Author Topic: Prison Architect  (Read 20749 times)

Offline zespri

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Prison Architect
« on: September 30, 2012, 08:09:24 pm »
Prison Architect goes alpha. http://www.introversion.co.uk/prisonarchitect/

I have not decided yet whether I want it or not.

Offline Castruccio

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2012, 08:16:44 pm »
Pretty pricey for an alpha.


Offline zespri

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2012, 08:20:40 pm »

Offline madcow

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2012, 10:08:06 pm »
I posted about this in the clockwork empire thread, but yeah it looks cool though pricey. I believe their plan is to lower the price on full release, as they didn't want to be flooded with alpha testers.

Their plan might not have worked as I read they raised $100,000 from alpha sales in the first 3 days :D

Offline LaughingThesaurus

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2012, 10:41:05 pm »
That's kind of hilarious. It works out in their favor either way. They either get buckets of money, or they get fewer alpha testers... or they put people off of the game forever, but don't think about that.
What I found interesting was that for 40$, you get all of their games and the alpha test... which amounts to four games for ten dollars, on top of the one game for thirty.

Offline Wingflier

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #5 on: September 30, 2012, 11:02:30 pm »
The game concept looks neat, but I object to the theme.  I think prisons are one of the most vile and counter-productive institutions created by mankind, and this game encourages them; if only in a roundabout way.  I wish they would have chosen something else as their subject material.
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Offline doctorfrog

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #6 on: October 01, 2012, 02:04:40 am »
The alpha test was set a deliberately high price point, to only attract a small number of fairly serious testers. My knickers remain unbunched about it.

Looks real interesting, I will be watching for that paid/open beta. Introversion's a software house that's always worth watching.

Offline chemical_art

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #7 on: October 01, 2012, 02:31:31 am »
The game concept looks neat, but I object to the theme.  I think prisons are one of the most vile and counter-productive institutions created by mankind, and this game encourages them; if only in a roundabout way.  I wish they would have chosen something else as their subject material.

I understand the point, but the same can be said about any game about war..."its ones of the most vile and counterproductive activities created by mankind, and are encouraged in a roundabout way"...

I'm not saying your crossing the line into saying that if this game encourages prisons then any first person shooter encourages murder, but the logical lines are the same. Subject material doesn't translate into real world actions.

Just saying.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2012, 02:33:42 am by chemical_art »
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Offline zebramatt

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #8 on: October 01, 2012, 03:14:32 am »
The game concept looks neat, but I object to the theme.  I think prisons are one of the most vile and counter-productive institutions created by mankind, and this game encourages them; if only in a roundabout way.  I wish they would have chosen something else as their subject material.

I don't buy that this game encourages the institution of prison. If anything, it brings the very serious realities of prison, and of crime, into your home in a way which on the surface feels accessible and soft; but underneath is dark and real.

The death row tutorial mission is pretty harrowing stuff - you're constantly being reminded that the decision to proceed is out of your hands; you're basically just a necessary part of the institution. And the truth is, you do feel necessary. Sure, you might think the institutions need to be replaced with something better; but you can't deny that while they exist - as they do, in our status quo - the running of them is no small ask. Especially if you deem to run the most humane operation you can, with the highest chance of rehabilitation. This is gaming in which you don't just revel in the abject horror of the situation - like most war games - but actually consider the implications of what you're doing. And the procedural AI genuinely makes the whole thing feel... alive.

It's a remarkable game in large part because of the subject matter.


Offline KingIsaacLinksr

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #9 on: October 01, 2012, 03:29:28 am »
The game concept looks neat, but I object to the theme.  I think prisons are one of the most vile and counter-productive institutions created by mankind, and this game encourages them; if only in a roundabout way.  I wish they would have chosen something else as their subject material.

As Chemical_Art mentioned above, we have more games than I dare count that are about War and violence. I'd say a game that takes a serious look at prisons would not be the worst thing in the world in comparison to the other games we have.
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Offline zespri

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #10 on: October 01, 2012, 04:37:34 am »
The game concept looks neat, but I object to the theme.  I think prisons are one of the most vile and counter-productive institutions created by mankind, and this game encourages them; if only in a roundabout way.  I wish they would have chosen something else as their subject material.
About a year ago a read their comment somewhere, that they are aware that a small number of people will be put off by the theme, but as with any game, you can't please everyone, so they made that choice.

Offline keith.lamothe

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #11 on: October 01, 2012, 09:29:28 am »
Yea, the theme can be disturbing, but if DF is part of the inspiration I think that's entirely appropriate.  Dwarf Fortress is a deeply disturbing game.  I've seen things happen in that game that I don't even want to repeat, they're just so emotionally wrenching and awful.  Largely because it made sense that they could happen, given the premises.  If it had been obviously absurd it wouldn't have had the same impact.

Actually, that's part of why I don't play DF anymore, though I might give it another go after the next release.

All that said, coming face to face with those situations in that game certainly didn't encourage their emulation, quite the opposite.

A game about prisons could go either way, in terms of how the player winds up feeling about the overall concept.  The developers could spin it either way, or could just try for a simulation where the emergent result is sufficient (as in DF, where I'm quite sure Toady never specifically intended what happened in my game to happen).  Imagine how a sausage-factory-simulator game would go; I certainly wouldn't take it for granted that it would be favorable to the subject matter.

On the surface, it is odd to me that Prison Architect would be disturbing where Dungeon Keeper would not, but on reflection it's understandable: Dungeon Keeper glorifies some pretty awful behavior and says "Evil is Good", etc, and it really keeps the mask of really-meaning-it on the whole time (iirc), but underneath it's obvious that it's not serious about it, and no one without a preexisting problem would actually be encouraged to think the things happening in that game would be a good idea to propagate in the real world.

That said, I don't play DK anymore either because the theme is just too overflowingly contrary to me, as much as I loved the gameplay structure itself.

Though something tells me that if Prison Architect were presented with DK's over-the-top "you are the bad guy" mentality, Wingflier wouldn't object nearly so much to it ;)
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Offline Aklyon

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #12 on: October 01, 2012, 09:38:30 am »
As far as I've heard so far, the main problem currently isn't the game breaking or the theme so much as it generating enormous waves of prisoners (Suddenly 67 more guys!) with little to no warning and turning the place into a riot generator.

Offline keith.lamothe

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #13 on: October 01, 2012, 10:05:31 am »
As far as I've heard so far, the main problem currently isn't the game breaking or the theme so much as it generating enormous waves of prisoners (Suddenly 67 more guys!) with little to no warning and turning the place into a riot generator.
Ok, bunkers and razor wire, facing inward, along the entire external wall.  Post teams in the bunkers with machine gun nests and grenade launchers.  Helicopters with suppression-gas canisters.

Oh, wait, I suppose that'd get me fired?
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Offline madcow

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Re: Prison Architect
« Reply #14 on: October 01, 2012, 10:24:58 am »
As far as I've heard so far, the main problem currently isn't the game breaking or the theme so much as it generating enormous waves of prisoners (Suddenly 67 more guys!) with little to no warning and turning the place into a riot generator.
Ok, bunkers and razor wire, facing inward, along the entire external wall.  Post teams in the bunkers with machine gun nests and grenade launchers.  Helicopters with suppression-gas canisters.

Oh, wait, I suppose that'd get me fired?

Don't forget one large uber-thunderdome chamber, a goodly number of cameras to capture the inevitable chaos for profit, and a one way ticket to a country without extradition laws.


I'll name the resulting reality tv show "Prison Wars."
« Last Edit: October 01, 2012, 10:26:32 am by madcow »