• Political cartoonist Zapiro has leant his art style to SpaceSalad for a new game.
• Point of Order Weekly sees players battling politicians including Julius Malema and Helen Zille.
• The game is slated for release on 22nd May.

Political cartoonist Jonathan “Zapiro” Shapiro has collaborated with a local indie-game developer SpaceSalad to bring a bit of fun to the local elections this year.

That bit of fun is a game called Point of Order Weekly which contracts to P.O.O Weekly.

“It puts players in the shoes of a ‘newly-elected’ president, empowering them to shape the future of their country through policy implementation. Every decision made in the game carries consequences, challenging players to navigate obstacles and defeat enemies to ensure their policies come to fruition. The question is: will players choose to do good for their citizens, or will they act in their own self-interests,” reads a description of the game.

The game features caricatures of politicians as made famous by Zapiro over the years and the intent is to get younger people interested in politics and head to the polls on 29th May. While that is a noble pursuit, the game is only being released in demo form on 22nd May, a week before the elections which seems like too little time to achieve that goal.

However, the game should help folks understand the political landscape and the figures within in it in a light-hearted manner.

“We’ve aimed to provide players with an engaging and interactive experience that educates them about political processes while promoting critical thinking and civic engagement. The game provides a realistic and immersive experience in which players navigate through various scenarios, make policy decisions, and address critical issues facing their country,” game designer and chief executive officer at SpaceSalad Studios, Tabo Tsolo said in a statement.

There is an early version of the game available on Itch.io, but as luck would have it, the game requires a gamepad which we currently don’t have access to.

Characters in the game include Rain Man (Jacob Zuma), Juub Juub (Julius Malema), Mrs Lizzard (Helen Zille), and Cereal Kil-Uh (Cyril Ramaphosa).