Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Video Game!
posted at 9:06 am on February 3, 2007 by Bryan
Oh. Dear. Lord. Somebody went and made a video game out of the Palestinians’ brave struggle to blow up Israeli pizzerias.
It’s called PieceMaker: The Game. Oh, my bad. It’s actually called PeaceMaker.
Genre: PeaceMaker is a role-playing game with a high level view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is not a first-person shooter.
But when you’re playing the Palestinian side, it’s a first-person detonator.
A Positive Message: The goal of the player as the leader is to establish a stable resolution to the conflict and win the Nobel Prize before his or her term in office ends. The difficulty level can range from calm to violent.
Win the Nobel…like Arafat?
Play Both Perspectives: the player takes on the role of either the Israeli Prime Minister or the Palestinian President. After playing as one of the leaders, the player should then play the other side, this provides a unique perspective.
Question: When you’re the Israeli side, do you have to deal with a hostile press constantly accusing you of committing crimes against humanity?
Another question: When you’re the Palestian side, do you get to fund blood libel on your TV networks and use UN ambulances to shuttle your “militants” around?
Playing the News: The player must react to in-game events, from diplomatic negotiations to military attacks or suicide bombs. These events such as an Israeli military operation in Jenin or a Palestinian suicide bomb in Jerusalem are represented using real news footage and images.
Well there goes the realism. The Palestinian president should be tacitly approving suicide bombings, not just reacting to them.
And to be fair, the Israelis side should order military beat downs when the Palestinians suicide bomb, not just react to them. This game takes the active leaders and makes them passive reactors.
Other Actors: There are eight internal and external “actors” such as Hamas, the Israeli/Palestinian public, the US, the UN or the Arab world. Every action will immediately affect all stakeholders. They might act on their own interest and damage the player’s efforts.
Are the media one of those external actors? They ought to be.
The Path to Peace: While the game starts as a zero-sum game, the key to success is to gain momentum and create a win-win scenario.
It’s a little hard to have a win-win when one side wants to push the other into the Mediterranean.
I might buy this game just so I can play it, hate it, and fisk it a second time.
But in the meantime, back to Conflict: Global Storm, an adequately entertaining if uninspired squad-based shooter. And Lego Star Wars II.
Check out the PeaceMaker site for the latest in digital dhimmitude–they even have a movie trailer.
Blowback
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Funny. Israel has inadvertently created a Palestinian “State” in the form of the Gaza strip: Israel withdrew completely from Gaza, Palestinians have full autonomy of the region including the border with Egypt. Sounds like a state to me.
What have they done with their new state? Killed each other and blew up some more Jews for the heck of it. Whee!
Neo on February 3, 2007 at 9:15 AM
Not interested. I like the fact that it is 3rd person top down etc etc. As an old fart those first person shooters literally make me sea-sick. But all this game does is let people kill Jews so you can get ‘the other perspective’. Disgusting. I’ll stick with RTW. Nothing like slaughtering a bunch of Gauls in the morning.
Limerick on February 3, 2007 at 9:20 AM
I don’t play video games, but the first thing that comes to mind is: WHO setup the “logic” matrix behond this game? If they are symathetic to terrorists, then a win-win senario means terrorism must be a valid tool to effect that win-win. Instead of suicide bombings working against peace, it must be a way to get the opposition to the bargaining table.
csdeven on February 3, 2007 at 9:24 AM
This game’s been done before. http://www.underash.net/en_download.htm
Savage on February 3, 2007 at 10:38 AM
all of the realistic additions you suggested (media as a faction, etc.) should be the work of any of us with coding experience. are there any modders in here? can you mod an rpg?
jummy on February 3, 2007 at 10:53 AM
Arafat never brought a stable resolution to the conflict. If, like Arafat, you de-stabalize the region and make the situation worse you win the Nobel and a billion dollars. So I guess if you are a Palestinian leader it already is a win-win scenario.
B Moe on February 3, 2007 at 11:09 AM
It seems the fastest way to win this game is to throw all your resources into completing the separation wall.
Coyote D. on February 3, 2007 at 11:15 AM
..from the comments on the piecemaker site, sounds like this game is the next encyclopedia of the middle east.
shooter on February 3, 2007 at 11:24 AM
what happens if i play like israel and destroy the palestinians?
Defector01 on February 3, 2007 at 11:27 AM
So it’s Sim City with suicide bombings? That doesn’t trivialize things at all…
bookwurm322 on February 3, 2007 at 11:37 AM
Whatever.
OT: Go Bears!!!!
Jaibones on February 3, 2007 at 11:44 AM
shooter on February 3, 2007 at 11:47 AM
Is there some way to incorporate Prince into the game?
Limerick on February 3, 2007 at 11:49 AM
If you play the Palistinian side, can you skim millions of dollars from international aid to line your own pockets while governing over a nation with an unemployment rate of 85%? And can you order $4 billion in illegal arms from Iran and smuggle them into your country?
Nethicus on February 3, 2007 at 12:17 PM
Is there an option to push the Muslim Palestinians (not the Christians ones, who seemingly have no desire to kill Jews) into Jordon?
Tim Burton on February 3, 2007 at 1:15 PM
Do we get to run over Rachel Corrie in the game? That might make it enjoyable.
lorien1973 on February 3, 2007 at 2:09 PM
Do you remember when SimCity first came out? NBC did a story on it on the 6pm news pretending it was like actually running a city. The idiocy was astounding. I was only 16 or something and I realized how retarded that story was.
lorien1973 on February 3, 2007 at 2:10 PM
lorien1973
I HOPE you’re kidding. That’s really not funny, and makes us all look like bloodthirsty bigots, which I at least am not. Just, please don’t.
freakagriep on February 3, 2007 at 2:17 PM
Of course I’m kidding. Do I need to add a sarcasm note to my posts yet again? It should be obvious when a reply is serious and when its not.
lorien1973 on February 3, 2007 at 2:39 PM
Yes, you do. I’ve heard much worse about Rachel on LGF, and yes, they’re serious. Not that I’m a Rachel fan, but some people can be horrible about her.
tikvah on February 3, 2007 at 3:49 PM
This one is worse… Global Conflicts: Palestine:
Haven’t played it, but… ughh.
DaveS on February 3, 2007 at 4:03 PM
Oh, and the one I just mentioned was due to be featured on CNN sometime in the last few days, on some Friday night show.
DaveS on February 3, 2007 at 4:05 PM
It also helps to wear a sidearm while giving a speech to the UN.
Let’s all keep an eye on Al Gore and what he is wearing these days……. maybe a holster with sunblock SPF80?
Oooohhhh…
PinkyBigglesworth on February 3, 2007 at 6:32 PM
Isn’t that what the “Palestinians” are doing in real life? Playing the other side for suckers?
RD on February 3, 2007 at 10:50 PM
S/b called PuzzleMaker, simply because it is bewildering how clueless these people are to make a game out of something this serious and difficult to solve.
Entelechy on February 4, 2007 at 12:10 AM
I just wonder if this video game will get the grilling in the press that the Christian book series “Left Behind” video game received (and I agree that one was ill-conceived as well).
armyvet on February 4, 2007 at 11:25 AM
My son’s a first rate Legomaniac, and I was immensely pleased with the Lego Star Wars video game. LSW II was the first Christmas present I bought him last year, but my anticipation was disappointed when this game turned out to be a total CLONE of the first one, and he played it out in about 6 hours of game time. Oh well.
Freelancer on February 5, 2007 at 2:15 AM