After recent updates added bulletproof vests and shotguns, it was probably inevitable that Prison Architect would continue it’s escalation towards more and more exciting additions with each alpha. The trend continues in alpha 19 with a broad revision to the game’s finance systems, which introduces new rules for borrowing, the need to pay corporation tax, and the ability to sell shares in your prison to investors.

Video update below while I try to explain why I’m not being sarcastic.

… [visit site to read more]

Prison Architect is forever trapped between two political poles: the side that says that prisoners should be locked up, punished, and left to rot; and the side that thinks they should be reformed, educated, and made better able to return to society and not re-offend. Introversion want both methods to have value within their management game, and alpha 18 takes the first steps towards enabling the liberal half by adding therapists.

Also tazers. New update video below.

… [visit site to read more]

It’s been a little while since I’ve seriously played Introversion’s incarceration sim Prison Architect, but I’ve come to enjoy reading and watching their monthly updates just as much as playing it myself. Alpha 17 is now live and the video below details the various additions. The big one: you can now build an armoury in your prison and deck it out like one of those rooms that used to come before a boss fight in first-person shooters. The kind of room full of shotguns, ammo and bulletproof vests.

The kind of room prisoners might want to break into in case of a riot.

The armoury introduces a new set of tools with which to deal with riots: mainly, guns. If your prisoners are misbehaving, fighting one another or the guards, you can send a group in with weapons to intimidate them into surrendering. You can tell your people not to fire or to fire on sight, but guards will make on-the-spot decisions themselves if they feel their life is in danger and depending on the types of prisoners they’re facing. This ends badly for lots of people – guards and prisoners – in the video above.

Of course, a few of your most violent prisoners, if they happen to be close by, will try to get inside the armoury themselves in the event of a riot. You’ll need to make sure it’s behind a lot of big doors to stop that from happening.

Other additions for alpha 17 include a forestry, in which trees will grow for you chop down and turn into money, and a new context-sensitive object menu designed to cope with the broadening scope (which is totally dope?) of the game. A full list of changes is over on the update’s forum thread.

Now that there’s more ways to deal with madness – and more importantly, many more ways for things to go wrong – perhaps we should send Brendan back in to try and build another nice prison.

Prison Architect is an ever expanding incarceration management game, currently in alpha and on a monthly update schedule. If it’s not growing fast enough for you, the most recent update adds something that will help: proper modding support.

Also, staff rooms, for when your little guards get sleepy. Come watch the update video. (more…)

Introversion’s deservedly popular Shawshank simulator is a lot of fun. It’s also incredibly difficult to manage. If a full-scale riot isn’t the problem (rarely), then a lack of funds is. And I don’t think building Cell Block B without any plumbing helps. I’ve run my fair share of ruinous hellholes but now that several updates have been added to give the player some more control over the disorder. In lieu of this, I wanted to see if it was possible to create a lovely, warm, sweet-smelling prison, just like ma used to make. CCTV, perimeter walls, sniffer dogs and guard patrols are sure to help make this a reality.

Welcome to Brendan’s Nice Prison For Agreeable People. (more…)

I don’t normally like business news, but I can write all day about indie designers done good. Prison Architect – the alpha-funded, Early Access, prison management game from Introversion Software – has sold 250,000 copies and made $8 million. That’s a lot for a team that only recently risked bankruptcy. (more…)

Oh, this is so good. This is so very, very good.

(more…)

If you’ve been playing Introversion’s Prison Architect, you might have noticed that it was a tough game. Like, unfairly tough. And being overall nice peeps, you’d have shrugged and thought “Hey, I’m sure it’ll all work out”. You’re nice. I like you. PA is tough because it’s still in development, and a lot of the mechanics that have been dropped into the prison sketching sim have been a bit skewed towards prisoner activities. That’s been somewhat fixed in the latest update: to give the player more power to detect criminals being criminals, Introversion has added dogs to aid the detection of contraband and escape tunnels. They are SUPER CUTE! (more…)

Weeeee-ooooooo, weeeee-oooooo, weeeeee-ooooooo! It’s the news alarm! Prison Architect’s latest update has escaped the seemingly impenetrable holding cell of Introversion HQ and come running to us for somewhere to stash the goods. Ha! Little bastard’s going straight back to the hole once he’s told us everything he knows. Like about the new tunneling system that’s forcing prison redesigns the world over or customisable punishment regimes that finally let you create the fascist nightmare of your dreams. You can take a glance at everything we got out of that scum bucket before we sent him off here or video evidence once you’ve been searched.

(more…)

*Gavel thumps* “Silence! Bring the prisoner forward. Craig ‘Thomas’ Pearson, you have been found guilty> of being a rubbish Prison Architect. A most serious offense that resulted in a record number of convicted felons escape your shoddily designed hole. As punishment, you are to spend the morning looking at the Steam Workshop, finding lovely prisons that you can compare your weedy efforts to. Then we’ll shoot you or drown you or something. Be off with you, and may Gabe have mercy on your soul.” (more…)