Design of a Political Sim

[Buccaneer]

Many of us seem to be interested in the spectacle that is the US political campaign season and I believe it lends itself very well to a text sim: as long as such a sim avoids the “cotton-candy” micromanagement tedium.

Having played a couple of political sims in the past, they quickly became an exercise in “magic numbers” without any immersion. What we don’t want to do is to fill out a bunch of boxes (or use sliders) with percentages on how much we emphasize one issue over another. Nor do we simply want it to become a numbers allocation game, whether in fund raising, ads, staff, pollsters, etc., click Go and then rinse and repeat.

Instead, the design of a political sim should be based on decision-making regarding image, perception, opinions and targeting within a finite set of resources and time. From a gamer’s perspective, that means two things:

1. We engage in pro-active and re-active events. Events include a running log of world/national events, a running log of opponents’ actions, and interactions with specialty groups and the media – all the while keeping an eye on an ever-changing series of polls. The interface is not by the numbers but by choosing from a series of possible "conversational" or phrased responses. This is how a gamer can be immersed in the issues the come up (or want to push), sort of like the branching-tree dialogues that we see in RPG games.

Here’s an example from this weekend. The world event logs show a foiled terrorist strike in the UK. Your opponent, as a proponent of cracking down on illegal immigration, makes a comment to that effect. You, to score some political points, slam your opponent’s comment. When the next series of polls come out, you will see how much effect that (and other events) would have – in solidifying your base, in persuading your non-based, in hurting your opponents, in taking points away from the other party, etc.

2. The other part is the Voter’s Game, for the lack of a better term. There are three sub-games that are played during a campaign: fund raising and staking out a niche, the primaries and the presidential campaign. Do well in the first and you can move on to the second. Do well in the primaries and hopefully you can move on to the big show. Here’s how we could do this:

Make it a location-centric game where a whole database is viewable by an interactive map – allowing you to 'map' out your strategy. How do you start raising money? The map (assuming you are in Jan 2007) shows the events taking places around the country (special interest group gatherings, party gatherings, dinners, etc.) and you have to pick and choose where you want to take advantage of the potential dollars that are available (if you say the right things to the right audience). All the while you are fielding questions from the media, where you have to say the right thing as well.

But while you are doing this, you have to plan ahead for the primaries. The map shows the primary dates, as well as demographic data, voter trends and local/state polls. While you have money coming in, how do allocate them strategically? Click on a state (Iowa) and then set your priorities by clicking on first staff, then radio ads and then pollsters (or whatever three from a finite list). Then you have to decide that if it’s worth your time (and you have the budget), where to go in Iowa. The Iowa map will show events happening around the state and you click on what to do. Do you go to your base or go to areas that need persuasion or a little of both? You can keep it at that level or you can drop down into each event and “play it out”, again saying the right thing to the right people and hopefully that’ll make some difference (probably with the right degree of random variables to make it non-predictable).

But you can’t neglect other states (New Hampshire) as well, nor your fund raising, nor getting your message getting out through the media, all the while you are reacting to world and opponent events that you see in the logs.

So we have decision-making based on what we want to say and where we want to be but we can’t do this in a vacuum. You have to engage your opponents (whether within your party or against the other party). You can choose to be in a Debate event taking place somewhere (assuming you can fit it in) and much like re-acting and pro-acting to the world and opponents event logs, now it becomes more real-time. Have you chosen your list of issues to be your strength? Did you choose the right response to an issue brought up from another candidate? Are confrontational or passive, whether overall or by issue?

Ok, you made a decent showing in New Hampshire and you hope that your efforts in Iowa will pay off. What now? You have a whole map of possibilities but you have to chose, balancing fund raising events with a strategic plan of action for the next series of primaries, all the while keeping an eye on the world and opponent events to score some points.

You win your primary and have to choose a running mate. The interactive map will help in deciding where your running mate will come from. Click on a particular state (or region) and you will see a hypothetical shift in potential voters from one region to another. Enough to make a difference? Or what if you didn’t win the primary, could you become a running mate yourself (learning what to do better next time).

Into the presidential campaign, you have the same map again only this time, the world/national events continue but the opponent events are more focused and targeted - at you. Not only do you have to spend time getting even more money but also time in mending fences. If you want to get the support of an opponent within your party, choose to go to an event in his/her state or pet issue. But be careful to not contradict yourself or the net gain might be negated by the flip-flopping, or conversely, that might be a risk worth taking in the long run.

Ok, so back to the map. Where are your voters? Do you decide to get more of them out to vote for you or do you take some risks in getting new voters? Obviously you want to do both but you have finite money and finite time. Did you invest in a state-by-state organization or are you relying more on a centralized organization? If you choose to target a state, where do you spend time in the state? The map will show blue and red and purple cities, counties and sub-regions. Here's a scenario. You are one day away from Election Day. You have the funds to run 10 national ads, 5 state ads and to visit three cities. Do you split those cities in three states? Two? One? These are the kind of decisions you are faced with every day on the campaign. Not only where you go but what you do and what you say.

