I was approached to be a consultant on Paper Drumpf by Buchanan productions a little while ago. I admit I had a split second of hmm, what’s this then? When I got the DM.
However, the game isn’t simply a LOL Trump sucks, quick and easy game to run through in a few minutes. It’s satire but it’s smart satire that has a message about choices, hard ones that shape a person throughout their life, and through a job that changes everything about them.
It’s not kind to any of the candidates but it’s not an endorsement of anyone either. It’s an exercise that made me think about choice, the choices facing the country I live in come November and beyond. It’s about one staffer who gets to see the dark underbelly of politics, and who has to know when to make the right call versus the easy one.
Don’t take my word for it, check out this trailer then continue on, but first trigger warnings:
THIS GAME IS A SATIRE. THE CHARACTERS DEPICTED IN THIS GAME ARE WORKS OF FICTION, DEPICTING EVENTS THAT ARE NOT REAL AND NEVER HAPPENED. NAMES, CHARACTERS, PLACES, AND INCIDENTS ARE THE PRODUCTS OF THE AUTHOR’S IMAGINATION AND ARE USED FICTITIOUSLY. OBVIOUSLY NONE OF THIS COULD EVER POSSIBLY HAPPEN, THAT WOULD BE RIDICULOUS.
WARNING: Depending on your choices, this game can contain scenes depicting implied physical threat, online harassment, and characters with homophobic, misogynistic, and/or Islamophobic views.
The game isn’t easy, especially if you choose the option to play as a black character. It’s…reflective of some truths in our world for black people encountering law enforcement. I suggest you try that path first, before re-rolling with the white character.
So give it a try, it’s free but if you can spare $5 the devs (including me!) would appreciate it. You’ll also get the great soundtrack which really helped set the tone of each scene as I played through it.
Download Paper Drumpf – Name your own price
“Why shouldn’t a president serve himself?”
Welcome to PAPER DRUMPF, a game about two fictional presidential candidates (Daffy Drumpf and Killary Blinton) vying for the nation’s votes in the week before election day 2016. You play as Abigail Thoreau, one of many campaign managers working for Drumpf.
The goal? Make America Win Again.
- Eleven chapters of a combined 1-3 hours length, with save points for you to take a break between each chapter.
- Choice-based text adventure with original art and music, developed using Inkle Studio’s ‘Ink’ scripting language and Elias’s adaptive music technology.
- Your choices will affect the fate of America and your character’s future.
- An immersive story putting you up against the police, protestors, a nice guy, cold call recipients, and other key threats facing America.
- Featuring the latest in anti-tunnel-from-Mexico-through-the-wall technology and blast-processing*
* May not actually feature either of these things.
Whilst PAPER DRUMPF is being released for free, please consider supporting us by paying the suggested $5 tier or more to help support the decidedly not-free development of this game and those like it!
In return, you will receive:
- a high-quality downloadable copy of Seb Peters’ fantastic soundtrack [due to be uploaded within a week or two, so check back soon for your copy]
- karma / universal good-will for paying for something you enjoy!
- a free copy of a much longer, paid-for game in a few months, either with a Steam Key or itch.io copy depending on how our Steam Greenlight goes! Think of this game as an early access copy, my friends.
If you enjoy PAPER DRUMPF, vote for our longer anthology, 2016: GAME OF THE YEAR, on Steam Greenlight now!
If you play this and like it and would like to see more from the team then please give it a Yes vote on Steam Greenlight and comment. I’m over there keeping an eye on things as well as the Musician Seb Peters.
DIRECTOR/WRITER: Greg Buchanan (@gregbuchanan)
MUSIC: Seb Peters (@soundofseb)
PROGRAMMING: Matt Nichols (@pollkem)
ART: Adam Coburn (@curbychup)
CONSULTANT: Tanya DePass (@cypheroftyr)
BUCHANAN PRODUCTIONS TITLE ANIMATION: Rex Smeal (@rexsmeal)
