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Bill’s Passage is a lightweight choice-driven resource management game intended to serve as an educational resource about the process by which bills are passed into law in the United States Federal Government. This game was developed by Benny Mattis in response to the Library of Congress Friends’ Choice Civics Video Game Challenge of 2023. It was inspired in part by a game enthusiast who wished to remain anonymous.
Players play as Bill, who aims to join his predecessors in the halls of history by being passed into law. One of these predecessors offers Bill guidance as he garners the support of elected representatives in the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the White House.
50th Place, Best in Show - The IF Short Games Showcase 2023
| Average Rating: based on 4 ratings Number of Reviews Written by IFDB Members: 2 |
This is a pretty straightforward interpretation of 'a game simulating a bill getting passed'. There's not a lot of characterization or strategy. It was useful to see exactly what all goes into it.
The US House Representative for my district visited my school I teach at recently and mentioned that around 10,000 bills were proposed last year of which some small number (like 27, googling says) actually got passed.
This game simulates that; I failed the house vote, got amendments, passed, passed senate, had president support, but got vetoed and lacked a supermajority.
Oh well. Lol
The game seems like it was made for a government event and it seems well suited for an educational venue.
Interactive Fiction has an immense potential in making educational topics fun, especially concepts and procedures that feel pretty unapproachable and complex. Gamification and all that!
As much as bill passing can be explained simply (representatives vote on a bill they read, and it can pass - or not), it is clear there is more to the process. With needing to find support, raising funds to change minds, but not taking too long before submitting the bill to a vote... the process includes a lot more stakeholders, each with their own agenda or influence. From the Assembly to the Office of the President, you will need to min/max your way to pass your bill.
An interesting way to get a bit more of an insight into US politics (as a non-US citizen).
As a sidenote: Bill reminded me of Clippy.
Outstanding Educational Game of 2023 by MathBrush
This poll is part of the 2023 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best educational game of 2023. Voting is open to all IFDB members....