complex account of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre interpreted in the style of 2D role-playing games. The game has been out for at least a year, but this is the first I've seen it. After Gonzalo's ...
by Gonzalo Frasca April 20, 2006
Border Patrol, a.k.a. "the racist" game
Political Games
Update: For some reason I started getting a lot of hate mail recently from people wrongly assuming that I am the author of this game. I am not. I had nothing to do with it. So, please, keep sending me love mail, as usual. Thanks.Update 2: The link at PCDevils ...
by Gonzalo Frasca April 17, 2006
bin Laden toys
Political Games
Last year, I found this bin Laden doll for sale in Singapore. A quick search through flickr shows that it is not the only one. There's even Osama toys for pets ("You can't get even but your pet can".) You can also get soap bubbles through Osama's ass. In Hong-Kong, ...
by Ian Bogost April 8, 2006
Whack-a-Politician
Political Games
According to The Washington Post, a group of researchers at the Stanford political communication lab are using an online whack-a-mole game to measure players feelings about politicians. They built whack-a-mole games with politician heads instead of rodents, then measured the effects of "cathartic whacking." The results? ...political independents had a ...
by Ian Bogost March 9, 2006
A Force More Powerful Released
Political Games
The International Center for Nonviolent Conflict and BreakAway Games have released A Force More Powerful, a game about nonviolent conflict. Some of you might remember from last year's GDC presentation and my subsequent opinions about the game. From the game website: A Force More Powerful is the first and only ...
by Ian Bogost February 17, 2006
Dick Cheney's Texas Takedown
Newsgames, Political Games
Hot on the heels of yesterday's Huffington Post Cheney game, now there's Dick Cheney's Texas Takedown. This one is much more of a game, basically you have to shoot as many orange vest-clad hunting partners as possible within a time limit. The characters are cute (did I just call something ...
by Ian Bogost February 16, 2006
Living Game Worlds + Dick Cheney Quail Hunt
Newsgames, Political Games
The Living Game Worlds Symposium is on here at Tech. You can watch a live stream, or watch recaps of the sessions, including Will Wright's keynote, on the conference site. Raph Koster is also blogging it (1, 2). In other news, The Huffington Post (yes, that Huffington) has posted Dick ...
by Ian Bogost February 8, 2006
All Things Africa
Console & PC Games, Educational Games, Political Games
A few bits of Africa-related videogame news to report. First, you can now play and vote for the four finalists in the MTV crisis in Darfur student game design contest, which we mentioned last year. The contest asked student teams to design a videogame to build awareness about genocide in ...
by Ian Bogost February 2, 2006
Molleindustria's McDonald's Game
Activism Games, Advergames, Political Games, Social Games
Just two weeks after we released Disaffected!, WCG amici italiani Molleindustria have released another specimen in the now-rapidly-growing anti-advergame subgenre, this one a scathing critique of the McDonald's corporation. Visit the "official" website to play. The game requires the player to learn and master all the complex techniques of a ...
by Ian Bogost December 3, 2005
Ragdoll Bush
Casual Games, Political Games
Not really a game, but certainly a fun little toy for you to enjoy as the US approaches its third year in Iraq: Ragdoll Bush. ...
by Ian Bogost November 26, 2005
New IF work Book & Volume explores consumerism, work
Advergames, Political Games
Nick Montfort, who also blogs on Grand Text Auto, has released Book & Volume, an interactive fiction (IF) piece about one night in the life of a sysadmin for nWare, the curious and increasingly dubious corporate hub of the fictional world nTopia. Nick is one of the foremost authorities on ...
by Ian Bogost November 8, 2005
Persuasive Games Announces the Release of the Mobile Game 'Airport Insecurity'
Activism Games, Casual Games, Political Games
I'm very happy to announce that my studio Persuasive Games has just released Airport Insecurity, a mobile game about inconvenience and the tradeoffs between security and rights in American airports. The game is available for purchase for the low, low price of $3.99, and it's currently compatible with Nokia Series ...
by Ian Bogost November 7, 2005
iBelieve - social commentary goes meta
Political Games, Religious Games, Social Games
I'm breaking the rules a little with this post. It has very little to do with videogames. But it's too good to pass up, and it does relate to the broader themes of our project. In a brilliant move, artist Scott Wilson created iBelieve, a cross-shaped lanyard and cap for ...
by Ian Bogost October 26, 2005
Contest: Conflicts, War and the Culture of Peace
Political Games
The contests runneth over. This time it's Italian group aniMoweb, who offer an "interactive animation contest" on the theme of conflicts, war and the culture of peace. Among the categories is "peace videogames." Entries will be judged and prizes totaling € 8,800 will be awarded (€ 1500 for first place ...
by Ian Bogost October 22, 2005
Funding for Student Political Games
Political Games, Public Policy Games
I'm up in New York (way up, at 207th st.) at the Games for Change conference. A number of interesting things to report from the conference, which I'll do in the coming days. For now, I want to catch up on a couple of funding opportunities for students, both directly ...
by Ian Bogost September 16, 2005
Game the Terrorists
Political Games
Where-next.com asks, "Are you sick of betting only on Nasdaq, on the price of oil, or on football games?" -- the site allows you to bet on where the next terrorist attack will take place. The Google maps-driven application accepts bets via webform that allows you to specify your name, ...
by Gonzalo Frasca September 10, 2005
Bull Chip Toss
Political Games
Here's Bull Chip Toss, created by Gabriel Jensen. It's a satyrical game about the Bush administration's relationship with the media. I think it is a really good example of newsgame -no matter if you agree with its points or not. The gameplay is decent, the match between gameplay and content ...
by Gonzalo Frasca September 6, 2005
Sink City
Political Games
Take a look at it (update: the original image is gone so we are hosting it meanwhile.) It's basically a screenshot of a city simulator with an error message. Simulations allow us to explore different scenarios within a safe environment. The can be used for fun, they can be used ...
by Ian Bogost September 2, 2005
Destroy Zimbabwe in Simbabwe 1.0
Political Games
Simbabwe 1.0 is a satirical commentary on contemporary politics in Zimbabwe by Australian developers The Daily Grind. The developers call the game, available only on Mac OS X, a "strategic board game." Players take the role of Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and Rhodesian Front bigwigs. The player competes ...
by Ian Bogost August 25, 2005
Anti-Japan War Online
Console & PC Games, Political Games
According to Interfax China, a Chinese online gaming company called PowerNet is creating Anti-Japan War Online, about the Japanese invasion of China during WWII. Players can only play as Chinese in the game. Here's what the article says about it: "The game will allow players, especially younger players, to learn ...
by Ian Bogost August 22, 2005
The Israeli Disengagement Game
Political Games
A while ago we told you about Wild West Bank, the Israeli anti-settlement game. Well, now there's a (sort of) pro-settlement game, The Disengagement Game. Israeli newspaper Haaretz describes the game in a recent article: The game ... puts the player into Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's shoes. Sharon, sitting in ...
by Ian Bogost August 14, 2005
Slate on Islamgames
Political Games
A few weeks ago I wrote about Islamgames and NYT columist Thomas Friedman's strangely stern reaction to them. Last week, Slate published an article by regular columnist Chris Suellentrop that comes to roughly the same conclusion: Tom Friedman is right: We're in a war of ideas. In that war, it's ...
