January 20, 2009

Gaming News: Casual Gaming Joins the Political Fray - the Sarah Palin Flash Game

For those out there who haven't heard, John McCain has chosen a running mate for the presidential ticket in November, first term Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Palin may know little about US foreign policy, large scale economics or even exactly what the vice president's duties are, but there is one thing she does know: that polar bears are a threat to the nation. Well okay, maybe not the nation per say, but a threat to pumping oil in Alaska's Artic National Widlife Refuge, which she equates to energy independence and her national security credentials. Yes, I do believe that the deep end has been gone off and accordingly the soap box must be mounted.

Yes, yes, I know, very topical but what's this to do with video games? Well, I do love it when the button-mashing becomes relevant beyond gamer scores and trophy cabinets and this is one of those cases. Scotland-based software developer T-Enterprise has put together the flash game below playing off the image and reality of Governor Palin's connections to Big Oil, her views of the polar bear species as being a "liability" and of course her neo conservative hawkish image that is being played up for all its worth. Beyond exposing the web public at large to a person, who could be only a heartbeat away from the US presidency, the game is actually pretty fun and for me something of a godsend. Over the past week or so I've been wondering how to frame the governor in a video game context (a professional necessity). You would think that her ability and preference for stalking, dressing and consuming her own wild game would make her a shoe in for the Cabela series, but Polar Palin blows this assumption away.

One last bit or armchair political speculation. Research has shown that most of the casual gamers out there are women, a segment of the electorate that is forecasted to play a major role in the coming election. I wonder if Polar Palin is part of a strategy to reach this demographic and if so whether the Obama game could be far behind. Hmmmmm? I'll leave it to someone with more polling cred than myself to figure that one out or at least debate its value. I'm simply too busy right now. Consumed by the 'call to serve' my only concern now is how to help old Ursus maritimus blow up those oil rigs.

Click the play button below to play the game:


--Hobson's Choice



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