I’ve been getting a lot of emails in recent weeks asking if Stardock is going to make a 2012 edition of The Political Machine. The answer is: YES.
The Political Machine is a PC strategy game where players run for President. You can play against a computer opponent (which is fun) or against a human over the Internet (which is sick fun). This year, we’re doing things with it a bit differently. It’s going to focus just on the 2012 election (rather than throwing in historical elections and fantasy elections which tended to dilute the experience) so that we can make it available at a much lower price – $6.95 to pre-order.
While The Political Machine has always been designed to be a “game” first, its statistical model is robust enough that it’s been used in schools to help teach players about Presidential elections.
This year’s election is looking particularly exciting. As some may recall, the game accurately predicted the results in 49 out of 50 states in 2004 (the original edition) and predicted the results in 2008 as well – months before the election in both cases.
Here’s the home page:
https://www.politicalmachine.com/
Here’s the official announcement:
https://www.stardock.com/about/newsitem.asp?id=2717
Awesome!
I started a Reddit for this game series.
Please join!
http://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalMachine/
Have you thought about sending a message to Stephen Colbert to wind up on his show and show off the game? He loves stuff that includes him or likenesses of him!!! You would instantly get a huge following just from the show alone that would buy the game.
Just saying.
Just pre-ordered. Love a good election game! ....I think?
Aaawwwwww! No fantasy elections? That was one of my favorite parts! (The historical ones rocked pretty hard, too.)
But, I understand that it's getting pretty late in the game, as it were, to get this installment out. A lean, mean, fighting Political Machine is better than none at all.
I agree, I think it would be some fun publicity
Hmm. Does this mean perhaps Brad Wardell will appear on the show? Well probably not, but at least he could show off the game for a minute or two between guests
I'm waiting a Political Machine Game with Primaries... Like a minor and funnier version of the President Forever Game.
Please Stardock make this!
I do like a nice dose of vigorous snark, especially when it's dead on accurate.
I want to make a Russian Mod where you take out all the voting and just alternate the real president with the puppet one every decade or so.
Really, I'm not kidding. What is the dificult part of doing primaries? The same national map, your awareness should increase when you win on a state and it should have the momentum thing. And we also need a debate, that would be nice, specially on multiplayer!
Maybe political endorsements from other politicians.... I don't but it seems to me that this new game will be an evolution, Gamers deserve a Revolution!
Are the screenshots on the Political Machine 2012 site from the actual game? It has Romney vs Obama but I was hoping not because it looks identical to the 2008 version. I enjoyed 2008 but have been patiently waiting for its strengths to be built on and for Stardock to take it from good to great with 2012. So I'm hoping TPM 2012 will not just be a repackaged 2008 with updated candidates and issues that also happens to strip out features from the previous version. I already have 2008, after all, I don't care to buy it again. I know you guys are busy with the aftermath of the Elemental disaster but I hope 2012 gets more than a half-hearted attempt to cash in on the election season.
And why, why must you stick with those awful looking bobble heads?
Hi Timothy!
As far a I know, the game will be download only, but I'll try and see if a burn-to-disc option is going to be made available. Also, no primaries I'm afraid
I'll get someone more knowledgable to come in and anwer your other questions (it's a long weekend for Memorial Day, so thanks for your patience, and thanks for your interest in the game!).
Honestly I lol at these types of games. It is like they are going to release a video about the Olympic games in like July and it is going to be crap. I mean if it takes like hundreds of staff, not including people who are doing the polling. and video games are suppose to imitate real life, how can one with a low budget and doesn't take a mainframe to process the data be accurate?! It is like people who play COD think they can shoot a gun in real life just because they get like 20 headshots in a match.
Hundreds of staff ... mainframe ...
Hahaha.
No.
EDIT: On second thought the mainframe may be needed if you are doing realtime analyzes with lots of new incoming data every minute. Like you do on voting day. Are you comparing a game with realtime analyzes or just standard polling procedures (every month or so)?
No I am saying the voting and setting your message takes more than just a computer AI with set programmed parameters. These things can't be replicated on a computer level.
Of course not, but it's possible to match a lot of what's in the 1000 yard view, and make the game interesting. Simulating something in gameplay is tricky, because your paintbrush can only be so small, so to speak. The trick is getting as much detail as you can with that size brush. You'll never end up with photo quality, but if you do it right, you can at least tell what the painting is supposed to be. And in game terms, as long as it's fun, the missed details don't matter as much.
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