2nd/10_Wiki/Topics/Game_Design/Poverty-Simulation.md

id, title, category, status, canonical_id, aliases, duplicate_of, source_trust_level, confidence_score, verification_status, tags, raw_sources, last_reinforced, github_commit, tech_stack

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

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

# 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

# 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

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

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