Tropico political details

Gathering of Developers has revealed new information about the political system that will be featured in its upcoming management and building strategy game, Tropico. The game is currently in development at PopTop Software, the creators of the popular Railroad Tycoon II. Players assume the role of a dictator of a small island nation in the Caribbean. In order to help the nation grow and thrive, players must oversee a variety of gameplay elements, including construction, economy and trade, and political issues.

The main parts of the political system in Tropico are political popularity, uprisings, elections, and external influences. Political popularity is governed by how content the country's citizens are. Keeping the citizens happy can be difficult, since the island contains a number of different factions, many of which have opposing goals. Citizens can communicate with the dictator through complaints or other messages. The dictator has the power to arrest or kill any citizen, but this can adversely affect the approval rating of the leader. In addition, threatened citizens can become rebels and fight against the government.

Uprisings can be organized by the citizens as a whole or by the army. In order for an uprising to happen, a group must be thoroughly displeased with the dictator, and it must have a strong leader to organize the revolt. Once an uprising begins, all activity on the island is suspended until there is a resolution. If a dictator's palace is captured in the course of an uprising, the game is over. However, if an uprising is unsuccessful, it will serve as a warning against future uprisings for a period of time.

Elections are held every six years, but only if the government is a democracy. If the dictator wins the election, the citizens will remain calm until the next election. Players can influence the election in a variety of ways, both honest and dishonest, including tax cuts, policy reforms, and vote fraud. But if the citizens suspect a vote fraud, it will most likely cause an uprising.

The two big external political influences featured in the game are the United States and Russia. Players must build a foreign ministry in order to contact these countries and initiate trade, encourage tourism, and solicit foreign aid grants. Maintaining friendly relations with both can be difficult, though, since they may send armed forces to the island in order to encourage the dictator to cease relations with the other country or change the type of government used on the island.

For more information, take a look at our previous coverage. Tropico is scheduled for release in April.