to move up and down
Pipe Trouble’s government woes highlight gaming illiteracy and ignorance
The tone-deaf political rhetoric surrounding the Toronto developed Pipe Trouble shouldn’t be at all that surprising to anyone who follows politics generally, but it’s kind of shocking how much it relies on a pure and simple gaming illiteracy.
For those of you who haven’t been following this story: About a month ago, Toronto-based indie developer Pop Sandbox released Pipe Trouble as a companion game to a documentary about the pipeline debate in Western Canada, both of which were funded, in part, by the provincial Ontario television station TVO.
TVO has since pulled the game from its website pending a review.
The game basically plays like the late ’80s computer game Pipe Mania (otherwise known as Pipe Dream or “that annoying hacking mini-game from Bioshock“). The player needs to lay down pieces of an oil pipeline. The pipeline needs to be laid down fast enough so that it doesn’t anger the oil company owner, but carefully enough so that it doesn’t destroy farmland and other environmental locations and anger farmers and landowners. It’s possible to end up on the receiving end of an eco-terrorist’s bomb if you aren’t careful, which is a game over.
Generally, Pipe Trouble aims to take the complex issues surrounding oil pipelines and tries to encourage gamers to think critically about energy extraction. (Pop Sandbox)
Photo Gallery: PhotoSensitive’s Fuel of Life exhibit
For more than two decades, PhotoSensitive has covered critical social issues through stark, black-and-white photography. With the new Toronto exhibit The Fuel of Life, the national collective turns its lens to the theme of energy. The project, which runs at Brookfield Place Nov. 28-Dec. 10, features more than 100 photographers covering everything from energy production and distribution to consumption and innovation.
National Post front page: Feb. 22, 2011
Gaddafi’s grip slips as forces open fire
Writing on the wall for Gaddafi
New Zealand rocked by strong earthquake
An ill wind blowing
