toxicTom: I kind of think the release of this game is kind of a social experiment...
I'm on the fence myself... it seems rushed, and inappropiate. On the other hand I see games as art, and art can of course comment, play with, reflect on contemporary events.
What I do think is - the game should have been released for free - with a "pay/donate what you want" attached that has a fair split between the devs and some really independent health organization, or maybe the WHO to make it more independent from big $$$.
Maybe the should have gone more metaphor - not use the COVID name (which should be SARS-COV2 anyway, since COVID is not the infection, but the resulting lung disease). They could have called it "the pandemic", or something else. Maybe have it take place on an alien planet with alien life forms. The educational effect would be the same.
Lastly the game claims "the game provides the players with information on how to behave in the event of an epidemic, what actions to take, and how to protect themselves and their loved ones in the most effective way. The game is based on the data published by WHO and on the information acquired from experts and consultants."
The problem with that is that none of this is set in stone. Experts (I mean real experts, not YT- "experts") are still very much in disagreement about which measures were/are effective. The "truth" changes daily. Mouth protection is everything between useless or the ultimate salvation, depending on who you ask. Opening schools and businesses is fine or doom. Certain medications are the salvation or pure poison. A rushed, barely tested vaccine will save us all, or kill us all. Those are all standpoint from people with serious medical and scientific degrees, some even with Nobel prize fames.
And now a game that tries to educate "right behaviour"? Will it get daily updates?
I do think the devs and GOG mean well, so please cut down on the hate.But I'd rather have Plague Inc. finally on GOG, and I think it'd be more educational on how pandemics work.
+1
This is why I downvoted the game on the store page, without owning or playing it. Feel free to slate me for that, or take down my "review" - it really doesn't bother me at all.
God knows there is enough misinformation about the current pandemic, from adverts, media and political leaders. How are the developers going to ensure that the information "the game provides players" is the right information to follow? It looks like we are in this for the long haul, so I would guess that they are going to have to be very careful about the information they give players to follow, not just in the present, but in months and years to come. Advice from even the most reliable of sources appears to change regularly at the moment.
Without sounding histrionic, in the health and medical world, it is not enough to give information that is correct and legitimate - health professionals can also face litigation for what they 'don't' say or do. I'm not suggesting that this applies to the highbrow world of games development/publishing, but for me it is still an important factor to consider.
If just one person becomes ill because of something that is said or not said in the "information" provided to players in this game, then that could turn out to be tragic.
Sorry, GOG - I think this was a bad call, and I'm really sad to see you going down the route of other platforms.