Big Brother, is that you?

From Swedish indie developer Double Zero One Zero, The Westport Independent (the game, not the newspaper) is billed as a censorship simulator in a post-war totalitarian state populated by both rebels and those loyal to the government.

As an editor responsible for determining what’s printed in The Westport Independent (the newspaper, not the game), it’s your job to make sure content conforms to government guidelines. The articles you publish will affect public opinion which, in turn, will affect events in the town of Westport, which, in turn, will affect the articles you publish. You get the idea. This dynamic will influence the story’s path and greatly increase replay value.

You’ll have a team of writers who will talk things over both with you and their colleagues. Each will have his or her own opinion concerning what to print. This will be influenced, at least in part, by self-interest.

The only thing you won’t be able to do is lie. But there won’t be anything to stop you from withholding the truth. What is the truth, anyway? I suppose it depends on who you ask…

The original version of The Westport Independent (game) was made for Ludum Dare 29 in 72 hours. This jam version (Windows only) is available for download. The game in production will be better than this, of course, but the download will give you a taste of what to expect.

The full game will be published by Coffee Stain Studios and released on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android in 2015. The exact date is TBD.

So… Censor articles. Twist the truth. Sway the people. See you at work.