by Gonzalo Frasca August 8, 2005
Political games... unplugged
Political Games
Israeli settler kids play "Cops and Jews" (cops try to get them out of their homes) while Palestinian kids play Martyrs and Soldiers (they get to explode in order to kill the soldiers). Children have dealt with traume through games for ages (see René Clements' Forbidden Games for a movie ...
by Ian Bogost August 4, 2005
"Mind the Bombs" and what makes games political
Political Games
Gonzalo, Ren Reynolds, and I have been talking informally over the past month about the London bombings and what, if anything, could be done to represent them in game form. Neither Gonzalo nor I nor both of us together made a game about the bombings. But Fieler Media did, and ...
by Gonzalo Frasca August 1, 2005
Whack-a-Miner
Political Games
Welcome to Whack-a-miner, a retro political game dealing with Margaret Thatcher's repression against miners during the 80's. I was a kid at the time, but I do remember that Maggie was evil and a disgrace to the female gender - Condie Rice is Mother Theresa next to her. Last time ...
by Ian Bogost July 28, 2005
Islam games, Christian games, ...
Console & PC Games, Educational Games, Political Games, Religious Games
We recently reported on the 4th Christian Game Developers Conference, happening this week in Portland. On a related and unrelated note, I recently came upon this op-ed (thanks to Andrew), by NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman. Friedman cites a WCJ report that the Iqra Learning Center, a site investigated after ...
by Gonzalo Frasca July 13, 2005
Serious Jobs
Political Games
SeriousGames.dk is a Danish game development company based at the IT University of Copenhagen. They are currently working on Global conflicts: Middle-East, a videogame about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They currently have 2 open positions (fulltime 3D animator and Modeller and fulltime programmer). So, if you think this could be for ...
by Gonzalo Frasca June 22, 2005
Newsringtoning?
Political Games
Certainly, this is not game related but it may be a hint for cellphone game developers out there. It seems that the Philippines went crazy after a ringtone featuring a political recording from its president was published (CNN story.) This is simply another example about entertainment and "serious" content going ...
by Gonzalo Frasca June 20, 2005
Streeet Survivor
Political Games
By way of Rebecca from SelectParks.net, we got word from an upcoming Australian game: Street Survivor. They have a trailer on their site, so you better check it out. As urban adventures go, the idea behind this one is certainly exciting. You are a 15 year old girl, run away ...
by Gonzalo Frasca June 18, 2005
I love U boats
Political Games
I spent a lovely couple of days in Paris and I brought this gem back for you. Actually, it was Emmanuel Guardiola from Ubisoft who mentioned it to me, so be nice to him and buy a copy of Prince of Persia :) It's a beautiful example of political game ...
by Ian Bogost June 17, 2005
Israeli Anti-Settlement Game
Political Games
An Israeli anti-settlement group has launched Wild West Bank, a game intended to underscore the problems of Israeli occupation in Palestinian land. The game uses the theme of the American Wild West to demonstrate the continued promulgation of settlements in the West Bank despite official government withdrawl. The game is ...
by Ian Bogost June 3, 2005
Power Politics free for Educators
Educational Games, Political Games, Religious Games
WCG regular Randy Chase has just announced that his prexy election sim Power Politics III (on WCG: 1, 2) is now free for use in the classroom. The new version will also have likely '08 candidates. Click through for the full press release. ...
by Ian Bogost May 9, 2005
California Budget Challenge
Political Games, Public Policy Games
A nonpartisan California organization called Next Ten has created the California Budget Challenge, a sort of interactive application that lets the user make highly structured decisions about the California budget. It's not really a game, but another example of an interactive representation of the tradeoffs of budgeting. (thanks to Bridget) ...
by Gonzalo Frasca May 2, 2005
Under Siege demo
Political Games
Under Siege is the sequel to Under Ash. Under Siege is a pro-Palestinian FPS shooter developed by Afkar Media. The original game got its share of media attention, since it portrayed a first person shooter game from the perspective of Palestinian (you had to kill Israeli soldiers). It was an ...
by Ian Bogost May 2, 2005
More dead Australians means more points
Political Games
Here's a double-whammy: a scathing political game that is also only available on Linux. In Gallipoli, the player recreates six scenarios on the Gallipoli Penninsula in WWI. The gameplay resembles Lemmings, but the player's goal, "as an authentic WWI commander" is "to wipe out as many diggers as possible." (thanks ...
by Ian Bogost April 29, 2005
ibogost% ./commandlines
Political Games
I'm in Milwaukee for Command Lines: The Emergence of Governance in Global Cyberspace, which starts today. The conference isn't game-specific, but it does feature a host of virtual world researchers, including Terra Novans T.L. Taylor, Ted Castronova, Richard Bartle, Greg Lastowka, as well as Linden Labber Robin Harper. To balance ...
by Ian Bogost April 28, 2005
Hammer the Hammer misses the nail
Political Games
Democracy Radio, the self-proclaimed "pioneer of progressive talk," now has a game. Hammer the Hammer is a whack-a-mole style game where the player bludgeons US house majority leader Tom DeLay. "The Hammer" is a reference to DeLay's nickname, a testament to his unwavering enforcement of Republican party lines in House ...
by Ian Bogost April 24, 2005
Roadkill to the Whitehouse
Political Games
We're a little late in reporting this post- 2004 prexy election game, but here it is. Roadkill to the White House: Mission Extreme Move-On Over from Innermation is a "political satire racing game" that the developers describe as "a sidesplitting collision of Extreme Home Makeover and Simpson’s Hit N’ Run." ...
by Gonzalo Frasca April 21, 2005
Feeding the beast: more on Food Force
Political Games
Well, well, well. For some reason, I was not expecting it, but Food Force is gathering some controversy. Maybe not as much as we've seen with JFK Reloaded (a great game, too bad its business model made it look like exploitation, which I do not believe it was), but we ...
by Gonzalo Frasca April 19, 2005
Trade Center Defender
Political Games
I just learnt about a videogame where you are supposed to defend the World Trade Center from the attack of planes that try to crash into it. No, I am not talking about the (in)famous New York Defender. The game in question is called Trade Center Defender and it seems ...
by Gonzalo Frasca April 11, 2005
Iraq budget sim
Political Games
First, disclosure: I haven't played with this application. It looks more like a sim than a game, but I thought that readers may enjoy giving it a try. A group called "Liberal Democrats" has launched Iraq War Cost, an app for mobile phones that allows you to redistribute the costs ...
by Ian Bogost April 6, 2005
A Force More Complicated
Featured, Political Games
I haven't had a chance to share my impressions of this year's Game Developers Conference, now a month past, mostly because I've been so busy. However, a couple recent articles cover issues that came up during the third Serious Games Summit at the GDC. The Nation just ran a piece ...
by Gonzalo Frasca March 29, 2005
News from Australia
Political Games
I am back from Melbourne, after a really really long flight back to Denmark. It could have been a trip marred by jetlag 殆hich haunted me for 5 whole nights in spite of my best efforts- but it turned out to be just plain fantastic. Keep reading for news on ...
