Ian Bogost - Water Cooler Games - Play the Chechen jihad

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Water Cooler Games served as the web's primary forum for "videogames with an agenda" — coverage of the uses of video games in advertising, politics, education, and other everyday activities, outside the sphere of entertainment.

The site was maintained at watercoolergames.org from 2003-2009, where it was edited by myself and Gonzalo Frasca. It is now archived here in full.

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Play the Chechen jihad

by Ian Bogost January 19, 2005

categories: Political Games

Moscow News reports on Vladimir Matveyev, a Russian Muslim who created a game about the separatist rebellion in Chechnya. Ichkeria, Operation Flash-Point features 11 Russian bases and a concentration camp. (via Kotaku)

Content notwithstanding, it's interesting that the article bills the developer as an "unemployed Russian" rather than a "game developer" or an "activist" or an "extremist" or even a "terrorist." Matveyev explains that he has no plans to market his game, "saying it is not for profit" and its purpose consists in "destroying aggressive Russian enemies." So clearly he has political motivations.

Even more weirdly, the article is framed by a giant screenshot captioned "Image from www.ea.com." It looks to me like it's from the Battlefield 1942 follow-up Battlefield 2. From EA's site:

The award-winning Battlefield franchise invades the high tech frontlines of modern warfare in the new sequel, Battlefield 2™. The game brings the intensity and excitement of Battlefield 1942™ into the modern era with enhanced team play and the latest, most technologically advanced vehicles and weapons systems available to man.

In Battlefield 2, players will choose to fight for one of three military superpowers: the United States, the Chinese, or the newly formed Middle East Coalition.

Parody? Or commentary? Perahps Ichkeria, Operation Flash-Point does represent "warfare in the modern era" more than EA's mass market anesthetic?

Comments (3)

It might be apt were they painting EA as a "terrorist" organization. ;)

I think this is a positive development. It's interesting that game mod tools are providing the best/most user friendly way for ordinary citizens to capture a moment in history or tell a story in a way that is interactive, and likely more powerful than writing or photographs.

Certainly the U.S. Army shouldn't have a lock on using video games for propoganda and agenda-boosting.

Tasteless through it may be, an Abu Gharib mod for America's Army would probably get a lot more media attention and a lot more young people aware of the situation than an article in the New Yorker.

Chris Norman on January 19, 2005 3:43 PM

I hope someone does make an Abu Ghraib mod for America's Army especially after the post that was put on the game's forum from the executive producer threatening anybody who decided to mod the game for whatever reason.

http://eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=57584

Emil Ng on January 20, 2005 3:03 PM

where can i download this mod?

marsho ichkeria on March 22, 2005 2:55 PM

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