[ # ] Extreme Gaming

/* Posted March 17th, 2008 at 8:39pm */
/* Filed under Video Games */

There was a game out named “Quest for Saddam”. The Al Qaeda took that and reskined it so that last boss was Bush called “Night of Bush Capturing”.

An American-Iraqi teacher name Wafaa Bilal from The Art Institute of California hacked the Al Qaeda version and remade the character as a suicide bomber.As a project he set up a camera and paintball gun onto his computer. Whoever logs onto his site can shoot him just by clicking on a button. He stayed in the room for 30 days and got 6,500 shots. A quote from his site:

“In these difficult times, when we are at war with another nation, it is our duty as artists and citizens to improvise strategies of engagement for dialogue. This platform is a piece of fiction that uses the video game format to create alternative narratives and perspectives.

Because we inhabit a comfort zone far from the trauma of conflict zone, we Americans have become desensitized to the violence of war. We are disconnected, disengaged while many others do the suffering. The game holds up a mirror that reveals our own propensities for violence, racism and propaganda. We can close our eyes, our ears and deny that it exists, but the issue wonâ€™t go away.”

Wafaa’s website

http://wafaabilal.com

And an interview done by Brian Boyko. He explains a lot about the project and why he did it.

http://www.networkperformancedaily.com/2007/05/interview_with_wafaa_bilal_les_1.html