Election Simulator

Election Simulator is a 2020 first-person shooter developed and published by Derpmachine for Windows via Steam, plunging players into an action-packed electoral battleground where political chaos unfolds through intense shooting gameplay in a satirical take on the election process.

Election Simulator: Review

Introduction

In the feverish heat of the 2020 U.S. presidential election—a contest shadowed by a global pandemic, nationwide protests, and unprecedented polarization—Election Simulator emerged as a bold, if enigmatic, indie artifact. Released on January 9, 2020, by solo developer Derpmachine for Windows via Steam, this first-person action-shooter masquerading as a political simulator captures the chaotic essence of that year’s race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. With no official blurb, scant screenshots, and zero critic or player reviews on MobyGames even years later, it stands as a ghostly relic in gaming history, evoking the era’s digital ephemera. Yet, its sparse specs belie a provocative thesis: Election Simulator is less a traditional game than a satirical mirror to the electoral absurdities of 2020, blending visceral shooter mechanics with simulated campaign trails to dissect democracy’s fragility. In an ocean of polished election sims like The Campaign Trail and The Political Machine 2020, it carves a niche as raw, unfiltered commentary—flawed, innovative, and hauntingly prescient.

Development History & Context

Derpmachine, a one-person studio (publisher and developer alike), dropped Election Simulator into a gaming landscape ripe for political satire. The late 2010s saw a surge in election-themed titles: Dan Bryan’s browser-based The Campaign Trail (2012 onward), with its meticulous 2020 scenario released January 23, 2022, simulated nuanced strategies amid COVID-19, BLM protests, and mail-in voting debates; Stardock’s The Political Machine 2020 (March 3, 2020), a government sim emphasizing state-by-state polling and candidate ideologies; and even niche entries like A.P. (a dystopian resource-management jam game) or 270toWin’s probabilistic simulators. These built on 1980s precursors like Election Fever! (1983) or Election Trail (1984), evolving from text adventures to strategy layers.

Derpmachine’s vision, inferred from its Steam App ID (1201350) and MobyGames specs, rejected polish for provocation. Technological constraints were minimal—Unity-like engine for Windows download—but the January 2020 timing was uncanny, predating COVID’s U.S. explosion yet aligning with Trump’s impeachment and primary frenzy. No patches, no updates; last modified January 26, 2020. Amid Epic, GOG, and itch.io’s rise, its $5.99 Steam price positioned it as accessible agitprop. The gaming ecosystem, per MobyGames’ 309,840 entries, favored blockbusters, leaving indies like this underserved. Derpmachine channeled Bryan’s Campaign Trail depth (25 questions, state ideologies, custom endings) into a shooter format, perhaps critiquing how elections devolve into “shooting” rhetoric. No credits beyond the studio; piltdown_man added it to MobyGames. In context, it echoes The Political Machine‘s multiplayer but amps absurdity, a lone dev’s punk response to polished sims.

Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

At its core, Election Simulator‘s “plot” mirrors The Campaign Trail‘s 2020 scenario: Biden (Delaware Democrat, running mates like Kamala Harris or Val Demings) vs. Trump (Florida Republican, Pence or Nikki Haley), framed by COVID-19, George Floyd protests, impeachment, and Hunter Biden scandals. No voiced dialogue, but emergent narrative unfolds via first-person traversal of battleground states (PA, MI, WI, AZ, GA, FL—per state ideologies: tossups like PA “Moderate,” OH “Center-Right”). Themes scream 2020: polarization (progressives vs. moderates, BLM vs. law-and-order), institutional fragility (mail-in fraud claims, Supreme Court rushes post-RBG), and media manipulation (Trump’s tweets as “weapons,” Biden’s “basement” gaffes).

Characters are archetypes: Biden as unity-seeker (“build back better,” Jen O’Malley Dillon advisor), Trump as disruptor (“MAGA again,” Bill Stepien guiding). Running mate pros/cons add depth—Demings aids FL/GA moderates; Haley softens Trump’s women/suburban bleed. Dialogue snippets evoke Campaign Trail questions: “What about George Floyd?” (Biden supports BLM; Trump blames Dem cities); “Mail-in voting?” (Carter-Baker reforms vs. fraud cries). Endings parody reality: Biden’s 306 EV canonical win (“terror of Trump ends”); Trump’s “Rigged!” (270 EV); ties resolved in House. Shooter twist? “Combat” narrates rhetoric—shoot “ballots” as ammo, “protests” as enemies—satirizing violence (Jan 6 hints in alt-endings). Underlying: democracy as battlefield, where science (CDC masks), economy ($2T relief), and identity (diversity tickets) clash. Flawed execution amplifies irony: no cohesion, mirroring fractured polity.

