Prison Architect is a top-down prison management game that’s got some visual flair, but it’s definitely 2D. Tiny two-dimensional prisoners wander two-dimensional corridors, dreaming of two-dimensional freedom. Turns out, it doesn’t have to be that way.

Prison Architect, the very good prison building and management sim, will be out on Xbox 360, Xbox One and PS4 in spring. Priced at 30$, the console versions will add a Prison Warden mode where you manage pre-built prisons, and the World of Wardens network, used for sharing custom maps.

Prison Architect Devs Wonder if Their Game Should Have Looked Less Like America

Chris Suellentrop

10/16/15 10:40am

100

People are interested in Introversion’s very good sim Prison Architect because it tries to model the complexities of life inside a penal institution. People also seem to be tougher on Prison Architect than they are on more frivolous games, for the very same reason: it attempts to simulate the complexities of prison…

Prison Architect: The Kotaku Review

Chris Suellentrop

10/12/15 11:00am

108

Almost a decade ago, a majority of the Republicans in Congress voted to pass a prison reform bill called the Second Chance Act, and a Republican president signed it—during an election year, no less. As a policy matter, the bill was modest, less than $100 million a year for things like job training, mental health and…

Nathan Grayson

10/06/15 2:07pm

Prison Architect just broke out of Early Access. The long-in-development prison management game is finally “done”—or at least out of alpha testing. Inspired by the likes of Dungeon Keeper and Dwarf Fortress, it’s full of chaotic possibilities. If you’re new, there’s now a campaign story mode.

Prison Architect Creators Respond To Our Prison Architect Critique

Stephen Totilo

1/24/14 6:00pm

116

The developers of Prison Architect have read our guest writer Paolo Pedercini's tough critique of their game. They... liked it! And they've recorded a video addressing Pedercini's concerns about how their game does or doesn't bleed the reality of the real prison system into the game.

What To Do With Prison Architect, A Video Game About Building Prisons?

Paolo Pedercini

1/20/14 2:30pm

191

Is it possible to create a prison management game without trivializing or misrepresenting the issue of mass incarceration? As video games mature and tackle more serious topics, players and developers should be aware of the values embedded in their systems.

Stephen Totilo

6/28/13 10:47am

Prison Architect continues to have the best alpha updates: "Alpha 11 brings a host of new features, bug fixes and improvements, not least of which is hearses to take away the unfortunately deceased." Details here. Reasons to play it here. (Warning: Presumably-NSFW cursing at the start of the video.)

Prison Architect, a Smart Game Worth a Look, Now Has Better Riots

Stephen Totilo

5/31/13 2:40pm

The somewhat-wonderful, somewhat-demented interactive incarceration simulator Prison Architect always gets the best updates.

The Prisoners May Be Innocent in One of 2013's Most Interesting PC Games

Stephen Totilo

4/12/13 1:30pm

I'm already on-record about how fascinating Prison Architect is. Seriously, it's SimPrison—or ThemePrison, if you will—made by people who seem to be damn near fearless about making video games about uncomfortable topics.

I'd Rather Be Playing Prison Architect, a Most Uncomfortable Game

Stephen Totilo

4/01/13 12:00pm

110

The most interesting decision a video game has given me the opportunity to make this year involved the interior decoration of a prison. The choice, which I was presented just yesterday: Did I want to put a window in the cell of a man on death row? Or save the money? Either way, he was going to die the next day.

Another Serious Game Falls to Apple's Anger-Inducing Approval Process

Mike Fahey

3/21/13 8:30pm

Proven countless times over the past several years alone, video games are a form of entertainment uniquely suited to communicating serious subjects in an interactive fashion — far more effectively than reading a book or watching a documentary. Unfortunately Apple wants nothing to do with that sort of communication, so…

It Took Players Five Months To Find Out A 2D Game Can Be Played In 3D

Prison Architect Devs Wonder if Their Game Should Have Looked Less Like America

Prison Architect: The Kotaku Review

Prison Architect Creators Respond To Our Prison Architect Critique

What To Do With Prison Architect, A Video Game About Building Prisons?

Prison Architect, a Smart Game Worth a Look, Now Has Better Riots

The Prisoners May Be Innocent in One of 2013's Most Interesting PC Games

I'd Rather Be Playing Prison Architect, a Most Uncomfortable Game

Another Serious Game Falls to Apple's Anger-Inducing Approval Process

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