2022 video game
2022 video game
Not For Broadcast is a full motion propaganda simulator developed by British video game studio NotGames and published by tinyBuild. The game released with its first episode in early access on 30 January 2020.[2][3][4] The full game, including the third and final episode, was released worldwide on 25 January 2022.[5] The game was released for Windows, Meta Quest 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.[6]
The game takes place in an unnamed European country (resembling the United Kingdom) in the mid-1980s,[a] where a new populist political party named Advance has won a surprise landslide election victory and begins to handle the country in an increasingly authoritarian dystopian fashion. The player takes the role of Alex Winston, a studio director in a national television station, having to produce a live broadcast, play adverts, censor swear words, and avoid interference in an effort to keep the viewership high.[7]
On early access release, Not For Broadcast received positive reviews, with praise going to its gameplay and mechanics. Early versions were criticised for confusing political storytelling and dissonance in tone.
Gameplay
Broadcast days
The player plays the role of studio director Alex Winston in the production control room of the National Nightly News.
The player uses the vision mixer to select which camera feed to broadcast. After a two-second broadcast delay, the feed selected is broadcast. The player is required to censor any profanity or objectionable language by bleeping out the word as it is broadcast. At later levels, the player can also add sound effects such as applause and canned laughter to the broadcast. The player also uses a waveform monitor to control any interference. An audience meter gives feedback on the player's performance: good editing will help raise viewership, while poor editing, failing to censor or allowing interference to interrupt the broadcast will lower viewership. If the audience meter falls to zero, the player fails the level.
During each broadcast, the player selects three advertisements to play during breaks and which headlines to run in the first segment. The adverts and headlines selected influence the game outcome by promoting Advance or its rival Disrupt, increasing the player's earnings by promoting companies in which the player holds shares, or unlocking variations in the storyline.
At the end of each broadcast day, the player is graded on their broadcast, which affects their pay. The player is given the option to watch their broadcast as well as the unused footage.
Non-broadcast days
The protagonist has a life and family outside the broadcast room. This is represented through an "Incident system", a series of text-based choices in visual novel format where the player, based on a brief segment about their private life, makes decisions. These decisions are influenced by what the player chose to do in the Broadcast room. Sometimes, choices made in the incident system can also influence what happens in the broadcast room. Choosing certain options matter to the family, and they affect the dynamic and relationships the player character has with their family.
Plot
The game is set in a fictional country with similarities to the United Kingdom, from 1984 to 1991. The player is Alex Winston, who works at Channel One of the nation's largest television network. Formerly a janitor, Alex is suddenly thrust into the broadcast manager position when their predecessor, Dave, flees the country and Alex is forced to edit the election night broadcast in his place. Among their new duties, Alex is in charge of editing the nation's evening news programme, the National Nightly News.
The story begins with the far-left progressive political party Advance, led by lawyer Julia Salisbury and television personality Peter Clement, winning an unexpected landslide victory. Advance implements several radical reforms, such as wealth redistribution, right to die policies, and nationalisation of several large corporations. As time goes on, Advance becomes increasingly authoritarian in their governance, including limiting the freedom of the press and requesting censorship of anti-government statements. The resistance group Disrupt forms to counteract Advance's agenda.
The World Council places harsh sanctions on the country, causing economic troubles, eventually causing Advance to declare war. Fed up with the increase in soft news stories and censorship, co-anchor Jeremy Donaldson snaps live on-air and holds the studio hostage at gunpoint. Depending on the player's response, Jeremy ends up committing suicide, being shot dead by police, or being arrested. Disrupt starts to infrequently hijack Channel One's broadcasts. 20 weeks later, Advance retaliates against the World Council by detonating nuclear explosive in four major cities on the continent and threatens to detonate more devices if the countries do not unconditionally surrender, causing Advance to win the war and annex the continent.
A year and a half later, Channel One has been nationalised, Peter Clement has died, and Disrupt has been branded as a terrorist group after staging attacks. Disrupt spokesperson Alan James asks Alex to manipulate the broadcast to start an uprising against the Advance government. Advance is aware of the uprising and sends in the military to defeat Disrupt. Depending on Disrupt's popularity and whether or not Alex successfully manipulates the broadcast, Alan either successfully retreats while bringing down the broadcast tower or fails to take down the broadcast tower and gets killed. Four and a half years later, the National Nightly News is rebranded as a soft media program called the NNN. Advance attributes rapidly rising sterility to the bombs, and Advance propaganda has made its way into young minds.
