A storm is brewing on the horizon. Whilst it may seem far away, the destructive power can only be guessed at.

Having weathered the disappointment of a weakened Earl, New England’s seemingly endless march to the November midterms electons has begun, with candidates for both national and local positions eager to demonstrate their credentials and persuade voters that they are the best possible candidates

The electorate has a right to be concerned. The financial stimulus has not produced the desired results, the national deficit is now 10% of GDP, the healthcare bill endured a torrid time and is still seen as Socialism by many, climate change legislation seems to have stalled – with many on the Right actually questioning the validity of the evidence – and despite “combat operations” ending in Iraq, there is still a significant US military presence in the Middle East. And lets not forget Afghanistan.

However it is the topic of jobs that seem to be at the top of everybody’s list. This week the unemployment figures for August were revealed by a visibly-graying President Obama, and showed a slight rise to 9.6% nationwide. For those out of work, the future is not looking bright and those running for office in November are exploiting this (as only politicians can).

So what has this got to do with gaming?

Have any of the candidates vying for Governor Patrick’s job actually declared that the gaming industry might finally be considered “creative” enough to qualify for tax credits? Has the Governor himself conceded that as the industry brings in a significant amount of cash into the Bay State, that perhaps the continuation of the brain drain and the propensity for West Coast acquisition of East Coast talent should be limited?

Sadly, the answer to these questions is No.

But down in Rhode Island, Frank Caprio, current State Treasurer and gubernatorial candidate, has declared that he thinks that the proposed loan guarantee to entice 38 Studios from their base in Maynard may not be the best deal for the state.

Speaking this week, Caprio (who has flip-flopped his way around this issue since it was announced) stated: “I am not going to stand by and watch us gamble taxpayer dollars on a bad deal when there are thousands of small businesses in need of more access to capital. Our state’s leaders and EDC are unwilling to stop this deal or restructure it. That’s why I’ve gone directly to the potential investors to stop this deal and to protect our taxpayers.”

So a state official, running for Governor, thinks that giving $75 million to an unproven games studio is a bad idea. Especially since taxpayers could have to pick up the tab if 38 Studios isn’t a resounding success. Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has guaranteed that the company will bring employment to the region.

And we thought that politicians only cared about the size of their majority.

Knowing that the gaming industry in Boston has been vocal in the past about Schilling’s All-Stars moving to Rhode Island, BostInnovation couldn’t resist the chance to get some feedback from some of the indie developers that have remained loyal to Massachusetts.

Fire Hose Games’ Eitan Glinert, currently wowing the crowds at PAX in Seattle, believes that it is nothing more than posturing, saying, “This is a political football that has nothing to do with the issue. Frank Caprio is trying to grab upon public misconception that Rhode Island is simply giving 38 $75M (because that is probably what most voters think).” Warming to his theme, Eitan continued by claiming that “Once he does that, opposing it is an easy way to make it seem like the incumbent is out of touch and wasting taxpayer money, and makes him seem like a pork-chopping knight in shining honor. It’s very sleazy since his entire position is based on opposing a public misconception and misinformation, and he’s doing nothing to educate voters on the facts.”

When the announcement was made by 38 Studios, it seemed to be a done deal and there were some in the industry who were critical of the company’s decision but Scott Macmillan from Macguffin Games was not one of them, commenting that “Personally, I don’t condemn 38 for looking at the deal – I love Boston dearly and I’m a huge booster for our games industry, but if leaving here improved my chances of success with Macguffin Games, I’d have to think really hard about it.” However he does think that perhaps Caprio is right to be concerned. “As for the State of Rhode Island, I think they’re right to look very closely at this deal. It’s a ton of money on one horse, no matter how good that horse looks,” he says.

Ichiro Lambe of Dejobaan is always worthy of consultation on the hot gaming topics of the day, and, whilst not condemning the move, he hopes that the local gaming industry could do with more support from Government. “I’d like to see New England do more to support the game development industry. I’m not sure whether Rhode Island’s loan to 38 Studios makes sense — as Caprio points out, they have no track record as a team — but it’s really just the opening move in a much larger game. When the video games industry grows to epic proportions, shouldn’t Vollywood (Video Games Hollywood) reside in Boston?” he asks.

Elliott Mitchell of Vermont Digital Arts, was quick to point out that this subject was discussed at GameLoop last weekend. A session entitled “The Future” concluded that 38 Studios would either not move or be bought by a larger studio (Electronic Arts possibly) and he hopes that“ 38 Studios doesn’t move to Rhode Island. The Boston area is the place to be if your developing games.” Mitchell, who resides in Vermont but spends a lot of time in Boston, is keen to promote Beantown saying, “The game developer community in Boston is very close and supportive in general. I’m not sure Curt Schilling cares about the Boston game developer community, their family ties and stability” and believes that. “38 Studios staying in Mass will only continue to strengthen developer community and attract more companies to relocate and startups to form.

But it seems that Caprio is only trying to promote himself as a concerned Rhode Island citizen which, given that the wheels of this deal are already in motion, may be too late.

There are rumors that 38 Studios are due to get paid the first chunk of cash by Tuesday although Glinert (drawing on the facts at his command) says thinks that “38 is guaranteed to get $10M in financial assurances by Nov 30th, which is before the earliest point where Caprio could affect the deal. If he shuts it down it might result in 38 not moving AND keeping the $10M assurance on the loan (since it will have already gone through),” before concluding that (in his opinion) “The whole thing is dumb.”

So it seems that 38 Studios may have found themselves the unwilling participants in a political game, pawns in a provincial slug-fest that will determine who assumes the reigns of power in November.

For those of us that enjoy the Machiavellian posturing of politicians and elected representatives, the next two months will be fascinating. After all, with all the problems in the world, who wouldn’t want a diversion from reality?