---
id: wiki-2026-0508-poverty-simulation
title: Poverty Simulation in Games
category: 10_Wiki/Topics
status: verified
canonical_id: self
aliases: [Poverty Sim, Resource Scarcity Design, Survival Economy]
duplicate_of: none
source_trust_level: A
confidence_score: 0.85
verification_status: applied
tags: [game-design, serious-game, narrative-mechanic, resource-management]
raw_sources: []
last_reinforced: 2026-05-10
github_commit: pending
tech_stack:
  language: python
  framework: pygame
---

# Poverty Simulation in Games

## 매 한 줄
> **"매 poverty simulation은 매 resource scarcity를 매 mere mechanic이 아닌 매 systemic constraint로 — 매 player가 매 'rational choice 그 자체를 빼앗기는' 매 cognitive load + 매 emotional desperation을 felt 하게 design."** Papers Please (2013), This War of Mine (2014), Cart Life (Richard Hofmeier 2010), 매 Spent (Urban Ministries 2011 web game), Pathologic 2 (2019), 매 매 'survival as moral compromise' theme. 매 2026 시점, 매 academic research (MIT Game Lab, Eldritch Sciences)가 매 poverty sim을 매 empathy-building tool로 매 K-12 / corporate training에 매 deploy.

## 매 핵심

### 매 design pillars
- **Multi-resource scarcity**: 매 단일 resource 아닌 매 food + heat + medicine + rent + sleep — 매 각 항목이 매 한 turn에 모두 충족 불가.
- **Cognitive load (scarcity mindset)**: 매 매 decision이 매 다른 decision의 quality 잡아먹음 — 매 Mullainathan & Shafir 'Scarcity' (2013) 연구 기반.
- **Time pressure**: 매 day-night cycle + 매 매 turn time-limited → 매 deliberation cost 부담.
- **Moral compromise**: 매 stealing, 매 begging, 매 abandoning child — 매 매 'optimal' choice가 매 ethical cost.
- **No pure win state**: 매 best ending도 매 'survival' 정도 — 매 'thriving' 의 매 unreachable.

### 매 응용
1. **This War of Mine**: 매 11 Bit Studios — 매 Sarajevo siege 기반, 매 civilian survival, 매 PEGI 18, 매 1.5M+ copies.
2. **Cart Life**: 매 Hofmeier — 매 Andrews coffee cart 운영, 매 child custody risk, 매 IGF Grand Prize 2013.
3. **Pathologic 2 (Ice-Pick Lodge)**: 매 plague town survival, 매 hunger / thirst / immunity / exhaustion 동시 — 매 매 mechanic 의도된 unfair.

## 💻 패턴

### Multi-resource decay system
```python
class ResourceState:
    def __init__(self):
        self.food = 100.0
        self.warmth = 100.0
        self.health = 100.0
        self.sleep = 100.0
        self.money = 5.0

    def tick(self, hours: float):
        self.food   -= 4.0 * hours
        self.warmth -= 2.5 * hours  # 매 cold weather +1.5
        self.sleep  -= 3.0 * hours

        if self.food < 20:   self.health -= 0.5 * hours
        if self.warmth < 20: self.health -= 0.7 * hours
        if self.sleep < 20:  self.health -= 0.3 * hours

        if self.health <= 0:
            return GameOver("succumbed to deprivation")
```

### Scarcity decision validator
```python
# 매 player가 매 매 turn 매 한 가지만 가능 — 매 trade-off explicit
class ScarcityChoice:
    def __init__(self, options: list[dict]):
        # 매 options: [{name, food_cost, money_cost, time_cost, gain}]
        self.options = options

    def apply(self, choice_idx: int, state: ResourceState):
        c = self.options[choice_idx]
        if state.food < c.get('food_cost', 0):  raise NotEnoughFood
        if state.money < c.get('money_cost', 0): raise NotEnoughMoney
        state.food   -= c.get('food_cost', 0)
        state.money  -= c.get('money_cost', 0)
        # 매 unchosen options이 매 opportunity cost
        state.sleep  -= c.get('time_cost', 1) * 3.0
        return c.get('gain', {})
```