by Gonzalo Frasca March 14, 2005
We do need another hero
Political Games
Brenda Laurel at GDC dixit: we need heroes, but what kind of heroes are we making? Where痴 Malcolm X, or Chavez? There hasn稚 been a game about geopolitics that was worth a shit since Hidden Agenda! We should be giving people rehearsals for citizenship and change. I have to tell ...
by Gonzalo Frasca March 10, 2005
D&D not kosher enough
Political Games
Ok, this is a first. The Israel Defense Forces (a.k.a. the guys who tear down houses with bulldozers) discourage the recruitment of soldiers who enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons because the tend to be "detached from reality". Do they hire Counter Strike players instead? Sadly, the article won't say. Maybe, ...
by Gonzalo Frasca March 7, 2005
Game exhibit in Melbourne
Political Games
While Ian is enjoying sunny California (well, San Francisco can be foggy and cold after all), I'll try to spice things a bit since we all know that it is impossible to blog and conference at the same time (even though Ian has proved me wrong in the past). So, ...
by Ian Bogost March 3, 2005
MoveOn Social Security Contest
Political Games
The PAC arm of the popular leftist grassroots group MoveOn.org is sponsoring Bush In 30 Years, a contest to create a Flash-based commentary on Social Security reform. The contest does not specifically ask for a game, but the rules clearly specify that a game are eligible for entry, so long ...
by Ian Bogost February 23, 2005
Gaming for Peace (sort of)
Console & PC Games, Political Games
I have a feeling that we've covered this before, but maybe I'm just starting to see all the military games bleed into one. To be fair, this is a bit different than the average military game. Virtual Environment Cultural Training for Operation Readiness (VECTOR) is a game that provides cultural ...
by Gonzalo Frasca February 16, 2005
Political toys
Political Games
If you are a reader of this blog, you know our love for political games and particularly political videogames. But what about political toys? Certainly, these are not new, since there is a long tradition of making dolls of political figures (see, for example, the excellent spoof ad for Jesus ...
by Ian Bogost February 9, 2005
Fire away: CBS News lauds military games
Political Games
Today the CBS Evening News ran a story, "Uncle Sam Wants Video Gamers" (transcript, video), inspired by the recent military-industrial complex-rich G.A.M.E.S. Synergy Summit conference in Orlando. Breakaway Games' Doug Whatley scores the best quote in the article: "You can create your own world, you can lay down units anywhere ...
by Ian Bogost February 7, 2005
Maoist game reviews
Console & PC Games, Political Games
For those of you bemoaning the lack of red reviews available, you can now read Maoist Game Reviews. Most interestingly, as Clockwork Grue points out over on Game Girl Advance, the maoist reviews focus almost entirely on content and story, while most western reviews focus almost entirely on technical aspects ...
by Ian Bogost January 27, 2005
Democracy, the Game
Political Games
Enter Democracy, the Game. According to developer Positech Games, Democracy is "a highly complex turn based game which puts you in the position of president (or prime minister) of one of 8 different countries. The object of the game is to keep the various different groups in your population happy ...
by Ian Bogost January 19, 2005
Play the Chechen jihad
Political Games
Moscow News reports on Vladimir Matveyev, a Russian Muslim who created a game about the separatist rebellion in Chechnya. Ichkeria, Operation Flash-Point features 11 Russian bases and a concentration camp. (via Kotaku) Content notwithstanding, it's interesting that the article bills the developer as an "unemployed Russian" rather than a "game ...
by Gonzalo Frasca January 14, 2005
Danish Political Game
Political Games
Denmark is a mystery. However, even if you have no idea of Danish politics, you should check out this political game. The graphics are terrific and I love the idea that your adversaries make you waste time by huging you. You need to gather support of other political parties (those ...
by Ian Bogost January 5, 2005
Persuasive Games at Slamdance
Political Games
The finalists for The Big C Bawls Independent Game Competition, the first independent games festival at the 2005 Slamdance Film Festival have been announced, and I'm happy to report that one of my games, Take Back Illinois, is among the 10 finalists! Slamdance runs concurrently with the Sundance Film Festival ...
by Ian Bogost December 31, 2004
Political Games in 2004
Political Games
2004 has certainly been a groundbreaking year for games in politics. Here are two recent articles that highlight some of my and Gonzalo's contributions, both individual and collaborative. Online games play with politics (BBC online) 12 days of video gaming: A look back at some of the memorable moments of ...
by Ian Bogost December 21, 2004
Army unveils war arcade
Political Games
In yet another example of the Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT)'s effort to elide "creative" and "war", that organization has made public the "Urban Terrain Module," a simulation environment that combines a Hollywood-style sound stage and set with large displays rendering computer-generated cities. It's the Army's idea of an arcade: ...
by Ian Bogost December 13, 2004
Politics as unusual
Console & PC Games, Political Games
Last week, China banned the seemingly prosaic game Soccer Manager 2005 because it depicted Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Tibet as countries, and thus "harmed China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," according to a Chinese news service. This week, South Korea's media rating board announced that it will not approve Tom ...
by Gonzalo Frasca November 20, 2004
Clinton on the SNS
Political Games
(via AvantGaming) Well, the game never made it to the shelves, but it would have been cool to play with Clinton's cat. Apparently, the game was not approved because of Nintendo's anti-political policies, which is quite a shame. I hope they changed their minds because I have this fantastic idea ...
by Ian Bogost November 20, 2004
Videogames for the Motherland
Political Games
As part of a new national patriotism plan wonderfully titled Ready for Work and Defense of the Motherland, Russia plans to create "patriotic video games in hopes to replace the popular DOOM." The best part of the article linked above is the title: Russia to Instill Youth With Patriotism ...
by Ian Bogost November 16, 2004
Play thy enemy
Console & PC Games, Newsgames, Political Games
WCG friend Clive Thompson writes at Slate on Halo 2 as a statement about military politics. ... the ideological payload here comes merely from the act of flipping sides in medias res. In jumping across the foxhole, you're forced to acknowledge that your enemy has its own subjective, if flawed, ...
by Ian Bogost November 2, 2004
GTA: Diebold City
Game Design, Political Games
I voted. Georgia is what those electoral college tracking apps call a "Strong Bush State," so who knows what effect I'm having, but nevertheless I did my part. Given that all previous elections I can immediately recall used the chad-producing punch-cards, and considering all the controversy about the newly minted ...
by Ian Bogost November 1, 2004
Chronicle of Higher Ed on Me and Political Games
Political Games
The Chronicle of Higher Education has published a story about me and my work. The article has also been Slashdotted. Unfortunately you need to be a paid subscriber to read the article, but a clever Slashdotter found a workaround and posted the article. If you are a researcher or student ...
by Ian Bogost October 30, 2004
Last-minute Weird and Vaguely Political Games
Political Games
There seem to be a throng of last-minute games with vaguely political content. One is Bush Panic. It's an arcadish game with a sort of odd theme, "With the Heinz family fortune at his disposal, Kerry must fight back wave after wave of descending Bushites by throwing money (and occasionally ...
by Ian Bogost October 28, 2004
Spring Break Fallujah
Political Games
A morbid little game/cartoon, Spring Break Fallujah comments on the rumors of another US military draft. I've played about a dozen times now, and from what I can tell this is another example of the "rhetoric of failure" type of "game." (thanks to Bridget) ...
by Gonzalo Frasca October 27, 2004
Bush doesn't want foreigners to play
Political Games
It seems that George W Bush's policies on foreigners is not just getting fingerprinted or sent to Guantanamo, but also we can't even read his own web-site! Maybe he has something to hide? Sure, I do respect his belief on the fact that foreigners do not have any right to ...
by Gonzalo Frasca October 25, 2004
Playing the President
Political Games
The BBC, on partisan and non-partisan US campaign videogames. Featuring your caring hosts, ser Frasca and mister Bogost, a.k.a. "Gringo Loco" ...
by Gonzalo Frasca October 23, 2004
Cambiemos at the BBC, part II
Political Games
The BBC runs today a story on Cambiemos and the Uruguayan elections. I am specially proud, since it not often that Uruguay makes it to the frontpage of a major news site (and top story of the tech section). We are all blushing, happy as pie, and really looking forward ...
by Gonzalo Frasca October 21, 2004
Articles galore!
