Monday 12 November 2012
Monday 5 November 2012
Ladies first: Inside the first women-only game jam
Ladies first: Inside the first women-only game jam
Andrea Hasselager was one of three women who travelled from Copenhagen to take part in the game jam
At first glance, it was a game jam like any other.
Teams of developers, programmers and artists who had never met before, hunched over laptops, racing against the clock to create computer games from scratch in 24 hours.
With just four hours to go, thoughts about coding and graphics were frantically being exchanged over bowls of popcorn and strong coffee.
The only difference was that all the participants were women - and for that reason organisers Debbie Rawlings and Helen Kennedy believe the XX Game Jam held in east London at the end of October was the first of its kind in the UK.
"The whole idea of an all-female game jam is something I discussed a while ago," said Helen Kennedy, a founding member of a group called Women in Games.
"I took the idea out to Canada and pitched it for funding and they told me it couldn't be done, the whole format of a game jam was somehow too masculine to be done with just women. I thought that was a rather challenging thing to say as I don't believe in those sorts of categorisations."
Global demand
The pair certainly had no problem finding recruits for this event, held in the offices of Mind Candy, creators of Moshi Monsters.
"Within eight days of the registration going live we had filled 40 spaces," said Debbie Rawlings.
"We have a waiting list of about another 40 already so we could run another next week and I'm totally confident that would sell out too."
Three women travelled all the way from Copenhagen to take part.
Mind Candy, creators of Moshi Monsters, has both men and women on board
Andrea Hasselager, Nevin Eronde and Rositsa Deneva run game development workshops for teenage girls around the world, and decided to put themselves in their shoes for the weekend.
"The girls are really very interested - the thing is that maybe they've never been introduced to something like that before," said Ms Hasselager.
"Their games definitely have stories from their own lives - one group made a game about dating the cute guy from school, getting your chores done so fast so you can get to your date.
"Guys wouldn't make a game like that."
Sex appeal
Helen Kennedy also believes that a larger presence of women in the games industry will change the landscape of the games themselves.
She cites Maxis, creator of The Sims, and Mind Candy, whose Moshi Monsters have become a big hit among the under-12s, as two games developers with a good balance of men and women on board.
"If you have more women on your team, you might get a different dynamic in the workplace that might transform some of the decision making that happens," she said.
That's not to say that female characters would all suddenly start wearing sensible shoes and sports bras.
"Women like to make sexy women too," said Ms Kennedy.
"They might be less overly hyper-sexual, less passive, there might be more complicated characterisation, but women love active sexy women just as much as men do.
"It's the victim or passive wall-dressing that you get that women find rather repellent."
Lovelace legend
Most of the participants had never met before
The theme for games created at the XX Game Jam was clockwork, a nod to Ada Lovelace, the female mathematician credited with writing the world's first computer programmes in the 1800s.
She worked with Charles Babbage, an inventor whose "difference engine", a steam-powered machine which he designed but never built, is now considered to be the earliest computer.
The women worked in teams of five and their games included clockwork crocodiles and android Grim Reapers.
"We're all helping each other out, solving each other's problems," said participant Jo Evershed.
"Tool challenges have been our biggest challenges, getting our computers working together, understanding each other's strengths and limitations.
"As always in all projects, it's the human bit that's the difficult bit."
The prizes for the winning team were tool kits - a nod to the masculine environment that women in the games industry find themselves in.
"I hardly ever see any women in my job," said developer Helen Mealey, who had only previously attended game jams as an online participant. "It's a nice change."
Tuesday 30 October 2012
Most Famous Arabic Countries and Cities in Video Games We take a look at the Arab region's depiction in video games.
The region’s cultural and historical richness make it a great backdrop for stories to be told. Countless novels, poems, films and even video games have dealt with the region’s culture, telling stories that deal with the region’s past, present and near future.
From medieval Jerusalem to WWII-era Egypt to post-apocalyptic Dubai, we take a look in this article at the region’s depiction in video games, and how different developers would handle the region and present it in their own video games.
Jerusalem - Assassin’s Creed
This is perhaps the most lifelike city in our list. The game was released in 2007, and it amazed us with its brilliant design, accurate landmarks and lifelike population (which became a staple in subsequent Assassin’s Creed games). The game really gave the impression that it is indeed set in the midst of 12th century Jerusalem. In the game, Jerusalem was ruled by famed Muslim leader Saladin, and the third crusade was being led by Richard The Lionheart to take over Jerusalem.
