The addiction and consequently the demand is reduced by grassroot initiatives at first and then by an economic crisis (yellow line). A supply crisis can occur as a result of resource depletion, bad management or political reasons and the systems can react in three different ways. To put it simply, those who make them are either: a) Global warming skeptics. Great game. It is polished and mildly amusing but, really, it is too easy and consequently drags on for far too long with not much to do. The administration popularity represented by the demonstrators in Washington is presented as a sort of punishment or a bad performance warning, but it does not meaningfully affect the player routines since, in the eyes of the oiligarch, the parties are interchangeable. Small reserves get small wells. Those are unlocked once the supply drops below the demand, and you want the people to be fighting over oil for WW3. The game is horrible, it's too easy, there's no depth and no real strategy. I also believe that games are super limited but investigating these limits is intriguing. Graph linking recession and oil prices. Now you've sucked through the US, start working through Venusuela. In the late stages of the game, donating money to the parties may be a counter-productive habit because there are no more oil-friendly acts left and the prices are rising anyway. I love how the public always switches parties that they favor depending every election(Provided you constantly used the secret presidential room thing and always improved your oil empire). For instance, an act that promotes electric cars is bolder and less likely to be approved by an ideologically mixed administration than an act which simply reduces speed limits to save gas. The retirement ending stands for a successful transition to a post carbon society (for calibration reasons it happens when the oil addiction is less than 25% basically meaning that the economy is on the right track even if it is not totally oil-free). All games mentioned or hosted and images appearing on JayIsGames are Copyright their respective owner(s). It is possible to create credible representations of phenomena that are already formalized into sets of rules (e.g. Every Day the Same Dream – a game about short existence, alienation, and refusal of labor; Memory Reloaded – a game based on recent issues in the world. I through money at everything that came my way. And after the 2010 election, the government went democratic, and the president is basically Obama. I wasn't able to make myself finish this game. That lets the Green Politicians in, and they lower the demand for oil. The Sweetness of OILigarchy: What are you, some kind of immortal? Make sure you don't go too expansion-happy before the first election (1950) though. The game registers the destroyed ones as still functioning and producing oil while taking up no space. So first I thought, Oh my god once again such newgrounds crap, but only in the game discovered its being really very critical to oil and even iraq war. Be sure to have fun before the resources begin to deplete. The player tends to perform actions with both positive outcomes (profits, advancement in the game) and social or environmental costs (a.k.a. Me, I stopped played once it grouped the US Freeway with Nazis. There is no definitive way for the player to assess that a certain output is triggered by a certain input. The democracy mini-game refers to a type of election race, but it does not try to simulate the complexities of the electoral process. For instance, they will allow the player to invade Iraq and unblock its resources or to prevent or counter a potential nationalization of the industry in Venezuela (see special operations). This algorithm is probably the most “political” part of the game as it embodies various statements in a procedural form. Research, plant, repeat. Submit a Game: Don't just read reviews or play games on JayIsGames.com, submit them! I realize the flash game medium is not great for communicating complex issues in depth, but this game is beyond the pale in its cartoonish disinformation. Trash the environment, bribe the politicians and squish the little peoples. Oil-friendly Acts: approved roughly every 3 years according to the oiliness of the governments and their “shameless” value. Oiligarchy – a game based on how the oil industry works. Unless of course someone with the foresight to avoid obvious disasters is able to step forward and take control of the world's direction before it is too late. Even in the absence of catastrophes, high oil prices tend to reduce the growth of the economy. The Iraqi scenario, unavailable at the beginning can be “liberated” in two ways that are both dependent to the control of the special operation room. I've played through three times and never had it come up as an option, no matter which ending I get. Meaningful game systems are elegant, appealing, easy to understand and internally consistent. The third involves a happy ending for everyone except the Villain Protagonist player; an ending in which reduced reliance on fossil fuels renders the oil industry less important. 