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Alex_Tingey's Prison Architect (PC)
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| [March 30, 2018 12:59:20 AM]
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I have enjoyed my experience with Prison Architect. Today I played through the entirety of the 3rd story chapter of the campaign. A prison riot had broken out and we had to effectively quell the rebellion as soon as possible. This involved calling in Riot Police, Firemen, and a whole bunch of staff to accomplish, however, I didn't find the story particularly engaging in this play through. It definitely feels as though the narrative was added in the end of the development cycle, but the game-play otherwise is still very fun. I think the most ethically interesting part of this game is definitely the idea that you are running a prison as effectively as possible. You're not just designing a normal prison where the well-being of inmates is considered, you are attempting to design the prison that can make the most money while spending the least. It's clear that the game encourages the establishment of a for-profit prison, and the well-being of the inmates takes a backseat to the money making scheme.
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| [March 29, 2018 12:47:54 AM]
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In playing through Chapter 2 of Prison Architect I came to realize just how strange the game's underlying mechanics really are. It's clear that this is a for-profit institution, and for-profit prisons have recently been demonstrated in real life to be quite inhumane. Not only that, but it seems that to the CEO the prisoner's well being takes a backseat to the effectiveness at which the prison runs. The whole entire prison feels like a money making scheme, and while elements of building the prison with the earnings are there, and therefore making the prison "better" for those held there is present within the game, it still feels so strange. In fact, the concept of prison is a little strange when you think about it; Perhaps the concept of generating the most effective prison possible is even more strange.
The plot is interesting, however it is certainly not the bread and butter of the game, and at times feels like a very glorified tutorial. The story of the mafiosi is funny, I found it especially entertaining that their last name is "Palermo" which is the city in Sicily where the Mafia originated.
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| [March 27, 2018 11:59:20 PM]
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Prison Architect is very interesting so far. I enjoy the sort of city-building mechanics that are present within the game, I find that type of game-play to be quite entertaining. However, it is clear that this game is absolutely rife with tons of ethical dilemmas. Having to build the electrical chair and execute the prisoner Edward for his crimes was certainly interesting, especially given that he sought to be forgiven for his quite heinous murder by the priest. He clearly regrets his actions, but we are still required to place him in the electric chair. It's morbid, but it sort of invites questioning as to whether the death penalty IS indeed ethical. While I think it was sort of hamfisted into the story, the game did cause me to think about the dilemma. Perhaps there is a great deal more dilemmas explored that, perhaps, will be less forced into the narrative. I look forward to playing the game more in the upcoming days.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Mar 28th, 2018 at 00:42:28.
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Alex_Tingey's Prison Architect (PC)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Tuesday 27 March, 2018
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