''Balance of Power'' is a
computer strategy game
Strategy is a major Video game genres, video game genre that emphasizes thinking and planning over direct instant action in order to achieve victory. Although many types of Video game, video games can contain strategic elements, as a genre, strate ...
of
geopolitics
Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...
during the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, created by
Chris Crawford and published in 1985 on the
Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
by
Mindscape, followed by ports to a variety of platforms over the next two years.
In the game, the player takes the role of the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
or
General Secretary of the Soviet Union. The goal is to improve the player's country's standing in the world relative to the other
superpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position characterized by its extensive ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political and cultural s ...
. During each yearly turn, random events occur that may have effects on the player's international prestige. The player can choose to respond to these events in various ways, which may prompt a response from the other superpower. This creates
brinkmanship
Brinkmanship (or brinksmanship) is the practice of trying to achieve an advantageous outcome by pushing dangerous events to the brink of active conflict. The maneuver of pushing a situation with the opponent to the brink succeeds by forcing the op ...
situations between the two nations, potentially escalating to a
nuclear war
Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear w ...
, which ends the game.
Crawford was already well-known, especially for ''
Eastern Front (1941)
''Eastern Front (1941)'' is a computer wargame for the Atari 8-bit family created by Chris Crawford and published through the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. A scenario editor and assembly language source code for the game were also s ...
''. His 1984 announcement that he was moving to the Macintosh platform to work on a new concept generated considerable interest. It was widely reviewed after its release, including an extremely positive review in ''
The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...
''. It was praised for its inventive non-action gameplay that was nevertheless exciting and distinct. It has been named by ''
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'' as one of the most innovative computer games of all time.
''Balance of Power'' was successful on the Mac, and combined with ports it ultimately sold over a quarter million units.
Gameplay
The player may choose to be either the President of the United States or the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and must lead the chosen
superpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position characterized by its extensive ability to exert influence or project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political and cultural s ...
for eight years, seeking to maximize "prestige" and avoiding a
nuclear war
Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear w ...
. Each turn is one year long; at the beginning of each year, the player is presented with a set of incidents and crises in various countries around the globe and must choose a response to each one. Responses may range from no action to diplomatic notes to the other superpower, to military maneuvers. Each response is then met with a counter-response, which may vary from backing down to escalation. The player then gets a chance to initiate actions, and deal with the opponent's responses.
This core mechanic is similar to that of Bruce Ketchledge's 1983 game ''
Geopolitique 1990'', published by
SSI. One difference from the earlier game is how negotiations are resolved. In both games, backing down in a negotiation results in a loss of prestige, which will reverberate politically. Likewise, in both games brinkmanship may result in a global war. In ''Geopolitique'', such wars were actually fought in-game, after which the game continued. In ''Balance of Power'', such a war ends the game instantly, with the following message: "You have ignited a(n accidental) nuclear war. And no, there is no animated display of a mushroom cloud with parts of bodies flying through the air. We do not reward failure."
Development
Crawford had made a name for himself during his years at
Atari, Inc.
Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry.
Based primarily around the Sunny ...
in the late 1970s and early 1980s. His smash hit ''
Eastern Front (1941)
''Eastern Front (1941)'' is a computer wargame for the Atari 8-bit family created by Chris Crawford and published through the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. A scenario editor and assembly language source code for the game were also s ...
'' made him one of the few game authors known by name, and helped ensure later releases were also successful to a degree. By early 1984, Atari was rapidly going bankrupt due to the effects of the
video game crash of 1983
The video game crash of 1983 (known as the Atari shock in Japan) was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985, primarily in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including ma ...
. In March they laid off the majority of their staff, including Crawford. His ample severance was enough to allow him to write a new game as a freelancer.
[
After considering a sequel to ''Eastern Front'' or a political game about the ]Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
empire, he eventually decided to write a cold war "game about peace". Crawford cited Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
's "Blowin' in the Wind
"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962.
It was released as a single and included on his album ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions about ...
" as an emotional inspiration to the game.
Considering the Atari platform a lost cause, Crawford began looking at the new 16-bit
16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors.
A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...
platforms that were just coming to market; he dismissed the IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...
as too crude, the Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
as likely to fail for business reasons, and thus chose the Macintosh as the platform to develop on. At the time this was a non-trivial decision, as there were no development tools for the Mac, and programmers had to buy an Apple Lisa
Lisa is a desktop computer developed by Apple, released on January 19, 1983. It is one of the first personal computers to present a graphical user interface (GUI) in a machine aimed at individual business users. Its development began in 1978. ...
to write code for the platform.
During an April 1984 interview at the Origins Game Fair
Origins Game Fair is an annual gaming convention that was first held in 1975. Since 1996, it has been held in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Origins is run by The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Origins was cha ...
, Crawford stated that he was "working on a game for the Macintosh entitled ARMS RACE based on the philosophy that 'H-bombs don't kill people, geopolitics kills people.'" By May the initial concept was fleshed out; the game would take place on top of a world map that could show various details, events would be presented as newspaper stories following an algorithmic concept he developed after considering the headlines in ''National Enquirer
The ''National Enquirer'' is an American tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1926, the newspaper has undergone a number of changes over the years.