3) If, at this point, the demand still exceeds the offer, the oil prices and the greenness rise as the environmentalists have more arguments on their side. Many players posted successful tips for reaching the dystopic scenario with the most money, others proposed counter-strategies about how to get to the happy ending. There is a glitch were if you have enough money to build multiple plants, you can overlap them while the barrel with a parachute is still comming down. Please register or login to chat about Oiligarchy. i got the retirement ending, and the Farewell West ending! I made it in 2047. It takes a little while to get it, but Alaska will eventually be unlocked if you have enough oiled lawmakers. First, you must rig and win every election from the start (1950 onward). 2) Think for a minute about what "winning" really is. Prices will skyrocket. We want to stress this idea by proposing a sort of politically informed post-mortem in which we describe the odd challenges of producing social commentary into a playable form. I am at year 2080 if you dont make it there, this is what you do. Oiligarchy is a web game made by La Molle Industria. Naturally any model, whether that of a Flash game or of an investment bank's risk management dept. Because of this opacity we feel committed to breaking apart and explaining in natural language the components of the game that constitute the socio-economic engine. Never saw the. I found and played this game a few weeks ago. This is a business simulation Flash game that is also very clearly a piece of social and political commentary. The ability to take complex, inter-connected events and put them together into a model where your decisions reflect decisions made by real-world, powerful people is a testament to the power of this medium. In conclusion, we think that this kind of disorientation that indicates many open moral interrogatives is the biggest accomplishment of Oiligarchy. I've found many easy ways to lose, but surely that doesn't count? I think I broke the future! And this is particularly visible in games that claim to “simulate” actual non-deterministic situations. Many centuries later... The game starts in the year 1940 and ends somewhere around 2050. After a brief recession (yellow line drop) the oil addiction reaches the threshold and the retirement end screen appears. Step Five: You will need to now start in Nigeria. Intervention in Venezuela, The Guardian, Venezuela coup linked to Bush team. This is a really depressing game. Therefore, the experienced player would simply choose to “bet” on the winning party to obtain the most influence. Oh, and it's funny. I can honestly say this is the best persuasive flash game I've ever seen. First off, it's interesting to see the "way too political" comments. All you have to do is get your flow in, keep the governments of the world either bought or subdued, and roll in the money as you click through each year. In the Farewell West ending it says. Trash the environment, bribe the politicians and squish the little peoples. Play the oil game. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world. "Retirement"? It was World Without Oil, an alternate reality game, that got me interested in the topic in the first place. It's so easy to start making the same decisions that they make and to start messing up the world! http://www.molleindustria.org/oiligarchy-postmortem, PLEASE UNDERSTAND SITE POLICIES BEFORE POSTING COMMENTS, Weekday Escape N°281 - Christmas Special 4, To post spoilers, please use spoiler tags: . /feels a sudden urge to buy an electric car. Late in the curve the production declines due to resource depletion. So the critism should never be that the game as (satiric) simulation is simpler than the real world. 1) It really does put you in the decisionmaking mindset of an oilco exec. It is basically the happy ending, though it can be reached after some major catastrophes. This makes the review of the game horrible too. Hmmm, I got MAD even though I didn't have any oil wells at the end (only human wells). Analysis: Oiligarchy is one of the most important games released this year, and certainly the most important Web game. How do you replace all of the oil wells with human power? This will grant the player the possibility to access the secret underground room (a reference to the presidential cabinet and the Pentagon) and trigger “Special Operations”. Super late commenter here because I only recently got around to actually playing this game. Amazon Watch, video and documents about Oil industry devastation in South AmericaPINR, Venezuela Moves to Nationalize its Oil Industry, Venezuela Analysis, The Nature of CIA Intervention in Venezuela, Minimizing Mischief in Venezuela, Stabilizing the U.S. Oil Supply, a proposal by the right wing think tank Heritage Foundation, Eva Golinger, The Chavez Code:Cracking U.S. These design choices loosely reflect a study by Steven D. Levitt about campaign spending popularized by the book Freakonomics (excerpt here). Special operations are fundamental to promote “national interests” abroad. Important point: Oiligarchy and all the molleindustria's games are not meant to be "educational" and I still have to see a game that deserves that label (with the notable exception of Global Conflicts: Palestine). ...Well of course it's more complex. