textfiles/games/REVIEWS/balance.rev

 BALANCE OF THE PLANET 

 BALANCE OF THE PLANET is the latest Chris Crawford creation. As you
might suspect from the title, Chris has presented gamers with yet
another tightrope challenge, just as he did with the earlier BALANCE
OF POWER. The adversary this time is perhaps the most difficult foe
ever presented in a strategy game: ourselves. In BALANCE OF THE
PLANET, players must wrestle with conflicting aims and desires in an
attempt to bring the world's ecological and political policies into
balance. (The IBM-PC version is reviewed here.) 

 BALANCE OF THE PLANET is simple to play. Players must attempt to
end the game with positive points. The game begins in 1990 and
proceeds in five-year turns until 2035. Although the point total is
zero to begin with, players start with a host of problems that
virtually guarantee negative point totals in the first few turns. 

 To turn this situation around, players set policies (through
taxation), and finance subsidies and research (funded by the taxes
collected). Each turn, players can set new policies and finances
with little restraint. These are evaluated at the end of the turn, 
and the results are reported in a simple screen that breaks down the
positive and negative point totals into various categories. Players
may also check through another screen how these point totals changed
in the last turn. 

 Of course, though the play mechanism is simple, there is
considerable complexity built into the simulation. To set policies, 
players will wish to see the results of their policies, and any
possible impact. The basic mechanism for doing this is through
hypertext navigation of various screens. 

 For instance, if players want to see the result of raising a tax on
oil, they can click on the Oil Tax in the Policy screen. This will
take them to an Oil Tax screen, where they can read more about the
tax, and alter its level. A list of possible Causes and Effects will
also be presented to the player. For Oil Tax, there is only one
Effect, and it is Oil Production. Clicking on Oil Production will
take players to a different screen, which presents a new list of
Causes and Effects. Here, players can click on Net Energy Cost (an
Effect of Oil Production) to see what other factors (besides Oil
Production) impact Net Energy Cost. 

 Besides listing Causes and Effects, each screen provides a graphic
and some related text. Also, the result of each turn's policies and
finances on an item is shown using a horizontal bar chart. Thus, a
low tax on oil will result in higher Oil Production, which is then
reflected in the bar chart of the Oil Production screen. This allows
players to track trends and the cumulative effects of their
actions. 

 The graphics of BOTP have been ported directly from the
black-and-white artwork of the Macintosh version. Unfortunately, 
they are displayed at a coarse resolution (640x200). The VGA/EGA
version layers some color over the essentially B&W images, but this
adds little. The good news is that CGA owners will not miss much. It
should be emphasized, however, that the graphics are largely
superfluous to gameplay. In fact, the graphics seem intended
primarily to disguise the fact that this is essentially a text and
numbers simulation. 

 Similarly, there is very little "interaction" in the game. Players
navigate information, set policies (using sliding boxes), and use
one short menu to progress from turn to turn. Games tend to be
short, lasting about an hour. This encourages players to give it
another try. The short game length also makes group play quite
feasible (more on this later). 

 Most of the interaction is internal to the player. What policies
must be modified and how? Why did things go so badly last turn? 
Where should the money go? Each turn presents new challenges. The
wildly successful policies of one turn can lead to disaster if left
unmodified. Players must react to the feedback and anticipate new
problems. It is a tough balancing act, and most players will take
their share of spills. It is very easy to lose huge points in a
single turn in BOTP, while the converse is rarely true. 

 BOTP covers some very controversial political and social ground. 
Chris Crawford has done an excellent job of straddling the middle
and remaining as objective as possible. The bulk of the manual is
devoted to masterful summaries of the major factors that are built
into the simulation. The manual proved more informative to me than
all the articles and media reports of the past year. Players should
be warned that Chris writes with a direct frankness that may be
disconcerting to those with strongly felt opinions or preconceived
notions. 

 One truly innovative feature of BOTP addresses this last issue. If
players are uncomfortable with the simulation, they may change the
biases built into the simulation. For example, a pro- (or anti-) 
nuclear bias may be loaded into the simulation. This mechanism lets
players experiment with different "realities," also letting them see
the world from different perspectives. 

 Of course, BOTP is not perfect. At a superficial level, its
graphics and presentation are fair, at best. More substantively, I
am concerned that some lessons taught by the game are a bit
simplistic. For instance, the game makes it clear that starvation is
a major problem. Also, the manual correctly states that the current
problem is economic (distribution of wealth and food) and
political. But in the game, players can only impact starvation
through taxation policies and subsidies. The problems of
distribution are swept under the rug. 

 Similarly, one could argue that what is not present in the game is
at least as important as what is included. Third World resentment
could well erupt in warfare, but this possibility is not simulated. 
Also, the United Nations is assumed to be a more effective global
organization than it is. It seems doubtful that the United Nations
(or any other global organization) could truly manage the global
funding and policies assumed in BOTP. 

 Of course, these criticisms really only highlight the fact that
this is a simulation, not reality. Chris has chosen to focus on the
intertwined nature of our ecological problems. His primary point is
that extreme views on either side of the issue neglect important
factors that can, in turn, invalidate simplistic agendas. In this, 
he has succeeded admirably. Also, whether players choose to believe
the totality of the simulation, they are bound to have learned
something and to have wrestled with the critical issues we all face
in the coming years. 

 This leads to one last point. The success of BOTP as a pure game is
probably fair, at best. It is interesting and engaging, but not
exactly "fun," and certainly not an escape from reality. However, as
an educational vehicle, BOTP is superb. I highly recommend its use
in the classroom. The manual alone should prove more illuminating
than any of the texts currently available on the subject. Also, the
low interaction and policy-driven nature of the simulation make it
an ideal candidate for use in team play. For players interested in
the subject area and ready with an open-mind, BALANCE OF THE PLANET
should prove equally educational. 

 BALANCE OF THE PLANET supports VGA/EGA (640x200x16) and CGA
(620x200x2) graphics modes. It requires 512K RAM, and must be
installed on a hard disk. There is no copy protection of any kind. 
Mouse support is provided in addition to the keyboard. There are no
sounds, therefore no sound board support. BALANCE OF THE PLANET
comes with both 5-1/4" and 3-1/2" disks. Note that a hard disk is
_required_ to play BOTP. 

 BALANCE OF THE PLANET is published and distributed by Chris
Crawford Games. 

*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253