Political Games
Collisiondetection's Clive Thompson writes this month at Slate about election videogames (4 games reviewed). In addition to this, the NYTimes (free reg. req) today runs a story on web cartoons, those bastard childs of videogames and animation. ...
by Ian Bogost October 20, 2004
Debate-o-rama
Political Games
The cool guys over at Funtank and the World Domination Design Group have launched Battle for the Presidency, a sort of procedural debate game. You can create your own candidate and battle other candidates in debates to earn campaign cash. Cool concept and high production value. ...
by Gonzalo Frasca October 16, 2004
Libé et les jeux vidéo politiques
Political Games
French newspaper Libération has published an article (in French) about political videogames, particularly those on the current US campaign. They quote Chris Crawford, Ian and yours truly and they even mention our upcoming show here in London. One minor but important correction: I (Gonzalo Frasca) did NOT work on any ...
by Gonzalo Frasca October 13, 2004
The Thirld World joins Game Campaign Revolution
Political Games
I am pleased to announce that Powerful Robot Games just launched “Cambiemos” (Let’s Change), an official videogame for the Frente Amplio – Encuentro Progresista, the left-wing coalition running for the Presidency of Uruguay in the upcoming October 31st elections. ...
by Ian Bogost October 13, 2004
Take Back Illinois: Economic Development
Political Games, Public Policy Games
The fourth of four sub-games in the Take Back Illinois Game is now available. This sub-game covers the issue of economic development in downstate Illinois. ...
by Ian Bogost October 12, 2004
Meditations after the Political Machine Postmortem
Political Games
Gamasutra has published a postmortem of Stardock's political campaign game The Political Machine. As with most of these features, it's a good read for any developer. I took special interest as someone interested in a different kind of political game. The following excerpt, from near the end of the article, ...
by Ian Bogost October 11, 2004
Videogames with an Agenda in London
Political Games
From October 16 through November 7, the Curzon Soho in London is hosting a game art show, Videogames with an Agenda. The show features work by Martin LeChevallier, Molleindustria, Newsgaming, T. Michael Keesey and myself and Gonzalo, who have also curated the show. The show is tied to the UK ...
by Ian Bogost October 6, 2004
Take Back Illinois: Participation Now Available
Political Games, Public Policy Games
The third of four sub-games in the Take Back Illinois Game is now available. This sub-game covers the issue of participation in local politics. You can also read my general description of the game, the first sub-game, about Medical Malpractice Reform, and the second sub-game, about Education Reform. Update: An ...
by Ian Bogost October 1, 2004
Political Parody
Political Games
An AP story on website campaign parodies makes mention of a few games we've discussed here on WCG, including Bushgame and Staffers. ...
by Ian Bogost September 29, 2004
Announcing the launch of Take Back Illinois: Education
Political Games, Public Policy Games
The second of four sub-games in the Take Back Illinois Game is now available. This sub-game covers the issue of improving public education in the state. You can also read my general description of the game and the first sub-game, about Medical Malpractice Reform. ...
by Ian Bogost September 29, 2004
Announcing the launch of Activism, the Public Policy Game
Political Games, Public Policy Games
It's a busy month in the world of political games. I'm very happy to announce that my studio Persuasive Games has just released Activism, the Public Policy Game, sponsored by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The game asks you to create a virtual activism plan, promoting the DCCC's goal of ...
by Ian Bogost September 28, 2004
Liberalopoly
Political Games
PoliGames is selling a political board game called Liberalopoly. The player chooses from a crop of real Democratic figures (not all of them real presidential hopefuls) Here's the publisher's blurb: Now you can step into the shoes of your least favorite Liberal! Take their wild ride through the twists and ...
by Ian Bogost September 22, 2004
Persuasive Games releases "Take Back Illinois"
Political Games, Public Policy Games
Take Back Illinois is an integrated four-part strategy game that challenges players to play through key issues facing Illinois voters in this year's state legislative election. The game was commissioned by Tom Cross and the Illinois House Republican Organization. The game was designed by me (Ian Bogost) and created by ...
by Ian Bogost September 16, 2004
Playing as Kerry
Newsgames, Political Games
Following on the ongoing controversy about John Kerry's Vietnam war record, the NY Times reports (registration required) that Kuma Reality Games will release a game later this month that allows players to play John Kerry's Swift boat missions in Vietnam. Screenshots area available here. Reports NYT, The company says the ...
by Gonzalo Frasca September 16, 2004
UK coverage and 'round the world
Political Games
The BBC just posted a transcript of their story on political games. The Guardian's games blog just posted an interview they made me at GDC Europe. I guess I had my share of UK coverage. Btw, the story does not credit Ian as co-creator of the Dean game. This is ...
by Ian Bogost September 11, 2004
Newsgaming on BBC/NPR
Newsgames, Political Games
Today's edition of the BBC/NPR radio show "The World" aired a story on Newsgaming, featuring Gonzalo and September 12. Grand Text Auto friend Noah Wardrip-Fruin also gets a word in. ...
by Ian Bogost September 8, 2004
F*ck the Vote
Game Design, Political Games, Social Games
We had a lively discussion recently over on Grand Text Auto about representations of sex in gaming, and I now officially feel stupid for not thinking of a way to tie the topic into political games. Why, you ask? Because now there's Votergasm, a website devoted to increasing voter turnout ...
by Ian Bogost September 5, 2004
Bush Can Bite Me vs. the GOP games
Political Games
Activist collective Bush Can Bite Me has launched a website that provides information, links, and by their word "new games weekly until the election." So far they have released two games. The first is Alliance Destroyer, a space invaders-style game in which the player controls a revolver-weilding cowboy Bush to ...
by Ian Bogost September 2, 2004
Political Games auf Deutsche
Political Games
The Berliner Zeitung has published an article (in German) about political games, specifically about games after September 11. Usual suspects covered include Gonzalo's Newsgaming, Josh On's Antiwargame, Water Cooler Games, Severin Gehring's games, &c. ...
by Gonzalo Frasca August 28, 2004
Paintball Politics
Political Games
It's 6AM and I am about to catch my flight to London. But I am a news junkie, so a quickie check on CNN.com led me to this story on Wack the Iraq, a paintball game with a political side that has raised complaints from the New Jersey Arab community. ...
