Microsoft to Make Budget Balancing Game

[CyberKnight]

Will it be on Xbox live?
*cough*
''Omg, noob! l2balance the budget!''

''Wtf, nobody redces txes like tht!''

I can barely imagine what kind of new slang emerges.

Pwn3d! Y00 jus got tea partied!

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Bets that nobody in Congress will be able to get past the first level?

 

[RollForInitiative]

My first thought was that they were turning Excel into a game...

...but then I realized that's already been done with EVE Online.

 

[Woem]

Soooo... like Sim City?

 

[Taawus]

Will it be on Xbox live?
*cough*
''Omg, noob! l2balance the budget!''

''Wtf, nobody redces txes like tht!''

I can barely imagine what kind of new slang emerges.

Pwn3d! Y00 jus got tea partied!

OH SNAP.

 

[cobrausn]

Please don't tell me they decided to spend money on this, all thing budget-wise considered.

 

[Rornicus]

..and the uncomfortable prospect of having to make cuts to public spending.

Why should that be uncomfortable? We spend too much money on public spending as it is...

Programs that fail should get less money; not keep what they have so we don't make cuts.

 

[Volstag9]

At last! A game my dad might like!

 

[Mortakk]

THIS JUST IN: Government to make budget cuts, approaches multi-billion dollar corporation to make game. News at 11.

Right. So now we are wasting money making a game to demonstrate why we can't stop wasting money. And yes, it's a waste... a game like this will not be profitable.

 

[RvLeshrac]

THIS JUST IN: Government to make budget cuts, approaches multi-billion dollar corporation to make game. News at 11.

Right. So now we are wasting money making a game to demonstrate why we can't stop wasting money. And yes, it's a waste... a game like this will not be profitable.

It isn't supposed to be profitable. It is designed to teach the ignorant 90% of the US what managing a trillion-dollar-budget actually *means*. People seem to think that Congress can simply *will* programs out of existence, with absolutely no ill effects.

Every budget cut means people out of work. Who is going to hire them? Or would you prefer they be homeless? And bear in mind that a minimum wage job (or three) isn't enough to keep them in a home.



*edit* Probable? What?

 

[Klarinette]

Soooo... like Sim City?

Aaahaha that's what I thought, too.

 

[GodKlown]

This is the first time I've heard the phrase "go viral" in terms of a video game. Can a video game actually go viral? I assumed this meant that millions of people visited a particular video... so does this mean millions of people will pirate this game? I think I misunderstand the point of this phrase in the context of the article. Do they mean it will sell millions of copies? What ever happened to devs looking forward to going gold?

I find it suspect that this game wasn't mentioned as being an educational tool. Well, if HLS is ninjaing your interwebs, they might learn how to balance the budget from a 10 year old.

 

[DeadAccountMoveAlong]

Okay, I think a lot of people are not grasping the concept of the whole economy, and could probably stand to play the game. This is probably a cost effective method of educating the ignorant masses, compared to other options. Education programs, television campaigns, all of these are very pricey. Sure they could make some cheesy website with low quality flash games but nobody would pay attenton to it or learn anything except for middle schoolers assigned to visit it by their teachers.

It isn't supposed to be probable. It is designed to teach the ignorant 90% of the US what managing a trillion-dollar-budget actually *means*. People seem to think that Congress can simply *will* programs out of existence, with absolutely no ill effects.

Every budget cut means people out of work. Who is going to hire them? Or would you prefer they be homeless? And bear in mind that a minimum wage job (or three) isn't enough to keep them in a home.

Thank you.

 

[DarkHuntress]

Now the government is getting into gaming, is this a sign of things to come?

No thanks. I prefer to keep them out of my life as much as possible.

 

[RvLeshrac]

Now the government is getting into gaming, is this a sign of things to come?

No thanks. I prefer to keep them out of my life as much as possible.

Glad to see you're keeping up with the news.

*edit*

By the way, people thought that would be terrible, too. Every single one of them was wrong, from the beginning.

*edit2*

Apparently, I need to make my point more explicit: THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ALREADY FINANCES A GAME, CALLED AMERICA'S ARMY.

Now, where are those Blink tags...

 

[DarkHuntress]

Now the government is getting into gaming, is this a sign of things to come?

No thanks. I prefer to keep them out of my life as much as possible.

Glad to see you're keeping up with the news.

*edit*

By the way, people thought that would be terrible, too. Every single one of them was wrong, from the beginning.

Don't know what the US Army has to do with consumer gaming. (My husband was in Special Forces so this has nothing to do with being patriotic.)The government can do as much as it wants with military simuulations but not for private citizens. But whatever, it doesn't change my mind. The LESS the government interferes with my life, the better. I play games for entertainment not as an outlet for Big Brother to watch my every movement.