So how accurate was Jerusalem’s portrayal in the game? Well, we weren’t present in 12th century to give a verdict on the matter, but to their credit Ubisoft seems to have done their research. The city was divided into three parts - the poorer districts included low buildings, a church, a mosque and a jewish temple, and is riddled with guards which makes it one of the more difficult areas in the game
The middle district is relatively larger in size than the previous one, and includes most of the city’s landmarks such as the hospital, the guard tower, and The Church of The Resurrection, and it is sparsely populated in terms of civilians and guards. The rich district is known is for its large spaces, its tall buildings and most importantly, its accurate recreation of the Dome of The Rock Mosque.
Syria and Yemen - Uncharted 3
The Uncharted series took us across the world, and through the game we visited countries like England, France, Colombia, Syria and Yemen. The historical landmarks presented in the latter two countries made them ideal to serve as important elements of the game’s story.
Yemen appeared in six chapters, and while its appearance in the game might not be an accurate representation of the country itself, the developers put a lot of effort in recreating Yemen’s oriental atmosphere, with its narrow roads, unique antique buildings and its high mountains gracing the skyline. This becomes more apparent when you visit the “souq” (marketplace), where you will find lively merchants selling fruits and vegetables, and small stores lining up the market as female shoppers dressed in Arab and Middle Eastern garments walk by. The icing on the cake is when you hear Arabic phrases, such as “Tafadaloo, Ahlan w Sahlan, Shukran” (Welcome, Greetings, Thank you) being thrown around, as well as Arabic writing and graffiti marking the stores and the surrounding walls. We don’t see nearly as much of Syria, as the country served as the location for only two chapters, and most of it takes place inside a castle.
Iraq - Splinter Cell: Conviction
In the fourth Splinter Cell game, Sam Fisher needs the help of his old friend Victor Coast who served alongside him in the Gulf War and saved his life in Iraq. During the phone call between the two friends, the game takes us through a flashback of Sam’s mission in Iraq.
A lot of players were skeptical about Iraq’s depiction since the area we see has little relation with the Arab country. However, the game explicitly states that the area saw numerous clashes between the American forces and the local armed guards, which is why you’ll find yourself under the grey sky standing on a charred road riddled with bodies and debris.
As Sam goes forward, we start seeing burnt vehicles, destroyed homes, and fallen Arabic billboards scattered through the area. More Arabic elements start coming to our attention further into the game, such as palm trees, the lighting posts and the electric posts that we immediately recognize from the region. This all gives the impression that this is an Arabic city in, but one that has been bombed and destroyed beyond recognition
Dubai - Spec Ops: The Line
Dubai served as the main setting for this game, but this is not the Dubai we know. Gone are the majestic skyscrapers, the expensive cars and the luxurious restaurants, as we are greeted by a ghostly city ravaged by sandstorms that obliterated everything in its way and turned the city’s residents into refugees. The United States sends a 33-man team led by John Conrad to evacuate the city, however all contact is lost with the team, and another team led by Captain Martin Walker is sent to investigate their disappearance.
Spec Ops’s experience was strange, but it was exhilarating at the same. It was quite cathartic to experience the city in such a dark scenario, and in the end Yager Studios did an incredible job.
Gulf of Oman - Battlefield 3
This isn’t the first time we see the Gulf of Oman in an FPS, as the location was previously featured in Battlefield 2. But with the release of the old maps on Battlefield 3, we get to see the region rendered in the mighty Frostbite 2 engine.
The design of the city stands out thanks to Battlefield 3’s graphics. The atmosphere of the map is very Arab in nature, with the region’s unique architecture and vast desert environments and the palm trees lining up the roads. Take a jet and fly over the map to get an aerial view of the map and the really enjoy the incredible amount of detail that DICE incorporporated in their map.
Egypt - Call of Duty 2
Call of Duty 2 was released in 2003, and despite its admirable efforts in depicting the Egyptian desert, we can’t compare Call of Duty 2’s representation of the region to the other current-gen games on this list. However, what we appreciate is Call of Duty 2 taking us to one of the WWII’s most important battles; the Second Battle of El Alamein.
