Iranian Military Game: Propaganda or Fun?
Iranian Military Game: Propaganda or Fun?
May 3, 2007
While we don't hear of too many video games coming out of Iran, PC World reports on Saving the Port, a strategic title developed by the Multimedia Office of Tebyan.Tehran-based Taliya News writes that Saving the Port was created "in a bid to counter the West's cultural onslaught and in order to promote the Islamic-Iranian culture." PC World's Matt Peckham ponders the political aspects of the game and whether it will be used as a propaganda vehicle.
The game, which sounds as though it could be turn-based, is set in the World War II era, a time when the Middle-East was largely under European rule. English and Russian forces invaded Iran in 1941 to prevent it from allying with Axis forces. As described by IranMania.com, the game took two years to develop:
The usual high level of violence found in world games has been replaced by thinking... First, the user gets familiar with the whole idea of the game (um, tutorial?), and then enters the marine war in the second stage. Confrontation with the enemy takes place in the third stage, and in the fourth, the captain and the enemy's commander meet.
At the fifth stage, the captain and his crew attack the enemy at midnight... In the final stage, the enemy's airforce is destroyed in order to prevent them entering the port (Anzali Port, in northern Iran).
The faster the user plays the game, the more points he will get. At the end of each stage, a medal of bravery is granted to the person with the highest score, and whoever gains four medals will be the winner.
Saving the Port launches tomorrow, so still time to pre-order...
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Posted 11/08/09 at 09:02am
DarkSaber: http://tinyurl.com/yez7jyo
DarkSaber: http://tinyurl.com/yez7jyo
Posted 11/08/09 at 09:01am
DarkSaber: Oh for gods sake, the Gearbox pres is gobbing off about Valve again
DarkSaber: Oh for gods sake, the Gearbox pres is gobbing off about Valve again
Posted 11/08/09 at 08:53am
JDKJ: But cheer up, Austin. If the unemployment rate continues to double-digit as predicted for the next few years, your half-dozen stands a better than likely chance of returning to power.
JDKJ: But cheer up, Austin. If the unemployment rate continues to double-digit as predicted for the next few years, your half-dozen stands a better than likely chance of returning to power.
Posted 11/08/09 at 08:46am
JDKJ: @DS: If he had added the line about "or hiring illegals aliens under the table to work as nannies," it would have been a completely perfect descripition. And, yes, it's about the same difference between a six and a half-dozen.
JDKJ: @DS: If he had added the line about "or hiring illegals aliens under the table to work as nannies," it would have been a completely perfect descripition. And, yes, it's about the same difference between a six and a half-dozen.
Posted 11/08/09 at 08:31am
DarkSaber: My god, that description makes them sound almost Republican. Still what did you expect, Obama is only marginally more left than republicans.
DarkSaber: My god, that description makes them sound almost Republican. Still what did you expect, Obama is only marginally more left than republicans.
Posted 11/08/09 at 01:07am
Austin_Lewis: Health insurance, brought to you by the same kind of bureacrats who couldn't, in timely fashion, investigate the comments of any of the men Obama appointed Czars. Or their past. Or their history of not paying taxes.
Austin_Lewis: Health insurance, brought to you by the same kind of bureacrats who couldn't, in timely fashion, investigate the comments of any of the men Obama appointed Czars. Or their past. Or their history of not paying taxes.
Posted 11/08/09 at 01:06am
Austin_Lewis: Yes, and what a piece of crap it was. Arresting and fining people just because they don't make a personal choice to buy healh insurance, creating over a hundred new bureacracies, and worse.
Austin_Lewis: Yes, and what a piece of crap it was. Arresting and fining people just because they don't make a personal choice to buy healh insurance, creating over a hundred new bureacracies, and worse.
Posted 11/08/09 at 12:24am
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:the only trouble is a bunch of witless hacks wrote it....its going to be a train wreck....
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:the only trouble is a bunch of witless hacks wrote it....its going to be a train wreck....
Posted 11/07/09 at 11:33pm
JDKJ: BREAKING: In a photo-finish at the wire, House passes health care reform bill. Relatedly, in a fit of pique, Austin Lewis kicks innocent dog.
JDKJ: BREAKING: In a photo-finish at the wire, House passes health care reform bill. Relatedly, in a fit of pique, Austin Lewis kicks innocent dog.