by Ian Bogost August 28, 2004
Persuasive Games Press Bonanza
Political Games
Big week for political games press. As if Newsgaming's BBC coverage wasn't enough, G4 Tech TV's weekly game news show Pulse just ran a feature on my studio Persuasive Games. I'm working on getting a copy of the segment digitized for our readers' viewing pleasure. Last week the Boston Globe ...
by Ian Bogost August 27, 2004
BBC on Political Games
Political Games
BBC World has run a story on Political Games, featuring Gonzalo's Newsgaming, WCG friends Molleindustria, and other amici videogiocci milanese Chainworkers. Be sure to watch the streaming video of the TV coverage. The story also covers everyone's favorite GOP game, John Kerry Tax Invaders. No mention of my and Gonzalo's ...
by Ian Bogost August 26, 2004
Right Wing Cross and a Far Left Uppercut
Political Games
Sorrent Games has released Busy vs. Kerry Boxing, a rare example of a mobile political game. The game allows you to "punch your vote" against "Bubba Bush" or "K.O. Kerry." Basically, they pasted Bush, Kerry, and other politician heads onto their Fox Sports Boxing mobile game. Because the game doesn't ...
by Ian Bogost August 25, 2004
Newspaper Publishes Videogame, Developers Rejoice
Newsgames, Political Games
Last month I gave a presentation on "Playing the News" at the American Press Institute (filling in for Gonzalo, who couldn't make it, and for whom I provided the best bizarro-Gonzalo I could muster). Among the attendees was Gil Asakawa, executive producer for DenverPost.com. Game journalist and game research circle-runner ...
by Ian Bogost August 23, 2004
X Box Warriors
Political Games
The New York Times Magazine just published a long article by WCG friend and frequent game journalist Clive Thompson. The article, The Making of an X Box Warrior, is about the military training games developed at the Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), in my old backyard in SoCal, and especially ...
by Ian Bogost August 22, 2004
More fun with free speech
Advergames, Political Games
This isn't really about advergaming or political gaming, at least not directly. But it's part of a broader trend in advertising and political speech that very much affects the kind of work we've been trying to do in the space. So, CNN reported yesterday about a man being fired for ...
by Gonzalo Frasca August 19, 2004
Australian Political Game
Political Games
If you are like me, chances are that you are not very familiar with Australian politics + East Timor oil. I don't know much about Australia, actually, except for the fact that they are in the Southern Hemisphere which, of course, provides with a great perspective to look at the ...
by Ian Bogost August 18, 2004
Avoiding McChange
Political Games
Today Joi Ito pointed to the launch of ChangeThis, a website that purports to offer "A form of media that uses existing tools (like PDF files, blogs and the web) to challenge the way ideas are created and spread." The idea for Change This was spawned by bestselling marketing/business guru ...
by Ian Bogost August 13, 2004
Gamespot on political games
Political Games
Gamespot has just published an article on political games, featuring some quotes from me, a mention of Gonzalo's September 12, and quotes from Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi and political game pioneer Chris Crawford. Nice stuff. Update: The article mentions some comments I made (well, sort of made) about a ...
by Gonzalo Frasca August 10, 2004
Americas (Conquistadors) Army
Political Games
We all know the Spanish Army. Bunch of cowards. They cowardly joined the invasion of Iraq. But they were redeemed when politicians heroically withdrew them and took them back to were they belonged (that is home, aka the land of chorizo and manchego cheese. They do taste much better than ...
by Ian Bogost August 10, 2004
Drunkenness and Bush-Bashing
Political Games, Social Games
In this age of strained international relations, there's at least two things Americans and Europeans can agree on: drunkenness and George W. Bush both make hilarious subjects for videogames. From Severin Gehring comes Home Run 2004. The concept is simple: you are a drunk partygoer at Wagenschenke trying to make ...
by Ian Bogost August 8, 2004
Gonzalo's Brain and the Dean Game in PC Gamer
Political Games
Page 19 of the September issue of PC Gamer UK features an "academic deathmatch," in which Gonzalo scores 4 brains, as well as a nice review of the Howard Dean for Iowa Game. As Gonzalo pointed out to me, the best thing about this coverage is that PC Gamer is ...
by Ian Bogost July 23, 2004
Bush Admin Match Game
Political Games
NY Congressional candidate Charlie Rangel has released a quiz-style Flash game to promote his candidacy. The "Bush Admin Match Game" is a simple multiple-choice style quiz game. I'm not a big fan of these kinds of games, but this one's well executed at least. The questions even lead into one ...
by Ian Bogost July 19, 2004
Chris Crawford needs Java Developers
Console & PC Games, Political Games, Public Policy Games
Well-known game designer and political game pioneer (Balance of Power) has announced that he has released the code for his 1990 enivronmental strategy game Balance of the Planet into the public domain. His goal is to get a version working on contemporary equipment. But the project needs Java developers. If ...
by Ian Bogost July 12, 2004
Kuma\PR : more on the reception of newsgaming
Console & PC Games, Newsgames, Political Games
Important note: Kuma and Kuma\War has no affiliation with Gonzalo's Newsgaming project; I am adopting the term "newsgaming" here in a more general sense. Inc. Magazine ran an interesting piece in their August issue on Kuma\War, the subscription-based game that lets you play recent events in the continued conflicts in ...
by Gonzalo Frasca July 7, 2004
OUT
Political Games
Anne-Marie Schleiner (of Velvet Strike fame) are putting together OUT, a "a live action wireless gaming urban intervention" that will take place on August 30th in NYC, during the Republican Convention. One more reason to visit -or move in- to the big apple (thanks to Miguel Sicart for the tip ...
by Gonzalo Frasca July 1, 2004
/.!
Political Games
I am chiming in from the other side of the world while Ian is getting some rest after working so hard on the upcoming "Opinions". I am thrilled to see that the New York Times article got slashdotted, as well as Persuasive Games. Among the interesting stuff posted is Contractopoly, ...
by Ian Bogost July 1, 2004
The Points Are All Political
Political Games
The New York Times just published a nice story on political games (registration required, by WCG friend Michael Erard), featuring the GOP games we've discussed here, Gonzalo and my Howard Dean for Iowa Game, as well as my forthcoming game Opinions, for the Democratic National Convention (whose release time can ...
by Ian Bogost June 29, 2004
Spille Communication
Advergames, Political Games
You know something must be popular when recording artists start doing it. Well, the Beastie Boys have their own political game, Triple Trouble. Here's what music news site Aversion has to say about it: The game, posted on Capitol Records' web site, makes users get all three members of the ...
by Gonzalo Frasca June 28, 2004
The best political game ever?