Nearly two years later, the NNN has been rebranded as a talk show called The Nightly Show. Julia Salisbury appears as a surprise guest to present the winner of the National Anthem competition. There are four different final segments depending on whether Jeremy and Alan are alive or deceased, leading to Jeremy Donaldson interrupting the broadcast in order to question Julia Salisbury about the death of Peter Clement, Alan James taking the studio hostage to take it off the air, Jeremy Donaldson and Alan James interrupting the broadcast together, or the playing of the National Anthem without interruption. Each different final segment allows playing a tape exposing either Advance, Disrupt or both parties, resulting in fourteen different epilogues depending on whether the said tape was played, and the player's political stance (pro-Advance, pro-Disrupt, or neutral).
Development
The first episode of Not For Broadcast was released in early access on 30 January 2020, with the developers stating their intention to keep it in early access for approximately eighteen months while updating three free new episodes that caused the game's price to increase.[9] Days before filming began for a second episode, the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom led to lockdowns which ceased all production. Instead of pausing production, the developers chose to create a bonus chapter titled Not For Broadcast: Lockdown, which contains a new storyline, with the cast being stuck at home "as they shelter from a rampaging horde of animatronic children's toys."[10][11] The chapter was released alongside a new challenge mode, featuring 4 different challenge variations.[12] Due to the lockdown delaying production on the game, the original plan to have 4 episodes was revised, and the story was rewritten to be told in three episodes instead. Finally, a year after the original release, on 28 January 2021 a second episode was released, which showcased impacts of certain decisions in previous chapters and was released together with an hour-long documentary titled "Not for Broadcast: Lights, Camera, Lockdown," about how the development team behind the game reveals how they managed to produce two video-filled updates of the game amidst a global pandemic.[13][14] After releasing Episode 2, the production was halted once again by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, which further delayed the release of Episode 3 until 25 January 2022.
Reception
Not For Broadcast received generally positive reviews from critics both in early access and upon its full release. The game was complimented for its innovative concept and gameplay, including the satirical over-the-top content video segments and the production control room mechanics.[17][18][20][21] Criticism went to its "on-the-nose political commentary" in the earliest early access version, with Cass Marshall writing for Polygon "[the game is] laying it on pretty thick."[22][23] On Steam, the game has "overwhelmingly positive" user reviews.[9]
According to Guinness World Records, the game has a record of the "Most Full Motion Video footage in a videogame", clocking in at 42 hours, 57 minutes, and 52 seconds.[24] This, in turn, was also covered positively by multiple media outlets.[25]
The game was nominated for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the 2023 Independent Games Festival Awards.[26] It was also nominated for the "Outstanding Game, Simulation" and "Outstanding Writing in a Comedy" awards at the 22nd Annual NAVGTR Awards, both of which went to Japanese Rail Sim: Journey to Kyoto and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge.[27] The game was also nominated for Game Beyond Entertainment at the 19th British Academy Games Awards,[28] which went to Endling: Extinction is Forever;[29] and for "Narrative Innovation of the Year" at the MCV/Develop Awards,[30] which went to As Dusk Falls.[31]
Zero Punctuation named it the Fifth Best Game of 2022.[32]
Downloadable content
On 24 January 2023 the game developers and TinyBuild announced the development of three new episodes as DLC, this time for a fee. In the first, named Live & Spooky, the player produces a horror show set in January 1985, where journalist Patrick Bannon and other guests visit and attempt to solve the mystery of a haunted house.[33] According to the few screenshots provided by the developers, this DLC would introduce new game mechanics. The release date of this DLC was announced on 23 March 2023. The second one is called Bits of Your Life, where the player, as Dave, produces a broadcast where Peter Clement's life and career is told.[34] It was released on 14 November 2023.[35] Finally, the third and last episode will be called The Timeloop, where a scientist will present his new time machine.[36]