The ''National Enquirer'' openly acknowledges that it pays sources for tips, a common practice in tabl ...
'', and these events and their outcomes would be expressed in terms of "prestige points".
Crawford had difficulty in finding a publisher for ''Balance of Power'', due in no small part to the lingering effects of the 1983 crash. Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
eventually agreed to publish it, but there was considerable ill will between Crawford and the editor assigned to him, who had no prior experience with video games. Random House ultimately cancelled the contract and demanded that Crawford return its $10,000 advance payment An advance payment, or simply an advance, is the part of a contractually due sum that is paid or received in advance for goods or services, while the balance included in the invoice will only follow the delivery. Advance payments are recorded as a p ...
, almost causing him to lose his home. His wife demanded he get a "real job".
The work was saved by a friend at ''InfoWorld
''InfoWorld'' (abbreviated IW) is an information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a web-only publication. Its parent company today is International Data Group, and its siste ...
'', who heard of his troubles and published a two-part column on the game. The article was seen by a producer at the newly formed Mindscape, who agreed to publish it. Betas were ready in February 1985 and were polished through the spring and summer. The game was released in September and was an immediate sensation given that the world was then at the height of the Cold War. The fame was in no small part helped by a review in ''The New York Times Magazine'' written by David L. Aaron
David Laurence Aaron (born August 21, 1938) is an American diplomat and writer who served in the Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton administrations. He graduated from Occidental College with a BA, and from Princeton University with an MPA. He later ...
, Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
's Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, who called it "about as close as one might get to the cut-and-thrust of international politics without going through confirmation by the Senate."
The game was an immediate hit on the initial Macintosh and Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
platforms. A release for Microsoft Windows 1.0
Windows 1.0 is the first major release of Microsoft Windows, a family of graphical operating systems for personal computers developed by Microsoft. It was first released to manufacturing in the United States on November 20, 1985, while the Eur ...
in 1986 made it a multiplatform best seller. These were followed by versions on the Atari ST
The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...
(1987) and Amiga
Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
, among others. In total, the game sold over $10 million during its heyday, during a time when total sales for all gaming hardware and software combined was about $500 million.
In 1986, Crawford published a book, also called ''Balance of Power'', which details the internals of the game great depth. It explains the background of the politics, the formulas used to calculate prestige and related parameters, and an account of its (lengthy) gestation.
Around 2013, fulfilling a 2011 promise, Crawford released source code
In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...
of several of his games into the public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
, among them ''Balance of Power''.
Reception
''Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'' stated that ''Balance of Power'' "stands in a prestigious circle: that of the most innovative computer games of all time. If there were Academy Awards for computer games, BOP would get my votes for Best Picture and Best Director of 1985". A 1992 survey in the magazine of wargames with modern settings gave the game four stars out of five, a 1994 survey gave it three stars, and in 1996 the magazine listed the game's Game Over scene as #11 on its list of "the 15 best ways to die in computer gaming".
Roy Wagner reviewed the game for ''Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'', and stated that "This game is HIGHLY recommended."
''Dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
'' recommended the game and called it a "superb game of global strategy that goes beyond other games, wherein thoughtful, calculated geopolitics could prevent a worldwide nuclear war!" as well as "a truly entertaining and thought-provoking simulation of world geopolitics which involves the player in a quest to prevent a worldwide nuclear holocaust
A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear Armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes globally widespread destruction and radioactive fallout. Such a scenar ...
, while promoting either the U.S.A. or Russia to world prominence. This is a marvelous program that everyone should experience at least once."
''BYTE
The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
'' praised the game in 1986, describing the Mac version as "the best game I had ever seen on any computer ... by all means, get the program". ''Info
Info is shorthand for "information". It may also refer to:
Computing
* .info, a generic top-level domain
* info:, a URI scheme for information assets with identifiers in public namespaces
* info (Unix), a command used to view documentation produc ...
'' gave the Amiga version four-plus stars out of five, approving of the complex gameplay with a good user interface. While complaining of the lack of sound from the " obvious Macintosh influence", the magazine concluded that it was "An excellent game".
Bob Ewald reviewed ''Balance of Power'' in '' Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer'' No. 81. Ewald commented that "In conclusion, if this type of game appeals to you most of the problems are worth suffering through. However, if you're a hardcore wargamer who isn't interested in diplomacy, I suggest that you pass on this one."
''Compute!
''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', was an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET c ...
'' presented opposing views of the game in May 1988. The magazine included ''Balance of Power'' in its list of "Our Favorite Games", calling it "an impressive recreation of the world's geopolitical landscape ... call one too many bluffs and you'll see the chilling message ''You have ignited a nuclear war''". Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...
, however, wrote in his review of the game that Crawford—"the best designer of simulation games I've seen"—was "leaning over your shoulder and bullying you into playing the game his way. He has a sweet delusion that as long as the United States is very nice and doesn't do anything to offend them, the Russians will go home. And if you don't play that way, why, he'll stop the game with a nasty remark about how the world was just destroyed by nuclear war". He added that since no nuclear war had been fought Crawford could not know what would cause one, and "there are a lot of experts who claim that the Soviets seem to behave a lot nicer when we stand up to them than when we disarm", but that " rawfordis so sure he's right that ''Balance of Power'' isn't a game, it's propaganda".
