Now you can play the Iranian Revolution in a videogame
A member of the Grand Theft Auto team has created 1979 Revolution
In 2011, an Iranian newspaper accused Navid Khonsari of working on pro-Western propaganda, leading his friends in Iran to warn him against ever returning to the country he left when he was 10 years old.
He did not, however, create a banned book along the lines of Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses. Instead, he created a videogame.
1979 Revolution just launched its Kickstarter campaign, which hopes to raise $395,000 by Dec. 16, 2013. The game will create a virtual version of the Iranian Revolution, letting you wander the streets of Tehran while protesters speak out against the Shah.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Plenty of video games have delved into global politics before. Usually, however, they involve the player blowing up terrorists — or, in the case of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, actually leading a terrorist attack. In other words, politics in videogames tend to be rather simplistic.
Khonsari, who worked as the cinematic director for multiple Grand Theft Auto and Max Payne games, wanted to take a more nuanced approach, portraying a pivotal moment in Iran's history without taking sides. He tells The Guardian:
The result is basically a shooter game without the shooting. Playing with a demo, Polygon's Tracy Lien describes talking her way out of being arrested for possessing an illegal cassette tape, tending to a protester's gunshot wound, and just talking with virtual friends about food and music.
1979 Revolution features some notable names — including voice-acting from David Negahban, who played Abu Nazir on Showtime's Homeland — and some anonymous ones, who feared the backlash from the Iranian government. Khonsari's team also integrated archival audio footage and photographs, as well as interviews with protesters who were present during the 1979 protests.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
It sounds like Khonsari is aiming for the sandbox quality of Grand Theft Auto, except players listen to real-life stories from random strangers instead of car-jacking them. Of course, that devil-may-care attitude is what made Grand Theft Auto fun. All of the crowd-funding in the world won't matter if 1979 Revolution is boring, according to Khonsari.
"I don't want to preach. I'm making a game, I need to entertain," Khonsari tells The Guardian. "If I try to educate, I'm dead in the water."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.
-
What would it be like in jail for Trump if he's convicted?
Today's Big Question The Secret Service has begun grappling with how to protect a former president behind bars
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How much can you save shopping secondhand?
The Explainer Many Americans are buying pre-owned items to counteract the effects of inflation
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Downtown St. Louis is in a real estate 'doom loop'
Under the Radar The city is ripe with abandoned buildings and vacant lots, with its real estate market in dire straits
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published