Empire

I came across this article from Wired about my two favorite passions: science fiction and video games. I'm a fan of Orson Scott Card and his books, Ender's Game (1994) and Speaker for the Dead (1994). So when a renown science fiction writer tries his hand in video games, I perk up with interest. Card's soon to be released book, Empire, is being developed (it looks like it's already been developed) into a video game. The book-turned-to-game is about:

a near-future America in which a civil war has erupted between the political left and the right. Card was involved from day one in building the franchise across entertainment mediums.

Like I said, I'm intrigued at this development because of the way video games has become more "cinematic" in design and narrative development, and in some ways, the reverse is true demonstrating their mutual influence. Some video game companies like EA has courted blockbuster directors like Steven Spielberg to develop a new line of games suggesting the exploration, and the importance, of not only aesthetic presentation (does it look kEwL?), but storyline progression and character development.

But a game about a US civil war between red and blue states?

It sounds awkward and ... well ... not very video gamish. I guess I really am used to seeing an invading alien armada, or demons from another dimension, or even the occasional mad scientist-uses-genetics-to-create-a-biological-monster type, but what the hell. I'll try any game once. Let me download the beta and check it out for myself.