Survey Update and Questions For You!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Nov 24, 2021 at 08:47:08 AM

Hello Political Arena backers!

It's been an exciting few weeks for us: we've already begun our next production phase and we can't wait to share our progress with you.  In the meantime, you should really check out our Discord server: we're having a lot of great conversations about Political Arena, politics, gaming and even each other's pets.

We will be sending out our backer survey next Wednesday when you will be able to confirm your pledge and add merchandise to it.  In the meantime, check out our store to preview what you can add to your pledge. We apologize for the survey delay, but rest assured it will have no impact on Political Arena's release date or when you will receive any merchandise you wish to order. Our primary focus has been on getting Political Arena's production up and running so you can dive in to the wild and wooly world of U.S. politics. 

Two questions for you -- and feel free to post your answer in our Discord or in a comment on this post!

•  What would you like to see dev blogs about? (for the uninitiated, dev -- that's short for development -- blogs are posts and updates detailing specific game features). 
• With U.S. Thanksgiving this week, what should we name the turkeys you can pardon as president in Political Arena? Senator Cranberry Goldwater? President George Stuffington? Former Florida Attorney General Yam Bondi? Send us your ideas. *

That's about it for us right now. We're still blown away by the incredible response to Political Arena. A lot of people have reached out since the Kickstarter and we're having some really interesting conversations that will help make the game more robust and grow its audience...but that's all we can say about that for now... 

In the meantime, have a wonderful Thanksgiving to those of you celebrating and until our next update, try to stay sane!

-Eliot
 

* We're calling the turkeys the Congressional Black Friday Caucus.

Political Arena: Next Steps
over 2 years ago – Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 10:48:59 PM

Getting Your Rewards To You!

Hello backers! 

In the next few weeks, you will receive a link to a survey about your Kickstarter rewards: questions include where to send your rewards,  questions specific to certain reward tiers and the chance to upgrade your backing tier and/or add Political Arena merchandise to your order. Please be sure to fill out this survey -- it is essential to getting your rewards to you. Those of you who gave above your reward tier can use your extra support as credit towards merchandise and additional copies of Political Arena.

We hope you've been well since we last spoke. Team Political Arena has had a nice few days of post-Kickstarter R&R: not compulsively refreshing our Kickstarter page,  staring at walls, getting some rest and having some great chats with folks on our Discord. 

Follow Political Arena's Journey!

Speaking of our Discord, you can stay up to date with the latest in Political Arena's development by subscribing to (and sharing!) our various social channels:

Spread The Word: People Can Pre-Order & Back Us!

Even though our Kickstarter campaign has ended, folks who want to support us can still pre-order Political Arena on our new online store. People who aren't into video games but who want to show their support for Political Arena can also order merchandise. People can also access the store through our Kickstarter page (which will be up in perpetuity) and on our website.  

Even MORE Press

As we were wrapping up our campaign on Friday, we completely missed that The Times of London ran a very positive story on Political Arena:

The British press is not historically the kindest group of people, so this may well be the most positive thing ever published by a news outlet in the U.K.'s history.

Onward!

Eliot

WE DID IT!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Nov 05, 2021 at 09:36:36 PM

Friends! It was a squeaker, but I'm so excited to announce that Political Arena reached its $100,000 funding goal on Kickstarter today! It was an ambitious goal, but this is an ambitious project, and we owe it to all of you to get it started on the right foot.  The campaign will end at 12:00am ET/ 9:00pm PT, after which point you'll still be able to support the project from our Kickstarter page (the only difference: hitting the "Back This Project" button will send you to our own merchant page where you can still support us and get the same rewards). 

It's late on a Friday, so we won't bother you any longer other than to say THANK YOU. We'll be sending a more detailed update early next week. That will include info on how and when you'll be receiving your rewards and ways you'll be able to add merchandise and other items to your current backing level.

In the meantime, we'll be pouring ourselves a celebratory drink -- and you should, too: what we're all doing here is important and I hope you're proud of your involvement. We'll be nerding out about Political Arena and all things gaming on our Discord channel if you want to drop in and say hi.

Onward!

-Eliot

Political Arena's closing argument
over 2 years ago – Thu, Nov 04, 2021 at 01:53:48 PM

Folks -

I know these appeals are punchier when they're "from" Nancy Pelosi on behalf of the DCCC with a subject like, "Please help -- I am writing you from a pit filled with literal snakes placed by the Koch brothers." 

No snake pit, alas, but Political Arena's Kickstarter is gonna be close -- VERY close. If we don't hit it, we can't make it. So I have one last ask:  Please forward this to anyone you know alarmed by where our democracy is heading.

Why is Political Arena so vital? Here's the rub:

The first comprehensive video game about politics will give anyone and everyone the chance to experience politics as it truly exists on the ground -- a profound first in our country's history.  Equipped with this firsthand experience -- this greater savviness -- players will be empowered to effect positive change.  Oh, and it will be wicked fun. That's the elevator pitch. 

Now, let's really think about it: what are the consequences of politics being obscured from most people?

1. If you don’t understand the full scope of what a lawmaker does or the tools for change at their disposal, how can you effectively assess them as a voter?

2.  Without a visceral and intuitive understanding of our politics, how can you go about effecting positive change with your time and resources?  

3. Most alarmingly, antidemocratic forces and the purveyors of disinformation are becoming better funded and more sophisticated with their tactics. If we don’t become more sophisticated ourselves, they’ll win. Full stop.

Our existing framework is broken. Right now most of us -- and yes, most of you, too -- learn about the political process through the news. The news is a great way to learn about the news, but it's a terrible way to learn about the gears of our political machinery. Imagine being asked to coach a football team and then prepare by only watching highlights on the evening news. That's how most of us act as voters -- and in this analogy, you've never actually watched a football game live. 

In this regard, we're taking a page from sports video games like FIFA and Madden. These games recreate worlds that transfix millions and encourage repeated playthroughs. After a while, the rules and norms and dynamics that govern these sports start to stick with you.

Political Arena will let all of us take the field or -- sorry I had to do it -- let all of us into the arena. 

Thanks so much for all your love and support. Please spread the word to any remaining folks you think might be interested in helping us on this journey. We promise we won't let you down.

With gratitude,

Eliot

Our last week!
over 2 years ago – Mon, Nov 01, 2021 at 07:32:28 PM

With just four days left in our Kickstarter campaign, we are 86% of the way there! What to do?

Call time!

Much of a politician's day is spent in "call time." In call time, a candidate is placed in a drab meeting room -- or the passenger seat of their intern's hand-me-down Toyota Camry -- and repeatedly telephones donors for money.  These sessions typically feature a staffer making sure their boss is keeping up a good clip and also a collection of call sheets to give the candidate a script of what to talk to their prospective donors about. Well, with the end of our campaign nigh, we figured we'd hunker down, politician-style, and dial for dollars. We'll be sharing our call sheets with you this week and, as you can tell below, it's going to be a real winning strategy!

We're so close! Tell your friends!

-Eliot