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Azeri Video Game Promotes Killing of Armenians
asbarez
Thursday, August 23rd, 2012
In the video game `Ä°Å?gal Altında: Å?uÅ?a' (Under Occupation: Shusha) a
player fights as an Azerbaijani soldier. (Screen grab from official
game trailer)
Video Game Revisits Nagorno-Karabakh War
BY NINO GOJIASHVILI
>From Eurasianet.org
The first-person-shooter video game `Ä°Å?gal Altında: Å?uÅ?a' (Under
Occupation: Shusha) was developed by 19-year-old student Farid
Hagverdiev. The game, in which the shooter must free the town of
Shusha from Armenian and Nagorno Karabakhi forces, is being promoted
by the Azerbaijani government.
Just over 20 years ago, during the spring of 1992, Armenian forces
captured the city of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh, marking the turning
point in the armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan for control
of the territory.
Today, youngsters in Azerbaijan have the opportunity to alter history
via a video game called `Under Occupation.' The objective is to
recapture Shushi from Armenian forces. Gamers assume the role of an
Azerbaijani soldier who engages in virtual firefights with Armenian
soldiers in house-to-house combat. The game is the brainchild of Farid
Hagverdiev, a 19-year-old student at Baku's State Oil Academy.
Hagverdiev based Under Occupation on popular first-person,
shoot-`em-up games, such as Call of Duty and Counter-Strike. Working
with a team of developers recruited from among his classmates at the
oil academy, he said the game took two years to go from rough concept
to finished product. Hagverdiev added that the development team relied
on self-financing (with generous parental subsidies), used home
computers, and relied on a trial-and-error creative process. It is
reportedly the first video game developed solely by Azerbaijani
citizens.
Hagverdiev acknowledged that the motivation for developing the game
went beyond a simple desire to entertain. There was also a political
element to the project. `By creating the game we wanted to support the
patriotic spirit in our youth, which I hope we accomplished
successfully,' he told EurasiaNet.org. The game, which can be
downloaded for free, has gotten a successful reception from
Azerbaijani gamers.
While the video game may have been an independent initiative,
government officials have latched onto it, viewing it as a means of
raising awareness about the Nagorno-Karabakh issue among Azerbaijani
young people, and of mobilizing support for ongoing governmental
efforts to recover the territory.
In a sign that the game enjoys the full approval of President Ilham
Aliyev's administration, the Ministry of Youth and Sports organized a
formal presentation of Under Occupation. The event, which occurred
earlier this summer, was held at the Hyatt Regency, one of Baku's
swankiest hotels.
Talks on a political settlement for Nagorno-Karabakh have long been
stalemated. In recent years, Azerbaijani rhetoric concerning the
territory has grown increasingly bellicose. The video game dovetails
with the government's effort to keep the patriotic mood at a slow
boil.
Under Occupation is not for the faint of heart: there's lots of
killing and computer-generated gore. To a great extent, it's a
celebration of violence: to advance, players must handle a variety of
tasks, including shooting lots of Armenian enemies, rescuing a wounded
Azerbaijani soldier, retrieving a document and blowing up a building
in the town of Shushi.
The game's scenery closely resembles to Shushi's actual appearance.
Prominent landmarks, including the House of Culture, the Govhar Agha
Mosque, Vafig Mausoleum and the city gate, all make an appearance.
Although born after the city's capture by Armenian troops, and the
subsequent expulsion of Azerbaijani residents, Hagverdiev managed to
recreate the city by relying on old photographs.
Whether or not the video game can have a tangible effect on the
Karabakh peace process is the subject of debate. Some experts doubt
that a video game can cause a substantive spike in aggressive
sentiment in Azerbaijan. `Not enough research is available to suggest
that shooter games promote any more active hostility than the current
events themselves,' said Tom Parker, a former policy director at
Amnesty International.