The battle took place between The Axis powers (The German and Italian forces) and The British Forces, whose role you take. The general design presents Alamein’s war-ridden desert environment brilliantly; a sand covered area with dozens of trenches are dug to provide the soldiers with protection, in addition to plenty of transport vehicles, bedouin tents scattered through area. The area is under a constant barrage of bombings and explosions, often trapping you in sand clouds that compromise your vision during combat.
Libya - Global Ops: Commando Libya
The game starts in the year 1968, when the American forces pursue a ship containing 4 nuclear bombs into the north pole. The forces manage to secure three bombs, with the fourth bomb going missng. Cut to present day, and the CIA learns that Russian arms deal Yebievdenko is in possession of the bomb and has made a deal to sell it to a notorious Libyan dictator, and it is up to your team to venture into Libya and secure the bomb.
Due to the game’s lackluster graphics, it lacked any interesting design choices that would make Libya stand out. But that’s hardly the primary concern with this game, as the game’s environments have little to no relation to Middle Eastern environments, as the architecture, buildings and environments could’ve been found in any other country, and if we would’ve had no idea that game took place in an Arab country, let alone Libya, if it wasn’t specified in the title, with the only identifying elements being a few Arabic phrases you would hear during the campaign.
Video games: the rise of the Middle East
Video games: the rise of the Middle East
In this edition we look at the world’s fastest-growing media business. The video games market is forecast to reach over $80 billion by 2015, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. American, European and Japanese games makers dominate the market, but Middle Eastern actors want a bigger share of the pie. For many of them it’s not only about money, but also about cultural influence.
Tuesday 21 August 2012
Activision's Call of Duty series targets Gamescom
Activision's Call of Duty series targets Gamescom
Activision is using Germany's Gamescom as an opportunity to show off new mulitplayer options available in its next Call of Duty game
Video games maker Activision Publishing arrives at the industry's biggest European event - Gamescom in Cologne, Germany - from a position of strength.
Its first and third-person shooter franchise, Call of Duty, continues to blast its way to success: The Modern Warfare 3 sequel has been one of the top-selling games since its November launch and its online service, CoD: Elite has attracted more than 12 million registered users.
The firm is showing off the series' next title, Black Ops 2, and a version for the Sony Vita handheld console at the event. It is also about to launch a free-to-play edition in China which will charge users for weapons and other upgrades.
Its Skylanders games targeted at younger children have also proven to be a hit. The firm has sold tens of millions of add-on toys which offer new content when they are placed into a RFID (radio-frequency identification) reader attached to a console.
They have proved so popular that the firm recently boasted that the characters had overtaken Star Wars to become the best-selling action figures in the US and Europe.
Despite all this, doubts remain. The firm remains a relatively small player when it comes to smartphone games; Vivendi has been exploring a sale of its stake in parent company Activision Blizzard, which could prove a distraction; and some critics claim the company is over-reliant on sequels.
Mr Hirshberg says both he and his children are "big gamers"
Ahead of Gamescom, Activision Publishing's chief executive Eric Hirshberg, spoke to the BBC:
Your big focus at this event is the new Call of Duty titles. Some analysts have questioned if there will still be the same appetite for the new games. Is that a worry?
Of course it's something we think about constantly but so far the proof has been in the pudding.
There's been continued appetite every year and it's up to us to continually innovate and give people lots of reasons to keep coming back to the franchise.
I certainly think we've answered that call in grand fashion with Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. The game is very innovative, it has several firsts for the CoD franchise including the fact that it takes place in a future setting which unlocks a whole host of creative possibilities for our developers from new weapons to new settings to new art directional ideas.
The other thing I'd say is that while I hear those questions every year, and I understand the reason for them, I also think that there is a pattern in the gaming industry overall from gamers: that people are voluntarily spending more and more time with fewer franchises going deeper into the worlds that they love.
That doesn't show a decreased appetite for interactive entertainment, it shows an increased appetite - just through the lens of fewer brands.
So I think our strategy plays well with what games are doing naturally themselves.
The free-to-play business model is a hot topic right now, and your firm is pursuing the strategy in China with CoD. Which of your other titles would you be willing to experiment with?
In my career most times I've seen executives predict the future they've been wrong.
I think the future unfolds in ways that are hard to predict, and it's our job to respond as they do.
I certainly think free-to-play is a big disruption and it's a big new idea in the marketplace that is meaningful and we need to watch carefully. I also think there's a tendency to overstate a kind of the sky is falling mentality: that anything new axiomatically destroys everything that came before it.
