We recently reported on the 4th Christian Game Developers Conference, happening this week in Portland. On a related and unrelated note, I recently came upon this op-ed (thanks to Andrew), by NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman. Friedman cites a WCJ report that the Iqra Learning Center, a site investigated after the 7/7 London bombings was the sole UK distributor of Islamgames, "a U.S.-based company that makes video games [featuring] apocalyptic battles between defenders of Islam and opponents."

The op-ed cites Ummah Defense I, in which "the world is 'finally united under the Banner of Islam' in 2114, until a revolt by disbelievers. The player's goal is to seek out and destroy the disbelievers."

I checked out the Islamgames website, which contains a variety of products including Arabic Letter Bazaar ("Learn Arabic Letter shapes and sound in your effort to help rebuild the bridge in Arabic Letter Bazaar") and Maze of Destiny ("Can you recover the missing letters of Surah Fatiha, rescue the teachers of the Quran, and re-establish the true worship of Allah on Earth?"), as well as Ummah Defense I and II. The latter two games are aracde-style space shooters, a la Raiden, and seem rather fantastic in their plot.

Friedman's op-ed suggests almost total complicity in the improprietous themes of these games, but the situation, as usual, seems much, much more complex to me.

Read the extended description of Ummah Defense I:

While I agree with Friedman's sentiment that "videogames matter," I wonder if his summary line -- "the goal is to seek out and destroy the disbelievers" -- is a fair characterization. The one human disbeliever constructs robots, and the player does combat with those, not with the humans. Granted, there is a great deal of ideology at work in the game -- the premise that 100 years hence the Earth will be united under Islam for one thing -- but are we ready to condemn these games just because they were sold in a store raided after the 7/7 bombings? Are these better/worse/different than popular Christian computer games like Catechumen and Ominous Horizons, which are essentially FPS's in which you fight against Satan's minions? Are such games "clean safe alternatives to shoot-'em up games like Grand Theft Auto", or just as steeped in their own kind of violence?