Hagverdiev and his fellow developers, meanwhile, are now contemplating
a new game-related venture, one that would aim to make them some
money. `We're graduating college soon, and we do not wish to mooch off
our parents forever,' he said.
asbarez
Thursday, August 23rd, 2012
In the video game `Ä°Å?gal Altında: Å?uÅ?a' (Under Occupation: Shusha) a
player fights as an Azerbaijani soldier. (Screen grab from official
game trailer)
Video Game Revisits Nagorno-Karabakh War
BY NINO GOJIASHVILI
>From Eurasianet.org
The first-person-shooter video game `Ä°Å?gal Altında: Å?uÅ?a' (Under
Occupation: Shusha) was developed by 19-year-old student Farid
Hagverdiev. The game, in which the shooter must free the town of
Shusha from Armenian and Nagorno Karabakhi forces, is being promoted
by the Azerbaijani government.
Just over 20 years ago, during the spring of 1992, Armenian forces
captured the city of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh, marking the turning
point in the armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan for control
of the territory.
Today, youngsters in Azerbaijan have the opportunity to alter history
via a video game called `Under Occupation.' The objective is to
recapture Shushi from Armenian forces. Gamers assume the role of an
Azerbaijani soldier who engages in virtual firefights with Armenian
soldiers in house-to-house combat. The game is the brainchild of Farid
Hagverdiev, a 19-year-old student at Baku's State Oil Academy.
Hagverdiev based Under Occupation on popular first-person,
shoot-`em-up games, such as Call of Duty and Counter-Strike. Working
with a team of developers recruited from among his classmates at the
oil academy, he said the game took two years to go from rough concept
to finished product. Hagverdiev added that the development team relied
on self-financing (with generous parental subsidies), used home
computers, and relied on a trial-and-error creative process. It is
reportedly the first video game developed solely by Azerbaijani
citizens.
Hagverdiev acknowledged that the motivation for developing the game
went beyond a simple desire to entertain. There was also a political
element to the project. `By creating the game we wanted to support the
patriotic spirit in our youth, which I hope we accomplished
successfully,' he told EurasiaNet.org. The game, which can be
downloaded for free, has gotten a successful reception from
Azerbaijani gamers.
While the video game may have been an independent initiative,
government officials have latched onto it, viewing it as a means of
raising awareness about the Nagorno-Karabakh issue among Azerbaijani
young people, and of mobilizing support for ongoing governmental
efforts to recover the territory.
In a sign that the game enjoys the full approval of President Ilham
Aliyev's administration, the Ministry of Youth and Sports organized a
formal presentation of Under Occupation. The event, which occurred
earlier this summer, was held at the Hyatt Regency, one of Baku's
swankiest hotels.
Talks on a political settlement for Nagorno-Karabakh have long been
stalemated. In recent years, Azerbaijani rhetoric concerning the
territory has grown increasingly bellicose. The video game dovetails
with the government's effort to keep the patriotic mood at a slow
boil.
Under Occupation is not for the faint of heart: there's lots of
killing and computer-generated gore. To a great extent, it's a
celebration of violence: to advance, players must handle a variety of
tasks, including shooting lots of Armenian enemies, rescuing a wounded
Azerbaijani soldier, retrieving a document and blowing up a building
in the town of Shushi.
The game's scenery closely resembles to Shushi's actual appearance.
Prominent landmarks, including the House of Culture, the Govhar Agha
Mosque, Vafig Mausoleum and the city gate, all make an appearance.
Although born after the city's capture by Armenian troops, and the
subsequent expulsion of Azerbaijani residents, Hagverdiev managed to
recreate the city by relying on old photographs.
Whether or not the video game can have a tangible effect on the
Karabakh peace process is the subject of debate. Some experts doubt
that a video game can cause a substantive spike in aggressive
sentiment in Azerbaijan. `Not enough research is available to suggest
that shooter games promote any more active hostility than the current
events themselves,' said Tom Parker, a former policy director at
Amnesty International.
Hagverdiev and his fellow developers, meanwhile, are now contemplating
a new game-related venture, one that would aim to make them some
money. `We're graduating college soon, and we do not wish to mooch off
our parents forever,' he said.