January 11, 2007
Over at MTV, Stephen Totilo has the amazing story of a hardcore gamer trying to enjoy his hobby and stay alive in war-torn Baghdad.23-year-old Wisam is a recent college grad who once enjoyed realistic war games like Desert Combat, Call of Duty and Medal of Honor. But the terrible fighting in and around Baghdad has changed his gaming habits forever:
We hate the attacking, the gunfire in games. We started to hate it. Grand Theft Auto' is the exception. Because 'Grand Theft Auto' is like us.
Omar Abdullah, a Palestinian living in Baghdad who conducted a video interview with Wisam for the Alive in Baghdad blog last month, agrees:
(GTA) was very, very similar to Baghdad. We were like, 'Oh my God. These are the same actions that happen in Baghdad.' There are some places that are divided. For each place, there is a gang ruling that place. You can go down the street and drive any car. If you want to jump on a motorcycle, you can do it.
As for Wisam, he told MTV he learned much of his English from video games like the Metal Gear and Final Fantasy series. These days he mostly buys bootleg games for about a dollar in Baghdad's Tahrir Square, but it's risky:
Before the invasion, we could buy a lot of games. The games are available if you go outside. But maybe I'll get killed by a car bomb or [improvised explosive device].
In the violence-wracked Iraqi capital, staying home to play games is a reasonably secure way for Wisam to pass the time. That reality, Abdullah explained, was part of the reason why he interviewed the gamer:
We've been trying to make a show about what people do at nighttime. People just want to get home so they can stay safe. A lot of people are very, very scared to talk on camera in Baghdad. You don't know who's your enemy. You don't know who's your friend. Shia killing Sunnis. Sunnis killing Shia. Sunnis fighting the U.S. military. They'll go on in one circle.
How dedicated to his gaming is Wisam? With electricity only in sporadic supply, the young man bought a portable generator for which he spends about $200 per month in fuel.
Comments
I move that he be nominated Gamer of the Year! [/quote]
I totally back this.
I move that he be nominated Gamer of the Year!
Maybe we could convince the Sunnis, Shia, American troops and foreign insurgents to settle things with Gears of War.
Butbutbutbutbut, video games make people illiterate! How could someone learn English from these brain-cell-killing machines?!?!?!?!
/mocking
Metal Gear and Final Fantasy, Teaching English in a home near you : D
If I had a paypal account I would send him at least $10 so that he can enjoy his off-time playing games.
-“(GTA) was very, very similar to Baghdad. We were like, ‘Oh my God. These are the same actions that happen in Baghdad.’ There are some places that are divided. For each place, there is a gang ruling that place. You can go down the street and drive any car. If you want to jump on a motorcycle, you can do it.”-
ynow, Rockstar could break huge ground if they created GTA: Baghdad (or some fictional city with that familiar atmosphere). With enough respect and research (and stray away from stereotypes), they could make one hell of an interesting game that can not only be a serious challenge, but could give people a really broader understanding of the situation over there.
I guess that proves it. GTA is art. After all, "Art imitates life". Not the other way around.
nightwng2000
NW2K Software
The ipx network still exists for gamers in that side of the world. I have absolutley no idea how it still exists.
But it does.
If you want to do some good, get rid of the morality police in Syria that execute women whose hair falls out of their veils.
Yea... Definatly agree with that move there.