What I've been doing this week when I'm not sulking
Playing the alpha of Prison Architect. This is a very incomplete game right now, with only one story mission (a tutorial) and a lot of bugs. Most of the time you're playing in sandbox mode with no long term goals. You are, just as they tell you, paying for a future finished copy of the game, and you get to fuck around with the alpha build as a side benefit. What I'm saying is, I'm recommending it with the caveat that you shouldn't buy in if you expect a near-finished product. But if you like builder/simulation/tycoon type games, you have the money to spare, and you want to support what may well be a fantastic game, I think it's worth a look.
At the very least, watch the video on the site.
The game is made by Introversion, which is known for its cult hit Uplink (a game where you basically play a Hollywood-style professional hacker) and its critically-acclaimed game Darwinia. PA's tutorial mission, where you build an execution chamber for a condemned criminal, hints that the final game may have some commentary on the penal system, but really the entire game seems like a commentary. The graphics are cartoony, which makes the wee bobbing-head prisoners kind of adorable- whether they are hanging out in the yard, showing you their naked butts in the shower, or raising high their tiny shanks to stab each other. Which they do A LOT. They love weapons, and they love fistfights, and as soon as your guards leave the room they will start to fuck shit up. I caught one with a pistol the other day. WTF?
The strangest thing about the game (and the one that makes me surest that the designers are intending the game to subtly criticize the penal system/industry) is the inevitable, repetitive cognitive dissonance. a review at Rock Paper Shotgun pointed this out to me first. Most sim/tycoon type games, you're focused on building and enlarging above all else. As you expand, your little denizens become happier and more satisfied with the wondrous world you're making for them. You begin to grow fond of them as you fulfill their needs like a benevolent god.
In Prison Architect, your denizens hate your creation and they hate you. You aren't fond of them, after a while you even start to hate them, because you're trying to fucking CREATE here and you have to go over there and do damage control because they are rioting in the canteen. Now 7 prisoners, 3 guards, and a cook are in the infirmary with severe wounds, all the furniture is trashed, the workmen are scared to come fix it because prisoners keep punching them when they do, and all the prisoners who AREN'T rioting are huddled in their cells getting angrier and angrier because they can't get dinner. But still, you keep forgetting! You keep expecting these people to be grateful for your efficient prison management skills! You keep thinking, "I try so hard! Why are they never satisfied with this beautiful prison I built for- Oh. Oh, yeah. BECAUSE IT'S A FUCKING PRISON."
At the very least, watch the video on the site.
The game is made by Introversion, which is known for its cult hit Uplink (a game where you basically play a Hollywood-style professional hacker) and its critically-acclaimed game Darwinia. PA's tutorial mission, where you build an execution chamber for a condemned criminal, hints that the final game may have some commentary on the penal system, but really the entire game seems like a commentary. The graphics are cartoony, which makes the wee bobbing-head prisoners kind of adorable- whether they are hanging out in the yard, showing you their naked butts in the shower, or raising high their tiny shanks to stab each other. Which they do A LOT. They love weapons, and they love fistfights, and as soon as your guards leave the room they will start to fuck shit up. I caught one with a pistol the other day. WTF?
The strangest thing about the game (and the one that makes me surest that the designers are intending the game to subtly criticize the penal system/industry) is the inevitable, repetitive cognitive dissonance. a review at Rock Paper Shotgun pointed this out to me first. Most sim/tycoon type games, you're focused on building and enlarging above all else. As you expand, your little denizens become happier and more satisfied with the wondrous world you're making for them. You begin to grow fond of them as you fulfill their needs like a benevolent god.
In Prison Architect, your denizens hate your creation and they hate you. You aren't fond of them, after a while you even start to hate them, because you're trying to fucking CREATE here and you have to go over there and do damage control because they are rioting in the canteen. Now 7 prisoners, 3 guards, and a cook are in the infirmary with severe wounds, all the furniture is trashed, the workmen are scared to come fix it because prisoners keep punching them when they do, and all the prisoners who AREN'T rioting are huddled in their cells getting angrier and angrier because they can't get dinner. But still, you keep forgetting! You keep expecting these people to be grateful for your efficient prison management skills! You keep thinking, "I try so hard! Why are they never satisfied with this beautiful prison I built for- Oh. Oh, yeah. BECAUSE IT'S A FUCKING PRISON."