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Democracy (video game)

January 01, 1970

Democracy is a government simulation game that was first developed by Positech Games in 2005, with a sequel released in December 2007, a third game in 2013 and a fourth in 2022. The player becomes the president or prime minister of a democratic government. The player must introduce and alter policies in seven areas – tax, economy, welfare, foreign policy, transport, law and order and public services. Each policy has an effect on the happiness of various voter groups, as well as affecting factors such as crime and air quality. The player has to deal with "situations", which are typically problems such as petrol protests or homelessness, and also has to make decisions on dilemmas that arise on each turn.

Democracy
Developer(s)Positech Games
Red Marble Games (Mac)
Publisher(s)Positech Games, Tri-Synergy
Platform(s)Linux, Windows, Macintosh
ReleaseDemocracy
Positech Games
April 17, 2005
Democracy 2
Positech Games
December 7, 2007

Democracy 3
Positech Games
October 14, 2013

Democracy 3: Africa
Positech Games
April 12, 2016

Democracy 4
Positech Games
October 6, 2020 (early release)
January 12, 2022
Genre(s)Government simulation, social simulation
Mode(s)Single player

Gameplay edit

After deciding which nation to play as, the player must win the support of various factions which make up the electorate, including the religious, patriotic, parents, capitalists, socialists, liberals, conservatives and others, and thus win the ensuing elections that take place. The player introduces policies and uses sliders to change the amount of government funding, level of a tax or generally the law and regulations in that particular area. Of course, because each individual person belongs to several factions (e.g.: a Poor Conservative Smoker who is a Patriot or a Rich, Socialist person who is also a Drinker), it is practically impossible to control all the voters. Before each general election, two promises are made by the player to the electorate (e.g.: reduce unemployment by 10%). If the player has not kept these promises by the next election, the people become annoyed and cynicism increases.

To make policy changes, the player must spend political capital, which is earned by loyal ministers.

The player must also try to balance the budget and pay off the country's debts without losing votes and causing tax evasion due to very high taxes.

There are also many events, dilemmas and situations in the game which the player must deal with. An example of an event might be the curing of a disease, a dilemma may be whom to appoint as a senior judge and a situation may be high levels of pollution. An event happens, sometimes due to policies. However the player doesn't take part; they simply profit or suffer from it. A dilemma is an important decision which must be resolved for the turn to be ended and situations are ongoing conditions which must be dealt with or helped and enjoyed.

Modding edit

The games designer has described the code behind the game as being based on a neural network. This has allowed the game to be very easily modded, and most of the 'game logic' in it is openly editable in simple text CSV files, allowing players to change the way the core mechanics of the game operate. A number of mods have been released for both the first and second game in the series, and are generally released on the Positech forum. Mods have included new countries (and real countries for Democracy 2) and the addition of factors such as inflation, as well as enhancement of the voter cynicism factor in Democracy 2.

Sequels edit

Democracy 2 edit

A sequel to the game was released in December 2007, which, while very similar to the original in terms of gameplay, differs in that it uses fictional nations.[1] It has numerous new features, including cabinet ministers, more policy debates, and real-world statistical data.[2]

Democracy 3 edit

In October 2013, Democracy 3 was released.[3] In late 2015 Positech announced an 'expandalone' for the game set entirely in Africa, with a different simulation model, music and graphics entitled Democracy 3: Africa.

Democracy 4 edit

The Alpha Release was made available in early August 2020. The United Kingdom, Germany and United States were initially the only selectable countries to play, with later development granting access to playing as Spain, Italy, Canada, Australia and France.[4] The game was released on October 6, 2020 for early access on Steam and GOG.com with the final version being released on January 13, 2022. In addition to the aforementioned countries, Japan and South Korea are playable as well. Supplemental add-ons have been made giving each country unique dynamics with buffs and debuffs as well as new in-game events.[5] Other added touches include making the game more mod friendly.[6]

Democracy 4 uses an in-house developed game engine coded in C++ using Visual Studio by two programmers in the UK, Cliff Harris and Jeff Sheen. Artwork, SFX and Music was provided by third parties. Uses some middleware for sound playback, and also to render vector artwork and Unicode fonts.[7]

Release and reception edit

The original game was released in 2007 in the United States by Tri-Synergy, with added events and policies, and a special mode in which the player controls a fictional nation.[8] The game received "mixed" reviews, according to game aggregator Metacritic.[9] Website Game Tunnel scored the game 8/10 overall, stating "losing a game of Democracy is almost as rewarding as winning your next election" and "there is always the motivation to do better next time".[10] The website also awarded Democracy its own 2005 'Simulation Game of the Year' award.[11] About.com rated the game 3.5/5 and said "Democracy does exactly what it sets out to do - get you thinking about how even small changes effect [sic] different groups of people".[12]

