200°

Muslims craft their own video games

55
Inside the frosted glass doors of Afkar Media, located in Damascus's newly-built free-zone, software developers are trying to rebuild a civilization inside a video game.

Set to be released in September, "Al-Quraysh" is a strategy game that tells the story of the first 100 years of Islam's history from the viewpoint of four different nations - Bedouins, Arabs, Persians, and Romans.
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csmonitor.com

[via guardian.co.uk]
The Killer - contributor
Published: 370 days 19 hours ago | News | PC
 
 

Showing: 1 - 45 of 45 Comments
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The Killer - 370 days 21 hours ago
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1 - here it comes!! take cover!!
the waves of anti-islam will fill this thread!

on topic: we r starting to see more of different culture video games, thats a good sign, now we will have india and arabs plus europe ,NA,japan!

its only good for the industry and a fresh ideas to gaming!

edit
@1.1

but i like warcraft 3 and some few more! so not all RTS sucks but yeah many of them do suck and bring nothing new!
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riksweeney - 370 days 21 hours ago
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1.1 -
Me first! Me first!

Right, what am I slagging off? Oh yeah, that's right...

(Takes a deep breath)

Real Time Strategies suck!
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Mr Bun - 370 days 19 hours ago
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1.2 -
I wonder if Media Molecule/Sony will be looking for a way to delay this game for revenge.
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RoyFlav - 370 days 19 hours ago
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1.3 - It's from 2006
Top of the original story in the CSM.

"from the June 05, 2006 edition"...

and The Guardian piece: " Posted on Monday June 5 2006 11.55 BST "

Does anybody read the actual stories?
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LebaNoob - 370 days 18 hours ago
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1.4 -
@Mr Bun
AHAHAHABUBBLES+
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FAT MAN GO BOOM - 370 days 20 hours ago
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2 - Collectors Edition Comes with...
Not a good idea
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MAR-TYR-DOM - 370 days 20 hours ago
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2.1 - wow
your the type of ignorant person that makes the world hate us.

Anyways, I hope they have good aspirations and kudos for them trying to be different.
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va_bank - 370 days 20 hours ago
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2.2 - ^
Hard to take you seriously in this thread with that avatar and the screen name :)
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Pennywise - 370 days 19 hours ago
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2.3 -
MAR-TYR-DOM, no sir... It is the fanatic hate monger terrorists that cant stand anything different than what they are used to that gives Muslims a bad name.

And seriously, every other religion catches jokes one way or another - get used to it or ignore them. We joke to enlighten our lives....

And for the record, with your name and avatar you are not doing it any justice. Think about it.
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LebaNoob - 370 days 18 hours ago
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2.4 -
@FAT MAN GO BOOM
lol

@Pennywise & va_bank
The username and avatar actually show the guy's got a sense of humour. And honestly, the guy's right to get frustrated what with all the OMGTERRORISTLOL each time someone mentions arabs.

@MAR-TYR-DOM
You should lighten up though. Kabber 3a2lak, yostoflo shu bi 2oulo ;).
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Pennywise - 370 days 18 hours ago
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2.5 -
I know the name & Avatar are from COD4, but it can be mixed up with religion, especially when he is Muslim.

Everyone is so damn sensitive..... Maybe if people were more passive with their opinions of how everyone else lives this world would be a better place.
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LebaNoob - 370 days 18 hours ago
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2.6 -
Agreed. And it goes for all sides concerned.
And bubbles for everyone :).
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Mr Bun - 370 days 18 hours ago
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2.7 -
Pennywise: the new advocate for peace amongst gamers!
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Pennywise - 370 days 18 hours ago
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2.8 -
lol Bun... wish me luck!!!

I think religion should be banned Worldwide... it would eliminate a lot of discrimination.

Religion = worst invention ever.
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MAR-TYR-DOM - 370 days 17 hours ago
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2.9 - lol
I CHOSE my avatar and name beacause people can pronounce the word properly. When ever i play online, people always say "marty-dom" that is not correct, the proper pronunciation is MAR TYR DOM. go to dictionary.com, ALSO martyrdom is a really annoying thing in cod4, another reason i chose it.
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Mr Bun - 370 days 17 hours ago
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2.10 - @Marty
So we've established that you are annoying...keeping with the topic of nobody gives a $hit, is there anything else you care to bore us with?
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Pennywise - 370 days 16 hours ago
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2.11 -
@ Mr. Bun... comment of the day!!! Congrats, I almost spit coffee on my monitor.
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va_bank - 370 days 20 hours ago
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3 - I can't think of a comment:
From the story:

"This is not the first time the company has turned computer games conventions on their heads. Last year it launched the controversial game Under Seige, which was inspired by actual Hizbollah missions"

I wonder which missions.

EDIT: Nevermind, here it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

"The player shoots at Israeli Defense Force soldiers throughout most of the game. However, shooting at civilians or otherwise hurting them ends the game."
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LebaNoob - 370 days 18 hours ago
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3.1 -
Hezbollah are as far from terrorism as you and I. Don't believe everything the media tells you to ;).
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va_bank - 370 days 18 hours ago
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3.2 - ...
And I supposed you screen name does not imply that you are Lebanese?
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LebaNoob - 370 days 17 hours ago
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3.3 -
Amusingly, you're the first person to actually get my screen name :P.
I am Lebanese, and I'm sure I know more about my country's politics than an outsider. And no, I'm not Muslim. I don't ride a camel to school either :P.
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va_bank - 370 days 16 hours ago
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3.4 - ^
So the follow up question is:

Where do YOU learn about your country's politics? Because long time ago I also lived in a country where we were taught that our way was the only way and everyone else aspired to be like us. Then one day it all turned out to be bulls*it, so I moved to US.
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The_EE_God - 370 days 15 hours ago
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3.5 - I don't want to get into a politcal debate here
But Hizbollah (Hizb Allah) is a TERRORIST organization. The mere fact they forsake the entirety of a country into a self destructive war speaks for itself.

