Afkar Media, a Syrian video game company is set to release a game called “Under Siege.” The game is told from the viewpoint of a Palestinian civilian fighting against the Israeli occupation army. Supposedly, there are various events that take place in the game, such as harrassing soldiers with a slingshot, machine gun assaults and suicide bombings.

Not surprisingly, there is the usual sort of outcry over this. The article linked above is from the Jerusalem Post and doesn’t really go into it too much. This other article about it from Lebanon is a bit more detailed. It says that this game, and its predecessor, “Under Ash” are both based on supposedly historical events where the Israeli army clashed with Palestinian civilians. In the game, you’re not supposed to try and kill civilians on either side. The game is also supposed to provide a counterpoint to the glut of American video games which feature faceless stereotypical Arab enemies.

The creator of the game, Radwan Kasmiya, is quoted as saying “We are providing a new kind of digital dignity,” and “This is not a game about killing … We are telling a story.” I’m sure a lot of people will disagree with this statement, but I think I see where he might be coming from. I think what he is trying to say is that when you are able to put yourself inside the middle of a story, and get a feeling of what it’s like to be a participant, then you will understand what these people are going through in a way which you would never understand intellectually from the outside.

Of course there is the obvious potential for indoctrination as well. But what both these things are about is getting people to identify with and understand their story. Maybe it’s not the nicest story, with innocents being killed by and on both sides, but it’s a story which needs to be understood from all possible viewpoints in order to find a peaceable solution.

[via Cosmo’s Call]