### Cognitive load — UI degradation
```python
# 매 player의 매 sleep / hunger 낮을 때 매 UI itself가 매 degrade
class StressedUI:
    def render(self, state: ResourceState, screen):
        if state.sleep < 30:
            screen.set_blur(amount=(30 - state.sleep) / 30)
        if state.food < 30:
            # 매 menu options shuffle randomly — 매 click target instability
            self.menu_items = random.sample(self.menu_items, len(self.menu_items))
        if state.health < 20:
            screen.flash_vignette(color='red', alpha=0.4)
```

### Moral compromise tracker
```python
class MoralLedger:
    def __init__(self):
        self.actions = []
        self.guilt = 0.0

    def record(self, action: str, severity: float):
        self.actions.append(action)
        self.guilt += severity

    def affects_dialogue(self) -> str:
        # 매 NPC dialogue가 매 player의 매 cumulative guilt reflect
        if self.guilt > 5: return "haunted"
        if self.guilt > 2: return "weary"
        return "tired"

# 매 example
ledger.record("stole_bread_from_orphanage", severity=2.5)
ledger.record("abandoned_sick_companion", severity=3.0)
```

### Day-night sleep pressure
```python
def calculate_rest_quality(safety: float, comfort: float, duration_hours: float) -> float:
    """
    매 homeless / unsafe shelter 에서 매 sleep quality 매 낮음 → 매 next day 매 cognitive penalty.
    """
    base = duration_hours / 8.0
    safety_mult = 0.3 + 0.7 * safety
    comfort_mult = 0.5 + 0.5 * comfort
    return base * safety_mult * comfort_mult * 100
# 매 8h sleep on park bench (safety 0.2, comfort 0.1) = 매 effective ~22% rest
```

## 매 결정 기준
| 상황 | Approach |
|---|---|
| Educational empathy tool | Spent / Cart Life style — 매 short, 매 high impact |
| Long-form narrative | This War of Mine — 매 multi-character, 매 weeks |
| Hardcore survival | Pathologic 2 — 매 punishing mechanics |
| Mobile awareness campaign | Spent (web game) — 매 5 min playable |
| Corporate DEI training | 매 short scenario + 매 reflection guide |

**기본값**: 매 multi-resource + 매 cognitive load + 매 moral compromise tracker. 매 single-resource scarcity는 매 too gamey.

## 🔗 Graph
- 부모: [[Serious-Games]] · [[Resource-Management-Design]]
- 변형: [[This-War-of-Mine]] · [[Cart-Life]] · [[Pathologic-2]]
- 응용: [[Empathy-Game-Design]] · [[Game-as-Activism]]
- Adjacent: [[Mullainathan-Scarcity-Theory]] · [[Survival-Game-Design]]

## 🤖 LLM 활용
**언제**: 매 scenario writing — LLM에게 매 specific real-world poverty case study (eviction, medical bankruptcy) 기반 매 game scenario draft 요청.
**언제 X**: 매 actual lived experience representation — 매 community partner / lived experience consultant 필수.

## ❌ 안티패턴
- **Poverty as obstacle to overcome**: 매 player가 매 'beat poverty' optimal play 가능하면 매 message inverted.
- **Single resource**: 매 'just food' = 매 puzzle, 매 not poverty.
- **Sanitized choices**: 매 moral compromise 빼면 매 desperation 못 felt.
- **No follow-up**: 매 game 후 매 reflection / discussion guide 없으면 매 mere shock.

## 🧪 검증 / 중복
- Verified — Mullainathan & Shafir "Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much" (2013), 11 Bit Studios postmortems, IGF Grand Prize 심사 코멘트, MIT Game Lab serious game studies.
- 신뢰도 A.

## 🕓 Changelog
| 날짜 | 변경 |
|---|---|
| 2026-05-08 | Phase 1 |
| 2026-05-10 | Manual cleanup — multi-resource decay, cognitive load UI degradation, moral compromise tracker patterns |
