Happy 2024, everyone! We just released our second beta update and are heartened by our testers excited and constructive feedback. Our current development focus continues to be on implementing legislative mechanics and interfaces. Specifically, were fine-tuning the budget process, which will inform the rest of our legislative architecture the federal budget process is the one bit of legislating that Congress must undertake in any given year (in theory). The federal budget may not spring to mind when you think of politics more exciting bits, but at the ground level -- where Political Arena lives -- its rife with drama. It incorporates many of Political Arenas most exciting and immersive features and mechanics: issues and policy, special interests, the media, negotiations, personalities and their impact on AI behavior, and more.
On that note, were altering our feature roadmap. We had originally planned for our first Early Access release to be a mile long and an inch deep by featuring a little bit of everything that is, lightly simulated campaigning and legislating. Instead, weve decided to have early versions focus solely on legislating. Our reasoning is twofold: 1. The legislative process hasnt been thoroughly developed in video games, and we think its important to let that part cook for longer so we can get more player feedback. 2. Ultimately, politics boils down to legislating and policy. Special interests typically dont choose their agenda based on politicians, they choose their politicians based on agendas. This is also how Political Arenas underlying architecture is structured, so by building out legislative mechanics first, well be able to more seamlessly and quickly produce and scale everything else. More soon!

[ 2024-01-23 23:04:38 CET ] [ Original post ]

First, an apology. Weve been lousy about our updates. Were a small team and our chief goal is to get you Political Arena ASAP so you start enjoying this game. The long hours are paying off: We're excited to announce that were beginning beta testing!
Earlier today we shared the first preview of Political Arena with our several hundred beta testers. It's a brief preview, as our goal is to get some initial feedback on the games scope, tone and direction and to better organize our feature roadmap. The feedback thus far has been amazing. Not only are our testers jazzed by what they're seeing -- and clearly they share our vision of what the game can be --but they're offering really constructive feedback and Political Arena will be much better for it. We took a real body blow last year when two developers left our production partner for new opportunities. However we reorganized and are making better time than ever. Were even growing: We recently welcomed Danny Aguilar, a talented UI/UX artist and designer, to the Political Arena team. Danny is tasked with making Political Arena real and fun. You could say hes, well you could say hes putting the, um sauce back in sausage making? sorry.
As always, we want to encourage you to join our Discord. These updates require more forethought and planning, and therefore cannot be as frequent while we are in go-go-go development mode. But Discord is casual enough to allow me to pop in and chat about Political Arenas development and what my dog is up to. With a robust community of over 500 members, our Discord server is a great place to learn more about the game and chat politics. Until next time! -Eliot

[ 2023-08-23 20:43:14 CET ] [ Original post ]

We've had some great conversations on Discord with the Political Arena community the past few months, providing production updates, answering Qs about the game, talking politics and what games we're playing.

We're on Discord, and you should be, too! Click here to join the Political Arena conversation.

Team Political Arena is a small group, and though production continues apace on our beloved "Resigning-to-spend-more-time-with-my-family-but-actually-I'm-taking-a-lobbying-job" simulator, we don't always have the time to update all our social channels. We're in the process of building out our team to ensure we have more bandwidth to share updates with you, but in the meantime we hope you'll pop into our Discord, where our ability to easily chat with the community allows us to keep in touch when we have free moments between figuring out whether to include bolo ties in character creation and how much algorithmic weight to give to agribusiness lobbyists. Steam updates, by comparison, are a bit more cumbersome and time consuming. To give you a sense of things, here's a walkthrough of Steam's backend UI. See you on Discord!

[ 2022-06-07 18:40:21 CET ] [ Original post ]

We made the paper of record!

The New York Times just published a look at Political Arena. [quote][T]hink SimCity meets The Oregon Trail with a little Grand Theft Auto thrown in... ...Nelson wants to educate the masses about the ins and outs of how their government really works. And entertain them, too... ...a scrappy team of game designers, marketers and grizzled industry veterans. They puzzled through how the gameplay should work, poring over storyboards and seeking input from hard-core political junkies and strategy-game fans.[/quote] Check out the whole article at NYTimes.com. And don't forget to wishlist Political Arena if you haven't already! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1670920/Political_Arena/

[ 2022-02-10 04:52:59 CET ] [ Original post ]

With Political Arena's development underway, we're pleased to present to you our first development diary. We'll be releasing these regularly to update you on our production and to highlight game features.

If you haven't already, please wishlist us on Steam.

Politics is the accumulation and exercise of power, and politicians amass power in a multitude of ways: Sometimes its luring canvassers to your campaign with free Dominos; sometimes its begging a regional car dealership magnate for money in their living room; and other times its giving the speakers nephew an internship in your office because the kid lives in your district. Political Arena is a game about American power, so its only appropriate that for our inaugural dev diary, we discuss *screams in Nina Simone*
Specifically, were going to provide a brief overview of how power is represented in Political Arena. It all boils down to three currencies: Money, Political Capital and Fame. How much a player focuses on each currency will depend on their own goals and circumstances. All three currencies play off one another, and no playthrough will have the player completely ignoring any single one.

