The Long After Life of Simulation Software: Hidden Agenda

Date: Wed, 17 Apr 2002 22:47:27 -0400
From: Atool <xxxxxxx@kenyon.edu>
To: jimg@well.com
Subject: Comments on your game "Hidden Agenda"...

Dear Mr. Gasperini,

I just found out you had an email address about a year and a half after I first played your game. But I enjoyed it so much that I really wanted to write you about it.

When I first played your game, I was basically a computer gamer (college student) with a growing interest in politics and social justice issues. After I played your game, not only did I feel I had a deeper understanding of the political situation in Latin America during the Cold War, but your game made me a lot more interested in politics and social justice in general.

Anyhow, one of the things I really loved about your game is, well, the fact that it's a computer game. I've always liked computer games as a sort of "interactive art form" but I've found that it's really hard to find games that are worthwhile because so many of them are blandly formulaic or just feel like a total waste of time. Your game, and in particular some of the stuff you said in your Designer Notes about the future of computer gaming and what computer games should be like, exemplifies what I wish more of the mindset was like in the computer gaming industry today. It's a shame that there aren't any games like HA around today, and that's part of the reason I don't play computer games much anymore, unless I happen to be in the mood to blow things up or see some great example of how cool my computer's graphics card is.

One of the other things that set your game apart from other "political" games is that HA isn't about power-mongering. Most other strategy/political games I've played are generally concerned with "conquering" things, either militarily, economically, scientifically, or something else... yours is the first political game I've played that deals with real-life issues that I actually care about, like poverty, inequality, education, and freedom of speech. Furthermore, the gameplay isn't rooted in statistics; in other words, I'm not playing around with figures (tax rate, scientific progress rate, offense/defense ratios, etc); instead, I'm playing around with actual *ideas*--i'm experimenting with ideologies and philosophies and seeing their real-world consequences, which makes the game far more interesting and enjoyable for me than a game like, say, Sid Meier's Civilization.

Well, anyhow, I wrote a little mini-review of your game on my website, and I've been trying to get other people to play it too. You can check out my review at http://www.toolness.com/cgi-bin/tool.php3?section=interactive (and it would be an honor if you'd sign the guestbook too, heh heh). Anyhow, thanks for taking the time to read this email, and thank you very much for making such a wonderful game; I hope you plan on making more games in the future.

From: David <yyyyyy@zzzzz.xyz>
Reply-To: songsdream@yahoo.com
Subject: Hidden Agenda
To: jimg@well.com

I recently downloaded this game, and have really felt enriched for playing it. It has expanded my outlook on not only politics, but life in general. Thank you for making such a thoughtful game. Also, the writing of the text is brilliant-- very literary. I could say so much about this game, but I don't even know if there's anyone on the other end to get this email. Anyway is there any way to get more information on this game? Any web page with tips or explanation of the cause/effect of decisions?

I wish so much that I could make my own modification with the text to make my version of the game with updated messages. (I would give full credit to you of course, although I'm sure no one outside my circle of friends would ever play it) So is it possible to do this? I'm not a programmer, but... what do you think?

Thanks,

From: "Simon" <yyyyyy@zzzzz.xyz>
To: <jimg@well.com>
Subject: Hidden Agenda Request via maricopa site
Date: Mon, 4 Nov 2002 22:15:12 +0100

Hi!

My name is Simon, I'm 20 years old. I'm a student in the Franch "grande école" Sciences Po (equivalent of a British college , I guess...) in Paris, where I study politics, finance and sociology. I am also already involved in a French NGO working with small producers of coffee in association with the Max Havelaar foundation (in order to organize a distribution network of "fair trade coffee" in the French supermarkets.)

I'm interested in the game because it's actually dealing both with politics and Central America. But of course also for the pleasure of playing...

I promise you to send you comments on my experience with the game. However, as I'm already involved in an NGO which is actually working with Central America, I don't promise you to make a donation to any of the organizations you listed. I guess I can consider that what I'm doing is already something helpful, isn't it ?

I wish a DOS version, if possible.

Best regards,

Simon

From: "Simon Fetet" <yyyyyy@zzzzz.xyz> To: "Jim Gasperini" <jimg@well.com> Subject: Hidden Agenda : my appreciation Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2002 13:36:47 +0100

Hi,

Thank you again for the game, which I really enjoyed. First I underline the fact, that it is unfortunately nowadays not possible to enjoy such realistic political games. I mean, that you may find now very cute explosions, images and music; but such games are in my opinion no more interesting ones.