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:27pm
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
ZippyDSMlee: man I got alot of junk and dup files too >< god I need orginization...and no not the knee capping media mafia kind :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:26pm
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
ZippyDSMlee: replaced :P
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:23pm
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
ZippyDSMlee: beemoh:hey its like 60GB porn,400GB anime 100GB games and crap I have took from all my DVDs, I hate waiting on dvds to install stuff..... oh and 40GB of my porn was in the found.000 folder...mostly corrupted.... least I got names of wut needs to be repa
Posted 11/07/09 at 04:18pm
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
beemoh: @Zip: ...and you'd have to spend all that time re-downloading that porn?
Posted 11/07/09 at 03:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
ZippyDSMlee: ggrrrrr......vista lost one of my hard drives and I had a heart attack thinking I lost 1TB of data....
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:58am
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
JDKJ: Which could be explained by both (a) and (b).
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:56am
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Austin_Lewis: JDKJ: You forgot C) the fact that, for some reason, every time he did something that would suggest he shouldn't be in the military, let alone an officer, higher ups ignored it or let it slide.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:51am
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
JDKJ: Part of the problem is, I believe, that (a) the Army had a lot of time and money already invested in him and which they were unwilling to simply write-off and (b) an increasing need for the type of skills and services he provided.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:48am
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
JDKJ: And that even if he was begging not to get cut loose, he was apparently a real good candidate for being cut loose, anyway.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:11am
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
JDKJ: @chada: And while Kennedy once noted that there's usually more than enough blame for everyone to get a slice, the possibility that the Army was unwilling to cut loose someone who was asking to get cut loose could be a factor.
Posted 11/07/09 at 10:07am
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
ZippyDSMlee: *noms on his feet*..nomnomnomnom*droooll* ...wuuutttttt uuu looking at?
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Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
COME FIND THE TRUTH.
WWW.UNIVERSALSEED.ORG/
we americans may be a little better than countries like iran with regards to human rights, but i still wouldn't exactly create that good guy bad guy distinction. we do plenty of rotten stuff. consider all the civilians killed in the recent iraq war. way more than every terrorist attack in history. now i know our military wasn't intentionally targeting innocent people like the 9/11 hijackers. but you still can't ignore the fact that we have caused a great deal of death and distruction recently for dubious reasons. i'm not saying we should feel bad about being americans, i'm just saying that we should keep things in perspective before calling one nation the bad guys and ourselves the good guys. we have a lot of work to do before we can make that claim
Yea, Iran is a classic example of a country where separation of church and state is null...Censorship is the norm, rape is more or less validated, and intolerance is constant.
So this game might be...meh. But still, it's a story worth following.
1- Needs more content.
2- Needs more content.
3- See #1
I don't mind if a game is made by religous lunatics. All I care about is if the game if going to stand up to the other games I have. It is pretty much "will this be fun?" I doubt this will be a fun game meerly because it's goal is propaganda, but even that I can pass over if there was content to the game. If they took 2 years to make 6 stages (or levels) then they obviously did not put enough effort into the game. I would love to see games from other parts of the world but I want them to at least try.
ps. Does anyone have screenshots of the in game graphics so I can comment on that too?
I'd like to see the word "propaganda" associated with occidental games more often. The ratio is not being fair to foreign games.
Is there anything as shameful as "America's Army"?
Also, didn't the Iranian government also say it would create a game in a more modern setting where you fight the U.S.? Or am I mistaken?
I take it you're not familiar with the 'game' America's Army?
@ GrahamR I remember watching Sally Jesse Raphael last year where she quoted a US gov statistic claiming 1 in 6 American women have been the victim of sexual assault!
Still it sounds like Saving the Port may be worth a look. They should have a sequel called Saving the Passenger Airliner.
As for America's Army, it may be considered propaganda, but were actually the good guys. Those Iranians are crazy
Who's misinformed? Everyone knows that the hardline controlling government of Iran is fanatically anti-Israel, anti-Western world, and anti-United States. While I wouldn't go so far as to make broad, black-and-white "good guy, bad guy" statements, nobody's saying Iran's a progressive nation who wouldn't attack us if they thought they were capable (or that they're not one of the primary causes of our military's struggles in Iraq, even). It simply doesn't change the fact that America's Army is also a propaganda tool and that our own government has recognized the power of video games for the same purpose long prior.
