Guantanamo game announced
May 27, 2009 | 10:51
A former inmate of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility is now working as a consultant on a new game based on the facility, according to GamePolitics.
Moazzam Begg is a British Muslim who was suspected of being an Al Qaeda terrorist in Pakistan and who claims he was tortured during his time at the facility. Moazzam, who was released in 2005 and who has written a book about his time at Guantanamo, has been helping developer T-Enterprise design the layout of the facility that will be featured in the game Rendition: Guantanamo.
The game, which was announced back in March, will focus on a near-future version of the Guantanamo Facility where mercenaries are now running the show and are experimenting on the inmates for their own ends. While it may sound a tad outlandish, it may be that the developer has adjusted the setting to avoid getting into hot water with political groups.
"There are certain rules we can’t break after meeting politicians so we are not making the game too extreme," said T-Enterprise executive Zarrar Chishti. "We have had a lot of hate mail about this, mainly from America."
"But no US or British soldiers get killed in [the game]. The only ones being killed are mercenaries. We have set it in January 2010 because that’s when we think the camp will be closed. We are making a statement. We did not want Guantanamo to be forgotten."
Begg, who was at Guantanamo for more than three years, has admitted he has a financial stake in the project but says his primary concern is ensuring a fair representation of the prisoners.
"I was put in solitary confinement with no access to the outside world and no explanation as to why I was being detained," Begg said. "My wife gave birth to my son six months after I was arrested and I saw him for the first time when he was three years old. It would be wrong to say I’m not angry but I’m willing to forgive 1000 times over."
"The only thing I am concerned about it making sure the game does not misrepresent the prisoners. This will not demean the reality of Guantanamo but it could bring those issues to people who would not usually think about it."
This isn't the first time that games have been used to explore the issues surrounding such topics - an old Half-Life 1 mod called Escape from Woomera tried to do something similar about the Woomera Immigration Camp in Australia.
You can check out a trailer for Rendition: Guantanamo for more information, and let us know your thoughts on the game in the forums.
Moazzam Begg is a British Muslim who was suspected of being an Al Qaeda terrorist in Pakistan and who claims he was tortured during his time at the facility. Moazzam, who was released in 2005 and who has written a book about his time at Guantanamo, has been helping developer T-Enterprise design the layout of the facility that will be featured in the game Rendition: Guantanamo.
The game, which was announced back in March, will focus on a near-future version of the Guantanamo Facility where mercenaries are now running the show and are experimenting on the inmates for their own ends. While it may sound a tad outlandish, it may be that the developer has adjusted the setting to avoid getting into hot water with political groups.
"There are certain rules we can’t break after meeting politicians so we are not making the game too extreme," said T-Enterprise executive Zarrar Chishti. "We have had a lot of hate mail about this, mainly from America."
"But no US or British soldiers get killed in [the game]. The only ones being killed are mercenaries. We have set it in January 2010 because that’s when we think the camp will be closed. We are making a statement. We did not want Guantanamo to be forgotten."
Begg, who was at Guantanamo for more than three years, has admitted he has a financial stake in the project but says his primary concern is ensuring a fair representation of the prisoners.
"I was put in solitary confinement with no access to the outside world and no explanation as to why I was being detained," Begg said. "My wife gave birth to my son six months after I was arrested and I saw him for the first time when he was three years old. It would be wrong to say I’m not angry but I’m willing to forgive 1000 times over."
"The only thing I am concerned about it making sure the game does not misrepresent the prisoners. This will not demean the reality of Guantanamo but it could bring those issues to people who would not usually think about it."
This isn't the first time that games have been used to explore the issues surrounding such topics - an old Half-Life 1 mod called Escape from Woomera tried to do something similar about the Woomera Immigration Camp in Australia.
You can check out a trailer for Rendition: Guantanamo for more information, and let us know your thoughts on the game in the forums.
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