Political Games
The good guys from Molleindustria sent me this link and wondered if this was the best political game ever. Well, the more I play, the more it raises up the charts! Vigilance 1.0 by Martin Le Chevallier, an artist working on games and interactive cinema (btw, he was born on ...
by Ian Bogost June 16, 2004
New Dems Game: Bush Ass-Kick
Political Games
Ok, the name's mine, not theirs, but that's what you do in this game the Democrats just published. They're billing it as a game, but it's really more of an interactive cartoon, like the RNC games but with MUCH higher production value. It's definitely funny to play once, and the ...
by Ian Bogost June 14, 2004
Even yet another US Election Game
Political Games
Election Day has been around for a while but it's getting a fresh update this year. Unlike the other election games we have covered (1, 2, 3, 4), Election Day allows players to run for many different offices, not just the presidency. From the developers: ...
by Ian Bogost June 3, 2004
Yet another US Election Game
Political Games
President Forever: 2004 is the latest US Election Sim to cross my path. By my count, that brings the total to four this year: Frontrunner, The Political Machine, Power Politics III, and President Forever: 2004. (thanks to Randy) ...
by Ian Bogost June 3, 2004
Political Games in Aftenposten
Political Games
Aftenposten, Norway's major newspaper, published an article today (in Norwegian) on political games, featuring both of Gonzalo's Newsgames as well as Persuasive Games. ...
by Ian Bogost June 2, 2004
Ubisoft to publish US Election Game
Console & PC Games, Political Games
This just in, Ubisoft has announced that it will publish The Political Machine, "a new game for PCs that puts players in control of the 2004 presidential campaigns of either incumbent U.S. President George W. Bush or Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry." From the release: Players will also have the ...
by Ian Bogost May 30, 2004
Republican Survivor
Political Games
Republican Survivor is a Survivor TV show parody animated web series and game featuring Capitol Hill GOP leaders as contestants. (thanks to Celia) ...
by Ian Bogost May 28, 2004
The Anti-Bush Online Adventure
Political Games
Holy crap! Check out the amazing Anti-Bush Online Adventure! Featuring your favorite 80s game aesthetics and pop-culture characters (He-Man, Voltron, Hulk Hogan) as well as your favorite Bush adminstration boss characters (check out the Tom Ridge robot), this is a truly amazing specimen. Make sure you play all the way ...
by Ian Bogost May 28, 2004
Latest GOP Game: Kerryopoly
Political Games
Check it out here. I'll comment more once I play a bit... I've added more thoughts about the game in the comments on this post. ...
by Ian Bogost May 27, 2004
Gaming Techniques for Citizen Engagement
Game Design, Political Games, Public Policy Games
Chris Quigley, from the British organizational consultantcy Delib, has published Game On: A thought paper on the use of gaming techniques for citizen engagement and e-participation (120k Word Doc). Here's the abstract: In this paper Chris Quigley examines the applicability of gaming techniques in citizenship engagement and e-participation. The paper ...
by Ian Bogost May 22, 2004
International Debt Relief Game
Educational Games, Political Games, Public Policy Games
Baltimore agency The Berndt Group created Bridging the Divide, a game meant to teach players about International debt relief, for an unnamed international institution. Here's the blurb from their website: We designed this interactive, educational Flash 5 game for an international institutional client to serve as a teaching tool for ...
by Ian Bogost May 17, 2004
Fight the politicians in a new Taiwanese FPS
Political Games
The Taipei Times reports on 2004 Everybody Fight (box shot), a firstperson shooter that "pits members of the 'pan-green' and 'pan-blue' camps against each other." The game is being billed as a "comedic first person shooter spoof." ...
by Gonzalo Frasca May 16, 2004
Beautiful Political Games
Political Games
We missed it and we are awfully ashamed because of it. Cornell hosted a fantastic (judging from their website) exhibit on games called Games We Playand it is now over :( The exhibit had real diamonds, including some political pearls. Surely, our Dean game and the new GOP games may ...
by Ian Bogost May 13, 2004
Political games in the Guardian
Political Games
Today the Guardian published a great story on videogames with a political message, by Jim McClellan. The article features Gonzalo and me, the Howard Dean for Iowa Game and September 12, as well as the cool folks at New Grounds and Molleindustria. (one typo in the article, which I'll clarify ...
by Ian Bogost May 5, 2004
Salon Features (and Pans) Game Art
Political Games
Salon ran a nice article (paid subscription or ad-watching required) today about Velvet-Strike, military games, and game-based social art and commentary. The piece features Anne-Marie Schleiner et al's online game intervention, Velvet-Strike, which is on display now at the Whitney Biennial. Gonzalo's September 12 also gets mention and a link, ...
by Ian Bogost May 2, 2004
Scale and Ideology in Political Games
Political Games, Social Games
Nathan Combs writes the latest chapter in the book on politics in virtual worlds over a Terra Nova. Says Nate, ... could the next step for an MMORPG be a "simulation meets political role-playing?" Analogous to a Live Action Role Playing (LARP)? The problem is that its hard to get ...
by Ian Bogost May 1, 2004
Frontrunner in USA Today
Political Games
USA Today just ran a story on Frontrunner, from Lantern Games, previously discussed here on WCG (1, 2). Some more information about the game appears in the article, including the clarification that the game puts the player in the role of a campaign manager during the final 90 days of ...
by Ian Bogost April 28, 2004
Mayday Netparade
Activism Games, Political Games
Care of Molleindustria, the Mayday Net Parade, "a virtual demo that runs thru a heavily guarded and branded city put under siege by insurgent legions of brain+chain+temp workers and assorted anarchists, commies, queers and greens." More net art than game, but definitely worth seeing. ...
by Ian Bogost April 26, 2004
Shock and AWE
Political Games, Public Policy Games
Thanks to Gamespot (found via Terra Nova) for their article on the Asymmetric Warfare Environment (AWE), the military training tool built by virtual world company There. According to the article, " the massively multiplayer simulation will be used by military personnel to train troops in urban situations before they are ...
by Ian Bogost April 25, 2004
Politics on the brain
Political Games
The NY Times ran an article last week on Using M.R.I.'s to See Politics on the Brain (registration required). Researchers at UCLA are showing political commercials to subjects under MRI, measuring their brain responses, and comparing those responses among people with different political affiliations. They have no definitive conclusions yet, ...
by Ian Bogost April 22, 2004
Wired on Political Games
Activism Games, Newsgames, Political Games, Social Games
Wired News ran a nice article today on Playing Games with a Conscience, featuring quotes from myself, Gonzalo, and Noah Wardrip-Fruin, our friend from the field and Grand Text Auto. The article features Gonzalo's September 12 as well as Educational Simulations' Real Life 2004, which we discussed recently here on ...
by Ian Bogost April 20, 2004
Army not so bad, say gamers
Console & PC Games, Political Games, Public Policy Games
Wagner James Au wrote a story last week for Salon called John Kerry: The Video Game, about how video games have influenced young people's opinion about the armed services. Here's a good tidbit: A third of the country's young people have an elevated view of the Army, not foremost for ...
by Ian Bogost April 15, 2004
John Kerry Tax Invaders
Political Games
Following on their previous attempt at a political game, CNN announced today that the GOP has released John Kerry Tax Invaders. "Only you can stop the tax invader," reads the game's splash screen. The gameplay is Space Invaders, allowing you to shoot from President Bush's head at blocks inscribed with ...
by Ian Bogost April 14, 2004
Real Life 2004
Educational Games, Political Games, Social Games
Educational Simulations has released Real Life 2004, "the life simulation that gives you the opportunity to learn how people really live in other countries." From the USA Today review: This software creates a powerful learning opportunity for teens to experience other cultures. By allowing them to live another's life, the ...
by Ian Bogost April 1, 2004
White House Joust
Political Games
New from KewlBox, White House Joust. Like Joust, but with Bush and Kerry (and Limbaugh and Blair and...) ...
by Ian Bogost March 31, 2004
The Political Machine
Political Games
Just came across The Political Machine, another US prexy election game/process sim. From the game description: You choose (or design) your own Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates and begin in the first week of January of the election year. From there, you must compete against a candidate from the opposite political ...
by Ian Bogost March 29, 2004
Game and Holograms for Peace in Jerusalem
Political Games, Religious Games
Wired reports on a plan to use a blimp, holographic temple, and MMOG to bring peace to the middle east. ...
by Gonzalo Frasca March 27, 2004
Well, it seems we started a trend here...
