During that week, I oversaw developing a videogame pitch based on my previous research on the impacts of doom scrolling and how it has increased extremism in Brazil.

Finding a Concept 

As mentioned in my previous research, one of the reasons for this increase in extremism is the direct participation of some government groups, which put money into social media, to have a greater boost in their posts, which include sensationalist and false statements, which manipulate the population. Another interesting point of my research was that this manipulation of information is not something new, as the 1964 military dictatorship already used the same strategy to manipulate the population to a sensationalistic ideology. Which raises the following question: what would happen if South America were taken over by a totalitarian government right now?

That's where Under Choices comes in, the new concept for our game!

Under Choices is premised on a strategy puzzle game set in a satirical alternative reality where the totalitarian government of USAR is controlling South America. In a country without press freedom, the only source of information for the population is social media, especially LifeNote.

Seeking a way to address the project's theme critically, in Under Choices, the player will control the government official Luta Lakraram, editor in chief of censorship and responsible for deciding which posts will or will not be boosted on the social network. Every day the player will receive social media posts from their sub-editors with the potential to go viral. The player must decide which of the posts will be boosted by the government, listening or not to the suggestions of their sub-editors. With each choice, the player will be defining the future of USAR.

With a concept in mind, I now needed to present my game pitch to my peers and get people interested in not only working on my game but also putting their own game ideas aside.

people buy with their eyes

As a focus on my pitch, I tried to address all the already pre-defined aspects in the clearest, simple and to the point. Then I focused on a short and quick description of what the game is about, gameplay, audience, platform, story, mechanics, and scope. I also found it necessary not only to make clear what I need to complete my project but also what those involved will get in return. However, as a graphic designer, I dedicated myself a lot to the theme of my presentation, trying to bring visual and sound aspects from my project. As it is a product mainly focused on storytelling, it is vital that the "buyer" can feel the narrative and get engaged with it since the beginning.

It was fascinating to have this game pitch experience after so long since the last time I made one. And I was very proud of the result, especially seeing how I've improved my work not only as a game designer but also as a graphic designer over the years. However, what caught my attention the most was seeing that several colleagues were interested in my idea and wanted to help me create it!

Don't tell the government

Taking inspiration in games like Papers, Please; Headliner: NoviNews; Mind Scanners and Not For Broadcast. Similarly, it will address political issues in a satirical and humorous way. To have a good foundation in the development of Under Choices, we will work with a team of 5 developers, aiming for a period of development of 1 year to publish the game.

Addressing this theme has been interesting since the beginning, and I'm sure it will become more and more interesting as the project progresses. Especially because I don't know any game or media that has ever approached something like "a futuristic dictatorship in Latin America". As I'm Brazilian, I believe it will be very interesting to work on this unprecedented topic and be able to mix something like cyber-punk with Latin American culture looks really exciting for me!