I’m not a good bad cop.
I found that out while playing This is the Police at PAX East last month. The game asks us to toe the line between doing what’s ethically right and doing what’s financially right, placing us in the shoes of a retiring police chief as he aims to secure his future through any means necessary. More often than not that means working with nefarious people and doing less than moral things. Even though I *know* that the only way to move forward is to sink myself to low levels, I can never find the moral (immoral?) push to do so.
That’s the hook in This is the Police; we know what we’re doing is wrong and we second guess ourselves often, enough so that the buildup of tension in the game is completely self-created. And worth it.
This is the Police is a management simulation game, broken up by days and events and meant to give us the sense that we’re sitting in an office all day, playing a sort of administrative chess with the officers below us. Jack Boyd, the Chief of Police whom we’re in the role of, is rarely seen on the screen except for during cut-scenes. There isn’t a lot of action in the game, instead choosing to carefully insert animations at key points (usually between days). Our controls are essentially clicking, dragging, pointing, clicking; if you’ve ever played a management game before, this will not come as any surprise whatsoever.
As my demo begins, I’m treated to a bit of Boyd’s back story: he’s been working for decades, doing the just (though not always moral) thing. The PD is ready to move on past him, and he needs to raise enough funds to make his future comfortable. The game plays out over calendar days, and on the first I sort of learn the ropes: send my officers out on calls, hire additional staff, review employee requests.
It really does feel like a job.
Situations arise throughout the day that require more of my attention. A homicide has taken place and I need to send a qualified detective to examine the scene and gather clues. However, I just gave my most experienced investigator the day off due to a personal request, and so a newer agent needs to go instead, one that I may have less trust in. The data I gather back over the next few days could very well be insufficient to crack the case.
Similarly, individual officers on staff have more or less experience, biases, skills, and pairing them together on calls could lead to success or failure. On more than one occasion a perp I was chasing after would escape, which creates a domino effect on the rest of my time in the position.
It feels like the management aspect of the game is just the seasoning for the main meal, that being my slow turn to corruption on my way out. How will I gain the $250k that I need? Will I personally side with the mafia, businesses, or other corrupt members of the local government? Will I treat my family and friends well, or will I step on anyone I need to?
This is the major, narrative thread that everything else is wound around, and though the demo doesn’t get deep into it, it’s obviously there, waiting to be expanded. In a year that seems to have a metric ton of cop drama gaming releasing, This is the Police might set itself apart by forcing ethics down our throats and causing us to question everything we do — and don’t do.
Look for it later this year.
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