Political Games
I recently said in an interview that we would see more official political games, but I wasn't expecting it would happen so soon. Well, the Republicans just launched a Flash game, Kerry versus Kerry, featuring Don King's voice. I just got back from GDC, so I am sure we'll post ...
by Ian Bogost March 26, 2004
GDC, Serious Games, and More
Political Games
I'm back from GDC -- had to leave early :( -- but Gonzalo's still up there fragging the developers in his roundtable. I'll post some reactions to the first ever Serious Games Summit soon, but for now read this Gamasutra interview with Gonzalo, which covers the Dean Game and other ...
by Gonzalo Frasca March 16, 2004
Staffers Challenge
Political Games
This is simply too cool. I am in Quebec, on the road, just digesting Seymour Papert's keynote at ICEM2004. But thanks to Chico Queiroz for sending me this link to Staffers, a sort of mini-Sims game about helping on a political campaign. ...
by Gonzalo Frasca March 13, 2004
MADRID
Newsgames, Political Games
Here is MADRID, the new game that I just finished to put together along with the Newsgaming.com team. It was developed in just over a day and looks to be a simple homage to the victims of the attacks from 2 days ago. Clarification (from Ian): There seems to ...
by Ian Bogost March 13, 2004
The Bush/Cheney Accidental Poster Generator
Political Games
The Bush/Cheney campaign launched a neat poster generator that allowed you to type in your own headline and generate a nice PDF poster suitable for printing. The problem is, they didn't -- and couldn't -- filter for all the editorial statements poster creators might make... The folks over at Wonkette ...
by Ian Bogost March 10, 2004
Nascar Dad or Needy Immigrant?
Political Games
From LoveInWar, the Useful Voter Guide, a Flash game "to help first-time voters, undeciders, and independents figure out who they should be voting for." The game functions as a tongue-in-cheek visual quiz that both parodies the other quiz-style voting guides and satirizes the political decision-making in the US. In each ...
by Ian Bogost March 6, 2004
Dean for Iowa Game Reviews
Political Games
I just found PopMatters' late January review of our Dean for Iowa Game. GameCritics.com just featured three of Gonzalo's games, including Dean for Iowa and September 12. As Gonzalo and I prepare to write more seriously about this game's successes and failures, I'm taking hints from some of these reviews. ...
by Gonzalo Frasca February 27, 2004
Press "A" to shoot grandpa
Political Games
The most disturbing thing that I experienced in the last Tokyo Game Show was witnessing the presentation of the MHO set in Pearl Harbor. There you had crowds of happy Japanese delighted at a game aiming, at, ehem, themselves. 2 years before, on my first trip to Tokyo, I witnessed ...
by Ian Bogost February 26, 2004
Bush vs. Hillary: Power Politics III
Political Games
Thanks to Randy Chase at Kellogg Creek Software for reminding us that the release date of their forthcoming game Power Politics III is set for April 5. Randy also designed the original Power Politics in 1992, as well as the Doonesbury Election Game in 1996. This third version is entirely ...
by Ian Bogost February 24, 2004
Between Ares and the Muses
Political Games, Public Policy Games
Eimi d'ego therapôn men enualioio anaktos kai museôn, eraton doron epistamenos (I am first the servant of Lord Ares and also of the Muses, familiar with their lovely gift) -- Archilochus, 7c BC Andrew Stern points out a Popular Science article about more DoD-funded military modeling of military and ...
by Ian Bogost February 21, 2004
Become the Ultimate Poacher
Activism Games, Political Games
Developer Exileworks announces Poacher, the wild game trader game. From the developer website: You fight and struggle your way through the African Congo to the deep jungles of India as you hunt for the most famous of endangered species; all the while avoiding and battling the dreaded Game Wardens. Poacher ...
by Gonzalo Frasca February 18, 2004
KFC Cruelty Game
Political Games
Certainly, when we think of advergaming, we think about real-time, webgames. Flash games can be good for simulating systems and behaviors, but not as good for delivering a big amount of information. When lots of facts are needed, then comes good ol' trivia quizz. Which was PETA's (People for Ethical ...
by Gonzalo Frasca February 17, 2004
Playing with fire... the Italian way
Political Games
The toy is simple but effective. Basically, you click on the clouds and make the Pope talk. But the really neat game is Memory Reloaded, the Game of Historical Revisionism. At first, it looks like a simple memory game, but suddenly it changes its own rules. For example, one card ...
by Ian Bogost February 14, 2004
A note on the Digital Democracy Teach-in
Game Design, Political Games
This Monday I attended the Digital Democracy Teach-In at the O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference. Originally I was going to tag along on Britt Blaser's introductory session to talk about campaign games, but at the last minute Joe Trippi signed on to do the first session. Recently ousted, his talk was ...
by Ian Bogost February 14, 2004
Vive les jeux politiques
Political Games
French TV station TF1 ran a story last week about « le jeu à message, media ludique et militant ». The story mentioned The Dean for Iowa Game, September 12, Newsgaming, Persuasive Games, and Water Cooler Games. It also mentioned French developers Uzinagaz, whose games New York Defender and Lance ...
by Ian Bogost February 13, 2004
Laden vs. USA
Political Games
Thanks to Clive Thompson for unearthing Laden vs. USA, which appears to be a handheld electronic game out of Taiwan. I think Clive's comments about it are dead on. Here's what he says: It's a pretty bleak specimen, but in a strictly academic sense, this is an interesting example of ...
by Ian Bogost February 11, 2004
IM Virus Osama Game
Game Design, Political Games, Social Games
A strange group called BuddyLinks has an Osama game (WARNING: if you click, do not play the game! read on!). The REALLY fascinating thing about the game is that it spreads itself through a virus that sends AIM instant messages to everyone on your buddy list when you play the ...
by Ian Bogost February 9, 2004
Legislative Design
Game Design, Political Games
Wired reports on virtual world game designers helping design the new eRegulations government project on legislation crafting. From the article, "the government and the gaming industry both rely on a similar method of soliciting comments." This collaboration apparently came out of an offshoot of the State of Play conference at ...
by Ian Bogost February 7, 2004
More on Frontrunner, the 2004 election game
Political Games
Thanks to Lantern Games for sending us some additional information on their forthcoming game Frontrunner. According to Lantern, the gameplay is RTS style, based on swaying key interest groups to your side during the course of the election. These populations are managed based on real demographic, census, and voting data ...
by Ian Bogost February 7, 2004
The Transportation Security Administration Game
Game Design, Political Games
I was traveling today, and I checked my bag in at the curb. For the first time, I decided to watch the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer screen my bag. Those of you who have traveled recently in the US were probably required to have your bag chemical screened at ...
by Ian Bogost February 4, 2004
On America's Army
Political Games
As part of the Bang the Machine exhibit, the Naval Postgraduate School has published a booklet (5.3 MB PDF) on America's Army. I've just glanced through it, but there are some, uh, interesting points in the booklet that I look forward to coming back to. Readers should also note that ...
by Ian Bogost February 4, 2004
Political Games @ Terra Nova
Political Games
There's an increasingly lively discussion about political games over at Terra Nova, including mentions of democracy in MMOGs and some discussion in the comments on our Dean for Iowa Game. Incidentally, if you haven't been reading Terra Nova, you should be. ...
by Ian Bogost January 31, 2004
Political games live on...
