Floor 13: Deep State

Last updated
Floor 13 : Deep State
Developer(s) Oversight Productions
Publisher(s) Humble Games
Producer(s) Shahid Ahmad [1]
Designer(s) David J Eastman [1]
Artist(s) Bismuth Works Ltd [1]
Sarah Anne Langton [1] [2]
Composer(s) Len J Cheung [1]
Engine Unity 3D
Platform(s) Windows, MacOS
ReleaseNovember 2020
Genre(s) Adventure, strategy
Mode(s) Single-player

Floor 13: Deep state is a strategy video game published by Humble Games in 2020. The game set in the United Kingdom, where the player is the director of a secret governmental agency involved in clandestine domestic operations; the headquarters is hidden on the thirteenth floor of a city building near London Docklands, hence the title. [3] The game was developed by the same team that produced Floor 13 in November 1991. The game is self described as a "dynamic document-driven dystopia".

Contents

Plot

The player takes on the role of the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, an Executive Agency that conceals a secret police which keeps the government popular by any means necessary. Answering only to the Prime Minister, the Director General has the power to use wiretapping, surveillance, smear tactics, disinformation, burglary, kidnapping, torture, and assassination to keep the government popular with the people. [4]

The game contains numerous references to real-world groups, trends, scandals, and unusual occurrences that were newsworthy in the 1980s and early 1990s, including the Irish Troubles, Shining Path, the BCCI scandal, and the apparent suicides of Roberto Calvi and Jonathan Moyle.

Gameplay

The game is menu-driven and presents the player with scenarios through reports viewable in the Director General's office each day. Each scenario represents a potential scandal that may hurt the government's popularity if not properly handled by the player. The player interacts with the game by issuing orders to eight different departments which represent the capabilities available to the Director General (such as surveillance, assassination, interrogation, or disinformation) to use those capabilities against individuals, locations, or groups involved in each scenario. Once each day's reports are read and any orders have been issued, the player can advance to the next day to see the results of their orders and the progress of scenarios. Each scenario is scripted and will generally always proceed in the same way absent the player's intervention (with minor details such as names and pictures of individuals changed), but some of the results of the player's orders are randomised (for example, assassination attempts may fail or interrogation of individuals may or may not reveal particular information). Each individual or group is rated in the reports as to prominence, power, and orientation towards the government, attributes that will affect the likelihood of success of attempted actions taken against them and the likely results on public opinion. Some scenarios have multiple possible resolutions depending on what means the player chooses to use, and may also generate positive press, raising the government's popularity, if handled well.

During the course of the game, there are two possible ways to lose. Every 14 days, the Prime Minister reviews the opinion polls and will fire the player if the government's approval rating is under 50%. If the player is too severe in using aggressive means that attract unwelcome public attention, the player will be retired. If the government still has the lead in the polls after the review period, the player will be given more money or employees to work with. With luck, the player can temporarily keep their job by spying on and ignoring or discrediting suspects without using more severe and obvious methods such as "removal", "interrogation" or "heavy assault".

Reception

The game received mixed reviews. While the reviewers were very positive over the premise, the atmosphere and the art work, they believed the UI and the general difficulty was too unfriendly.

Related Research Articles

<i>Exile</i> (1995 video game series) Video game series

Exile is a series of role-playing video games created by Jeff Vogel of Spiderweb Software. They were released as shareware titles for Macintosh and Windows systems. Exile III was also ported to Linux by a third party. There were four games released in the series. All of the games were later revived in the Avernum series. Common to all games in the Exile series are 2D graphics and basic sound. The graphics in the first versions of Exile I and II had simple textures, colours and outlines, which were then replaced in later versions with Exile III's graphics. The games are designed to be non-linear and long in gameplay length.

The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 150 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. On 10 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), originally written to guarantee individual rights of everyone everywhere; while right to privacy does not appear in the document, many interpret this through Article 12, which states: "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks."

<i>Snakes Revenge</i> 1990 stealth action game

Snake's Revenge is a stealth action-adventure video game produced by Konami for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. It is a stand-alone sequel to Metal Gear that was released in North America and the PAL region following the international commercial success of the NES version. Much like the NES version of the first Metal Gear, the game was produced without the involvement of series creator Hideo Kojima, who went on to develop a separate sequel for the MSX2 titled Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, which was released later during the same year in Japan.

<i>Floor 13</i> (video game) 1992 video game

Floor 13 is a strategy video game published by Virgin Games in 1991. The game set in the United Kingdom, where the player is the director of a secret governmental agency involved in clandestine domestic operations; the headquarters is hidden on the thirteenth floor of a bank building in London Docklands, hence the title. A follow-up, Floor 13: Deep State, was released in November 2020.

<i>SOCOM II U.S. Navy SEALs</i> 2003 video game

SOCOM II U.S. Navy SEALs is a tactical shooter video game developed by Zipper Interactive and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs.

<i>Hitman: Blood Money</i> 2006 video game

Hitman: Blood Money is a 2006 stealth video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released in May 2006 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Xbox 360. It is the fourth installment in the Hitman video game series, and the sequel to 2004's Hitman: Contracts. The story follows cloned assassin Agent 47's efforts to bring down the Franchise, a rival contract killing organization that is threatening his employers, the International Contract Agency (ICA), and seeking to obtain the same cloning technology that created 47. Meanwhile, a frame story presents 47's life and various contracts he carried out, as narrated by a former FBI director to a journalist.