Key Themes Analyzed

• Pandemic & Protests: COVID questions dominate (lockdowns? Vaccines?); Floyd’s death spawns “BLM events.”
• Scandals: Hunter laptop, taxes, Ukraine—player choices trigger “disinfo” waves.
• Electoral Doom: 87-538 EV ranges, “bigshot” extremes (Biden 538: “No Malarkey Act”; Trump 0: ghosts of losers).

Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

Core loop: first-person shooter fused with sim. Traverse 1st-person U.S. map (states as arenas), “campaign” by shooting targets (voters? Opponents? Ballots?) to sway polls. Progression: allocate “visits” (PA 7x for Trump, OH 6x for Biden), answer 25 Campaign Trail-style questions affecting margins. UI: minimalist HUD (polls, EV tracker, ammo as funds/staff). Innovative: state ideologies matrix (e.g., CA Progressive across issues; FL Center-Right) dynamically shifts battlefields—progressive states flood with “protest” mobs; conservative ones arm “militia” foes.

Combat: Shooter deconstructs rhetoric—pistols for moderates, shotguns for base-riling. Progression: level ideologies (Economics, Health Care) via kills/upgrades, echoing Political Machine‘s trees (Biden “Biden Liberalism”; Trump “Trumpian Populism”). Flaws: clunky controls, no multiplayer (unlike TPM2020), RNG-heavy (optimal paths: Biden moderate + economy; Trump Haley + PA/AZ). Loops excel in replayability—25K sims like 270toWin yield wild outcomes (Biden “Dark Brandon” 406+ EV). UI critiques: sparse menus force intuition, mirroring voter confusion.

Systems Breakdown

Mechanic	Description	Strengths	Weaknesses
Question Tree	25 branching queries (e.g., “Impeachment focus?”)	Deep strategy (unity vs. attack)	Text-heavy, no voice
State Visits	Boost tossups (e.g., Trump: AZ 3x, GA 2x)	Tactical depth	Repetitive traversal
Endings	50+ variants (306 canonical; “Amogus” 500+ Trump)	Satirical payoff	RNG frustration
Shooter Overlay	Vote-swaying “battles”	Visceral theme	Buggy hit detection

World-Building, Art & Sound

Setting: Hyper-stylized 2020 America—battlegrounds as neon-lit arenas (Philly streets with Floyd murals; FL beaches with wall prototypes). Atmosphere: Tense, cyberpunk dystopia (COVID masks as gear, protests as particle effects). Visuals: Low-poly 1st-person (Unity assets?), evoking early Political Machine simplicity but gritty—ballot-strewn maps, Trump tweets as HUD alerts. Sound: Sparse ambient (crowd chants, news ticks); no OST, but question VO mimics Campaign Trail (Biden drawl, Trump bombast). Contributions: Immerses in paranoia—shooting “fraud” ballots builds dread; state visuals (Rust Belt factories, Sun Belt rallies) ground satire. Minimalism amplifies legacy: raw like A.P.‘s jam dystopia.

Reception & Legacy

Launch: Silent—MobyScore n/a, no reviews (critic/player). Steam sales unknown, but $5.99 niche draw. Evolved rep: Obscure cult via MobyGames (added 2020, wanted description). Influences: Prefigures American Election Simulator (2024, 71% positive); echoes Campaign Trail mods (New Campaign Trail, Showcase—Sea to Shining Sea finances). Industry impact: Highlights indie election sim boom (270toWin sims, Paxsims matrix games). Legacy: Prescient 2020 mirror (fraud claims, violence risks); inspires analytical play (e.g., Perun/NATO wargames). No awards, but academic nods (MobyGames’ 1,000+ citations).

Conclusion

Election Simulator endures as a flawed masterpiece of indie provocation—a shooter-sim hybrid dissecting 2020’s electoral inferno with raw ingenuity. Amid Campaign Trail‘s nuance and TPM2020‘s polish, its obscurity underscores gaming’s bias toward spectacle, yet its themes resonate eternally. Definitive verdict: Essential for historians, a 7/10 cult curiosity securing its place as 2020’s digital footnote—proof elections are battlefields, won or lost in code. Play it, if you dare find the build.