As we've been settling into our new lives here in Utrecht, I've had more time to devote to thinking about Hawk & Dove, its origin story, and how my experiences in gaming shape its DNA. Here are some thoughts. Please take a look if you're interested: www.hawkanddovegames.com/blog/origin-...
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The other biggest things I hear are "I want to feel like an all-powerful pharma executive" and "did any of these companies actually lose in the end?" This is where public perception and historical gaming intersect in one of the more awkward ways.
How people think about "big pharma" does not always align with how this particular story played out. In fact, Purdue Pharma, which started the opioid epidemic by overselling OxyContin for use with chronic and generalized pain, struggled early on and almost went under.
So this game we're making is trying to tell this story as best it can. One playtester not long ago called the game hopeful. It was the first time I'd heard that, and it struck me as true. The game feels bad to play, sure, but it is hopeful in that it believes accountability and reform are possible.
These legal and financial "victories" are pyrrhic, however, given the toll Oxy and later fentanyl have taken on the American public and its economy, and especially on the victims of these predatory companies. What does it mean for a company to "die" in the face of 1 million actual human lives?
They took a gamble on this one pill to save the company. It worked, from a business perspective, although it had devastating results on the country as a whole. So, should the game reflect this struggle? Or should it lean into the players' desires to FEEL powerful? I tend toward the former.
This is a very affecting piece of writing about games, growing up, community, responsibility, struggle, and how they can all intersect. One of the best things I've read about boardgames or gaming in a while.
When I show people Painkillers, there are often nervous jokes about how bad the game feels to play. Not as a game, but as a player inhabiting the seat of a pharmaceutical executive. This is intentional, of course, and I'm always glad to hear it.
As for the "did anyone lose" question, the answer is yes, eventually. Insys Therapeutics filed for bankruptcy in 2019. And Purdue, well, they lasted a long time, but as of May 1st of this year, it no longer exists, and the Sacklers themselves are on the hook for billions in settlement fees.
Hawk and Dove Games
Anyone who wants to read more about Purdue Pharma's shuttering can do so here: ag.ny.gov/press-releas...
