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MMO Election Tactics In A Tale In The Desert
Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a GameGirlAdvance article describing the political machinations inside the game world of A Tale In The Desert, the intriguing non-combat-based MMO title that article author and ATITD development intern Jia Ji describes as "..historical simulation, a mixture of the Sims and Civilization with real people thrown in to make it interesting." Of particular interest are the tactics being used in the game to garner votes in the election for Demi-Pharaoh - "Some players are bribing other players for their votes with ingame resources or favors. Others are forming political parties to used their combined voting power to sway the election process.. we even have the equivalent of a 'Green Party' which believes that mining, heavy industrial production, and other activities that have a detrimental effect on the gameworld's environment should be limited and regulated."
Also, I wonder why people can wrap their heads around politicking in a game, but are so stone-dumb when it comes to electing the good candidates. Especially given how boring this game sounds.
This doesn't come as a shock, especially to those familiar with the work of Delli Carpini and other researchers on the matter. But conflict, compromise, and coordination are learned habits and in modern America -- unlike, say, Renaissance Florence or colonial America -- there are few opportunities to exercise political habits in the public sphere. (When was the last time you attended a city council meeting? Checked your state and federal representatives' voting records? Read the Federal Register? And why would you, unless you're in a politically-related profession?) Basically, as politics has retreated from the public square to private corridors, we've fallen out of the habit of democracy.
On the other hand, ATITD offers its players a direct connection between politics and policy; it's a little hard to adopt the "Don't blame me, I didn't vote for him" line when your character is zapped out of existence by a single person, just as apathy was discouraged in early American democracy by the devolution of power to small towns and accessible state legislatures. So, there's a hopeful nugget buried in this: if you give folks a reason to vote, they'll remain politically engaged.
"Freedom is kind of a hobby with me, and I have disposable income that I'll spend to find out how to get people more."
You have to understand ATITD's story. A mysterious stranger has challenged Pharaoh and his people to a series of 49 Tests, seven in each of seven disciplines. One of the Tests of Leadership is that of the Demi-Pharaoh.
People are assigned into randomly selected juries of about 7 people each, and each jury must promote one of their own. The person promoted moves to the next round, with the final round's vote taking place Egypt-wide.
The person elected Demi-Pharaoh has just one power. He or she can permanently exile (as in, game over, many months of work on your character gone, don't come back) up to 7 people. Whether to actually use this power is up to the person elected.
So it's a Test about figuring out who to trust with power. Tempers often flair during Demi-Pharaoh elections.
Anyway, if this kind of thing appeals to you, check out the game. I think we're the only MMO to launch with both Windows and Linux clients, and the first 24 hours are free. (I'm the designer of ATITD.)
Don't be so quick to flame a game that you haven't even tried yet. I shared similar conceptions about ATITD before I started playing. I looked at the screenshots and the remarks on the game's lack of combat and couldn't believe that this game could be so popular. However, my friend got me playing about 2 weeks ago and I'm never looking back. This is one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. And while it is mostly due to the gameplay, I think that what makes this game is the people who inhabit eGenesis's Egypt. This game has a high learning curve, but I have yet to come across someone who couldn't or just wouldn't answer a question I had. Whenever I was down on resources, there were always people to lend a hand. And I think it's for that reason that this game is what it is. The people. If you decide you'd like to try out this game for yourself, go to http://www.atitd.com and download the trial version. Feel free to type "/chat Gilratet" once in-game if you have any questions or just need a helping hand.