Video Games in the Middle East : Procedural Rhetoric and its Role in the Construction of Muslim Identity
Abstract
Video games are popular mainstream media and constitute an important social activity for a substantial part of the Middle Eastern youth. Unlike other audiovisual media, video games This article analyzes the contemporary Middle Eastern video game production, utilizing the theoretical framework of Ian Bogost's "procedural rhetoric", and explore this media type's potential in shaping of Muslim identities.
It defines three main trends in the contemporary Middle Eastern video game producton, i.e. (a) Islamic edutainment, geared at young audience and blending digital entertainment with religious instruction; (b) digital resistance, situating the player into immersive simulation of real world conflicts and strengthening his or her identification with the struggles of Muslim communities and contributing to the notion of global Muslim identity; and (c) mainstream production, promoting the concept of identity based on a cultural and historical basis. Based on content analysis of more than eighty games and interviews with major game producers, this article argues that although the contemporary Middle Eastern games vary significantly in their background, aims, and design, and on a symbolic level offer multifaceted concepts of Islam and Muslim identity, on a structural level they remain "Western" and do not transcend the patterns established by the global video game industry.