In my experience that hasn't been the case. Usually new things create new demand and new markets for themselves and don't necessarily destroy everything in their wake.
So why adopt the strategy in China?
Sales of Skylanders action figures have helped create a new revenue stream for the company
The reasoning behind that is very simple. The free-to-play model is the widely adopted model of choice for the Chinese gaming community.
It's not a console community, it's an online [PC] gaming community, and that's the model that works there.
Activision hasn't been a big player when it comes to the smartphone market - though last week's opening of your new mobile games studio in Leeds points to change. Why have you been slower than competitors such as Electronic Arts?
Actually Activision already has a good track record of making mobile games all the way back to Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero and Call of Duty: Zombies. These were some of the top-rated and top-selling games when they came out.
That said, I certainly think it's fair to say we recently upped our investment and our focus on it. The reason for that is not necessarily being slow to move, but being prudent, measured and methodical in our decision making.
What we're seeing is obviously an explosive install base - you've got hundreds of millions of smartphones in people's pockets and tablets being sold, and a very robust demand for high quality interactive entertainment content.
And that's something we think we can do as well as anyone out there and it's something we want to compete in.
So, do you think this will become more of your focus than the Sony Playstation Vita and Nintendo 3DS handhelds?
Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified may boost demand for Sony's Playstation Vita
I certainly think that smartphones and tablets have an install base and an adoption rate that is unignorable in culture.
So, obviously if games are going to be one of the primary things that people consume on those devices then we want to be there.
The question you had about Nintendo handhelds and Sony handhelds: I know it's easy to conflate them because they are both pocket sized devices, but they are very different. One is for a core game experience - a very immersive experience on the go - the other is for a more simplistic and bite-sized gaming experience on the go.
Whether or not those more immersive mobile gaming platforms find the kind of audience that they have in the past - certainly mobile phones are a huge disruptive force in that industry.
But we still think we can deliver a great CoD experience for the Vita. And we delivered a great Skylanders experience on the 3DS and did very well out of it.
I think a lot of the time you take it on a case by case basis.
One of the other trends catching attention has been the number of developers who have raised cash and built customer excitement through crowd funding platforms like Kickstarter. Are there lessons from that which Activision can take on board?
Inxile raised $2.9m (£1.8m) via Kickstarter to make Wasteland 2
First of all I think it's awesome. I think it's really a great development in culture to have people taking these commercial decisions on the content that they are attracted to into their own hands.
At the same time just as there has always been a marketplace where there is independent films and music, there has been a peaceful co-existence between independent development of content and more like how we approach it.
It is certainly something that we look at. What I think is most compelling about it is the degree of engagement that people are willing to have with the content that they love, and that is something that we are capitalising on - in very different ways, obviously.
But that was [included in] a lot of the discussions that led to the development of Call of Duty: Elite.
There's millions of people playing multiplayer every single day: what if we gave them the tools to connect to each other? What if we gave them tools for user-generated content so they can upload their own videos? Do you think they would do that?
And I think that the good news is that if you give people relevant content they tend to be open to deep and meaningful engagement.
That is a macro-trend that I really like in our industry and culture overall.
Further down the line you have Halo creator Bungie's much anticipated new game. How is it progressing?
We're dying to talk about it, but all I can tell you is that we're really excited about how the development is going.
We think it's going to be very differentiating and new, and a whole new gaming universe.
There has been a mixed reaction to games' use of motion sensors
You have had success with the Skylanders toys. But other efforts to integrate new types of hardware with games - such as motion sensors -have sometimes been dismissed as gimmicky. What lessons have you learned?
It has to be responsive to the game you make, otherwise it is just novelty and [a] gimmick.
I'm not surprised that the games that have done best with the motion phenomena have been dancing games where movement is really integral to the gameplay experience.
I don't think that necessarily the case with a game like Call of Duty, and yet do think giving people a new way to physically interact with the console on Skylanders was incredibly relevant and indispensable to that experience.
I really think it starts with the game you are trying to make - the creative idea - and then you say is there a new input mechanism or mechanic that would make this idea better.
Are all the reports and rumours of a sale of Activision Blizzard proving a distraction?
I can't speak on Vivendi's behalf and can't engage in any hypotheticals.
But I will say is it's a great time at the company because we're focusing on some pretty exciting IP [intellectual property] and experiencing some pretty remarkable successes and we're just going to stay focused on the things we can control which are creating and executing the best interactive entertainment out there.