Political Games
I forgot to put this up when it broke, but me and our Howard Dean for Iowa Game were mentioned in this Ad Age article about Dean and political marketing. Despite Dean's recent troubles in Iowa and New Hampshire, almost 100,000 people played the game in the 5 weeks since ...
by Gonzalo Frasca January 26, 2004
Frontrunner: Election Game
Political Games
Lanter Games plan to launch Frontrunner, a US Presidential Election game, this March/April. It looks to be simulating the infamous previous election because Gore and W. are on the pictures. You can take a look at it here. (via jill/txt) ...
by Gonzalo Frasca January 17, 2004
Howard Dean Game @ Slate
Political Games
Last month, Steven Johnson was arguing in Slate that what was missing in the current US Presidential campaign was a videogame. The article was published during one of those sleepless days when Ian and myself, along with a terrific team of collaborators, where cranking out the Dean for Iowa game. ...
by Ian Bogost January 13, 2004
Dean Game / Macromedia Site of the Day
Political Games
The Howard Dean for Iowa Game is today's Macromedia Site of the Day. ...
by Ian Bogost January 11, 2004
Flight Sim Scare
Political Games
Following on Jill's post about the prohibition of lavatory queues on US-bound flights, and our absurd fears about almanacs, is this Register article about a state trooper's housecall after a mother bought her son a Flight Sim from a local Staples store. So alarmed was the Staples clerk at the ...
by Ian Bogost January 4, 2004
Dean for Iowa Game in the New York Times
Political Games
The Dean for Iowa Game appears in the New York Times this morning (registration required). I'm especially happy with the fact that this mention is on the political page, not the technology or entertainment page. ...
by Ian Bogost January 3, 2004
Serious Games, Rhetorical Speech
Educational Games, Political Games, Public Policy Games
There's a nice article in the Baltimore Sun about Serious Games, specifically focusing on Maryland's many local game studios and their work on games for military training. Registration is required to read the article. I am encouraged by and highly respectful of the idea of games for training and education. ...
by Ian Bogost December 23, 2003
Videogames go to Washington!
Political Games
We are happy to announce that we've just finished developing the first ever official campaign video game - the Dean for Iowa Game, commissioned by Dean for America. Political videogaming has now reached official status. This is an important moment in the world of political games and game rhetoric, since ...
by Ian Bogost December 15, 2003
AI Bush
Political Games
AI group Ellaz has released AI Bush, a George Bush simulator You are a close advisor, whispering into George's ear. He needs your help making decisions and answering pesky trivia questions that affect his chances of reelection, not to mention the effects various decisions can have on his conscience. GWB痴 ...
by Ian Bogost December 10, 2003
This is not a game - the known and the unknown
Console & PC Games, Political Games
Today I got my copy of PC Gamer in the mail. Right inside the cover I found a striking fold-out ad spread; the first two pages show a giant American flag, with the words This is Not a Game etched over the stars. Folding out the panel transforms the flag ...
by Ian Bogost December 6, 2003
Utopia, MMG-style
Political Games
A new "repository" for ideas on an alternative world order is up at agoraXchange.Scott Rettberg wonders if ... ...the idea is a refreshing turn from many MMGs that seem hell-bent on promoting the acquisition of virtual wealth as the highest virtue to which gamers can aspire. But clearly the project ...
by Ian Bogost December 5, 2003
Kim Jong-Il Satirical Game
Political Games
The folks at The Daily Grind let us know that they've released Kimdom Come. From the website: Use your Flying Dong 2 missiles to fend off detente with the puppets of the south. With Roh & his "sunshine" policy out of the way, you won't have to suffer his donations ...
by Gonzalo Frasca November 28, 2003
El Presidente
Political Games
I haven't played the game but I guess we can hardly describe it as a political game. It seems to be more in the tradition of Tropico (genre gringo loco looking at South America with contempt), but I could be wrong. Of course, this is not the first political simulation ...
by Ian Bogost November 20, 2003
Tobacco Baron (Norwegian)
Activism Games, Political Games, Public Policy Games
Jill Walker points out a rhetorical game that simulates a tobacco empire, Tobakkbaronen. The game seems elaborate and high in production value, but it's all in Norwegian, so I'll just quote from Jill's commentary on it: It's a strategy game, done in Flash, where you play a tobacco baron and ...
by Ian Bogost November 17, 2003
Who are you? ... Nintendo and the identity of political games
Console & PC Games, Political Games
This isn't really what we have in mind when we talk about Political Games, but Nintendo has been running a promotional campaign for Mario Party 5 in which Mario runs for president. The official game site ressembles a political campaign site (in a certain way). Mario's platform is simple: More ...
by Gonzalo Frasca October 26, 2003
September 12th reaches 100.000 players
Activism Games, Newsgames, Political Games, Public Policy Games, Social Games
100 thousand persons have played Newsgaming.com's September 12th during the last few weeks. When I launched this journalistic/political game I knew I was taking quite a risk with its design/scope, but I am thrilled at seeing how well it is performing. So far, reviews have ranged from an interesting experiment ...
by Ian Bogost October 22, 2003
Health Games Discussion List
Political Games, Public Policy Games, Social Games
Ben Sawyer from Digital Mill and the Serious Games Project announces a new listserv on Games for Health. Here's what Ben sez: This new listserv will allow a unique community of game developers, researchers, policymakers and healthcare professionals to explore how to work together to utilize games and game technology ...
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10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
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10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
Royalty Rate Reset
Rocks are Rocks
Star Castle for Atari VCS
The Future Was Here
Comments
george on Where in the World was Middle Earth?
Ian Bogost on Royalty Rate Reset
Paul Freet on Royalty Rate Reset
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What is a Game Bundle?
The Curse of Cow Clicker
Beyond the Elbow-Patched Playground
Low-Earth Lamentation
Shit Crayons
Aerotropolis
Against Aca-Fandom
There are no Blown Calls in Football
We Think in Public
What is Object-Oriented Ontology?
The Metaphysics Videogame
Cascading Failure
Top Ten Reasons I Returned My Kindle
Carrying On Over Carry-Ons
Reading Online Sucks
The Curse of Cow Clicker
Beyond the Elbow-Patched Playground
Low-Earth Lamentation
Shit Crayons
Aerotropolis
Against Aca-Fandom
There are no Blown Calls in Football
We Think in Public
What is Object-Oriented Ontology?
The Metaphysics Videogame
Cascading Failure
Top Ten Reasons I Returned My Kindle
Carrying On Over Carry-Ons
Reading Online Sucks