Now that the announcement for Alien Jihad’s has started to offend people, the developers behind the game want people to know that was their intention.
Earlier this week, a game called Alien Jihad was announced by Candella Software Ltd, KrazyMotion and Saga Wonderworks. Unsurprisingly, the title of the game managed to raise some hackles; to some, it seemed so absurdly over-the-top that it might have been some sort of elaborate hoax. However, Candella wants you to know that the game is very real, and it was intentionally designed to raise controversy.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Ajith Ram, Candella’s creative director spoke about the arcade-style shooter’s purpose: “Naming and connotations are deliberate,” he said. “The game tries to highlight some of the major political, social and religious issues in the news every day.”
According to Ram, the game is an attempt by three “small indie developers” who want to make the industry “tackle mature subjects affecting millions of people’s lives.”
These mature subjects include, but aren’t limited to, “the demonisation of entire Muslim communities due to violent actions of a minority,” the rise to power of right-wing political groups in both the U.S. and Europe, and the global economic crisis/recession.
If you haven’t heard about the game before, here’s the game’s official story, according to its announcement:
It was a time of great peace for mankind. All conflicts on earth had come to an end.
In the Middle East, Israelis and Palestinians stopped fighting and started to party together. Tel Aviv became the capital of New Palestine. Saudi Arabia became the world’s biggest proponent of mini skirts. Iran joined North Korea and the United States in the new Axis of Peace. Afghanistan became the world’s safest country and Somalia became the largest economy.
In enlightened Europe, France stopped persecuting Roma ‘alien’ migrants. In bankrupt Britain, the honourable Members of Parliament decided not to fiddle their expense claims and rip off the tax payer.
And then came the alien invasion……….
Hundreds of aliens from the planet Virginopolis invaded Earth. Using their advanced Fatwa technology, they turned greedy Wall Street investment bankers into ravaging alien clones.
Many nations rebelled against the alien invaders.
“We are the aborigines of this land.” proclaimed Dick Puffin, the leader of the British Nazi Party. The former Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Howard, said, “We must invite these aliens to a cricket match. And after they lose, we must do to them what we did to the aborigines.”
The wise geriatric Italian Prime Minister, Saint Silvio, while receiving an oil massage from his new underage girlfriend, Ruby, issued a public statement saying, “Our culture is far superior to theirs. It’s much better to love bunga bunga girls than these aliens.”
Giving an unbiased view on Fox News, the great American rabble rouser, Fat Buchanan said, “These aliens pose a clear and present danger to our superior Anglo-Saxon culture.”
Soon it became a struggle for the very soul of humanity.
A brave group of human rebels led by fearless Danish cartoonists fought back against the aliens and their Wall Street clones.
The battle still rages over Earth’s great cities like London, Paris and San Francisco………..Are you ready to join the fight?
Alien Jihad is due to be released for “PC, iOS, Android and home consoles.” Exactly when the game will come out, and how much it will cost, remains to be seen. I’m honestly not sure if Ram’s arguments will hold much weight, because (at first glance) it seems like the game was designed to generate controversy and garner attention for sales. While it’s certainly ambitious to try and tackle the subjects Ram mentions, a casual game for the iPhone and Android systems doesn’t seem like the best way to do so.
Source: Eurogamer
