TORONTO - PC game puts players in charge of presidential combatants
An American computer game designer is looking forward to the U.S. elections this November, after creating a PC strategy game allowing players to run a presidential campaign.
The idea for The Political Machine came to Brad Wardell, a 33-year-old entrepreneur and game designer, after voting irregularities were discovered in Florida during the last U.S. presidential election.
The game covers 41 weeks of a leadership campaign and players take part in creating TV ads, giving speeches, fundraising, hiring political strategists and spin doctors or making TV appearances on shows like Fred Toppel on Night Time, Barry King Live or 60 Seconds.
Political game fiends can create their own candidates or choose to manage cartooned versions of real-life politicians like John Kerry, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Hilary Clinton.
After the 41 weeks, voters go to the polls and the players sit back and watch as a U.S. map colours red or blue, state by state, as the computer tallies up the votes.
Wardell and other game designers used real-life census and political party statistics from each state, as well as exit polling date to simulate how people voted on various issues. The design team incorporated about 150 authentic issues into the game, including gay marriage, the war against terror, and the environment.
"First and foremost it's a strategy game," Wardell told the Canadian Press. "When I even see the 'edutainment' label put on, I just cringe because we're a game company. We're not trying to educate people, it's more of an accident."
The Political Machine costs $29.99 US and is published by Ubisoft.
Written by CBC News Online staff
