A group of more than 50 video game industry professionals announced a new initiative dedicated to amplifying the work of Palestinian game developers last week. The coalition, called Palestinian Voices in Games, is supported by the likes of Reigns developer Nerial, narrative design agency actezéro, Democratic Socialist Simulator maker Molleindustria, and others, according to the group’s website.
The group provides access to volunteers to help with game production for Palestinian game developers. A representative for Palestinian Voices in Games said that economic support is something most requested by developers, but noted the group cannot accept donations or raise funds at the moment, though several members have financially supported the development of prototypes. Palestinian Voices in Games is looking for “sponsors and other institutions” who can help with the financial side.
So far, the volunteer-run network is working with game developer Rasheed Abueideh on Dreams on a Pillow, “a pseudo-3D stealth adventure game about a land full of people being made into a people without land,” per Abueideh’s description; comic artist Iasmin Omar Ata on Being 2, a point-and-click visual novel set in “a futuristic Palestinian space- colony;” designer Yusra on RiYafa, a game based on “the story of her family and community based in the West Bank;” and developer Yasmine Batniji on Pomegranates, a game in which the player is “tasked with tracing echoes of the current war at the renovated Al-Ahli hospital.”
“The game industry has often been complicit in the othering of people from the Middle East, by creating and promoting games that depict them as enemies and serving the propagandizing efforts of western militaries to justify their occupations and interventions, a representative of Palestinian Voices in Games told Aftermath in an email. “It has long been time for developers to push back against these narratives and make a change. We are moved to help our Palestinian colleagues and friends in any way we can, so that their voices may be heard.”
Colonial and military narratives have been a backbone of the video game industry for decades, but indie developers have been pushing to shift that narrative, the Palestinian Voices in Games representative said. Still, Palestinian game developers have not had the same opportunities to share their stories through video games.
“In such a critical historic moment, in which a genocide is being perpetrated in Palestine in front of all of our eyes and the voice and memory of a people is being destroyed, it is more important than ever for Palestinians to be able to speak loudly, so that their stories can be heard and remembered, and so that their humanity and the injustice of the terrible violence they continue to undergo can be fully recognized,” the representative said.
Support looks different depending on a developer’s project and needs. Dreams on a Pillow, for instance, is a larger project that’s been in the works with an experienced development team, so the group has focused efforts on recruiting volunteers to assist in production work, like artists and animators.
“For Yusra's RiYafa we have been arranging sessions with industry mentors from different disciplines (production, game design, etc.),” the Palestinian Voices in Games representative said. “For Pomegranates we had volunteers work on production design and writing.”
Palestinian Voices in Games is choosing projects and developers that are within their current means. They’ve scaled up their efforts several times already—the representative said the group has been working behind the scenes for years—but are nearly at their capacity; they’re looking for more volunteers to help continue the efforts to support the current group of Palestinian developers and expand the program to more.
The representative said solidarity has been strong among individual game developers and small studios, but that “no large companies or publishers have taken the time to offer support or aid.”
“Those with the most power and resources have remained silent,” they said. “We truly hope this changes soon and that larger game companies will have the courage to stand up for Palestinian game developers as well.”
