Democracy! is a Role-Playing Game-based (RPG) Educational Program for teaching principles of Law and Government. The game is intended to be built up in stages with increasing levels of complexity, which will be tailored to students at corresponding stages of their education in policy and government.

I originally conceived of the game while watching the Netflix series House of Cards. It had occurred to me that there existed a vast divide between the academic study of Political Science and the actual practice of politics. I coupled this notion with the observation that kids today cannot be pried away from video games for long enough to do their homework, and the idea to teach Political Science in a digital format was born.

Players of Democracy! begin their experience as a lowly staffing assistant to a lobbyist, congressional aide, or press correspondent. They will make their way up the ranks of public service, navigating the political system through means legal, illegal, or illicit; and demonstrating mastery of the principles of government as they work their way toward the top, to become President, Supreme Court Justice, or Congressional leader. In the course of the game, players will participate in government affairs, passing legislation, running for public office, or dealing with domestic or international crises.

Democracy! might be played in a number of different formats, depending on the educational level of the students. For K-12 students, the game would be played by single-players; advancement in the game would be dependent on passing “challenges” to test the player’s understanding of political topics. At higher levels – i.e. for undergraduates – the game might be classroom-based. Players at this level would interact with their classmates, working together (or against one another) to accomplish specific tasks, set for them by the classroom instructor. Such tasks might include: passing an article of legislation; holding confirmation hearings for appointees to the Cabinet or the Supreme Court; writing a speech; adding an amendment to the Constitution; or some other function commonly performed by the US Government. Outcomes of the game range from post-nuclear apocalyptic dystopia to enlightened golden age.

I submitted this concept on the Riipen website last semester, and it was picked up by a group of business students at Suffolk University. The Suffolk University group did extensive market research and analysis to get a sense of the project’s viability; to refine the project's parameters; and looking at sources of funding. In the course of developing the materials for the game, the project took on an added dimension or two, and spontaneously blossomed into something much bigger than I’d originally envisioned. I realized that I was going to have to recruit a considerable amount of help to fully develop the game. Consequently, I will need two teams: one for Curriculum Development, and the other for Coding. Since these are two very different aspects of the project, I will be submitting them to two different groups of students.

For curriculum development, students will review selected Political Science programs at reputable Universities. Ideally, I would like some of the students from one group to network with Political Science professors to develop the game’s syllabus and testing materials. Another group of students will form relationships with elected officials, and other people currently working in politics, to learn what qualities (beyond an academic understanding of Political Science) go into the making of a successful politician. By way of making a start I’ve formulated a survey for professors and politicians to get at this question in more depth. The survey addresses questions that are harder to define, such as: how would you instill good ethics in your students? What would you consider the most valuable character asset for a person aspiring to public office?

The coding group will be putting together the action of the game. The game is designed around the geography of Washington DC. 3D digital models of buildings such as The House of Congress, and the White House that would be suitable for the VE of the game are available on the internet. Virtual environments such as Second Life are quite suitable for high resolution, interactive game design, and there are numerous avatar generators available on the web. The coding group will be challenged to create an interesting and user-friendly interaction between players and the game elements.