Hackman: The Birth of the Political Attack Videogame

Add games to the list of media that can be turned into political attack ads. Russ Carnahan, the Democratic incumbent in Missouri's 3rd District, recently released a PacMan take-off to hit his opponent, Republican challenger Ed Martin on various ethics-related issues.

The game mechanics are just like PacMan with the exception that your little avatar is Martin's head, and the ghouls chasing you are actually gavels. As you successfully avoid them, your score is noted in "Tax Dollars Wasted." When they catch you, the gavels smush your head and a little political attack ad is shown with the options to continue or read more about Martin's alleged infelicities.

After a few rounds, I think it's a pretty fun game, as far as little casual browser games go. But I have to wonder if being forced to play Martin could actually generate a little empathy for him. In the game universe, you are Martin and the Carnahan campaign's attack messaging comes up when you lose, not when you win.

Hat tip: Patrick di Justo.

Alexis C. Madrigal

The New York Observer has called Madrigal "for all intents and purposes, the perfect modern reporter." He co-founded Longshot magazine, a high-speed media experiment that garnered attention from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the BBC. While at Wired.com, he built Wired Science into one of the most popular blogs in the world. The site was nominated for best magazine blog by the MPA and best science website in the 2009 Webby Awards. He also co-founded Haiti ReWired, a groundbreaking community dedicated to the discussion of technology, infrastructure, and the future of Haiti.

He's spoken at Stanford, CalTech, Berkeley, SXSW, E3, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and his writing was anthologized in Best Technology Writing 2010 (Yale University Press).

Madrigal is a visiting scholar at the University of California at Berkeley's Office for the History of Science and Technology. Born in Mexico City, he grew up in the exurbs north of Portland, Oregon, and now lives in Oakland.