Democracy 3 also received "mixed" reviews, according to Metacritic.[13] While Polish magazine CD-Action stated that the game "does much more for understanding democracy than any citizenship lesson,"[14] Daniel Schindel's critical review for Unwinnable noted several inaccuracies concerning the in-game effects of imposing death penalty, legalizing drugs, and strong labor laws.[15] A spin-off game, titled Democracy 3: Africa, was quietly released in early 2016. The game focused entirely on nations on the continent of Africa and added features to address the corruption, authoritarianism, military dictatorships, and female genital mutilation that is abundant on the continent. Players are tasked with fixing these issues, or regressing further into a dictatorship.[16]

In September 2018, Positech Games announced an updated version of the game, in the form of Democracy 4,[17][18] which was released in early access in 2020. This title, as with the spin-off, Democracy: Africa, was produced by a joint venture between Positech Games and Stargazy Studios. In addition to Democracy: Africa, Stargazy previously provided translation and localization services for Democracy 3. New features added to Democracy 4 included simulated corruption, crackdowns on political freedoms and free speech, and authoritarianism. Events and decisions in the game were updated to reflect the passage of time between the release of Democracy 3 and Democracy 4.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ Clare, Oliver (January 20, 2008). "Democracy 2 Education. Education. Tax cuts". Eurogamer. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  2. ^ Choen, Peter (July 29, 2008). "Red Marble Games releases Democracy 2 game". Macworld. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  3. ^ "Democracy 3 | Take Control of your Country!". Positech.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-05-09.
  4. ^ a b "Democracy 4".
  5. ^ Harris, Cliff (16 August 2021). "Democracy 4 Developer Blog #40: New Events!". Steam. Democracy 4.
  6. ^ "Democracy 4". Steam. 13 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Democracy 4 | FAQ". www.positech.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
  8. ^ [1] October 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Democracy". Metacritic. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  10. ^ Voss, Moritz (2005-07-09). . Game Tunnel. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  11. ^ Carroll, Russell (2005-12-13). . Game Tunnel. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  12. ^ Marchelletta, Courtney. . About.com. Archived from the original on 2007-03-27. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  13. ^ "Democracy 3". Metacritic. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  14. ^ "Democracy 3 Critic Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  15. ^ Schindel, Daniel (25 May 2018). "Democracy 3 and the Absurdity of Government". Unwinnable. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  16. ^ O'Connor, Alice (3 November 2015). "Democracy 3: Africa Expandalone Announced". Rock Paper Shotgun.
  17. ^ MacGregor, Jody (15 September 2018). "Democracy 4 announced". PC Gamer.
  18. ^ Castello, Jay (15 September 2018). "Democracy 4 announced". Rock Paper Shotgun.

External links edit

  • Democracy game homepage
  • Developers homepage
  • Red Marble Games homepage (Mac version)
  • Tri-Synergy homepage

