The Republia Times
| The Republia Times | |
|---|---|
 Screenshot of gameplay | |
| Developer(s) | Lucas Pope |
| Engine | Flixel |
| Platform(s) | Browser |
| Release date(s) | April 2012 |
| Genre(s) | Indie |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Republia Times is a free-to-play indie browser video game created by Lucas Pope, released in April 2012. In the game, the player takes the role of the editor of a newspaper torn between personal opposition to the government and threats to the lives of the editor's wife and children if the editor doesn't generate loyalty among the population.
Originally created as a warm up for a Ludum Dare game jam, The Republia Times was nominated in two categories in the Games for Change Awards.
In 2016, Swedish developer Coffee Stain Studios released The Westport Independent, which is essentially a more fully featured version of the same basic idea and which also started out as a 72-hour game-jam project, though they have stated they were unaware of Republia Times until the 72-hour version was complete.[1]
Gameplay
In The Republia Times the player takes on the role of a news editor of the titular newspaper The Republia Times, a state-controlled newspaper in the fictional country of Republia. The player has to convince the skeptical public that they should love their oppressive, militaristic, anti-academic government while at the same time pursuing ever-greater audiences. The player must carefully choose which stories to publish, as the lives of the editor's family are at stake.[2][3]
Development
The Republia Times was developed by Lucas Pope, as a warm up for Ludum Dare 23, a game jam held April 20–23, 2012.[4][5] It was his first Flash game, and called Flash debugging "a nightmare".[4]
Reception
Rock, Paper, Shotgun called The Republia Times "Simple and not especially challenging (as only doing exactly what you're ordered to generally tends to be), it's compulsive and sharp regardless".[3] Patricia Hernandez of Kotaku compared it to "something out of the book 1984" and thought that "despite being a somewhat simple game, The Republia Times is easy to pick up and provocative—especially once you get to the twist".[2] Gamasutra named The Republia Times in their "Best of Indie Games".[6]
Awards
The Republia Times was nominated in two categories in 2013's Games for Change Awards, for "Best Gameplay" and "Most Significant Impact Developer".[7][8]
References
- ↑ "Same Dev as...". Steam comments. Retrieved 2016-10-19.
- 1 2 Hernandez, Patricia. "Increase Loyalty To Your Government In This Game. Or Else.". Kotaku. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
- 1 2 Meer, Alec. "Paul Dacre Simulator: The Republia Times". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
- 1 2 Pope, Lucas. "The Republia Times". Retrieved 2016-02-16.
- ↑ "Ludum Dare 23 Warmup". Retrieved 2016-02-16.
- ↑ W., Tim. "The Republia Times and Sword & Sworcery highlight this week's Best of Indie Games". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
- ↑ "Play | The Republia Times | Games for Change". www.gamesforchange.org. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
- ↑ Fudge, James. "Games for Change Awards Finalists Announced". GamePolitics.com. Retrieved 2016-02-16.