Another way would be to say that developers "plagiarised the work of the award-winning creator of Papers, Please", but that might cause a bit of unrest and unsettle the readership, the advertisers and management (well, probably not - but if it was said of a major AAA title, then perhaps the argument could be made). That's one way of looking at it, but in the spirit of the game we present you with two options. A fitting tribute as this game is quite clearly "inspired by the work of the indie developer that gave us Papers, Please".
In the credits the developers thank Lucas Pope. There's a great concept here, but perhaps it has been simplified to the point where only very general lessons can be learned. As such we found the game thought provoking, even if it perhaps didn't explore the subject as fully as we would have liked. While much of the work is an exercise in balancing black and white opposites, there are nuances here that are really interesting and even if video game journalism isn't as deadly serious as running a paper in a totalitarian state you can certainly see parallels between what you're tasked with doing in the game and say, typing up this review. This is one of the stronger elements in the game as it really helps highlight the fact that these are real people, whose lives you're risking in order to spread certain idealistic notions. Between each week you'll get to listen in on a staff meeting where the journalists vent about what's current and on their minds. The journalists themselves have their own set of opinions and they can refuse to write a story you can in turn force them, but perhaps that will increase their discomfort. Of course, the rebels won't sit idly by if you spread government propaganda, so it's a balancing act. And your journalists will also be monitored - have them write one too many anti-government stories and they may be sent away to a camp come the end game. Step out of line too many times and your paper will be shut down. The idea is that in twelve weeks your newspaper has to comply with the new cultural bill with guidelines for media that the government is imposing. The way you put together the stories influences your sales and reputation in four regions, each with their own prefences and socio-economic make up, but perhaps more importantly they affect your standing with the totalitarian Loyalist government and the rebels. Say there's a study that says tobacco relieves stress and causes cancer you can opt to have the headline say "Benefits of tobacco proven" and crop out the part about the negatives or go with "Smoking kills you" and perhaps cut out the part about the benefits. You pick one of two headlines (one is usually a bit more sensationalist), and you can opt to censor one or more of three-four paragraphs, or keep it as is (tends to be a balanced approach). The basic premise of the game is that stories cross your desk that you as the editor then hand out to your journalists to type up.
But don't think of this as propaganda in its own right, as the game quite cleverly paints a diverse picture of the opinions and loyalties of the people under your guidance at your paper, The Westport Independent. There is a lot of noise made about the increased dangers of working as a journalist in countries where freedom of speech does not exist.
#The republia times game free#
The Westport Independent is a game about censorship, and perhaps more specifically about how totalitarian rule affects free speech and those working as journalists.
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