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'Asmandez' Game Marks Iran's Entry into Online Gaming

by Amar Toor on July 4, 2010 at 03:00 PM

asmandez screenshot
When it comes to things like human rights and gender equality, Iran still lags behind much of the developed world. But, in terms of online video games, the Islamic Republic appears to be taking significant steps toward modernity.

'Asmandez' (or 'Sky Fortress') is not just another futuristic, sci-fi online game; it's Iran's first. As Game Politics reports, the game is set in a future world in which Palestinians humans have been forced to migrate to another planet, where they must wage war against bots in order to survive. The game has also been produced in English, and can support up to 5,000 users.

This gaming breakthrough was made possible by the government-run Foundation for Computer Games, which is trying to encourage more Iranians to develop their own games. "Some 10 million people use computer games in Iran, only 100 of which can design and develop video games," foundation head Behrouz Minai says. "'Sky Fortress' is our first step towards encouraging young Iranians to become game developers rather than being mere players." It may sound weird for a country to put so much effort into kick-starting its own 'Warcraft' industry, but we always knew that behind the Ayatollah's steely eyes and scruffy beard lived a fervent gamer just waiting to burst out. [From: Game Politics, via: Kotaku]

Tags: asmandez, Ayatollah, AyatollahKhomeini, Iran, mmo, OnlineGaming, sci-fi, top, videogames

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