The Westport Independent is a free-to-play newspaper editor simulator where you manage articles as an editor. This game is set in a country just after World War 2, now governed by the Loyalist Party, which recently came to power. This isn’t as much of a newspaper management game than a game about censorship. Your job is to vet articles for print, decide their title, and control what goes to print.
You examine each article’s text and choose the headline to use. The game will provide a default headline to publish which is benign. Alternatively, you can choose an alternate headline, which is often incendiary and can make your point stand out. After that, you censor any information you want removed. Censorship is necessary if you want an article to be pro-Loyalist or pro-Rebel, since you must remove information that supports the opposing side.
On paper, this game seems simplistic with a premise of removing unwanted parts of an article and give it a bold edge. However, the Loyalist Party government is authoritarian, and there is many rules that are in place. If you disobey them, the government can become distrustful, with consequences ranging from a stern warning letter to imprisonment. The country is in disarray, as rebels aim to oust the Loyalist Government. In this game you get to decide which version of events to print. If you print the rebels’ version, you can gain their trust, but the government won’t take it kindly. If you print pro-rebel material, surrounding areas may shift politically and support the revolution. You can also stay nonpartisan, avoid serious news, or publish celebrity-gossip articles about actors and upcoming films if you want to remain apolitical.
This story is also about more than the state of the country and the articles you print. You have a team of 4 reporters who create articles for your newspaper. Each reporter and each has a personal life that shapes what they are willing to write. Some may support or oppose the current government, and pro-government reporters will not write pro-rebel articles. When a reporter is provided with anti-government articles too frequently, they can refuse to cover an article. If the government dislikes their writing, they will be taken into custody and dealt with later.
Beyond moderating articles for The Westport Independent, you also plan advertising and article placement in the newspaper. From week 2 onward, you are given 4 articles to place in each edition. Placement of articles is also worth considering as the further forward an article is placed, the more attention it gathers.
There are 4 article styles: celebrity, industrial, crime, and societal. Celebrity articles work well if you want to stay apolitical or if you want the Loyalist Government to be less interested in you. Industrial articles are largely based around business, but some can be political but this is based on the topic. Crime articles may draw attention from either faction. This is depending on whether you support the rebels or the government, and they can also blend into other styles. Societal articles focus on society and can include riots or pro-government parades; they may also merge into other styles. I would treat societal articles as a more political version of celebrity articles. Despite this, you need to be careful when publishing, especially if you want to minimise government interest.
After you create the newspaper, you have to market it. The city has 4 districts, and each has its own interests in article genres and clientele you can appeal to. The Northern suburbs are rich, well-off, support the Loyalist government, and prefer celebrity and industrial news. The Western district is middle-class, has plenty of food outlets and offices, and largely supports the government. The eastern factories distrust the government, are poor, rely on factories as their main employers. This area is dirty and struggling, with poverty commonplace. Residents in the eastern districts prefer societal and industrial articles. Lastly, there is the southern docks which are the most poverty-stricken and populated area. This area has problems such as unemployment, and they prefer societal and crime news.
The articles you publish also affect who will read it. If you are targeting a specific demographic, it helps to know which areas like which articles. The view your newspaper provides can also sway opinions. This is handy if you wanted areas such as the southern docks to support the Loyalist government. Whilst you can change political views, it isn’t possible to change the preferred article styles. The articles you publish affect the story as it plays out. Characters can be placed in custody, which means fewer articles will be published. If areas become pro- or anti-government, the ending also changes based on your actions.
I think you should play this game because it is free. Amazingly, the game has no microtransactions or DLC. Still, it is short, so I recommend playing it on a rainy day.