In 1989 ''Compute!'' stated that the 1990 edition's multipolar features were welcome additions to the game. That year Card stated that the magazine's 1988 list caused him to reevaluate the game when playing the 1990 edition, stating that it had "the most detailed, carefully extrapolated future world I've worked with". While still criticizing geopolitical "absurdities" such as forcing the United States to passively accept Soviet troops in Syria (contrary to what happened during the Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egy ...
) and advisors in Mexico or start nuclear war, Card now concluded that such outcomes probably reflected computer limitations rather than Crawford's political views. He advised players to pretend that ''Balance of Power'' was set on an alien planet "astonishingly similar" to Earth, and to play solely based on the game's assumptions about the world. Chuck Moss
Charles J. (Chuck) Moss (born 1953) was the Republican State Representative representing the 40th District, which covers the municipalities of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Keego Harbor, Michigan, Orchard Lake Village, Michigan, Franklin, Michig ...
disagreed with Card's revised view, describing ''Balance of Power'' in ''Computer Gaming World'' in 1992 as "reflect ngextreme bias on the part of tsdesigners". He called it a "pacific treatise ... nuclear war erupted if the U.S. so much as sent five million dollars to Panama".
Crawford stated in 1987 that he was most proud of his work on the game: "I feel thas made the world a better place ... I think it has made a small number of people much more realistic in their appraisal of world affairs". In 1996 ''Computer Gaming World'' ranked it as the 78th best game of all time, calling it "a wonderful game of political intrigue that felt just like the Cold War and didn't require the detail of ''Shadow President
''Shadow President'' is a geopolitical simulation video game released in 1993 for the PC by DC True containing elements of cyberpunk and dark science fiction.
The game has a sequel called ''CyberJudas''.
Gameplay
The game puts the player in ...
'' or ''CyberJudas
''CyberJudas'' is a presidential simulation video game for MS-DOS-compatible computers, and is the sequel to '' Shadow President''. ''CyberJudas'' contains many of the same cyberpunk/dark science fiction elements of the original game, but adds th ...
''." That year it was ranked as the 75th top game of all time by '' Next Generation'', who commented "Although the game's premises are hopelessly outdated (U.S.S.R.? What's that?) and some disagree with the politics, the AI in ''Balance of Power'', combined with its unique play style, make it a classic." In 2006, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' listed it first on its list of "The 10 political games everyone should play".
Legacy
After ''Balance of Power'', Crawford began work on an entirely new game, '' Trust & Betrayal: The Legacy of Siboot'', released in 1987 and selling only a few thousand copies. Mindscape was disappointed, and pressured Crawford to do a follow-up to ''Balance of Power''. The company pressed him hard on it, and Crawford felt that he "owed them one" after publishing ''Siboot''. This sequel was released in 1989 as '' Balance of Power: The 1990 Edition'' on the Apple IIGS
The Apple IIGS (styled as II), the fifth and most powerful of the Apple II family, is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Computer. While featuring the Macintosh look and feel, and resolution and color similar to the Amiga and Atari ST ...
, Windows, Macintosh, Amiga and Atari ST. Crawford does not consider it a proper sequel, saying he was simply "tidying up, adding some bells and whistles." ''Balance of Power: The 1990 Edition'' adds more countries, advisors, to help the player, a new "multi-polar" level that allows countries to generate events of their own (such as declaring war on other countries) and a 2-player hotseat mode.
In 1992 Crawford left the game industry to make something more interactive and artistic. After many false starts, this emerged as ''The Erasmatron'', and later re-released under the name ''Storytron''. Both systems were used to make complex, interactive storylines. As a demo, Crawford used Storytron to build ''Balance of Power: 21st Century''. This version begins on 12 September 2001 and mostly involves the US's interactions with Asia and other emerging powers. It was not a success; Crawford himself describes it as "crap".
''Balance of Power'' has been the basis for a number of play by mail
A play-by-mail game (also known as a PBM game, PBEM game, or a turn-based game) is a game played through postal mail, email or other digital media. Correspondence chess and Go (game), Go were among the first PBM games. ''Diplomacy (board game), D ...
versions, manually run and based on moves posted in internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are often longer than one line of text, and are at least temporar ...
systems. One long-running example is hosted on eRegime.
See also
* Balance of power in international relations
The balance of power theory in international relations suggests that states may secure their survival by preventing any one state from gaining enough military power to dominate all others. If one state becomes much stronger, the theory predic ...
* Brinkmanship (Cold War)
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
External links
''Balance of Power''
at MobyGames
MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...
*
Retrospective
at IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balance Of Power (Video Game)
1985 video games
Amiga games
Anti-war video games
Apple II games
Apple IIGS games
Atari ST games
Chris Crawford (game designer) games
Cold War video games
DOS games
Commercial video games with freely available source code
Government simulation video games
Classic Mac OS games
MSX2 games
NEC PC-8801 games
NEC PC-9801 games
Video games developed in the United States
Windows games
Mindscape games