Makkalin Mudhalvar is a political strategy game in which players have to optimize decisions and win the next election, set in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

To do this, they have to make sure that their populace prospers in measurable ways (economy, healthcare, education) while also keeping true to social goals (women’s empowerment, social justice, cultural pride).

The game’s main systems are

• Choice-based narrative - each decision plays out in ways that affect people’s lives and stories (including yours)

• A social & material framework - based on which your stats and progress indicators rise and fall

• A popularity index - that takes your choices into account, and which affects your probability of victor

Based on these and a little bit of luck, you win or lose the election.

In my role as Director of Narrative, I had to

• Develop the social & material framework

  The core system was based on a game I had already designed (see: Snap Decisions). But the narrative layer of what was right, wrong, and how it changed the populace’s lives was entirely up for grabs. I did intensive research on the politics of Tamil Nadu, reading loft tomes like Brahmin & Non Brahmin (M. S. S. Pandian) and The Dravidian Model (writer). Between this and some advice from academic consultants, I drilled down to the core issues of Tamil politics that we wanted to represent, including Social Justice, Women’s Empowerment, and Cultural Ethos.

• Write the choice-based narrative

  We were dealing with some heavy issues, so I knew I wanted the tone to be wry and a little irreverent. Not only did I write all of the choice-based decisions, I had to keep them away from enthusiastic editors - both game designers (knew games, didn’t know politics) and academics (knew politics, didn’t know games).
  
  While writing the game we realized it didn’t have enough tension. So I developed an “endgame” of increasingly escalating situations, all connected, that would have enormous impacts on your win probability, as well as a character that was the leader of the Opposition party. Everybody loves a good villain.

The game was made in collaboration with PEN (Populus Engagement Network), a think-tank in Tamil Nadu. It’s ended to be so much fun that young voters actually go out and vote in the 2024 Indian Elections. So far, it’s go <x> plays and <y> feedback.