first modern arab action hero in a 3-d video game
• Renowned international journalist, Riz Khan helps create the Arab video game 'Sharq Warriors'
• Details of game announced on the closing day of GITEX 2007
For the first time, video game enthusiasts in the Middle East have the chance to play a 3-D video game featuring an authentic Arab action hero. Colourblind Entertainment, the UAE-based company behind ‘Sharq Warriors’, has set its action-adventure in a modern, fictional Middle Eastern country.
The announcement of the game’s launch—scheduled for later this year, with a free playable demo coming this month—coincided with the closing day of GITEX 2007, the region’s leading technology exhibition.
Riz Khan, a name that is usually associated with the global news industry, is one of the driving forces behind the team that created the game. The former CNN and BBC anchor, now producing and hosting shows for Al Jazeera International, made history in 1998 when he became the very first TV reporter to present live coverage of the Hajj to a world audience.
‘Sharq Warriors’ features a young hero, ‘Sami’, who, Khan says, is destined to become an iconic figure in the Arab world. Confronted by a foreign corrupt paramilitary force, Sami survives using a combination of martial arts, marksmanship and Parkour, the ‘free- running’ technique that involves making spectacular maneuvers combining speed, jumping and gymnastics to travel across urban landscapes.
“First and foremost, ‘Sharq Warriors’ is designed to get the heart pumping, to be exciting and engaging,” said Khan. “But on another level, we wanted to create the first truly Arab modern action hero. We felt that video games, one of the fastest-growing sectors of the entertainment industry, would be the perfect platform to introduce such a character to the public. This man is meant to be a combination of an Indiana Jones, James Bond and Jason Bourne, for the Middle East.”
While ‘Sharq Warriors’ is set in a Middle Eastern environment, it is available in English and Arabic. It is a PC (Windows) game, offered on CD-ROM and by internet download across the Middle East, and around the world. Its cutting edge technology and stunning visuals allow players to experience the high adrenaline action in a dramatic way, thinking and moving like Sami as he battles his enemies.
“During my extensive career in the global media, I’ve traveled the world and interviewed everyone from Nelson Mandela to Bill Clinton, and yet this project is something more personal through its connection to the Arab world where I was born. I am excited to be brining cutting edge technology with an Arab flavour to the region.”
The full version of ‘Sharq Warriors’ will be launched in the Middle East by the end of this year. A playable demo version of the game will be available through as a free downloadable version, and CD-ROM by the end of September, 2007. Colourblind Entertainment is looking for direct feedback from players who try the demo in order to customize the full edition of the game to the needs of Middle Eastern players.
© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
