Video Game About Iran Called Espionage By Iranian Government
Noah J Nelson on Monday, Jun. 25th
The world, she keeps getting stranger, no?
Kotaku’s Evan Narcisse reports on Navid Khonsari, developer of the the game “1979″ which plans to put players in the role of an Iranian-American who gets recruited by the U.S. to help with the mission to rescue American hostages. It was a real-life historical flashpoint that has shaped the last 30 years like few other events.
Naturally, it’s made him persona non-grata in his native Iran. From Narcisse’s report:
“When word got out about the game, it got picked up by the conservative newspaper in Iran and I got written up as a spy,” Khonsari relates. “They’re basically saying that I’m making propaganda. So, as a result, I can’t go back to Iran now. It really sucks because I’ve got some family there, including elderly relations.”
Check out the Kotaku article for a fascinating glimpse at how a dev for Rockstar (makers of Grand Theft Auto) is looking to illuminate history, and in so doing is becoming part of it.