I envision a gameplay that is interactive through text displays and hot-spot maps. You make short-term and long-term decisions but you have to start from scratch, sort of speak, because success at any level is not assured. The game will be replayable because not only will the events (and their timing) change but because of the myriad of issues, your positions and how much you push can change. The game design depends upon a smart AI that can re-act and be pro-active to you and its opponents. And it will depend upon having enough textual information to offer a greater of phrases and responses than possible to chose in a game.

[Izulde]

FWIW, Election Day has some great, great ideas, including a progressive career mode that is unfortunately broken... though the idea is that you can move from election cycle to election cycle trying to work your way up from getting elected to city council to one day, hopefully, being elected President.

[Barkeep49]

I'd play that game Buc.

[bhlloy]

Sounds very promising. The things that have absolutely killed any political sim I have ever played are repetitiveness (fundraise, barnstorm, barnstorm, rest, barnstorm, speech - rinse & repeat) and the fact that you don't ever seem to have to react to current events, or opponents trying to kill your campaign. Once you have a solid plan on day one (usually go after Florida, California, Texas and New York hard, then pick up some other smaller states), nothing really seems to get in your way.

The idea above seems to address both problems. If you get to the beta testing stage, keep me in mind

To expand on what Izulde said, I am in love with the idea of building your career up and the possibility of losing the presidency and still gaining experience/reputation. Not sure if that was what you had in mind, but if you could achieve a game where you can start at Senate/Congress level and work your way up, and the game kept track of your policy positions and public persona, it would sell millions IMO.

[Bonegavel]

Hire Dick Morris as a consultant.

[Senator]

bump to find easily later.

[Young Drachma]

Interesting thread.

[Crim]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

1. We engage in pro-active and re-active events. Events include a running log of world/national events, a running log of opponents’ actions, and interactions with specialty groups and the media – all the while keeping an eye on an ever-changing series of polls. The interface is not by the numbers but by choosing from a series of possible "conversational" or phrased responses. This is how a gamer can be immersed in the issues the come up (or want to push), sort of like the branching-tree dialogues that we see in RPG games.

Here’s an example from this weekend. The world event logs show a foiled terrorist strike in the UK. Your opponent, as a proponent of cracking down on illegal immigration, makes a comment to that effect. You, to score some political points, slam your opponent’s comment. When the next series of polls come out, you will see how much effect that (and other events) would have – in solidifying your base, in persuading your non-based, in hurting your opponents, in taking points away from the other party, etc.

Hey, Bucc, how long has this game been in development? You've had JiMG, Mr. Bigglesworth, BW, and NoMyths beta-testing this portion for years!

[Flasch186]

Originally Posted by Senator

bump to find easily later.

+1

[Senator]

Bound and determined to respond to this thread.

[mrsimperless]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

it would sell millions IMO.

Although I like the idea, you should probably have someone else do some additional market research before you commit.

[Buccaneer]

I think one of the things that I have learned by following the primaries this year is the increasing importance of an interconnected media and its audience. News (or events) about anythings gets broadcasted, dissected and debated instantaneously that, unlike in previous elections, does affect outcome to some degree. It's like Max Headroom has become a reality. In previous cycles, reacting to events can be purposeful and measured but nowadays, one has to react to events much more quickly else 1) you lose your window of counteracting and 2) it becomes "old" news more quickly.

[path12]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I think one of the things that I have learned by following the primaries this year is the increasing importance of an interconnected media and its audience. News (or events) about anythings gets broadcasted, dissected and debated instantaneously that, unlike in previous elections, does affect outcome to some degree. It's like Max Headroom has become a reality. In previous cycles, reacting to events can be purposeful and measured but nowadays, one has to react to events much more quickly else 1) you lose your window of counteracting and 2) it becomes "old" news more quickly.

Heh. Not to threadjack, but as I was reading this post "Paranomia" by Art of Noise came on Pandora, featuring Max Headroom. Good times.....

[Senator]

self bump

[Buccaneer]

In running a campaign, you have controllables, and you have uncontrollables.

Controllables are what the candidate says in his speeches; where he appears, who he picks as a running mate, how much money he raises and how he spends it, and the content of his commercials. Uncontrollables are what the other side does and events of nature that are beyond your control.

In planning your campaign strategy, you must be near perfect in the things you control.

But you also must prepare for the things that you don't control. How a campaign handles outside events and how you react to your opponent's attacks can sink a campaign. Miscues or missteps are magnified during moments of crisis.

I see Rollins stealing my idea. This was what I mentioned earlier about real-time events in a sim and reacting in a way that will show up positively or negatively. The events now come more frequently and have a shorter window/lifespan.

[Mac Howard]

Are you aware of this:

Games Without Frontiers: The Game of Politics Is Ready for Its Upgrade

I don't know anything about it but came across it this morning.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Mac Howard

Are you aware of this:

Games Without Frontiers: The Game of Politics Is Ready for Its Upgrade

I don't know anything about it but came across it this morning.

Too light and fluffy in my opinion. Empty potato chip kinda game.