I know that sounds like a packaged answer but it's the truth.
Skylanders Giants will test its audience's appetite for a sequel when it goes on sale in October
Finally, we're heading towards the key Christmas selling season. Apart from Activision's titles which are you, as a gamer, most looking forward to?
Gosh... I can't not answer CoD: Black Ops 2 and Skylanders Giants because they are so near to my heart.
But I'm really curious to see [Microsoft's] new Halo game - what I've seen looks really good - I have a lot of love for that franchise.
And [Naughty Dog's] The Last of Us also looks really fun - I know that everyone focused on the level of violence in that at E3, but there were some really nice acting and narrative structure that I admired
Sunday 13 May 2012
Video Standards Council to take over games age ratings
Video Standards Council to take over games age ratings
The system by which video games are rated in the UK is to be made "simpler and stronger", the government has said.
Games will now be rated by the Video Standards Council (VSC) in line with Europe-wide guidelines.
Previously, additional ratings were decided upon by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
The new system means for the first time that anybody selling a 12-rated game to a child under that age could face jail.
The Pan European Game Information system (Pegi) gives games an age rating as well as additional information such as violent content and bad language.
The VSC will now rate games to Pegi's specifications while enforcing compliance among retailers.
The new ratings do not apply to games bought online.
'Much-needed clarity'
Creative Industries Minister Ed Vaizey said: "It will give parents greater confidence that their children can only get suitable games while we are creating a simpler system for industry having their games age-rated."
While the BBFC will now largely stop assessing content in games, it will still be called upon to judge games with gross violence or sexual material.
Games and entertainment body Ukie said the new system provides "much needed clarity for consumers".
"We are also in the planning stages of a major awareness campaign to help the public understand the system and other aspects of responsible gaming as soon as Pegi become law in the UK," Ukie chief executive Jo Twist said.
Richard Wilson, from UK games industry trade association Tiga, said the changes were a necessary "evolutionary" step.
"It simplifies the system," he told the BBC.
"The Pegi system is reasonably easy to understand.
"The fact there are criminal sanctions in place will mean that retailers will want to train and support their staff."
The new system is expected to come into force by July this year.
Tuesday 24 April 2012
Saudi boy, 4, kills his father, who refused to buy him PlayStation
Saudi boy, 4, kills his father, who refused to buy him PlayStation
An angry 4-year-old Saudi boy shot and killed his father for refusing to buy him a PlayStation, Saudi media reported on Monday.
The Asharq daily, citing police in the southern Jizan area, said the child, aged 4 years and 7 months, grabbed his father's pistol and shot him in the head.
According to the newspaper, the child had asked his father to buy him a PlayStation and the shooting took place after the man returned home without the desired object.
As he was undressing, the man put the weapon down, which the child then grabbed and fired at him from close range.
Thursday 15 March 2012
A Saudi Arabian man plays video games, at a guest house in the city of Tabuk. The Middle East has one of the fastest growing communities of online gamers in the world, and demographics mean this is likely to remain true for many years.
Photograph by: Stringer , Reuters
DUBAI - Fares rushes through a crowded Moroccan market, past a man selling Persian rugs, a cat mewing for slivers of meat from a butcher, and a woman surveying mounds of bright red and yellow spices.
He hardly notices them, because his mission is to locate a lost chapter of famed Arab explorer Ibn Battuta’s book on his 14th century travels across Africa and Asia - a chapter stolen from the original manuscript long ago and detailing the location of a secret treasure.
Fares is an important figure in the Arab world’s burgeoning online industry because he is a character in Unearthed, the first major Arabic-language video game developed for PlayStation 3 and Xbox by an Arab company: Saudi e-publisher Semanoor.
The Middle East has one of the fastest growing communities of online gamers in the world, and demographics mean this is likely to remain true for many years.
About 60 percent of the 350 million people in the Arab world are younger than 25, with internet penetration in the region at about 70 million users - over 300 percent growth in the last five years, according to numbers from United Arab Emirates-based entrepreneurship research portal Sindibad Business. Internet penetration is expected to reach 150 million users by 2015, said the portal’s founder Bahjat Homsi.
Such statistics are encouraging the rise of a small but dynamic video game development industry in the Arab world. At least six Arab game firms, most in Jordan, received funding from local investors in the last two years, according to Sindibad.
