Mr. President News

[p]Hey everyone,[/p][p]Thanks to the thousands of players who spent time playing our short demo and for providing feedback! We wanted to give an update on lessons learned and next steps.[/p][p]First, a whopping 88.1% of players surveyed (n=201) answered “very high” and “high” to the question: Based on what you saw in the demo, and the components indicated as "under construction", what's your interest in playing the full version? Those who answered our survey were primarily our core audience – those familiar with Mr. President already.[/p][p]We’re excited by this result but we know we still have a long way to go. We agree with a lot of the feedback provided, which ranged from macro suggestions to micro changes. Here are the top three:[/p]

1. [p]Provide more details on “what happens, what can happen, why am I doing things.”[/p]
2. [p]Provide a more intuitive interface, UI/UX. Some players wanted even more tooltips whereas other players felt that the zooming options were not sufficient (text too small).[/p]
3. [p]Provide a better onboarding experience.[/p]

[p]Next Steps[/p]

1. [p]We will keep our demo up, which is a change from our original plan of turning it off on June 16, because there were players who downloaded the demo but were not able to try the demo just yet.[/p]
2. [p]We’ll prioritize some immediate changes to the current demo that this cohort of players can benefit from. Specifically, we’re working on an action log that shows you previous actions, rolls, and results.[/p]
3. [p]We’re going to circle back internally to start planning towards a second demo that can showcase our implementations of player feedback and more progress on the game.[/p]

[p]If you haven’t played yet, please watch Ananda’s walkthrough in lieu of an onboarding experience. Thanks again to all of you who tried out the demo or watched Ananda's video or left feedback for the demo. Please continue to monitor our blog or X for updates![/p][p]Thank you![/p][p]-The Mr. President Team[/p]

[p]This is a pre-recorded session of a playthrough of the recently released demo for Mr. President.[/p]

[p]Our demo has been live for two days now, and the overall response has been wonderful and encouraging. But a common sentiment among players - especially players unfamiliar with the board game - is often expressed as: “What am I supposed to be aiming for in this game?” So in this post I’m going to go over some of the intro points I’ve made while streaming in the last couple of days.[/p][p]In the full game, you’ll be looking to score Legacy Points. These come from major successes: winning wars, passing legislation, and maintaining a strong political position at home (with high Public Approval, relations with Congress and the media, etc.). In the demo, though, your main concern will be China: containing the PRC’s influence and managing crises that can precipitate two of the 15 different auto-loss conditions.[/p][p]The first of those requires China to reach 15 total influence on the map. You’ll need to take actions to reduce their influence, which can come on to the board through several of the Crisis cards. The second auto-loss condition triggers if China and Japan go to war; you’ll need to keep an eye on their Conflict Track and use diplomatic actions to mediate these two countries’ disputes. If you can reach the end of the demo without either of those happening, and with US-China relations still neutral or better, then you’re in good shape, and in the full game you’d have some breathing room to advance your other goals.[/p]





In the demo, the best way to understand the gameplay is to look at all the tooltips you can. We decided that the best approach to demo-ing a sandbox game was to make the rules and systems available to the player, and to avoid scripted scenarios and rails. We may change our tune on this for the full release, but for now, the tooltips on all of the counters and markers and tracks should give you a sense of what you need to watch out for and what actions you should consider taking.

[p]Hey everyone,[/p][p]We’re thrilled (and a little nervous) to announce that the demo for Mr. President: The American Presidency 2000–2020 is now available as part of Steam Next Fest! We plan for this demo to be live only during Steam Next Fest, which runs from June 9th to June 16th.[/p][p][/p][p]This is our first playable public build, and while there’s still a lot under construction, we wanted to get the game into your hands early. If you’ve been following the project, you know Mr. President is a different kind of political game — it’s not about running for office, but about what comes after: governing.[/p][p]What’s in the demo?
You’ll get a hands-on preview of several core systems, including:[/p]

• [p]Crisis events, both historical and counterfactual[/p]
• [p]A full Activation Segment for the People’s Republic of China, showcasing how one of the two Peer Rivals in the game operates[/p]
• [p]Domestic, diplomatic, military, and Presidential player actions[/p]

[p]Some systems are still in progress — think of this as a guided tour through a construction zone. You’ll see the structure taking shape, even if the scaffolding is still up. That said, what’s here should give you a strong sense of the game’s direction and depth. Make sure to check out the tooltips we’ve added to almost all of the game pieces and components - they’ll help you learn the flow of the game.[/p][p]Whether you're trying to push legislation through Congress, contain international crises, or just keep your approval rating above water — this is your first chance to step into the Oval Office and see what the job really feels like.[/p][p]We’re a small team building something ambitious — and your feedback means everything to us. Try the demo, and then let us know what you think. The good, the bad, and the confusing: we want to hear it all. Please drop your feedback on this Google survey or under this Steam sub-forum![/p][p]Thanks so much for your support. We can't wait to hear how your presidency goes.[/p]

[p]Come watch Ananda Gupta, the game designer for digital Mr. President, play through the Steam Next Fest Demo at 4pm Pacific on Tuesday, June 10![/p][p][/p][p][/p]