Balance of the Planet: Difference between revisions
m →Development: Task 16: replaced (0×) / removed (3×) deprecated |dead-url= and |deadurl= with |url-status=; |
added short description |
||
(25 intermediate revisions by 15 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Lead too short|date=December 2021}} |
|||
{{Short description|1990 video game}} |
|||
{{Infobox video game |
{{Infobox video game |
||
| released = 1990 |
| released = 1990 |
||
| genre = |
| genre = [[Simulation video game|Simulation]] |
||
|image = Balance of the Planet.jpg |
|image = Balance of the Planet.jpg |
||
|caption = |
|caption = |
||
|alt = |
|alt = |
||
|publisher = Chris Crawford |
|publisher = [[Chris Crawford (game designer)|Chris Crawford]] |
||
|developer = Chris Crawford |
|developer = Chris Crawford (Mac)<br>Incredible Technologies (MS-DOS) |
||
|designer = Chris Crawford |
|||
|platform =[[Macintosh]], [[MS-DOS]], [[PC-9800 series|PC-98]] |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
'''''Balance of the Planet''''' is a |
'''''Balance of the Planet''''' is a [[simulation video game]] developed by [[Chris Crawford (game designer)|Chris Crawford]]. He self-published it in 1990 for [[Macintosh]]. It was ported to [[MS-DOS]] and [[PC-9800 series|PC-98]]. |
||
== Development == |
== Development == |
||
[[Chris Crawford (game designer)|Chris Crawford]] was approached in early 1989 by [[Epyx]]'s Joe Miller about working on an environmental game to coincide with the film '' |
[[Chris Crawford (game designer)|Chris Crawford]] was approached in early 1989 by [[Epyx]]'s Joe Miller about working on an environmental game to coincide with the film ''Voice of the Planet'' to be released for [[Earth Day]] in 1990. While wary of licensed games, he developed a design concept that explored the intricate connections between ecological and economic factors. He created a [[hypertext]] system to house his game. In order to place values into the game (e.g. whether the economic value of a factory is worth the deaths from air pollution), Crawford was forced to place a value on human life; he spent a lot of time treading on eggshells before conceding that no matter what value-based decisions he made he would be accused of bias.<ref name="auto">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/chriscrawfordong00craw_0|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/chriscrawfordong00craw_0/page/472 472]|quote=Balance of the Planet crawford.|title=Chris Crawford on Game Design|last=Crawford|first=Chris|date=2003|publisher=New Riders|isbn=9780131460997|language=en}}</ref> Crawford designed the title as a [[serious game]]; to be very educational but not necessarily a lot of fun.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119259-Balance-of-Power-Creator-Says-Kickstarter-Used-To-Be-Cool|title=Balance of Power Creator Says Kickstarter Used To Be Cool|last=Chalk|first=Andy|date=August 25, 2012|work=The Escapist|access-date=2018-03-20|language=en-US}}</ref> He self-published the game in April 1990. [[Incredible Technologies]] ported the game to MS-DOS from the original Macintosh version. |
||
⚫ | |||
Crawford self-published the game in April 1990. Shortly after the release, the game received a scathing review by the senior editor of a popular magazine. Crawford thought the review was unfair and based on a cursory play of the game, so he sent a letter in which he refutes each point made. The reviewer offered to publish his comments as a letter to the editor. The letter was never published. Four months later, the editor wrote a letter to the Computer Game Developers' Conference requesting special arrangements for an event he was setting up. Despite Crawford's position as chairman of the board, he was amenable to the editor despite their checkered history due to having his CGDC hat on so doing what was best for the conference.<ref name="auto"/> |
|||
⚫ | ''Balance of the Planet'' sees the player balance global economic and ecological forces through taxation and expenditure, with each policy change having a runoff effect to other areas. For instance, [[deforestation|clearing forests]] changes the level of CO<sub>2</sub> in the air, which affects [[global warming]].<ref name="Bogost 2010">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GC7MD17YvJEC&dq=%22Balance+of+the+Planet%22+crawford&pg=PT155|title=Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames|last=Bogost|first=Ian|date=2010-08-13|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=9780262261944|language=en}}</ref> The game has a procedural system with limited user interaction.<ref name="Bogost 2010" /> Crawford notes that it is difficult to "win" level one due to the state the planet is already in.<ref name=macworld /> |
||
== Reception == |