Arab video gaming “is interesting because it is following internet growth in the region, which is among the fastest in the world”, said Nagi Salloum, chief marketing officer of Saudi investment firm N2V, which injected money into Saudi game platform Game Tako last month.
Last month also saw the first cross-border acquisition of an Arab video game development company, Saudi Arabian start-up Kammelna, by a foreign firm: Turkey’s Peak Games, a fast-growing social gaming company. Kammelna, which specialises in an online version of the card game Baloot, said it had around a million registered users and about 50,000 users per day.
Mashhoor al-Dubayan, founder of the Saudi Arabia-based Arabic gaming news portal SaudiGamer.com, said increasing consumer interest meant his website, initially launched as a hobby, was now a viable commercial proposition.
“After just a year of running it, we started seeing a business opportunity and began relationships with major companies (as sponsors). Next week, I’ll be leaving my job to stay with SaudiGamer full-time,” said Dubayan.
Arab video game developers lack the deep pockets, marketing muscle and much of the technological sophistication of huge rivals in the West and Asia.
But the local industry has some advantages. In oil-rich Arab Gulf countries, where youths with pocketfuls of cash feel they have few entertainment outlets, average daily revenue per user is among the world’s highest, according to Peak Games. While it is about 6 U.S. cents in the United States and Europe, it is around 8 cents in the Gulf, said Peak co-founder Rina Onur.
And while internationally known “first-person shooter” games from the West, such as Call of Duty and Halo, are certainly popular in the Arab world, there is also demand for games with local characteristics.
“People want to see their national days, their special dishes reflected in these games - people who look like they’re from the region, not just blond with a cowboy hat,” said Onur.
Many Arab video games are card games or historical adventures that differentiate themselves by having storylines or artistic elements that look distinctly Arab, and do not yet try to compete directly with the hi-tech glamour of Western games.
The big international companies are also responding to local tastes; U.S.-based giant EA Sports, for example, will release an Arabic version of its FIFA soccer franchise in 2012.
The industry in the Arab World is still small enough that competitors sometimes work together to improve quality. To help the market grow, said Dubayan at SaudiGamer.com, his team has gone as far as writing articles for rival Arab gaming news websites.
“This is a time to collaborate, not compete,” said Fahad al-Saud, Saudi Arabian head of California-based heritage game producer Popover.com, which specialises in developing online versions of culturally specific board games, such as Tarneeb, a traditional Arab game. “The geeks from all around the Arab world try to find each other and help each other.”
Part of the reason gaming has taken so long to grow into a viable industry is the lack of interested investors - most are extremely risk-averse, said Kammelna founder Essam al-Zamel.
“There are easy ways to make money in Saudi. If you get 20 percent returns on real estate, why would you waste your money on a start-up that might not succeed?” he said.
“They don’t understand the market...The mentality of investing in multiple companies, knowing two or three will succeed and others will fail and that’s okay, doesn’t exist. Here, they want to be sure that the company will succeed.”
Omar Christidis, head of the annual ArabNet Digital Summit, which promotes entrepreneurship in the region, said Arab game developers needed to flood the market with products before investors would come calling.
“We need to see game after game after game to see some successes,” he said.
Many of those in the Middle Eastern video game industry say they have a social and cultural mission. The plethora of games showing Arabs and Muslims as enemies and terrorists is what inspired Semanoor to enter the business, said the company’s founder, Emad al-Doghaither.
“Games are being used to ruin the image of Arabs. We went into games because we want to reach the youth who use them and show them a different picture.”
Gamers also hope their products change stereotypes about the Arab world by creating personal relationships between people from inside and outside the region who share a passion for video games.
The first line in Game Tako’s description page, for example, says it aims to facilitate social interaction between online gamers and promote regionally created content. The firm embodies this cross-cultural mission in its own name, choosing to use the Japanese word for “octopus” instead of the Arabic one.
In a region where there are conflicting interpretations of religion and culture, Doghaither said some of Semanoor’s customers saw its depictions of local lifestyles as divisive.
“We got pressure for having a veiled girl in our game. People asked us, ‘why are you forcing your culture on us?’ Well, what can we do? Women in our culture wear the veil. Other companies have their culture in their games.
“But others were supportive. They said that they’re used to seeing American and European games, so they’re saying: ‘this is different. This is interesting.’”
© Copyright (c) Reuters
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