It is June 1999.
Thirteen months ago, the Asian Financial Crisis and the fires of May 1998 brought down President Suharto's thirty-two-year Orde Baru dictatorship. Within the hour, you — Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, a German-trained aeronautical engineer, lifelong technocrat, and Suharto's own handpicked Vice President — were sworn in as the third President of the Republic of Indonesia. Almost no one in Jakarta or Washington gave your accidental presidency ninety days to live.
On June 7, more than 105 million Indonesians voted in the nation's first free legislative election since 1955. Opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri's PDI-P swept to a commanding plurality, and her supporters are already celebrating the end of your administration. Under the 1945 Constitution as it stands in 1999, however, voters do not directly elect the President. In four months, on October 19, 1999, all 700 delegates of the People's Consultative Assembly will convene in Senayan to vote by secret ballot on your constitutional Accountability Speech. If 351 delegates vote to reject it, your presidency is over before the presidential ballot even begins.
Twilight of the Banyan Tree is a work of historical political simulation based on primary memoirs, parliamentary records, Komnas HAM / TGPF fact-finding reports, and contemporaneous 1998-1999 press archives. This browser build is a beta version.
How to Play
Play a 23-turn campaign from June to October 1999. Every turn is a real crisis from Habibie's seventeen months in office, and each one forces a choice — you will not have the political capital to fix everything. Balance seven national stats that affect each other: Popularity, Military Support, Reformasi Credibility, Economic Health, International Standing, National Stability, and Cendana Influence. Balance faction loyalties, enact laws or decrees, and manage the Political Capital economy, all while keeping enough delegates onside for the Accountability Speech.
Controls
Mouse and keyboard — see the original itch.io page for the developer's control notes.
Tips & Tricks
You cannot fix everything: the developer states plainly that you will not have the political capital to solve every crisis, so triage.
The MPR votes on October 19, 1999 — 351 of 700 delegates rejecting the Accountability Speech ends the presidency before the presidential ballot.
Watch Cendana Influence alongside the seven national stats; the stats feed each other, so a single neglected one can unravel the rest.
Four difficulty levels and 34 achievements are available if you want the full challenge.
Features
Free browser beta of a historical political simulation
Set in Indonesia, June to October 1999, across a 23-turn campaign
Seven interlocking national stats: Popularity, Military Support, Reformasi Credibility, Economic Health, International Standing, National Stability, and Cendana Influence
Faction loyalty system plus law and decree enactment
Political Capital economy for spending influence
4 difficulty levels and 34 achievements
Autosaving and a built-in in-game library
Windows 95-inspired desktop interface with a start menu, taskbar and loading screens
Switchable window styles, customizable color schemes, desktop color and background
Built-in music player and mobile support
Roadmap covers Indonesian translation, the 1999 presidential election, dynamic epilogues, modding support and a full 1.0 release
Based on primary memoirs, parliamentary records, Komnas HAM / TGPF fact-finding reports and 1998-1999 press archives
Latest Updates
Added to PlayBloo
June 1999: can B.J. Habibie survive the fall of the New Order? A 23-turn political survival sim.. Discovered on itch.io's new releases feed and added to the PlayBloo catalogue with verified source details.
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