The second thing that he isn't telling you is they are Shi'ite. And yes they did other things outside of Lebanon. One of them was Hijacking a Kuwait Airways plane and throwing people outside of the plane. I'm not going to talk about the executions on the said aircraft.

And for the record, yes I am a Kuwaiti.
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Fanboi - 370 days 9 hours ago
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3.6 -
Please STFU, how can Hezbollah not be a terrorist organization. These bastards are scums.
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jaffa_cake - 370 days 20 hours ago
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4 -
bombs away
cant wait to play this, history of violence.
well i look forward to taking out mny first building with a back pack.
come on can you be serious please
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riksweeney - 370 days 20 hours ago
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5 -
I think I should quickly knock together "Christianity: the video game". Here is a run down of the stages:

1. Build the Earth. Time limit: 6 days
2. Create the garden of Eden
3. Playing as Noah, construct an Ark and round up 2 of every animal
4. Playing Moses, lead the Israelites out of Egypt (you'll need to level up to gain abilities like the power to part water and summon pillars of fire)
5. As Jesus, throw the traders out of the temple
6. Again as Jesus, rise from the dead. Time limit: 3 days
7. Bring the smack down in the second coming

Not sure what to do with multiplayer, but the story mode should last about 220 hours.
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jaffa_cake - 370 days 17 hours ago
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5.1 -
be better then playing murdering scum bags
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devilhunterx - 370 days 17 hours ago
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5.2 -
do you unlock achievements for mass genocides too? e.g. Crusades, Nazism, War on Terror etc
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Fanboi - 370 days 9 hours ago
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5.3 -
The War on Terror is a genocide now? There is a difference between building human pyramids from prisoners, which is tame anyways, to tossing Jews into the oven. Next thing you idiots are gonna tell me is how the War on Drugs is a crime against humanity.
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Tony999Montana - 370 days 19 hours ago
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6 -
So.. Is it like age of empires but they force religious propaganda at you as you play? Sign me up, I'm nearly gullible enough to believe in a God.
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Jenzo - 370 days 18 hours ago
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6.1 -
lol! I wish there was a religion who's gods were medieval knights. Ninjas would be cool also. I'd worship that easily. The Norse gods are probably the coolest available at the moment. We need more to choose from.
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Timesplitter14 - 370 days 14 hours ago
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6.2 -
amen to that.

No game in the world should be using religious or racial propaganda. The ONLY problem I have with this game is that it's actually one of their goals to do this kind of propaganda :

''Critics say the game merely inverts stereotypes - replacing extremist caricatures of Muslims with extremist caricatures of Jews, like that of Baruch Goldstein, and using the violent "shooter" format common to many video games.''

If a muslim company releases a game that's not about Islam or about fighting with Israel, I'll applaud them. Just make a game with a good story and no propaganda. That's all. I think it would be awesome if muslims could release a game that looks like a Final Fantasy or something. This would help them with their image WAY more than those religious games.
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Mr Bun - 370 days 19 hours ago
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7 -
NVM
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Mr Bun - 370 days 19 hours ago
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8 -
NVM again
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Magnus - 370 days 18 hours ago
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9 -
I don't know what to say bout this game I wonder can I nuke a person in it
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jaffa_cake - 370 days 18 hours ago
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9.1 -
no but you can strap a bomb on your back tho
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sirbigam - 370 days 18 hours ago
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10 -
I don't know, I'm imagining a kid telling his father daddy I want to go back to playing WOW now, no son "learn yur history" lol
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Handsome_Devil - 370 days 17 hours ago
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11 - I wonder
why the title and the article said "Muslims" instead of "Arabic" or "an Arabic IT" just make no sense. Specially we are not saying "Christian Desigmers nor Games" << Same thing with attacks "Muslims attacks" But never "Christian attack nor Jews Attacks"

just a thought of how people get the Islam in every single move that happen, just get over what believe a human have.
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militant07 - 370 days 17 hours ago
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11.1 -
the games is about islam history and not arabian history becasue many ppl not arabian got a page in that history.

im a muslim and arabian so i now what im talking about
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mt - 370 days 16 hours ago
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12 - so what ..
might see really good companies will be own by Microsoft or Sony. that would be really good for us gamers .
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GFahim - 370 days 16 hours ago
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13 - its funny that
just because of the word 'Muslim' in the title we get flooded with comments. and considering that this game won't be all that good, i bet u any money if the word 'Muslim' wasn't there, there will hardly be any comments.

its like people WANT it to be that way so that they can bash the religion for jokes while hiding behind their computers in the basement.
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Timesplitter14 - 370 days 14 hours ago
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13.1 -
Yup pretty much.

There are 3 kinds of people in this thread :

- Those who are anti-muslim and are usually conservatives taking FOX news seriously. (those who make all the bomb jokes)

- Those who will kinda over-react in the opposite way by saying this game is the best thing to happen to gaming in years, just so they can look open minded

- Those who look at this game the same way they'd look at any other game
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call_it_like_ic_it - 370 days 12 hours ago
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14 - Heads will
role on this game!
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potenquatro - 369 days 21 hours ago
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15 -
Good luck. Everybody knows mormons, quakers and tibetant monks make the best video games.
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Sugreev2001 - 368 days 22 hours ago
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16 - ...
Can the muslims ever do anything beyond their religion ?
i seriously doubt it...
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