Gaming in Iraq

[CptStern]

When a 23-year-old Iraqi in Baghdad named Wisam used to play the Gulf War computer game "Desert Combat," he didn't play as his countrymen. He fought with the American-led coalition forces. Most Iraqi gamers he knows choose that side.

It's not because they have a great affinity for the Americans, who Wisam refers to as "the invaders." There's a more practical motivation, he revealed last week during a late-night interview with MTV News from his home in Baghdad, where he was up at 1 a.m. and home because of a government-imposed curfew. "Let me just tell you, we are impressed by your guns."

.......

What's the gaming life been like in Baghdad? It has followed a path familiar to many European gamers, where the Amiga computer was the premiere gaming system at a time when the Nintendo Entertainment System dominated in America and Japan. Then the Sega Genesis was big. ("Mortal Kombat" on that machine was a Wisam favorite.) Then came PlayStation. Nintendo was never big. The dominant games were always the soccer titles, Wisam said. He couldn't find many folks like himself who, in his words, is a " 'Final Fantasy' freaker."

Wisam says he learned much of his English from "Metal Gear" and "Final Fantasy." (He had trouble with "Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King" because the English in that game is spoken with British accents.) Most of the games he buys are bootlegs, sold for about a dollar in Baghdad's Tahrir Square. "Before the invasion, we could buy a lot of games," Wisam said. "The games are available if you go outside. But maybe I'll get killed by a car bomb or [improvised explosive device]."

The American-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime changed Wisam's taste in games. He and his gamer friends used to enjoy first-person shooters like "Medal of Honor" and "Call of Duty." Then a real war started around him. "We hate the attacking, the gunfire in games," Wisam said. "We started to hate it." In fact, there's only one game with guns he can still tolerate. " 'Grand Theft Auto' is the exception. Because 'Grand Theft Auto' is like us."

......


Electricity is sporadic in Wisam's neighborhood. The local generator is on from 4 p.m. to midnight. To power his console, Wisam got a gas-powered generator. To get the needed gas, he waits in lines at a gas station, four hours at a time. He spends about $200 a month on electricity, money he says he collects from rent on some businesses. Otherwise, he doesn't work, which frustrates him. "I recently graduated from the Baghdad University English Department. I'm useless."

incredibly sad

"Some folks in the United States, when they think about Iraq, they think they are just some people in a village riding a camel or whatever," he said.

Not so. Abdullah says he's a metalhead, for example ? and that he's not the only one. Until a few years ago, a Western music station played several hours of metal in Iraq a day, he said. "I can assure you that there are more than 50 to 100 thousand Iraqis in Baghdad listening to Metallica right now," he said. He recalls walking through Baghdad wearing a Metallica T-shirt before the war. Neighbors would cheerfully flash a familiar heavy-metal hand sign. "A lot of people wave the devil horns in Baghdad, and if the situation is a bit calmer and the security is a bit better, you can come and try it yourself." The current situation in Iraq, however, compelled Abdullah to leave the country. He's in Syria these days.

lol, heavy metal has a different meaning ever since the invasion of iraq


interesting read

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1549410/20070105/index.jhtml

 

[<RJMC>]

"oh yeah we are mtv we care about you and now we are gamers"

anyway interesting read

 

[Qonfused]

Very interesting read.

 

[Tyguy]

sucks to have to leave your own country....

 

[VictimOfScience]

MTV sucks the big one, but apart from that, one never really thinks of how war affects these things. Gaming sounds like it totally blows now. It certainly makes me appreciate my electricity and my internet connection much more than I had previously.

Glad to hear that there are some serious metalheads in the Middle East though. Those regimes can be stricter than mine even!!!

 

[Tyguy]

i thought they hated metal over there, i think most of them do

 

[CptStern]

i thought they hated metal over there, i think most of them do

umm no why would it be any different than anywhere else? I like african world music despite not being from africa ....music knows no borders

 

[Vegeta897]

umm no why would it be any different than anywhere else? I like african world music despite not being from africa ....music knows no borders

That would be true if every place was exactly alike. It's an interesting thing to wonder why some people like one kind of music and not the other. But it is LARGELY influenced by what you hear or what your culture is like growing up, Stern. If you listen to a type of music for a long time, you WILL grow accustomed to it. I used to be a fan of all the popular rock stuff when I was a boy, because I had never heard anything else. Then I started listening to electronic music and such and it's become my absolute favorite. Musical tastes aren't some sort of roll-the-dice trait that is different for every single person, it depends very much indeed on where you live and what influences you. If I were to bring techno music to everyone in the world who has never even heard of electricity do you think that some people will automatically find it good? Like I said musical tastes are not some kind of randomly decided inborn thing. Why do you think so many people in the southern US for example enjoy country music? Music has very much to do with culture, music does indeed know no borders, anyone can aquire a taste for any type of music regardless of where they are from, but that doesn't mean there is an equal ratio of musical tastes in any region. So there's nothing wrong in thinking it to be odd that there are "metal heads" in such a place.

 

[Beerdude26]

If I were to bring techno music to everyone in the world who has never even heard of electricity do you think that some people will automatically find it good?

I think some tribes will like the "boom-boom" part of techno very pleasing to use as dance music (no more beating those drums for one monotonic sound!)

 

[Vegeta897]

Exactly, supports my point. They have been accustomed to whatever type of music their culture has, and if another genre comes along that shares some traits, they will probably have a chance at enjoying/adopting that genre! It's not some sort of genre solid "you like this, I like that" it all has to do with the things you grow accustomed to.

 

[jverne]

That would be true if every place was exactly alike. It's an interesting thing to wonder why some people like one kind of music and not the other. But it is LARGELY influenced by what you hear or what your culture is like growing up, Stern. If you listen to a type of music for a long time, you WILL grow accustomed to it. I used to be a fan of all the popular rock stuff when I was a boy, because I had never heard anything else. Then I started listening to electronic music and such and it's become my absolute favorite. Musical tastes aren't some sort of roll-the-dice trait that is different for every single person, it depends very much indeed on where you live and what influences you. If I were to bring techno music to everyone in the world who has never even heard of electricity do you think that some people will automatically find it good? Like I said musical tastes are not some kind of randomly decided inborn thing. Why do you think so many people in the southern US for example enjoy country music? Music has very much to do with culture, music does indeed know no borders, anyone can aquire a taste for any type of music regardless of where they are from, but that doesn't mean there is an equal ratio of musical tastes in any region. So there's nothing wrong in thinking it to be odd that there are "metal heads" in such a place.

nicely put. i agree most of the part.

 

[Tyguy]

umm no why would it be any different than anywhere else? I like african world music despite not being from africa ....music knows no borders

Well, your correct in a way, but Id have to say that a taste in music is learned as well.