This is probably my last software project; I’m not sure that I’ll even finish it. But I am strongly motivated, so perhaps I shall be able to pull this one off.
Here’s the basic concept: I desire to teach players the dangers of the current political situation without descending into political specifics. I have no desire to attack Mr. Trump or the MAGA movement. Instead, I want to teach people about the underlying political principles at work. Accordingly, the drama will take place 'a long time ago in a planet far, far away’.
This planet is analogous to earth, but not immediately similar. For example, it is not suffering from climate change, but is facing an environmental crisis that is analogous to our climate change problem. The planet is technologically, economically, and culturally on a par with out own, but also has some crucial differences that make direct comparison to our situation impossible. Nevertheless, at the abstract level of political principles, the two planets are indistinguishable.
The storyworld will use the same technology I used for Le Morte D’Arthur, with some minor improvements.
The three primary characters are Populus, the king of the most powerful country on the planet, and his two (perhaps three) sons. The protagonist is one of the sons. A second son is a right-wing populist. I might insert a third son who is motivated by political considerations. The sons are princes having permanent positions in the government. The king makes all final decisions, but the sons act as advisers to the king, who is usually swayed by one of the sons.
There is also an Advisory department, consisting of topic experts in every major field of political consequence. This department meets with the sons to provide reliable information about any political question that the sons or the king puts to them. The Advisory deparment never meets with the king.
The goverment is run by a group of ministers who serve five-year terms. There are seven ministers:
Foreign Minister:
Energy Minister:
Defense Minister
Trade Minister
Health and Safety Minister (includes environmental policy)
Resources Minister
Justice Minister
These ministers determine the members of the Advisory council and lead discussions there.
The central challenge the protagonist faces is to convince the government to embrace rational policies based on facts and logic. The other princes will advocate policies with greater short-term benefits but greater long-term losses.
The problem I am struggling with just now is to decide the forum in which the conflicts take place. The possibilities are:
Before the King
The brothers argue their cases to the king, and he makes the final decision.
Among the Brothers
This applies only if I opt for three princes. In this arrangement, they debate options and vote on a decision, which the king (almost) always accepts.
Before the Ministers
Here the brothers hear the conflicting advice of the council members and then the ministers make the deciding vote. There are some nasty gotchas with this.