January 01, 1970
democracy, video, game, democracy, government, simulation, game, that, first, developed, positech, games, 2005, with, sequel, released, december, 2007, third, game, 2013, fourth, 2022, player, becomes, president, prime, minister, democratic, government, player. Democracy is a government simulation game that was first developed by Positech Games in 2005 with a sequel released in December 2007 a third game in 2013 and a fourth in 2022 The player becomes the president or prime minister of a democratic government The player must introduce and alter policies in seven areas tax economy welfare foreign policy transport law and order and public services Each policy has an effect on the happiness of various voter groups as well as affecting factors such as crime and air quality The player has to deal with situations which are typically problems such as petrol protests or homelessness and also has to make decisions on dilemmas that arise on each turn DemocracyDeveloper s Positech GamesRed Marble Games Mac Publisher s Positech Games Tri SynergyPlatform s Linux Windows MacintoshReleaseDemocracyPositech GamesApril 17 2005Democracy 2Positech GamesDecember 7 2007Democracy 3Positech GamesOctober 14 2013Democracy 3 AfricaPositech GamesApril 12 2016 Democracy 4Positech GamesOctober 6 2020 early release January 12 2022Genre s Government simulation social simulationMode s Single player Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Modding 3 Sequels 3 1 Democracy 2 3 2 Democracy 3 3 3 Democracy 4 4 Release and reception 5 References 6 External linksGameplay editAfter deciding which nation to play as the player must win the support of various factions which make up the electorate including the religious patriotic parents capitalists socialists liberals conservatives and others and thus win the ensuing elections that take place The player introduces policies and uses sliders to change the amount of government funding level of a tax or generally the law and regulations in that particular area Of course because each individual person belongs to several factions e g a Poor Conservative Smoker who is a Patriot or a Rich Socialist person who is also a Drinker it is practically impossible to control all the voters Before each general election two promises are made by the player to the electorate e g reduce unemployment by 10 If the player has not kept these promises by the next election the people become annoyed and cynicism increases To make policy changes the player must spend political capital which is earned by loyal ministers The player must also try to balance the budget and pay off the country s debts without losing votes and causing tax evasion due to very high taxes There are also many events dilemmas and situations in the game which the player must deal with An example of an event might be the curing of a disease a dilemma may be whom to appoint as a senior judge and a situation may be high levels of pollution An event happens sometimes due to policies However the player doesn t take part they simply profit or suffer from it A dilemma is an important decision which must be resolved for the turn to be ended and situations are ongoing conditions which must be dealt with or helped and enjoyed Modding editThe games designer has described the code behind the game as being based on a neural network This has allowed the game to be very easily modded and most of the game logic in it is openly editable in simple text CSV files allowing players to change the way the core mechanics of the game operate A number of mods have been released for both the first and second game in the series and are generally released on the Positech forum Mods have included new countries and real countries for Democracy 2 and the addition of factors such as inflation as well as enhancement of the voter cynicism factor in Democracy 2 Sequels editDemocracy 2 edit A sequel to the game was released in December 2007 which while very similar to the original in terms of gameplay differs in that it uses fictional nations 1 It has numerous new features including cabinet ministers more policy debates and real world statistical data 2 Democracy 3 edit In October 2013 Democracy 3 was released 3 In late 2015 Positech announced an expandalone for the game set entirely in Africa with a different simulation model music and graphics entitled Democracy 3 Africa Democracy 4 edit The Alpha Release was made available in early August 2020 The United Kingdom Germany and United States were initially the only selectable countries to play with later development granting access to playing as Spain Italy Canada Australia and France 4 The game was released on October 6 2020 for early access on Steam and GOG com with the final version being released on January 13 2022 In addition to the aforementioned countries Japan and South Korea are playable as well Supplemental add ons have been made giving each country unique dynamics with buffs and debuffs as well as new in game events 5 Other added touches include making the game more mod friendly 6 Democracy 4 uses an in house developed game engine coded in C using Visual Studio by two programmers in the UK Cliff Harris and Jeff Sheen Artwork SFX and Music was provided by third parties Uses some middleware for sound playback and also to render vector artwork and Unicode fonts 7 Release and reception editThe original game was released in 2007 in the United States by Tri Synergy with added events and policies and a special mode in which the player controls a fictional nation 8 The game received mixed reviews according to game aggregator Metacritic 9 Website Game Tunnel scored the game 8 10 overall stating losing a game of Democracy is almost as rewarding as winning your next election and there is always the motivation to do better next time 10 The website also awarded Democracy its own 2005 Simulation Game of the Year award 11 About com rated the game 3 5 5 and said Democracy does exactly what it sets out to do get you thinking about how even small changes effect sic different groups of people 12 Democracy 3 also received mixed reviews according to Metacritic 13 While Polish magazine CD Action stated that the game does much more for understanding democracy than any citizenship lesson 14 Daniel Schindel s critical review for Unwinnable noted several inaccuracies concerning the in game effects of imposing death penalty legalizing drugs and strong labor laws 15 A spin off game titled Democracy 3 Africa was quietly released in early 2016 The game focused entirely on nations on the continent of Africa and added features to address the corruption authoritarianism military dictatorships and female genital mutilation that is abundant on the continent Players are tasked with fixing these issues or regressing further into a dictatorship 16 In September 2018 Positech Games announced an updated version of the game in the form of Democracy 4 17 18 which was released in early access in 2020 This title as with the spin off Democracy Africa was produced by a joint venture between Positech Games and Stargazy Studios In addition to Democracy Africa Stargazy previously provided translation and localization services for Democracy 3 New features added to Democracy 4 included simulated corruption crackdowns on political freedoms and free speech and authoritarianism Events and decisions in the game were updated to reflect the passage of time between the release of Democracy 3 and Democracy 4 4 References edit Clare Oliver January 20 2008 Democracy 2 Education Education Tax cuts Eurogamer Retrieved May 9 2019 Choen Peter July 29 2008 Red Marble Games releases Democracy 2 game Macworld Retrieved May 9 2019 Democracy 3 Take Control of your Country Positech co uk Retrieved 2015 05 09 a b Democracy 4 Harris Cliff 16 August 2021 Democracy 4 Developer Blog 40 New Events Steam Democracy 4 Democracy 4 Steam 13 January 2022 Democracy 4 FAQ www positech co uk Retrieved 2022 03 04 1 Archived October 28 2007 at the Wayback Machine Democracy Metacritic Retrieved 2018 05 28 Voss Moritz 2005 07 09 Review by Game Tunnel Game Tunnel Archived from the original on 2007 09 27 Retrieved 2007 05 15 Carroll Russell 2005 12 13 2005 Sim Game of the Year by Game Tunnel Game Tunnel Archived from the original on 2007 09 27 Retrieved 2007 05 15 Marchelletta Courtney Democracy Review About com Archived from the original on 2007 03 27 Retrieved 2007 05 15 Democracy 3 Metacritic Retrieved 2018 05 28 Democracy 3 Critic Reviews Metacritic Retrieved 2018 05 28 Schindel Daniel 25 May 2018 Democracy 3 and the Absurdity of Government Unwinnable Retrieved 2018 05 28 O Connor Alice 3 November 2015 Democracy 3 Africa Expandalone Announced Rock Paper Shotgun MacGregor Jody 15 September 2018 Democracy 4 announced PC Gamer Castello Jay 15 September 2018 Democracy 4 announced Rock Paper Shotgun External links editDemocracy game homepage Developers homepage Red Marble Games homepage Mac version Tri Synergy homepage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Democracy video game amp oldid 1213284422, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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