Game Announcement

Hello World!

I'm announcing a new project I'm working on, Prison Abolition Simulator! 

This announcement is intended to light a fire under me to actually move forward more quickly on this project. I have a pretty good idea of the mechanics and general outline of the game, but nowhere near the coding/development skills to do it right now.

The basic idea is that you're elected governor of a fictitious state in the United States and must make a series of policy decisions to reduce the prison population to zero. You'll have to contend with changing public happiness and a rapidly approaching term-limit! The U.S. has long been in the top countries for highest incarceration rate, but as shown by many other countries, it doesn't have to be this way. Mass incarceration can actually have criminogenic effects, that is, people who are incarcerated for a specific act are more likely to commit crimes in the future as compared to people who receive needed services. 

I originally had the idea for this game when reading about how Hawaii almost completely ended youth incarceration through a concerted focus on rehabilitation and providing for youth needs. The goal is to incorporate as much factual evidence and research into the game as I can, to create a fun experience that challenges players to think about what a world without prisons would look like and what is needed to make it happen.

To make the game feel more real, I put together a quick mockup of my idea in paint. Hopefully I'll have more images to share in the coming weeks once I actually get started. I'd appreciate any feedback, comments, or ideas! This is a very early work in progress and could change a lot as it goes along.