Game Design Document: "Fake News"

Game Title: Fake News  

Genre: Narrative Simulation / Strategy  

Platform: PC

Target Audience: Ages 16+, interested in current affairs, media, or social commentary  

 Game Overview

Fake News is a satirical simulation game where players assume the role of a new hire at a newspaper publishing company. The central objective is to rise through the ranks, gaining popularity and notoriety in a fast-paced media world. The player must review, fact-check, approve, or deny articles based on their validity, all while navigating a complex environment where the lines between truth and fiction are blurred. 

Players must balance their reputation, with real, truthful journalism boosting their credibility and fake, sensational content increasing their popularity. The game aims to show the impact of misinformation and the ethical dilemmas faced by media professionals in today's society.

 Core Gameplay Mechanics

 1. Character and Progression System

   - Player Role: The player starts as a junior fact-checker at a struggling news outlet. As they complete tasks, they climb the career ladder, progressing from entry-level to senior editorial roles.

   - Reputation System: Reputation is impacted by the player’s choices (publishing fake news lowers reputation, publishing truthful articles boosts it).

     - Reputation Scores: A numerical value indicating the player’s ethical standing in the company.

     - Audience Type: The player’s actions will align their brand with a specific audience (liberal, conservative, neutral). The audience will have its preferences for types of news (i.e., sensational, factual, partisan).

   - Popularity System: Popularity is separate from reputation and indicates the number of readers who are engaged with the player’s content. Popularity increases with the publication of sensational, fake, or highly controversial content.

 2. Article Review System

   - Incoming Articles: Players receive batches of articles to review each day. Articles can be factual, misleading, or fake.

     - Fact-checking: The player must verify facts using various tools like online searches, external databases, and expert interviews.

     - Approval/Denial: After reviewing the articles, the player can choose to approve or deny them based on the accuracy of the information.

     - Impact: Approving fake articles increases the player's popularity but decreases their reputation. Approving real news strengthens their reputation but has a lesser effect on popularity.

 3. Audience Influence & Bias

   - As the player progresses, they gain a following and begin to lean toward certain political or social biases.

   - Different outlets or factions within the company might favor one type of content over another (e.g., a conservative audience prefers sensational and opinion-driven pieces, while a liberal audience favors fact-based reporting).

   - The player’s choices will lock them into a particular "audience" based on their decisions. The more sensational and controversial the content, the more extreme their audience's political leanings will become.

 4. Time Pressure and Deadlines

   - Players will face deadlines for publishing articles, with a limited amount of time to fact-check and make decisions.

   - Stress Meter: As the player progresses, the workload increases, leading to stress. Stress affects decision-making accuracy, causing potential errors in fact-checking or approval.

 5. Ethical Dilemmas and Endings

   - Moral Choices: As the player climbs the ranks, they will face moral dilemmas: publish a lie for massive popularity or uphold journalistic integrity at the cost of their career.

   - Multiple Endings: The game features several endings based on the player’s choices:

     - Honest Journalist Ending: The player upholds integrity, publishes factual news, and builds a solid reputation with a loyal audience.

     - Fake News Tycoon Ending: The player builds a massive but ethically compromised media empire, becoming a famous (but infamous) figure in the industry.

     - Corporate Sellout Ending: The player becomes an opportunist, prioritizing the business side of media, manipulating public opinion for profit.

     - Ruined Reputation Ending: The player’s reputation plummets due to constant fake news, resulting in career downfall.

 Game World and Setting

The game takes place in a fictional media company, TrueCorp Media, which simulates a chaotic and ethically questionable media environment. The company has various departments:

1. Fact-Checking: Where players verify the accuracy of incoming articles.

2. Editorial: Where players make decisions about which articles to publish based on business interests, political alignment, and journalistic integrity.

3. Public Relations: This department is where players can influence public perception, such as issuing apologies or spreading spin to control damage.

4. Research & Analysis: A database players can use to fact-check stories, access research materials, and review the credibility of sources.

Each department is a different area where the player can interact with other employees, some of whom will have their own agenda or biases that will influence the player’s decisions.

 Narrative and Story Elements

The game includes a rich narrative with branching dialogue choices and scenarios. The player will meet a variety of characters, such as:

- Mentors: Senior editors who guide the player early on, offering advice (which may or may not be ethical).

- Rivals: Other journalists vying for promotions who may use dirty tactics or underhanded methods to advance.

- The CEO: A highly ambitious and morally ambiguous figure who pressures the player to prioritize profits over integrity.

 Story Arcs:

- The Rise of Sensationalism: The player is encouraged to lean into sensationalism as their outlet seeks to capture a larger audience.

- Whistleblowing & Internal Conflict: As the player uncovers corruption or unethical practices within the company, they must decide whether to speak out or keep their head down.

- The Price of Popularity: The player’s actions lead them down a path where they must question their loyalty to the company, the truth, and their own values.

 Art and Aesthetic

The visual style of the game is semi-realistic with a hint of satire, blending corporate office settings with over-the-top visual representations of media manipulation (e.g., distorted headlines, exaggerated caricatures of famous media figures). The design uses vibrant colors to reflect the contrasting moral worlds in which the player operates.

- Newsroom Environment: A modern, sleek office with desks, computers, and a constant flow of digital information on large screens.

- Political Bias: Color palettes will subtly shift depending on which audience the player aligns with (e.g., conservative audience might have a red-toned hue, while a liberal audience may have a blue or purple tone).

- Dynamic Media: Fake articles will often have exaggerated, eye-catching headlines with overdramatic graphics, while real articles will have clean, professional layouts.

 Sound Design and Music

- Background Music: A mix of upbeat electronic tracks for high-stakes moments and somber, instrumental music when the player is confronted with difficult ethical decisions.

- Sound Effects: Newsroom sounds (keyboards typing, phones ringing, printers printing) mixed with more chaotic soundscapes when fake news spreads.

Fake News is designed to be an engaging, thought-provoking game highlighting media manipulation's consequences and the ethical challenges facing modern journalists. Through its deep narrative and choice-driven mechanics, the game will invite players to reflect on the importance of truth in an increasingly polarized world.