Creating your own curse words is a lot of fun, and the developers of "Not for Broadcast" seem to think so. It started out as a run-of-the-mill swear word, but soon after starting the game, all kinds of wibble clips were added to the list of naughty words. Because as the vision mixer for the nightly TV newscasts, your job is to censor them so as not to offend the sensitive ears of your viewers. That includes the government.

If a viewer hears a terrible word like "wample" or "kuput," much less a newscaster talking about a rooster over a foot tall, he or she will switch off en masse. And that's a bad thing. Because your performance is being measured.

As Alex Winston, the gender-neutral janitor at the TV studio, you made the mistake of answering a ringing phone. It was election night, and the Progressive Party had won a landslide victory on Michael Foot's slightly left-leaning platform. He is on the phone talking about how to operate so that the night's news will flow as usual. Considering the amount of parties he has, it is surprising that he still has the work ethic to guide you.

Before long you become a regular on the job, in charge of four cameras from the studio and an outside broadcast, choosing which ones to show the public, with guidelines such as not lingering on one shot, keeping the camera pointed at the person speaking, etc. Then there's the job of cueing in ads, countering interference, and eliminating swearing. You can use the mouse to do these tasks, but there are also keyboard shortcuts so you can use the mouse to stay ahead of the interference, use the number keys to switch between different angles of the interview, or use the spacebar to blow off a drunken interviewee's bad language. I look at the script and chuckle.

Then there's the complication. Since you are solely responsible for the news the public sees, you can either follow the party line or try to subvert it if the forward party starts acting suspiciously. Your choice of ads and videos can improve the fortunes of companies in which you own stock, but get this or any political maneuvering wrong, and things can go downhill fast.

News programs rapidly become government propaganda, forcing you to make decisions about what to broadcast. In text-based segments interspersed in between the chaos of television, you are faced with the decision of whether to help your family secede, how to make your Christmas food last a little longer, or whether to ignore the station chief's order to work during your reserved vacation time. The contrast between family life and professional life is stark.

For example, in one early interview with a police chief, a gimp literally falls out of the cupboard behind him and he stands up, revealing that he is wearing stockings under a crisp white shirt. It's hardly subtle, and instead of warming you with laughter, some may feel cold.

There was an opportunity for true political satire here, but the humor was so silly that the blow never landed. Some parts are genuinely funny, but there are also moments where you'd expect Noel Edmunds or Jeremy Beadle to make an appearance (if you're not familiar with British TV in the 80s, the only useful context for these references is to note "Noseybonk" on Google). A darker edge might have been a comment on current events in Downing Street and beyond, but instead we get fictional sports with confusing rules, flaming children's toys, terrible coming-of-age drama, and the acronym M.O.O.B.S.

A group of people got together and decided to release what is essentially an FMV game in 2022 (they succeeded with "Telling Lies") and shot the silliest, most revolting, slapstick news segment and ad outside of a Monty Python sketch The fact that they did this is just amazing. They are genuinely having fun. You can always rewatch the film on the virtual video player to catch up on what you missed.

But don't expect brass eyes. Commentary on contemporary politics is as good as nonexistent, save for "the evils of oppressive government." Actual interactivity is also limited, although there are attempts to introduce new mechanisms, such as dealing with thunderstorms. Keeping everything moving smoothly and keeping the viewer happy while a naked swearing cop draws attention from the upper left is enough to put off a live broadcast job.