I think that the substantial advantage of your game is its fidelity with which it translates the political process: no informations are absolutely objective, no advices are absolutely wise. The political process is a matter of concurrence and "illusions creation" : and precisely, in the game, you can't absolutely rely on one minister or one adviser.

Antoher interesting point is the reality with which the vicious circle of underdevelopment is translated. Middle of the roads politics are just not possible, you actually cannot manage in the same time to enhance exports, lighten debt burden, ensure well-being of the poorest, and develop infrastucture improvements. This is pure fact. Such global policies are just not possible in developing countries. I think it was a good way to make people aware of the complexity of policy making in the Third World. And I believe that it is indeed much more complicated than it is in our developed countries. But let's move on back to the game : it is quite hard to "win" it... even if you think to what you are doing, it requires some knowledges and coherence...

The ambiguous role of the USA in central America is also very well translated !! Even though I guess it is in fact a greater hurdle as it is translated in the game...

My sole critic would be about the enormous role of the ministers... As a President, with your own party, you just cannot make your own policies, because you are strong bounded with minister's advices... Even if you know you're taking the wrong decision, you sometimes just can't take another one....

But generally speaking, the game's playability is quite high : especially the interface is perfect. What's actually very amazing for a 1987 game !!!

Now, I'd like to spend a little more time on the game... I managed to do well with a moderated policy, and also with a social-democracy politic. I wanna now try extreme ways : communism and right-wing dictatorship... I wonder what'll happen !

Best regards,

From: Xxxxxxx@aol.com
Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 04:01:02 EST
Subject: Hidden Agenda Comments
To: jimg@well.com

I am really fascinated by this game so far. It's very intricate and I love the learning curve. It's only as steep as the player wants it to be. I enjoy picking the advisors and also the wide variety of scenarios available- that's unusual for a game made back then. It seems like a whole lot of effort was put into making it diverse and interesting, which it certainly is. I think I'll be playing it for quite a while longer.

From: Xxxxxxxxx@worldbank.org
Subject: Hidden Agenda Request via maricopa site
To: jimg@well.com

I came across a website with information about a software game I use to play constantly called "Hidden Agenda". Unfortunately, this game is no longer being published. However, I was told that you would be willing to send me a copy of this game if I answer a question and made a promise.

Question: I live in Washington, DC and work for an international organization. I am interested in Hidden Agenda because I use to own the game in 1991 and played it all the time while in college. I majored in Political Science and the game taught me a lot about Central American politics. Despite that fact that computer games have better graphics nowadays than they did when "Hidden Agenda" was around, I have yet to find a simulation game of the same quality as "Hidden Agenda". Unfortunately, the software got lost in the mail when I had shipped my belongs from Minnesota to Ohio.

From: Xxxxxxxxx@worldbank.org
Subject: Hidden Agenda Request via maricopa site
To: jimg@well.com

Thanks a lot. Your game is one of the reasons why:

1. I got interested in International Relations
2. I even decided to come to Washington in the first place

Myself and others at the World Bank are trying to make this institution better and more responsive. And the protests and outside voices do help us remember what we're suppose to be doing.

Many thanks,

From: xxxxxxx.yyyyy@syngenta.com
To: jimg@well.com
Subject: RE: Hidden Agenda
Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2002 13:16:03 -0400

Jim -

Thanks for making a fun and educational simulation. I played it for hours last night, trying different combinations of ministers and situations. The most successful (and I use that word with reservations) combination I found was having a moderate run the agricultural and the internal, the right runs external, and the left run the military. This allows a balance for the land reform and allows food and export crops to both be served. By the left taking over the military, the death squads are prevented from overrunning the country. And the overtures to the US help prevent the right from revolting (which they seem to eventually do, but then they're replaced by the left and a move towards non-alignment.)

I've tried running the country to the far left and the far right, but somebody is always never happy and I get bounced out before the end of the three years. What factors are involved whether or not resisting a coup will be successful? The loyalty of one faction of the army?

One thing I have not been able to do is not rack up mounting debt. IMF loans and Socialist and US handouts never seem to be enough, even when neglecting schools and medical care (not my style).

I wish there were more games like this. It seemed like there were more in the late 80's (Balance of Power, Presidential Elect, etc.) than there are now. Meanwhile, trying to ressucitate the Byzantine Empire in the history-fan favorite Europa Universalis II has been taking up my little video game time.

Loved Sim City 3000. Keep up the good work.

Matthew
Syngenta SBI Information Technology

From: Hannu <yyyyyy@zzzzz.xyz>
Subject: Concerning Hidden Agenda.
To: jimg@well.com

Dear Mr. Gasperini,

I anticipate you are at least moderately swamped in mails such as this, so I'll be quite brief.

