What does it take to be accused of espionage? For Navid Khonsari, all he had to do was start making a game about his homeland.
If you've been waiting to hear more about 1979—the game that Khonsari's been developing about the socio-cultural turmoil of the Iranian Revolution—you may have noticed that things have been quiet for a while. There's a reason for that.
"When word got out about the game, it got picked up by the conservative newspaper in Iran and I got written up as a spy," Khonsari relates. "They're basically saying that I'm making propaganda. So, as a result, I can't go back to Iran now. It really sucks because I've got some family there, including elderly relations."
Josh Griffiths writes: "Khonsari and his team were right to be afraid. In August 2011, Amir Hekmati, was arrested on charges of spying while visiting his grandmother in Iran. Hekmati was also a game developer working on the Kuma War series, a first person shooter franchise set in the Middle East."
Ink Stories developer Navid Khonsari explains how Unity brought the Iranian Revolution to life in 1979 Revolution and how the game is being developed for Oculus Rift in this exclusive interview from the Sundance Film Festival New Frontier in Park City, Utah.
Former Rockstar Games developer Navid Khonsari has jumped from GTA and Max Payne to the Iranian Revolution in the new episodic game, 1979 Revolution, which will debut on mobile devices before heading to consoles. He talks about the game in this exclusive interview from the Sundance New Frontier showcase.
OF COURSE!
Man that sucks. Hopefully Iran will open up....