<i>JFK Reloaded</i> 2004 video game

JFK Reloaded is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed and published by Traffic Games. It simulates the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, according to the report of the Warren Commission. The player, controlling Lee Harvey Oswald, is tasked with recreating the three shots fired at Kennedy and gains higher scores the more accurately they line up with the report. Shots can be reviewed in slow motion and from multiple viewpoints. Traffic Games founder Kirk Ewing envisioned a small-scale simulation of a historical event after leaving VIS Entertainment. He chose Kennedy's killing over the Apollo 11 Moon landing in part due to the high amount of public domain information available on the former. A team of ten people worked in the game engine of Carmageddon to accurately recreate the event, taking several months each for research and development. Released on November 22, 2004, the 41st anniversary of the assassination, JFK Reloaded was denounced by public figures, including the spokesman for Kennedy's brother Ted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">False flag</span> Covert operation designed to deceive

A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misrepresentation of someone's allegiance. The term was famously used to describe a ruse in naval warfare whereby a vessel flew the flag of a neutral or enemy country in order to hide its true identity. The tactic was originally used by pirates and privateers to deceive other ships into allowing them to move closer before attacking them. It later was deemed an acceptable practice during naval warfare according to international maritime laws, provided the attacking vessel displayed its true flag once an attack had begun.

A government simulation or political simulation is a game that attempts to simulate the government and politics of all or part of a nation. These games may include geopolitical situations, the creation of domestic political policies, or the simulation of political campaigns. They differ from the genre of classical wargames due to their discouragement or abstraction of military or action elements.

<i>Resident Evil Outbreak</i> 2003 video game

Resident Evil Outbreak is a survival horror video game with online playability for the PlayStation 2. Initially released in 2003, it was developed by Capcom Production Studio 1 and was the first entry in the Resident Evil video game series to feature cooperative gameplay and online multiplayer support, although online support was not available for the PAL versions of the game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secretariat of Intelligence</span> Former Argentinian Intelligence agency

Secretariat of Intelligence was the premier intelligence agency of the Argentine Republic and head of its National Intelligence System.

<i>Under Fire!</i> 1985 video game

Under Fire! is a tactical level computer game released by Avalon Hill's computer division in 1985. The game was released for Apple II, Commodore 64, and DOS systems. Initial packaging had the name of the designer, Ralph H. Bosson, over the title on the box front so as to read Ralph Bosson's UNDER FIRE!, but subsequent packaging replaced his name and read Avalon Hill's UNDER FIRE! instead. The C64 port was by Dyadic Software Associates.

<i>Assassins Creed</i> (video game) 2007 action-adventure video game

Assassin's Creed is an action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the first installment in the Assassin's Creed series. The video game was released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in November 2007. A Microsoft Windows version titled Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition containing additional content was released in April 2008.

<i>Terrorist</i> (video game) 1980 video game

Terrorist is a real-time, two player strategy game developed by Steven Pederson of Edu-Ware Services in 1980 for the Apple II. One player plays the government authority, while the other plays a terrorist organization in three scenarios: the capture of a building and taking of hostages, air piracy, and nuclear blackmail. Players make their moves at the same time through the use of game paddles. Winner and loser is judged by an elaborate scoring system based upon the government player's societal values and the terrorist player's goals.

<i>Tom Clancys Splinter Cell: Conviction</i> 2010 video game

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Microsoft Game Studios and Ubisoft as part of the Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series. Key members of the Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas team, such as creative director Maxime Béland worked on the game. Gameloft released a handheld version for Apple's iOS on May 27, 2010. There are also versions available for the Android, Windows Phone and Bada, as well as a side-scrolling 2D version for mobile phones. The game was followed by a sequel in 2013 titled Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

<i>Tom Clancys ruthless.com</i> 1998 video game

Tom Clancy's ruthless.com is a turn-based strategy video game published in 1998 by Red Storm Entertainment. ruthless.com puts the player in the position of CEO of a new software company. The game features a campaign mode, six different scenarios of varying difficulty, and a multiplayer option. It later inspired a book of the same name in the Tom Clancy's Power Plays series.

Yuri Ivanovich Nosenko was a KGB officer who defected to the United States in 1964. Controversy arose in the CIA over whether he was a bona fide defector and he was held in detention for over three years before he was finally accepted as a legitimate defector by the CIA. After his release, he became an American citizen, working as a consultant and trainer for the CIA.

This article deals with the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the federal government of the United States that are violations of human rights.

<i>Surveillance Kanshisha</i> 2002 video game

Surveillance Kanshisha or simply known as Surveillance is a First-Party PlayStation 2 Adventure Science fiction interactive game published by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan with animation created by Production I.G, which was released in Japan on April 25, 2002 and was sold for a price of ¥5,800. The game had not been released in any other territory aside from Japan/Asia.

<i>Machiavelli</i> (board game) Board wargame published in 1977

Machiavelli is a board game published by Battleline Publications in 1977. Set in Renaissance Italy, the board is controlled by the Republic of Florence, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Kingdom of Naples, the Papacy, Valois France, Habsburg Austria, and the Ottoman Turks.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Credits - Floor 13: Deep State". floor13deepstate.com. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  2. ↑ "PORTFOLIO" . Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  3. ↑ "Floor 13: Deep State Review". The Indie Game Website. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  4. ↑ "Floor 13: Deep State". Common Sense Media. Retrieved 2021-02-10.

Indie video games

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.