This is an archive of the former website of the Maoist Internationalist Movement, which was run by the now defunct Maoist Internationalist Party - Amerika. The MIM now consists of many independent cells, many of which have their own indendendent organs both online and off. MIM(Prisons) serves these documents as a service to and reference for the anti-imperialist movement worldwide.

Maoist Internationalist Movement

Space game projects banal war-mongers into future

Space Empires 5
Strategy First
2006

This is an elaborate, broad and deep game that should be pitched in the trash, along with the u.$. imperialism that inspired it.

The object of this game is various, but the production tilts toward military space ships. These ships explore the universe, establish colonies and then attack competitor empires.

The typical turn goes like this:

"'Technology Minister: We have developed the Planetary Napalm (Level 2), sire."

"Technology Minister: We have developed the Small Cluster Bomb (Level 2), sire.'"

Typical "abstract" research allows one to develop new weapons systems. Other improvements increase the happiness of the population so it can produce more weapons.

Producing more weapons that use fewer resources is another motif. On the plus side, once again we see that anyone who programs a game for the future does not worry about "money." There are three resources in the game--minerals, food and radioactives. The economic model underlying the game is thus physical--what we call part of the classical economics that included Marx. Nonetheless, the game is a fascist imperialist game.

The game runs perfectly and has elaborate art. That's what makes it all the more sinister. It is aseptic militarism, with elevator music in the background. Calm, pleasing and stupid-- "Space Empires 5" is a great argument for the relative merits of phone sex.