On this week’s Whalecast, Eric is joined by Navid Khonsari, the Director of 1979 Revolution: Black Friday, the new game from iNK Stories set during the 1979 Revolution in Iran. Eric and Navid discuss the challenges of making a video game that documents a specific era and the gameplay decisions that encourage players to engage with history. They also talk about the game’s re-release for iOS, as well as the reception of the game in North America and in Iran and how incorporating personal elements helps humanize the story.
1979 Revolution: Black Friday is currently available for Mac and Windows and launches today for iOS. You can read our review of 1979 Revolution: Black Friday to find out more.
Download: The WhaleCast Episode 44 (47:04)
Listen: [powerpress]https://thatshelf.com/podcast/whalecast_ep44.mp3[/powerpress]
Subscribe on iTunes: The WhaleCast
Programme:
- 0:00 – Intro – “El Mariachi” by Skywhale
- 1:35 – Balancing history and fiction
- 10:45 – Making history entertaining
- 15:45 – The personal aspect of 1979 Revolution and humanizing Iran for a western audience
- 24:25 – The iOS re-release
- 29:20 – Responses to 1979 Revolution
- 34:40 – The games that influenced Black Friday
- 36:30 – Moral choices, the pressure to take sides, and Canadian neutrality
- 42:40 – The future of historical games
- 46:25 – Outro – “Shadow” by Skywhale
