1948Red
| 1948Red | |
|---|---|
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| Creators | Tom1923 (Writer)
OfficialAiden (Coder) |
| Genre | Alt-History |
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| Canon result |
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1948Red (or 1948 Red as it is referred to on the Mod Loader) is an alternate-history mod written by Tom and coded by Aiden that posits a United States in which Vice President Henry Wallace is not replaced at the behest of Democratic Party leaders in 1944 and succeeds Franklin D. Roosevelt after his death in 1945. Controversially, 1948Red also imagines that Wallace's anti-WMD sensibilities would lead him to decide against the use of nuclear weapons on Japan; and that the ensuing invasion of Japan is a stunted affair that opens the door to Soviet invasion from the north via Hokkaido[1]. This insurgent Soviet force globally prompts a more intense Second Red Scare at home, and propels the candidacy of anti-communist star Harold Stassen, who goes on to canonically defeat Wallace 301-171 in the 1948 Election depicted.
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
The gameplay of 1948Red has been both praised and criticized for a variety of reasons. To begin, as Henry Wallace the player may gain ground on Stassen via campaign stops (similar to Dan Bryan's original [scenario]), but several players have pointed out that this makes for static gameplay. These effects carry over for both Stassen and Russell, and while this was a deliberate choice, the fact that a Stassen player is more focused on preventing momentum than gaining it for oneself has made for hearty criticism. The mod also features several nonfunctional answer affects, making both the Stassen and Wallace sides signifgantly harder.
The gameplay for Richard Russell has also been criticized for being overly static and difficult to deadlock the electoral college, though others have praised the Russell's side for its difficulty.
Wallace's gameplay is relatively simple despite starting off slow. As the game progresses Wallace gains more and more support until the second to last question in which he is indicted by the HUAC as being a potential communist supporter. This ruins his support and will more than likely give Stassen the win in the election.
Overall, 1948Red is a well-coded TCT modification, despite some trip-ups and controversial design-choices.
Endings[edit | edit source]
1948Red features several unique endings depending on your result, and a handful of jokey endings, most only available by the use of cheats or slidered difficulty.
Stassen Again?
This ending is attainable on normal difficulty and requires a Stassen player to lose every state. It includes a description of President Reagan during a primary long into the future meeting his 'opponent,' a decrepit figure in a wig once known as the mighty Harold Stassen. A post sharing the ending received 55 upvotes on Reddit[2].
Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!
This is the ending which a player triggers when he or she wins a game as Richard Russell with Douglas MacArthur as your VP. It is notoriously difficult to attain, requiring the use of bigshot and creative campaign choices. A Reddit post made by the first documented player to earn the ending received 65 upvotes.[3]
Conceptualizing/Development[edit | edit source]
The Day of Two 1948s[edit | edit source]
The day this mod was released, the mod 1948 Identity War also came out. This was notable because they were both mods of the same year, focused on the same concept: what if Wallace stayed as FDR’s VP? However, Identity War has been received much more harshly than Red, to the point where it was removed from the mod loader.
Reception[edit | edit source]
