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The World is Watching... So What?'s itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Theme Implementation | #8 | 4.000 | 4.000 |
| Playability | #37 | 3.000 | 3.000 |
| Judges Choice | #90 | 2.000 | 2.000 |
| Cleverness | #105 | 2.000 | 2.000 |
| Artistic Style | #107 | 2.000 | 2.000 |
Ranked from 1 rating. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Link to your Game Design Doc on Google Drive.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Oo5bmrdwsYLarFk0GVWDdaGxsUR_jrbpX_fESqgV0RY/
Have you checked that your GDD is publicly accessible ?
Yep
Is your game set to public on itch.io so we can see it?
Yes
Summarize your game!
This is a simple simulator where you play as a dictator and try to gain power by oppressing your citizens using a range of policies. The more oppressive you are, the more your populace and the world will react, and you have a few ways to manage their reactions as well.
Please explain how your game fits the theme.
While you oppress your citizens, the world (international community) is watching your actions, and you have to manage their outrage to stay in power... At least until you're powerful enough that you don't have to care about them anymore and can do what you please with your population.
Did you use Generative AI to make any assets in your game?
No
Is there anything you'd like the judges to pay particular attention to?
This game is meant to be satire, and my way of ranting about the crazy world we live in. It's also a little rushed as I had to take care of other things during the jam. I'd say overall I used about a week instead of the given two.
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Comments
Playability:
Spinning plates style gameplay with a deeper narrative. Works well but moves quickly so it's hard to get a handle on at first.
Theme:
Fits the theme well as it involves global perception mixed with a political narrative. Would love to see this take more time to get deeper into the theme.
Cleverness:
Could make for an interesting idle or turn based game. Would be interested in seeing this expanded in any direction. For now it's a bit too chaotic to shine through.
Artistic Style:
Simple and consistent throughout. Would love to see some background to go with the characters.
Thank you so much for the feedback! I do agree that the game was too chaotic, it being poorly balanced probably didn't help either. I had a few idea for expanding it as well, but unfortunately didn't have the time due to real life scheduling conflicts. Thanks for hosting these jams as always!
I love a satirical rant. It felt surprisingly coherent to me to be honest. The early gameplay didn't feel like I had much control or power in the matter, which felt very on point for what you're trying to convey. I really enjoyed the idea of being an OP late-game God that didn't give a F# about the world by the end, but I found it difficult to get to that fantasy. I see the other commenters feel similarly, and I agree that balance is a key issue. If you continue with it post-jam, or for when you build your next jam game, I'd highly recommend getting as much external player feedback into your brain as possible, and building ways to get it into your design cycle. For me it meant releasing early and building in public. For you it could be different, even just hassling a few friends to play it every few days.
Thanks for the feedback! I agree that this game was definitely poorly balanced, and my playtester pool was too small. Regarding the fantasy of being an OP superpower that could do whatever they wanted... I didn't want to glorify being a dictator, especially when there isn't even the option of being a beneficial dictator like in the Tropico series. Since this game is satire, I feel like being able to crack down on your population without worrying about outrage after you win (losing disables all actions) strikes an acceptable balance. Thanks again!
I love the idea of this game. The satire an options in it are really good. The downside is that it's a bit too quick, and as a numbers go bigger guy, I didn't quite get the satisfaction I wanted from a game like this. So slowing it down, and maybe looking a bit more into balance would make it even better. But all in all, I like this type of satire.
Thanks for the feedback! I did have other plans for the game, such as splitting up the international community into a blue and red bloc for the player to interact with and balance against each other, but unfortunately ran out of time. If I do come back to this game extending the game is definitely something on the list. Thanks again!
Interesting resource balance. Tried every option as soon as I could but couldn't quite win that way. Some of the controls are very dark/morbid.
Thanks for playing! Being dark/morbid was part of the point, and I do agree that the game isn't very well balanced and winning can be difficult. Though I like to think that it's a ray of hope by suggesting that dictators actually succeeding isn't guaranteed. Thanks again!