Twilight at the Banyan Tree (Beta)
What is Twilight at the Banyan Tree (Beta)?
Twilight at the Banyan Tree is a historical political simulation set in Indonesia in 1999. Across a 23-turn campaign, the player responds to crises, balances seven national stats and faction loyalties, and manages Political Capital.
Set in June 1999, the game casts the player as Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, sworn in as Indonesia’s third president after Suharto’s Orde Baru dictatorship fell. The campaign runs 23 turns from June to October 1999, and each turn presents a real crisis and a choice. Players balance seven national stats: Popularity, Military Support, Reformasi Credibility, Economic Health, International Standing, National Stability, and Cendana Influence. They also manage faction loyalties, enact laws or decrees, and handle Political Capital. The game includes four difficulty levels, 34 achievements, auto-saving, an in-game library, and a Windows 95-inspired desktop interface.
How to play Twilight at the Banyan Tree (Beta)
- Begin a 23-turn campaign running from June to October 1999.
- In each turn, choose a response to a real crisis.
- Balance the seven national stats and faction loyalties; political capital will not cover every problem.
- Enact laws or decrees and manage Political Capital.
- Use auto-saving and the in-game library while pursuing 34 achievements across four difficulty levels.
Twilight at the Banyan Tree (Beta) controls
The developer does not list specific controls on the game page. Click the play frame above and try the keyboard, mouse, or touch; most jam games show their controls on the first screen.
Tips for Twilight at the Banyan Tree (Beta)
- Expect trade-offs: political capital will not be enough to address every crisis.
- Watch how the seven national stats affect one another before committing to a choice.
- Faction loyalties and laws or decrees are part of the same balancing act as Political Capital.
- Use auto-saving and the in-game library to track the campaign and reference material.
Twilight at the Banyan Tree (Beta) FAQ
What is the campaign length?
The campaign has 23 turns from June to October 1999.
What does the player balance?
The player balances seven national stats and faction loyalties while managing laws or decrees and Political Capital.
What happens on October 19, 1999?
All 700 MPR delegates convene in Senayan to vote by secret ballot on the constitutional Accountability Speech; 351 rejection votes end the presidency before the presidential ballot.
What platform is supported?
The game is played in HTML5.
What interface style is used?
The interface is a Windows 95-inspired desktop with a Start menu, taskbar, and loading screens.
About this game
Read the full developer description
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 (New Order) 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 has 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 (MPR) will convene in Senayan to vote by secret ballot on your constitutional Accountability Speech.
If 351 delegates vote to reject your speech, 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.
Gameplay
- A 23-turn campaign from June to October 1999. Every turn is a real crisis from Habibie’s 17 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
- Cendana Influence
- Balance faction loyalties, enact laws or decrees, and manage the Political Capital economy.
- 4 difficulty levels.
- 34 Achievements.
- Auto-saving.
- In-game library.
Interface
- Windows 95-inspired desktop UI with a Start menu, taskbar and loading screens.
- Switchable window styles.
- Customizable color schemes, desktop color, and custom background.
- Built-in music player.
- Mobile support.
Roadmap
- Indonesian translation with a reworked localization system (Version 0.2)
- 1999 Presidential Election (Version 0.3)
- Dynamic epilogues based on player choice (Version 0.4)
- Rework gameplay to make it more dynamic; rework music & SFX; more achievements; mobile tweaks (Version 0.5)
- Improved mobile experience (Version 0.6)
- Modding support (Version 0.7)
- Full Release (Version 1.0)
Links & Source
Twitter: @MeniirIII
GitHub: Source Code
Description from Twilight at the Banyan Tree (Beta) on itch.io, by Meniir.
Screenshots
Not listed by the developer: controls, system requirements, specific mobile platforms or touch controls, download or installation instructions, full release date. We left these out rather than guess.