International monetary policy and economic development is an incredibly complex, and deeply politicized, aspect of modern civilization. But it’s not something that video games explore all that often. And certainly those games that do explore it often appeal to very niche audiences with their deep economic models and political undertones. But with a new game called Evil Bank Manager, one developer wants to take a more tongue-in-cheek approach to the issue.
Starting from a simple position as a regional banker in one particular nation, your ultimate goal is to become the head of the international markets controlled by the IMF. You pick a starter nation and build out from there with the goal using investment knowledge and political trickery to climb your way into more lucrative deals. The goal of grabbing the majority of shares of the IMF seems right, until you realize that the IMF is structured out of various funds made up of quotas which are in a proportional relationship to the relative economic strength of the nations fulfilling said quota. The IMF exists to help alleviate economic crises by allowing nations to request funding assistance for international transactions, say to fulfill a needed trade balance, with a promise to repay the loan to the IMF fund. This doesn’t directly translate to some shadowy capitalist cabal.
The International Monetary Fund is quite the powerful institution and is often involved in various plans to develop, or if you’re of a more conspiratorial mindset to undermine, various nations across the globe. Developer Hamsters Gaming is looking to craft quite the experience with their new game by delving into this shadowy world, and placing you at the helm.
And yes, your entire goal is to become the most evil Capitalist in the world, it’s right in the name. Nevermind that this isn’t really possible within the real world IMF, but it’s a game, so give it some leniency. Although given the controversies surrounding the conditionalities that the IMF places on loans, which critics often say leads to retardation of social development and rights, does lend some credence to the tone of Evil Bank Manager.
Critics also claim that the IMF is often hostile to human rights, and labour rights. The backlash from these claims helped spark the anti-globalization movement. Perhaps we’ll have to deal with that in the game itself. It would be quite interesting to weave in the growth of the militant movements of that period into a video game.
As the official blurb says:
What could be better than having a million? Have a hundred million? Billion? But this will not give you complete power over the world. Your goal is not to make a lot of money – your goal is to get control of money. Start printing them. Only by becoming a Federal Reserve System will you become great!
Check it out in the gameplay trailer down below. The game launches on Steam on December 8th.
