Papers, Please: A Dystopian Document Thriller
steamcommunity.com
steamcommunity.com
I doubt the current borders of the Czech Republic and Slovakia (both in the European Union) are like this. Exactly 20 years ago they split, so it should have been quite messy times, though.
I guess the game could be classified as dystopian for its day-to-day change in the regulations and permits needed... It kind of makes it into a mock of the "real" strong border policy of some of these countries (and many others around the world)
> a system of internal passports prevented movement of employees and members from rural areas to urban areas. In effect farmers became tied to their sovkhoz or kolkhoz in what is described by some as a system of "neo-serfdom".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hukou_system#Effect_on_rural_wo...
It's not a complete block, but a discriminatory limitation of access to services.
My impression was that in reality, you rarely get checked unless you're in a region with stability concerns (western Sichuan, Tibet, Xinjiang), near a protest or terror incident, doing something official, etc. But it's a scary system to have hanging over you. Generally people can normalize with the support of an employer.
In some cities, like Shanghai a few years back, I've heard that the police do make more use of it to give immigrating rural people problems.
This game is an excellent illustration of what allows evil to happen.
Next, please.
I wonder how much injustice and how many atrocities have happened due to this type of thinking.
This is different.
I don't know. I feel I'd let her through, but...
...it makes game-theoretic sense not to let that person pass. Even not counting the fact they already tried to trick you into doing what they want you to (by husband going first), you have no guarantee that she's telling you the truth. And as soon as you let her through, you can expect dozens of people trying to play the same trick on you.
Laws need to be upheld more-less consistently, otherwise they don't work at all. An inconsistently enforced border check doesn't eliminate the "going through with invalid papers" from the solution search space for people.
One teller required my social security card even though I had a current US passport with me.
It's incredibly well-polished for a one-man side project, apparently he did all the music, graphics, and writing himself. I think it's a telling sign of how effective he was at making bureaucracy "fun" that gamers are chiming in with how to make the game even more of a video game...though I think that's probably not the author's main intent. Definitely a work of political art, though.
Sadly, the Steam GreenLight community does not seem very open to these art-games, and there is at least a subset of people who are actively hostile. It's too bad, as I don't think these games are misrepresenting themselves. I'd rather those people just no buy them and quit imposing their taste on the rest of us.
I see no reason why Valve needs to ask every 12 year old that only is on Steam to play COD whether or not they like some strategic art game.
My guess is they come to some sort of Kickstarter-esque model where people will pledge to prebuy a game and when it gets to a certain threshold, the game will be Greenlit. Makes a lot more sense that polling every user on Steam, let the people who are willing to spend money make the decisions happen.
It feels a bit like a social experiment, as the gamer tries to advance through the "levels" to make enough money to support his family, whereas the result can have harsh consequences for the people denied from crossing the border.