Citizens: Backwater Affairs

Citizens: Backwater Affairs is a cancelled PC game by Microprose. It was to be a simulation game inspired by the computer game Little Computer People.

Plot
The plot involves a company called Celestial Development Inc. You have died and now have to work for this company in the afterlife. You are the guardian of the town of Blackwater.

Blackwater is an experimental town to see how free will (or lack of it) affects society. Problems keep arising and you must task the citizens to fix them. You only have one year to do it though until you lose your job.

Gameplay
Problems are caused by mischievous imps. These imps represent the seven deadly sins. Corrupted citizens can't be controlled by you. Thankfully you have angels to help clean out the imps.

You could not directly task the people though. You can control the emotions of your citizens. Treat them well and they'll be more receptive.

Cancellation
What killed the project was a lack of confidence. The higher-ups were unsure that such a game would sell. The game was canned in its alpha stage.

Timeline:
 * 1994: starts development as Little People
 * early 1996: formally announced as Citizens: Backwater Affairs
 * late 1996: cancelled

Prototype
Demo.