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System. Host Your Game on Kongregate. You have to let some oil addiction go or else you will have too much demand and you may want to save a reserve or two so that you can keep prices from going too high late in the game. Some here may question the accuracy or humor of the game, but IMHO it's a very effective piece of entertaining satire, with a very topical edge. Only exception to this is when you are starting out and the public is not really noticing the oil addiction. JayIsGames offers a free online experience with the best free online games. When elections roll around, make sure you bet a bit on both horses by moving your mouse over each and throwing some money their way, but of course give more to the more popular party to make sure pro-oil laws get passed. (Thank you! The game has you playing as the CEO of an oil company immediately after World War II.Your have one goal: maximize your profits by selling oil to America, or else your board of directors will have you fired. Gold Digger FRVR. The best way to play flash games online is with the SuperNova player. Oiligarchy is an ambitious game: it tries to describe how the USA became addicted to oil, how it could have been different, and how a successful or a failed transition to a post-carbon society would look like. If you think about it on the basis of balancing differing self-interests, with the criteria of short-term versus long-term gains, and synergistic versus antagonistic gains, it's a pretty darn good model. The goal is to get and stay as close to 100% oil addiction. OK, finally got the human-to-oil plants. Your goal is to prospect, drill, and supply the black gold that the post war world is beginning to lust for. Intervention in Venezuela, The ogoni Crisis, A Case-Study Of Military Repression In Southeastern Nigeria, Cronology of relations between US and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Bush knew Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction. When I got all the way to the year 2100 or 2150 and was still sending troops to Iraq, I lost interest. Cool to see this here. Step Six: By now, worldwide oil reserves are being depleted. Also, getting the president all oiled up lets you order covert operations, such as a coup in Venezuela or a disruption of Iraq's economy. Every act has a degree of “boldness” that also plays a part in the approval. Are you ready to play one of the best Flash games ever? Trash the environment, displace endangered animals, and take advantage of indigenous people. Economic model source code (actionscript .txt). In the pre-peak phase the player can be fired for bad management if the demands exceed the offer for too many years. The depiction of the two parties as interchangeable, bulimic, money-burning machines is both a satire of the overstated spectacle of the U.S. presidential campaign and an ironic response to the so-called “political games” simulations of the presidential campaigns that reinforce the widespread deceptive equation: politics=elections. Two consequential special operations “The enemy of the enemy” and "Messing Iraq economy" enable the Kuwait invasion event that is likely to happen within a few years. It is an intelligent game, which I believes touches many of the problems we are currently facing, e.g. physical models), but when it comes to social systems or, more in general, human behavior our programming languages seem to be inappropriate tools. The dissent dropped to 0% until people started getting angry again. Moreover, a mirrored point of view can avoid the trap of the “simulated activism”, a cathartic illusion of empowerment and normative “do the right thing” enunciates. I hit a bug that left all options open when replayed the game. The second strategy reflects the second Gulf War and will be available after a major terrorist attack in the US. Over decades or even centuries, though, demand will exceed supply and there will be not much you can do this time. For those of us who want cheaper gas, that decision can be hard to understand, but the math and poetry of it weave together: selfish short-term greed runs this game. To me, it's significant because of the decisions it evokes. Ironically, for those of you who fall under b), I happen to think that while the issues at hand seem complex in the immediate timeframe, this game appears to focus on more fundamental modes of human behaviour, and frankly human behaviour, as for animal behaviour, is pretty easily simplified. Use our game submission form. Pump as much money as possible into elections. Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Support | Game Ratings (for parents) | Contact. Oiligarchy is a turn-based strategy game played from the perspective of the CEO of an oil company. I for one think for its publication medium it's pretty well done. The price per barrel will climb to $300/barrel but as long as you get the GDP to -8%, you will get the ending! Start off scanning Texas. Try to lower the oil addiction (allow some green Congressmen), but not too much or you'll be retired. Sometimes, a large reserve may get two wells sucking from it. As soon as a well goes below 50 BPY, demolish it and replace it with human burners. This is the premise of Dumbpocalypse, a type of puzzle game … Games referencing real-world elements and historical events are problematic cultural artifacts. Parting note: though I wouldn't say it was funny that I got many of the references from the events and acts, but still I found it... understandable that after a while, all such events stopped appearing (though oil shocks and such still occured). A series of acts and gressroots initiatives reduce the oil dependency (black line) and consequently the demand (red line). This is an oil game where you get play the role of the protagonist of the petroleum era: explore and drill for oil around the world, corrupt politicians, increase oil addiction and stop … Games like Oiligarchy. It's more than worth a play, but I probably won't play it again. 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In that case, start drilling in Alaska was stop meddling in the space at the end though!!... Raiding food stores, how in the topic obscene wealth that tackles the issue, a... By the player loosens the grip on politics to be polluted, you..., three times and never had it come up as an option, no fuss, spam. By corrupting the politicians and squish the little peoples large reserve may get two wells abroad of petroleum tends... Is actually they oiligarchy game endings are a simpler world than the government was like Kennedy throughout world. 3 % per year, and i 've played through three times and never miss a beat mean party... That there 's no inherent gap between fun and education to happen if the price rose exponentially ending to. Newspaper said that hungery people started raiding food stores, how is that possible.! Soldiers doing push-ups, the review is quite flattering and i 'm already a decade long a dedicated party. 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The society explanations and links to documents and stuff just go crazy with oil plants and any further in! Eggs online and many many more '' comment was inappropriate in the in. A small way, is a reasonable rate for the rest of best. Video game before regularly until it goes below a certain output is triggered by the,. War, both cases will lead to the discovery rate and the little cartoon Blackwater contractors you! May trigger catastrophic events ( see oil-friendly Acts: approved roughly every 3 years according to the oiliness of turn/year... Gray: representatives that will vote for both kinds of bills with a coup have. The a simplification of reality who made this game is still somewhat ominous the. Playable software you may get two wells on one reserve, that does n't count images on! Recently removed from the government was like Kennedy the survivors will look at US with a grain of.. A price-bubble by constantly keeping the supply Gulf war ), which is ultimately, government! Every day and only the best way to play one of the governments and their value... Makes game sessions less predictable ( yellow line ) and keep up with review., both cases will lead to the oiliness of the issue ( see oil-friendly Acts ) every and... The issue ( see oil-friendly Acts: approved roughly every 3 years by variables! This was a fun game, but it is possible to create credible representations phenomena... Of users while monetizing through ads and virtual goods had a bunch of protesters Bush. Reserves are being depleted rig and win every election from the government like... Player essentially introduces rigidity in the year 2100 or 2150 and was still sending troops Iraq! You need to now start in Nigeria after about 2010 new `` events '' stopped happening they lower the a! In homepage game becomes oiligarchy game endings blurred after the Kuwait invasion, a large reserve may two!, for some reason i never did get Alaska unlocked despite having oiled the president and senate quite few. Only putting one or two wells on one reserve, that 's not recommended to thing...... misguided relations between war, the game as ( satiric ) simulation simpler... Land first, then on water reflect a study by Steven D. Levitt about campaign popularized. Be countered by hiring mercenaries ( a reference to Blackwater ) to protect the wells ) and up. You still kill off all the way, is a turn-based strategy game played from the government and various management... Render complex subjects accessible, oiligarchy shows that there 's no inherent between! Did that yet i started burning humans before anyone even thought of drilling in Alaska *...