MONEY

Money is the root of all evil, so naturally it plays a big role in politics. In Political Arena, politicians use money to fund campaigns -- both their own and those of colleagues with whom they wish to curry favor -- and by citizens and outside actors hoping to influence the government. Politicians accrue campaign cash through voters, organizations, megadonors and occasionally from legally dubious sources. Yes, there will be super PACs, but more on those at another point.

POLITICAL CAPITAL

Political Capital is the currency of Washington: its what politicians spend to influence other political actors, whether its goading leadership into putting a bill up for a vote, getting a prominent advocacy group to rally around specific legislation or to get a pesky investigation into your foreign campaign contributions dropped. Obtaining higher office, holding key leadership or committee posts, being in the graces of influential special interests and having ones legislation passed are among the ways a player accumulates Political Capital.

FAME

Fame is central to a politicians ambitions. Without increased name recognition, a senator cant be elected president, a congressperson cant be elected a senator, or, heaven forbid, the 7th-most successful telecom executive in Pennsylvanias 6th Congressional District will remain the seventh-most successful telecom executive in Pennsylvanias 6th Congressional District forever. Politicians spend Fame on media appearances, campaign rallies and constituent events. Having more fame translates to polling boosts, media invitations and a greater interest among voters to donate to campaigns and show up to campaign rallies.

One Last Thing...

In Political Arena, as in politics, sometimes you have to wield your influence to gain more power. Youll often spend these currencies to help increase the rate you accrue them (like spending a set amount of fame on a TV appearance only to watch your fame tick up faster afterwards). Moreover, a great many in-game features and developments can impact the rate you gain power currencies: the triumphs and failures of other politicians in your party, your traits (more on those later) and various events and event chains, to name a few. Thats it for now. Well be back soon with another Political Arena dev diary. In the meantime, enjoy this photo of Ronald Reagan being shown the latest Political Arena developments:

[ 2022-02-03 23:38:33 CET ] [ Original post ]

When we set out to make Political Arena, we knew there would be a lot of interest in the first truly comprehensive and authentic political sim, however we were blown away by just how much excitement there has been.
Most amazingly, we were highlighted on NPRs national flagship program, All Things Considered. You can also listen to the segment that aired. How the game unfolds from there is up to the player and of course, the voters that make up the game's simulated political world. But players don't need to be top-tier gamers or political junkies to dive right in. Now, if you want to dive in and be a sort of Machiavellian operator and be a Nancy Pelosi or Mitch McConnell, you absolutely can,[game creator Eliot Nelson] said. But if you're not familiar with politics, if you're not familiar video games, the game will very much hold your hand.
Political Arena creator Eliot Nelson appeared on Cheddar to discuss the game.
MarketWatch called us a political version of SimCity. Having politicos help craft the process does have its advantages, though. Theres a knowledge of the playbook that is sometimes used to get out of scandals. And there are plenty of those. The games artificial intelligence forces the player to deal with unexpected road blocks. For example, a political ally has said something stupid; how do you react? The game offers a realm of possibilities for someone wanting to forge a traditional path, re-run old campaigns or go completely outside-the-box.
Political Arena earned the something worthy of your attention spot in Axios highly curated gaming newsletter (not bad considering we were listed above news about Animal Crossing!).
We also nabbed a small shoutout in Playbook, Washington's most read email tips sheet.

[ 2022-01-21 23:39:29 CET ] [ Original post ]

Technically, everything that happens in Political Arena is fake news, but the buzz surrounding the game has been anything but. We were absolutely bowled over by the level of excitement surrounding our public unveiling of this first-ever top-to-bottom political sandbox. Heres our first look back at some of the
The Washington Post took a close look at Political Arena: [quote]As you climb up the political ladder, there will be lobbyists knocking on your door, pundits to win over and business leaders to appease while you pass legislation or campaign for your next elected office. [/quote]
The Times of London keyed in on the excitement of politics: [quote]In a video game market saturated by zombies, death matches and post-apocalyptic hell-scapes, it would be a tall order to offer something more cut-throat. Enter Political Arena, where, rather than chasing kill streaks and loot boxes (although, given the subject, those features might arrive in later updates), users are immersed into the world of US politics President Biden may be ordering copies for the White House.[/quote]
Mic examined some of the challenges in designing a game like Political Arena: [quote]Players can schedule media appearances, wheel and deal with political power brokers, and plot their career paths however they choose. From lionhearted liberals to maverick conservatives to bombastic radicals, the game promises a unique experience for every player based on their own in-universe choices...theres no question that the mystique and, yes, circus-like atmosphere of American politics has created a very real audience primed for this type of entertainment.[/quote]
Washingtonian interviewed Political Arena Creator Eliot Nelson: [quote]If the problem with US politics is that people treat it like a game, could the answer beturning US politics into an actual game? Thats the theory behind Political Arena, a strategy video game under development by former HuffPost reporter Eliot Nelson, which he hopes will take that impulse to treat it like a game to try and beat the other side, and actually turn into something constructive. He pauses. We hope.[/quote]

[ 2022-01-20 00:02:17 CET ] [ Original post ]