|||
⚫ | In 2012, Crawford created a [[Kickstarter]] project for a remake of ''Balance of the Planet'', which would be made free on the internet. He |
||
Chris Lombardi reviewed the game for ''[[Computer Gaming World]]'', and stated that "I respect the designer for having the courage to risk everything for his convictions. Still, if the game is not fun, it simply wouldn't be right to endorse it for gamers who expect to be entertained by their entertainment software."<ref name="CGW72">{{cite magazine |last=Lombardi |first=Chris |title=Piloting Spaceship Earth: Chris Crawford's "Balance of the Planet" |magazine=Computer Gaming World |date=June 1990 |volume=1 |issue=72 |pages=19, 73}}</ref> |
|||
In the July 1990 edition of ''[[The Games Machine]]'', the reviewer thought the game would be perfect to play in schools and colleges due to being educational, easy to use, and quick to play.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=July 1990|title=Balance of the Planet|url=https://archive.org/stream/the-games-machine-32/TheGamesMachine32#page/n77/mode/2up|journal=The Games Machine|volume=32|pages=78}}</ref> |
|||
⚫ | |||
⚫ | |||
In the July 1990 edition of ''[[Games International]]'' (Issue 16), Brian Walker liked the tone of the game, commenting, "The stylised messages on each screen advising of all the nasties around us are superbly rendered while the content strikes just the right note: neither hectoring or patronising." He did find "heavy-handed humour in the manual gets to be a bit wearing but otherwise it is a fine and comprehensive effort." Walker concluded by giving the game above average ratings of 8 out of 10 for both gameplay and graphics, saying, "You'd have to be a right plonker not to find ''Balance of the Planet'' fascinating in some way."<ref name=gi>{{cite magazine| last=Walker| first=Brian | date=July 1990 |title=Computer Games|journal=[[Games International]]| issue=16|pages=42}}</ref> |
|||
The game has a procedural system with limited user interaction.<ref name="Bogost 2010" /> |
|||
In the November 1990 edition of ''Macworld'', Tom Moran noted the serious nature of the game, stating that "the results are rather grim ... you'll get some improvements in the state of the ecology, but you'll most likely get the soul-shivering message that millions have starved to death during your administration." They noted that ''Balance of the Planet'' contains some interesting information in regards to ecology, but criticized its "uninteresting interface" and "too little information on how the simulation works", remarking that "[t]he most obvious way to find out the gross effects of any of the more than 20 variables is to slog it out with the empirical method: change only one variable to its maximum value, step through all nine stages of the game, note the results, start over, change the same variable to its minimum value, and repeat the process." ''Macworld'' was frustrated by this trial and error tedium to discern the meaning behind the manipulatable variables.<ref name=macworld>{{cite magazine|last = Moran|first = Tom|title = Balance of the Planet 1.0 Review|date = November 1990|url = https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_9011_November_1990|magazine = Macworld|publisher = Mac Publishing|page = [https://archive.org/details/MacWorld_9011_November_1990/page/n232 227]–229}}</ref> |
|||
== Critical reception == |
|||
''Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames'' felt the game was sophisticated, complex, and expressive.<ref name="Bogost 2010" /> ''[[The Games Machine]]'' thought the game would be perfect to play ins schools and colleges due to being educational, easy to use, and quick to play.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=|first=|date=July 1990|title=Balance of the Planet|url=https://archive.org/stream/the-games-machine-32/TheGamesMachine32#page/n77/mode/2up|journal=The Games Machine|volume=32|pages=78|via=}}</ref> ''[[Compute magazine|Compute Magazine]]'' wrote that the game offered a challenging, intellectual, effective, and thoughtful consideration of the "ultimate puzzle" that world leaders face on a day-to-day basis.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mann|first=Richard O.|date=January 1991|title=Balance of the Planet|url=https://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue125/90_Balance_of_the_Plane.php|journal=Compute!|volume=125|pages=90|via=}}</ref> ''Environmental History Review'' appreciate that the title challenged the common desire for people to find simple solutions to complex problems.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Holder|first=Dan|date=1991-12-01|title=Balance of the Planet. By Chris Crawford. (Milpitas, CA: Chris Crawford Games, 1990.)|url=https://academic.oup.com/envihistrevi/article-abstract/15/4/119/460455?redirectedFrom=fulltext|journal=Environmental History Review|language=en|volume=15|issue=4|pages=119–120|doi=10.2307/3985008|issn=1053-4180|jstor=3985008}}</ref> |
