Meiji Oligarchy

Play as a government official or military officer during the Meiji era. Manage relationships among officials to keep the government functioning, and steer the country in your desired direction through control over appointments and political maneuvering. Drive industrialization, develop the economy, reform institutions, win wars, and witness Japan’s rise to the ranks of the great powers.

The game begins with the assassination of Ōkubo Toshimichi and ends with the close of the Katsura–Saionji era (1878–1912). You will experience major historical events including the Freedom and People’s Rights Movement, the Political Crisis of 1881, the Matsukata Deflation, treaty revision, the drafting of the constitution, the opening of the Imperial Diet, the First Sino-Japanese War, and the Russo-Japanese War. Experience Japan’s political transformation from oligarchy to party politics.

Features

• A political simulation built around interactions with characters and positions. The careers and appointments of historical characters have been modeled as comprehensively as possible.

• The economic simulation uses a dynamic computable general equilibrium model, calibrated wherever possible using historically evidenced macroeconomic data. The role of finance is also modeled.

• The military system features a revised version of the naval combat system from my previous game, First Sino-Japanese War. It include historical naval engagements from the First Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars, hypothetical confrontations, and procedurally generated battles.

• Attention to historical detail and comparison. In “Historical Mode,” players can experience a historical reenactment from a first-person perspective; in “Dynamic Mode,” players can create an alternative course of history. The two modes can also be mixed and configured to varying degrees.