As a history student (and a political activist, as your balanced and impartial handling of all types of political ideology in HA earns my respect) I simply must offer my sincere thanks for Hidden Agenda. The game is, as far as I can tell, one of the most rewarding, well-balanced and acutely well-researched political sims out there. I and other Finnish fans here in the northernmost reaches of the E.U. are eternally grateful for your inspired work.

Yours truly,

- Hannu,

Liberaalien Oulun piirin sihteeri,

Oulu, Finland.

From: "Jonathan" <yyyyyy@zzzzz.xyz>
To: "Jim Gasperini" <jimg@well.com>

Sorry, it's been tight at school these past few days, the teachers voted to strike then the district settled, it's been chaos and the end of the trimester is approaching, so I've been slammed with homework.

In the time I have now, I'll say that I really like the limits on the player's power. The player is not God, and if there's a crowd of angry people outside, he'll need an advisor to turn to if he disagrees. The first time I played through, I thought "I don't need advisors, I can make my own decisions." It took about a year for me to be killed in a coup. The challenge of persuing your own agenda while balancing the different factions within your country and the United States is something I've only managed to do twice. The first time I ended up crushing two attempted coups and being unable to end the death squad killings, and the second time I also was forced to defeat two coups, only this time I ended the killings and threw my country into a civil war with the United States providing arms to the "other side", and blocking trade with my country to crush our economy. My efforts to maintain balance have failed for the most part. The fractured millitary makes it very difficult to maintain balance. Even in my efforts to keep the millitary together, it usually fails. I find that without a strong millitary, I'm unable to keep power, while my agenda often includes minimising the strength of my millitary and declining forigen millitary aid while accepting all the economic aid I can get, from the USA to the USSR. The Christian Refom party has been critical, because I need moderate advisors who won't quickly alienate the other parties, as jumping to either side is a quick way to get killed. The difficulties of running a factionated government with a great deal of civillian and millitary activism are very clear in this game, which seems to take many of the difficulties of the central american region and throw them all at me at once. Fun, and hard. ;)

From: "Peter" <yyyyyy@zzzzz.xyz>
To: jimg@well.com
Subject: Re: Hidden Agenda
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2001 16:12:03 -0400

My name is Peter. I used to play Hidden Agenda on the Mac in high school in the early nineties. I loved the game mostly because it was fun and a chance to play ruler of a country. I've always paid attention to the news somewhat, so I was somewhat familiar with Central America, but your game definitely showed me a more balanced view than I had seen before. That is, I had always assumed that communists were the bad guys and American backed groups were the good guys.

I must have played the game over 100 times in the 1990's, I got to the point where I could always survive for three years, but I never managed to get the debt under control, it always spiraled upward. Please tell me, is there any way to get the debt to go down at the end of three years?

I no longer have Macintosh in service, I use Windows now. Please email me a DOS version of the game. I will gladly some money to Oxfam America.

Thanks again for creating the game. It was fun and educational.

"Ricardo" <yyyyyy@zzzzz.xyz>
To: <jimg@well.com>
Subject: Hidden Agenda Request via maricopa site
Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 03:35:27 -0400

Dear Sir;

I had purchased a version of your game years ago and had it on my old PC. I really enjoyed it. I can't tell you how many hours I spent playing it. It was realy thought provoking. Unfortunatly the Disks were the oId type of disks that they dont use no more and plus when I donated that old PC to a local School I think I may have given them the disks along with all the other stuff.

I understand your cause and I will upon reciept of the game disks make a contribution to the Red Cross for the good work they are doing in South America.

You may send me the DOS version or if there is a windows version to the following address

From: "Brian" <yyyyyy@zzzzz.xyz>
To: <jimg@well.com>
Subject: Hidden Agenda Request via maricopa site
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 10:24:18 -0700

Hoping you'll be able to send me a copy of Hidden Agenda - I used to play it alot after visiting Nicaragua in the mid-eighties, and would love to use it now in my classes. As for the promises - well, I'm not that interested in writing a review, but I do already contribute to Oxfam Canada and many other NGOs, and give my time to many, as well.

Dos, please. I'm working on a PhD in Sociology. Past is in Cuba studies, now moving into North American labour, so I teach in a range of left-oriented areas.

Thanks again - I'm glad to see someone's kept hold of this game!! I lived in Nicaragua as a young teen, and spent many hours playing Hidden Agenda on my return to Canada.