|||
In the January 1991 edition of ''[[Compute magazine|Compute!]]'', Richard O. Mann wrote that the game offered a challenging, intellectual, effective, and thoughtful consideration of the "ultimate puzzle" that world leaders face on a day-to-day basis.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mann|first=Richard O.|date=January 1991|title=Balance of the Planet|url=https://www.atarimagazines.com/compute/issue125/90_Balance_of_the_Plane.php|journal=Compute!|volume=125|pages=90}}</ref> |
|||
In December 1991 edition of ''Environmental History Review'', Dan Holder appreciated that the title challenged the common desire for people to find simple solutions to complex problems.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Holder|first=Dan|date=1991-12-01|title=Balance of the Planet. By Chris Crawford. (Milpitas, CA: Chris Crawford Games, 1990.)|url=https://academic.oup.com/envihistrevi/article-abstract/15/4/119/460455?redirectedFrom=fulltext|journal=Environmental History Review|language=en|volume=15|issue=4|pages=119–120|doi=10.2307/3985008|issn=1053-4180|jstor=3985008}}</ref> |
|||
In a retrospective reviews in the 2010 book ''Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames'', Ian Bogost felt the game was sophisticated, complex, and expressive.<ref name="Bogost 2010" /> |
|||
==Legacy== |
|||
⚫ | In 2012, Crawford created a [[Kickstarter]] project for a remake of ''Balance of the Planet'', which would be made free on the internet. He did not take into account that donors would be wary to pay for a project that might never be released or fall way behind schedule. For this reason, he stated that ''Balance of the Planet''<nowiki/>'s Kickstarter became a dismal failure.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/176458/Chris_Crawford_reflects_on_a_Kickstarter_gone_wrong.php|title=Chris Crawford reflects on a Kickstarter gone wrong|last=Curtis|first=Tom|date=August 24, 2012|work=Gamasutra|access-date=2018-03-20|language=en}}</ref> 264 backers pledged a total of $13,594 out of a $150,000 fund goal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kicktraq.com/projects/544670315/balance-of-the-planet/|title=Balance of the Planet|date=August 29, 2012|website=Kicktraq|access-date=2018-03-20}}</ref> |
||
== References == |
== References == |
||
Line 30: | Line 44: | ||
== External links == |
== External links == |
||
* [http://www.mobygames.com/game/balance-of-the-planet Mobygames] |
* [http://www.mobygames.com/game/balance-of-the-planet Mobygames] |
||
{{Chris Crawford}} |
|||
[[Category:1990 video games]] |
[[Category:1990 video games]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Classic Mac OS games]] |
||
⚫ | |||
[[Category:DOS games]] |
[[Category:DOS games]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Environmental education video games]] |
||
[[Category:Incredible Technologies games]] |
|||
[[Category:NEC PC-9801 games]] |
[[Category:NEC PC-9801 games]] |
||
⚫ | |||
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]] |
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]] |
Latest revision as of 09:42, 6 August 2024
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. (December 2021) |
Balance of the Planet | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Chris Crawford (Mac) Incredible Technologies (MS-DOS) |
Publisher(s) | Chris Crawford |
Designer(s) | Chris Crawford |
Platform(s) | Macintosh, MS-DOS, PC-98 |
Release | 1990 |
Genre(s) | Simulation |
Balance of the Planet is a simulation video game developed by Chris Crawford. He self-published it in 1990 for Macintosh. It was ported to MS-DOS and PC-98.
Development
[edit]Chris Crawford was approached in early 1989 by Epyx's Joe Miller about working on an environmental game to coincide with the film Voice of the Planet to be released for Earth Day in 1990. While wary of licensed games, he developed a design concept that explored the intricate connections between ecological and economic factors. He created a hypertext system to house his game. In order to place values into the game (e.g. whether the economic value of a factory is worth the deaths from air pollution), Crawford was forced to place a value on human life; he spent a lot of time treading on eggshells before conceding that no matter what value-based decisions he made he would be accused of bias.[1] Crawford designed the title as a serious game; to be very educational but not necessarily a lot of fun.[2] He self-published the game in April 1990. Incredible Technologies ported the game to MS-DOS from the original Macintosh version.