d/a Jamblang Raya (Duri Selatan 1) 36A, Jakarta - Indonesia - 11270
(ex Insurance Pioneers, ex 'Corporation' Directors, & ex MLM Founders)
please, help me, sos & mayday... POLRI - Polda Metro Jaya - take me to jail as political prisoner, 'cause hit emergency regulations (i am innocent - mom Catholic, dad Buddism - Chinese; i take course/seminary: Islamic at Middle/Far East Arabican, Catholic at Italy Vatican, Protestant at USA, Confucius at China, Taoism at Hongkong, Buddhaism at Thailand, Shinto at Jepang,Hinduism at India, Caballah-Jew at Israel,... when visit there for insurance/MLM or job task...) unbelieveable 'minority' can 'cause military coup or internal war at Indonesia).
they call me (handphone 085880592990) at midnight in my parent's home' would like send me 'express packet - BOMB'; i said 'are you terrorisms?', go down, & with no emotion hand shake them (about 20: Resimen Mobil - POLRI) and ask them where is my the bomb packet you send to me (i don't recognize them as my friends, who political scenarios they take it for me?).
they take me to 'Mesjid' Polda Metro Jaya (PMJ POLRI) and then interogate me.... and then take me to directorate of 'reserse' (they take care me like the animal, are they have human right?; want request lawyer and my friends, they dont give it and 'steal' ('cause until now dont give back to me; many important VVIP handphone number in my phone list) my handphone... drunk 'red face' with hard alcohol in the mouth, detective/intelligent, interogate me... other hit gun on the top of table intimidate, about hundred change interogate me...
no way out system... remember i am not drug and crime from the past to now (i am clean and they would like make me dirty, you know past they call me Sultani - can't kill, but now maybe Middle/Far East Arabican must call yourself Sultan - can kill; POLRI hide their '2 faces' in the back of Mohammadism but at the end act like Saladin invisibly; are they Mohammad or Saladin... of course not, they just about 'dirty money' & 'bad politic' : 'imitation prophets and robbers')...
and they 'plan' take me to PMJ POLRI jail to interogate me, 'cause i dont want sign 'suspect letters (content of letter is imposible, ask the people are they happened whatever they judge me?); they put on board i am hit the emergency regulation as political prisoner...
and they 'criminal-subordinates' in the jail everyday punch, kick, 'fire' my body when i am slept, dont give me eat or take my meal...
all of them: conspiration, 'cause police guard dont hear my report about my salvation. i am sick, want medicine, they take to 'crazy room' (play me or kill me softly? but they make letter i am 'dizzy' and i sign it)... And they take to kramat jati POLRI hospital (special for prisoners), they make letter 'cause i must opname, i sign it: but no one medicine and no medical care, i sleep on the floor. When i am out from there, they make letter and tell me Shizhofrenia (of course 100% wrong, until know i am the best in my field, 'cause my God 'll take care my hurt). And then when i already at home i know they 'rob' my money (its not match with administratives fee, and i dont know what they doing to my friends or my 'far families', but after that there are fire in my families home (about 420 homes in there)...
they are many more, more, more important things (int'l 'X-Files' scenarios they make related with me, 'cause i am 41 or 14 since i am child; they opposite them to take 'margin', you know bad opportunist...
They hide the truth, maybe my personal affair you dont think about it but they are related with 'supranatural or real world creation, i am not crazy', 5 big invisible human-being follow surrounding me on the air until now.
Please, ask my email/'FAQ messages' to China Daily, Ban Ki mon, General Cao-China Military, Alan Greenspan, Bush, Putin, Jin-tao, Chirac, Kohl, Mekel, Benedict, Arabican Soladirity of Middle/Far East,... (dont believe their political-infiltration detective/intelligent at the holy place at Indonesia; i am truly 'mohammad and saladin' until 'spirit of Allah' and 'live mecha', you know what i am interpretation.../) and many military website from every countries ('cause they block isp, i am manuevering) for my sos and my mayday, 'cause i am cannot defense again, i am minority 'identity card' (Chinese Minority, Buddhism Minority, & Christianity Minority at Indonesia, they are many 'bad operation'). i dont have enough money for struggling against them, they barrier every my way/entries from job to personal affair/interest. To many Goliath, i need your support - your help... Come here my Knights from everyside of World, POLRI need 'war' in Jakarta - Indonesia... very very difficult against they 'ninja terroism'... i'll tell u everything what they do to me and to other countries (they play 'sufi-games' from Jakarta-Indonesia, there are not true Islamic but quellira roober having guns and uniform, also detective/intelligent)...