Cheers,
Brian
Vancouver,BC

From: Dave <yyyyyy@zzzzz.xyz>
Subject: Hidden Agenda Request via maricopa site
To: jimg@well.com

I am David Egeland, I am a father of 4 and a half children and I purchased this game with an old floppy years ago (smile). Time has not been kind and I don't have any way of using this on my computer now because the system has changed. I am teaching my youngest daughter about politics and strategy through the computer. Thank you for allowing your older fans to still play and learn from your excellant creation.

I am in need of the DOS version, and I would be happy to give you feed back from what we learn from your program, I also will donate to one of the organizations of your choice after I see their sites and decide. Thank you

Dave

From: "Christophe" <yyyyyy@zzzzz.xyz>
To: "Jim Gasperini" <jimg@well.com>
Subject: Re: Hidden Agenda Request via maricopa site
Date: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 09:31:36 +0700

Dear Mr Gasperini,

Thank you for sending me your game. I live in Indonesia since 1994, so there are definitely familiar echoes between what your game explores and the situation we have been living here.

I definitely enjoyed playing your game. I tried various strategies, with different ministers and policies although I tend to be drawn more towards the "Christian Reform" party (reform realists).

One question: I have managed to reach the end of my three years term and continue by ignoring election calls, or finishing my term and losing the election several times, but I have never managed to be reelected. Is it possible in the game?

Also, is it possible to keep Padilla in jail without breaking the balance in the army?

My best result (or at least the one that I am most proud of), is having reached the end of my term with the following results:

- Improved health care and decreasing infant mortality.

- Improved education for all

- Comfortable food supply (when the Campesino told me that he had seen milk only once during childhood but that his daughter now drank it every morning, I was really proud of my achievement). This was mainly brought about by a split of credit to producers and exporters, although I never was able to reproduce this feat in subsequent games.

- Bringing the Guard fully to justice and investigating the whereabouts of the disappeared - although this created the departure of Erlich and the skewing of the army in favour of the left, and created a right-wing guerilla in the countryside.

- Strong cooperation with the USA on economic matters only.

- The right to strike and a minimum wage.

- A manageable level of debt (debt was not mentioned in the end review) - no mean feat that one!

Unfortunately, I lost the election to the National Liberation candidate, probably because of the one-sidedness of the army.

Overall, a great game. I wish you would update it with even more intricacies.

What I could suggest to improve the game would be to:

1 - Allocate a budget, so that the whole investement/export/debt relationship becomes more realistic.

2 - When the player has to make a choice of policy, do not restrict the choices. For example, if the American ambassador asks you to reinstate direct arms shipment to the right-wing of the army and your defense minister is from Popular stability, you have no choice but to accept. You should be able to refuse or have a middle course, even if going against the flow will create other problems.

Best Regards,

Christophe Jaureguiberry

From: Yyyyyy@aol.com
Date: Tue, 6 Aug 2002 13:05:10 EDT
Subject: Hidden Agenda Request via maricopa site

As crazy as it sounds, I was a Marine with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment down outside of Tegucigalpa in the late '80s. We were the last or second-to-last Marine battalion sent down there during the Reagan/Bush effort in Nicaragua, training 'reservists' and Honduran regulars. I was all of a tender 17 and getting the experience I was hoping for when I signed up for Marine infantry (unlike so many other's experiences in the military, my era saw plenty of the action, yet bore little of the suffering, of war). I was just out from the High Rockies of Colorado then (outside of Woodland Park, at the base of Pike's Peak), and am now an older and somewhat wiser (and quite a bit more politically savvy) New York City writer, living a couple blocks north of Central Park and trying not to starve. In 1997, I was one of 30,000 crowded into the main plaza out in front of Nicar! agua's legislature, cheering and gladly gulping down all of the aguardiente that was being offered me, while waiting to hear Daniel Ortega speak on Sandinista Day. As I got more and more 'faced, I told anybody who cared (or not) to listen that I'd been one of the dread marineros (you can say 'Marines', though; Central Americans in general - and Nicaraguans in particular - know exactly who you're talking about); everybody got a good laugh out of that. It's amazing the goodwill of these people toward me, who had been but the smallest oozling of grease in the machinery of a vast conspiracy by my country to do them harm. Anyhow, I'm writing to tell you that your game looks cool, and I'd appreciate a chance to check it out. Thanks. Oh, and my woman and I already sent $700 back in '98 to help out the victims of the tropical storm in San Pedro Sula

- I'm poor now, man, but I'll do what I can when I can, promise.

Sorry - my name is Kevin and I need the PC version, thanks. The ex-jarhead, I should say, since I don't know how many requests you get?