People the world over have become well acquainted with the Iranian government’s draconian censorship policies regarding domestic use of the internet. In the wake of the country’s most recent elections, the international press heralded the use of Twitter to mobilize opposition to Iran’s authoritarian government. Rightfully, a considerable amount of attention and analysis has since been paid to how effective the use of social media can be for domestic opposition groups
Lost in this storm however has been one of the most popular uses of computers among young people: video games. When most people in the United States think of video games, they picture games like World of Warcraft, Grand Theft Auto, or sports games like Madden football. Iran, under the government’s careful supervision, has developed its own video game industry. According to True/Slant, some of these games are actually pretty good.
A few years ago, Fox News reported on the development of the Iranian video game “Rescue the Nuke Scientist,” which “simulates an attempt to rescue two Iranian nuclear experts kidnapped by the U.S. military and held in Iraq and Israel.” The game was developed by the Union of Students Islamic Association, supposedly in response to a game designed in the United States called “Assault on Iran.” Mohammad Taqi Fakhrian, a leader of the student developers, explained, “This is our defense against the enemy’s cultural onslaught.” The group has very close ties to the Iranian government and hosted the infamous 2005 conference where Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad infamously called for the destruction of Israel.
This kind of video-game-as-propaganda is unsurprising. It mimics the Iranian president’s belligerent statements towards Israel and the United States and promotes an anti-Western political discourse.
However, the Iranian government has also used video games to promote traditional Persian culture. By far and away, the most popular Iranian video game is the Quest of Persia series. These games draw strongly from Persian history and culture. According to a regional gaming website, Quest of Persia is “100% Persian” and was developed by Puya Arts.
Despite its draconian control over the Internet and social media, the Iranian government for several years has used the country’s domestic video game industry as a tool for both political and cultural propaganda. It is likely that video games will continue to be used as a tool in strategic communications because of their interactivity and popularity the world over.
