Over
90 current &
historical presidential candidates
The player can run
the presidential campaign for any of over 90 real presidential candidates,
each carefully modeled to reflect both their political views and their
personal attributes. Note that the "free" version of the game will include
only the candidates who actively campaigned for their party's nomination in
the 2004 race.
Read more about
candidates and their attributes here!
Over 300 realistic
real-world running mates
The player can
choose his or her candidates running mate from a cast of hundreds of real
world political figures, covering the last 40 years of presidential
campaigns.
Third-Party
Candidates
Reflecting the
real world of modern campaigns, Power Politics offers a wide variety of
choices for a third-party campaign. From the fringe (such as Lyndon LaRouche)
to major forces like George Wallace, John Anderson, Ralph Nader and Ross
Perot, the player can explore a variety of election scenarios.
Free & Pay
Versions
We
offer a "free" version of the game, allowing everyone a chance to give it
a test drive. The free version will include all of the active candidates
from the 2004 campaign. The "Historical/Fantasy" expansion for the game
sells for $29.95 for a one year subscription, and allows access to all of the historical candidates;
it also let players explore one of the most interesting questions of the
2004 race - How would Hillary Clinton or Al Gore have fared against Bush?
The Fantasy version also includes the Candidate Creator, allowing you to
create your own custom presidential candidates, both for online play against
other would-be campaign managers and in stand-alone games playing against
the computer and historical candidates.
Varying Levels of Game Complexity
The game's unique
design allows each player to determine the level of complexity and strategic
involvement. For the casual player, a campaign can be run with a few simple
mouse clicks. The serious political junkie, however, can assume control
over every little detail of the campaign.
Management of
Campaign Staff
The first
challenge the player faces is filling the key positions on the campaign
staff. Many features are impacted by the quality of key staff members;
and the sophisticated AI allows the player to delegate as much of the
strategic detail as he or she wishes to staff members.
Read more about
the Campaign Staff here!
Realistic
Campaign
Events & Activities
As campaign
manager, the player is challenged to utilize the various campaign events and
activities to best suit the personal skills and beliefs of his or her
candidate. Activities include fund-raising events, photo opportunities,
whistle stop appearances, major campaign speeches, media events, and
scheduled rest periods for candidates.
Candidate Profiles
Each political
candidate is statistically modeled to represent his or her stand on fifteen
major political issues and to reflect his or her personal skills in eleven
key areas. Each candidate has strengths and weaknesses that must be
utilized and managed. Some candidates, for example, don't have great
physical stamina (Ronald Reagan, John Kennedy) and must be accommodated with
more rest time than others who can campaign non-stop for weeks (Clinton). Skills include: stamina, charisma, organization, fund-raising, media
skills, speaking, experience, debating, credibility, image and character.
Active Running
Mate
Unlike other
election simulations, Power Politics III features an active (and player
controlled) role for the Vice-Presidential candidates. The player (or
his or her campaign staff) controls the day-to-day campaign schedule of the
running mate.
Newspaper
Endorsements
As the campaign
unfolds, the leading newspaper in each state will endorse one of the
candidates. These endorsements can be influenced by the style and strategy
of the campaign activities and events.
Advertising
The
advertising aspects of Power Politics III surpass anything every offered in a
political simulation. From determining which ads should be produced, to
deciding which ads to run in key cities during the final days of the
campaign, the player is given realistic insight into the marketing and media
management of a presidential campaign.
Read more about
the Advertising here!
Polling
The role of
polling in the campaign reflects the real world. Polls come from a variety
of sources, ranging from television networks and news organizations to
private polls commissioned at the state or city level. Depending on the
source, and the skill level of key campaign staff members, the player must
constantly review polls and assess their accuracy when using them to
formulate campaign plans. As with ads, polls are delivered in the game in
varying levels of geographic focus, including national, regional, state and
even city-level poll results.
Read more about
Polling
here!
City-Level
Strategy
Campaign events,
like advertising and polling, can be managed down to a city level. The game
includes over 450 cities that the candidate can visit and which can be
targeted with media campaigns and researched with polls. This provides the
player with a realistic ability to focus on specific cities in a closely
contested swing state.
Dirty Tricks
As players
familiar with the Doonesbury version of the game know, the Dirty Tricks
engine in Power Politics III offers an unprecedented level of complexity. Once
a plumber is set in motion, the Campaign Manager will nervously await memos
and new reports as the chain of events he has set in motion unfold over the
coming weeks.
Random News Events
Random news
events, keying off of "real world" news events and political issues, will
impact the campaign and provide unexpected developments during the game. The dynamic online delivery of the game allows the game engine to be updated
to reflect events in the "real world" campaign.
"Custom"
candidates
The
"Historical/Fantasy" module lets players create their own personal
presidential candidates.
Electoral College
Crisis
The game's support
of third-party candidates includes a post-election Congressional vote in the
event of any candidate receiving a majority of the electoral college votes.
Disputed Election
Results
The simulation
includes the "rare" possibility of disputed election returns delaying the
determination of a final winner of a close campaign. As in the real world,
this will not be a common occurrence.
100% completion of
campaigns
The unique design
and effective use of the sophisticated AI that controls the campaign staff
ensures that every campaign that is started will be completed. Even if the
other player(s) engaged in the campaign drop out, the player will never know
as the game will successfully run to its conclusion.
G-Rated Playing
Community
Kellogg
Creek Software has been delivering and managing a G-rated "family friendly"
online gaming community for our online strategy game
SpiritWars
for the past four years. By using our experienced online staff and the
behavior management tools included in our online chat system, we can assure
all players of a friendly and civil playing community.
View the Power Politics III Code of Conduct.