Gameplay
[edit]Balance of the Planet sees the player balance global economic and ecological forces through taxation and expenditure, with each policy change having a runoff effect to other areas. For instance, clearing forests changes the level of CO2 in the air, which affects global warming.[3] The game has a procedural system with limited user interaction.[3] Crawford notes that it is difficult to "win" level one due to the state the planet is already in.[4]
Reception
[edit]Chris Lombardi reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World, and stated that "I respect the designer for having the courage to risk everything for his convictions. Still, if the game is not fun, it simply wouldn't be right to endorse it for gamers who expect to be entertained by their entertainment software."[5]
In the July 1990 edition of The Games Machine, the reviewer thought the game would be perfect to play in schools and colleges due to being educational, easy to use, and quick to play.[6]
In the July 1990 edition of Games International (Issue 16), Brian Walker liked the tone of the game, commenting, "The stylised messages on each screen advising of all the nasties around us are superbly rendered while the content strikes just the right note: neither hectoring or patronising." He did find "heavy-handed humour in the manual gets to be a bit wearing but otherwise it is a fine and comprehensive effort." Walker concluded by giving the game above average ratings of 8 out of 10 for both gameplay and graphics, saying, "You'd have to be a right plonker not to find Balance of the Planet fascinating in some way."[7]
In the November 1990 edition of Macworld, Tom Moran noted the serious nature of the game, stating that "the results are rather grim ... you'll get some improvements in the state of the ecology, but you'll most likely get the soul-shivering message that millions have starved to death during your administration." They noted that Balance of the Planet contains some interesting information in regards to ecology, but criticized its "uninteresting interface" and "too little information on how the simulation works", remarking that "[t]he most obvious way to find out the gross effects of any of the more than 20 variables is to slog it out with the empirical method: change only one variable to its maximum value, step through all nine stages of the game, note the results, start over, change the same variable to its minimum value, and repeat the process." Macworld was frustrated by this trial and error tedium to discern the meaning behind the manipulatable variables.[4]
In the January 1991 edition of Compute!, Richard O. Mann wrote that the game offered a challenging, intellectual, effective, and thoughtful consideration of the "ultimate puzzle" that world leaders face on a day-to-day basis.[8]
In December 1991 edition of Environmental History Review, Dan Holder appreciated that the title challenged the common desire for people to find simple solutions to complex problems.[9]
In a retrospective reviews in the 2010 book Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames, Ian Bogost felt the game was sophisticated, complex, and expressive.[3]
Legacy
[edit]In 2012, Crawford created a Kickstarter project for a remake of Balance of the Planet, which would be made free on the internet. He did not take into account that donors would be wary to pay for a project that might never be released or fall way behind schedule. For this reason, he stated that Balance of the Planet's Kickstarter became a dismal failure.[10] 264 backers pledged a total of $13,594 out of a $150,000 fund goal.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ Crawford, Chris (2003). Chris Crawford on Game Design. New Riders. p. 472. ISBN 9780131460997.
Balance of the Planet crawford.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (August 25, 2012). "Balance of Power Creator Says Kickstarter Used To Be Cool". The Escapist. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
- ^ a b c Bogost, Ian (2010-08-13). Persuasive Games: The Expressive Power of Videogames. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262261944.
- ^ a b Moran, Tom (November 1990). "Balance of the Planet 1.0 Review". Macworld. Mac Publishing. p. 227–229.
- ^ Lombardi, Chris (June 1990). "Piloting Spaceship Earth: Chris Crawford's "Balance of the Planet"". Computer Gaming World. Vol. 1, no. 72. pp. 19, 73.
- ^ "Balance of the Planet". The Games Machine. 32: 78. July 1990.
- ^ Walker, Brian (July 1990). "Computer Games". Games International. No. 16. p. 42.
- ^ Mann, Richard O. (January 1991). "Balance of the Planet". Compute!. 125: 90.
- ^ Holder, Dan (1991-12-01). "Balance of the Planet. By Chris Crawford. (Milpitas, CA: Chris Crawford Games, 1990.)". Environmental History Review. 15 (4): 119–120. doi:10.2307/3985008. ISSN 1053-4180. JSTOR 3985008.
- ^ Curtis, Tom (August 24, 2012). "Chris Crawford reflects on a Kickstarter gone wrong". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2018-03-20.
- ^ "Balance of the Planet". Kicktraq. August 29, 2012. Retrieved 2018-03-20.