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simba1337's Prison Architect (PC)
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| [March 3, 2016 02:52:15 PM]
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Chapter 3 begins in yet another blown up situation at the Alchemico state prison and I’m informed that several personnel are still unaccounted for including the CEO who I had been communicating with so far. A riot has broken out post the arrest of some high-profile judges who were apparently bribed in order to serve out more severe punishment and somewhere in there the incidents of the previous chapter are connected and made relevant to the current situation.
My task: stop the riot. So far all the scenarios and situations I’ve been put into could be compared to a scene out of a movie. So I’ve control over a bunch of riot police and some paramedics and I’m in constant communication with the negotiator, who asks me to sort the situation out. In between all this ruckus, I get a call from the mayor and the assailant (keeping around 5 people hostage, one being the CEO).
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| [March 3, 2016 01:58:33 PM]
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So chapter 2 began expectedly with communication from the CEO about a fire that broke out in 2 facilities of the prison. I had to contact fire fighters to put it out soon. It so happened that the facilities were the canteen and kitchen, and my 1st major assignment was to rebuild these facilities in order to maintain order in the prison. But after the fire was put out, a survivor walked out, who happened to be the mob boss in critical condition. Later at the hospital, two of his associates visit him, who he suspects to be traitors and in turn responsible for the fire.
After rebuilding the facilities and ensuring the restoration of order in the prison, I was introduced to a drug bust within the prison and almost immediately to the death of one of the associates of the mob boss. Thankfully, it was all caught on camera and it came down to cold blooded murder and a fight between the two associates. It also attempts to tie in chapter 2 with the previous chapter.
During one of the classes, I remember we had this discussion about misrepresentation of facts when it came to portraying realistic events in games (something to do with the Osama killing). So as a player while I’m tasked with the designing and management of prisons I was introduced to several scenarios of events that actually occur at prisons. I had access to the bios of each individual prisoner and what they were being punished for and one of the interesting aspects of the prison system that I observed was the an individual who was being punished for car-jacking had a sentence almost as long as someone who was being punished for a murder.
In comparison to This War of mine which is also an outright simulation (with the aim of getting the player to empathize with the victims of war), the prison architect only attempts at indirectly getting the player to observe and react to events/situations in prisons while maintaining and designing it. Someone who is “only playing the game” would probably not bother with the finer details being portrayed in the game.
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| [March 2, 2016 01:02:57 PM]
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So the game Prison Architect begins by throwing you into this campaign mode where you are in constant communication with the CEO of the private construction company you work at. My first thought was that I would only be architecting the structures in the prison but your responsibilities also include management making the whole game experience more oriented towards simulation.
The first task you are assigned with in Chapter 1, aptly named “Death Row”, is to architect and build a site to hold a prisoner charged with the death penalty. The site is to include a room (with some basic objects like a bed and toilet) and an execution chamber (with an electric chair). At this point the game tells you that the prisoner was in fact a teacher, and that I could optionally improve the execution site before the actual execution. Being made aware of this, I added several objects to the room which included a window, a bookshelf and lighting, so that he does not suffer during his last days. At this point you are given a brief background of the crime committed by him (something similar to Shawshank Redemption, except that he actually did murder his cheating wife). The interesting aspect though is that you are presented with contrasting commentary of opinions of the chief of police (who condemns the act and is for death penalty) and a priest (who questions the law as he believes the prisoner is being made an example of and would probably not be on death row if in another state). But sadly the sentence is carried out and the chapter ends. I thought it would have been cool if somehow I had the power to influence the outcome of the prisoner (maybe build a secret tunnel in the site :P).
Anyways, it does raise a question, under what grounds is the death penalty a justified punishment? Is it even right for the law to decide who gets to live or die? Should they be given a second chance? Though the game does not directly try to address these questions so far, I think it puts the player in situations which could support discussions on the ethics and morals of the whole prison and justice system.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Mar 2nd, 2016 at 13:06:25.
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simba1337's Prison Architect (PC)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Monday 29 February, 2016
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