From PeaceMaker to Palestine Skating Games, video games are increasingly used by developers to raise awareness of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Among these, there is also the new game by Rasheed Abueideh, an independent Palestinian developer. It’s called Dreams on a Pillow and tells the story of the Nakba of 1948.
Khadra is a sunny and curious woman. He lives in Tantura, a coastal village in western Palestine. She is married to Canaan, a young man from the countryside. Their story seems like a fairy tale: they get married, are expecting a child, while life in the village flows peacefully surrounded by the sea. Yet, no happy ending is foreseen: in the spring of 1948, in the context of the Arab-Israeli war, the Zionist brigade called Alexandroni – still operating in Gaza and Lebanon today – attacked Tantura, massacring over 200 Palestinian civilians. Khadra is therefore forced to abandon her land. All without being discovered, and with only a pillow in your hands.
Hence the title: Dreams on a Pillowthe video game coming in 2027 on the Nakba developed by Rasheed Abueidehan independent Palestinian programmer living in the West Bank. The development funds were obtained through crowdfunding: 234,000 euros coming from supporters all over the world. A result higher than the set target, i.e. 194,000 euros. Fundraising for the launch is now underway. To date, 56,000 euros have been raised out of over 300,000 requested. These seem like extraordinary figures, but in reality they are quite modest in the gaming context. Typically the development of a medium-sized video game, such as Expedition 33, requires tens of millions of euros. Blockbusters, on the other hand, the so-called triple A ones, like Marvel’s Spider-Man or Call of Duty, require hundreds of millions.
The story of Rasheed Abueideh
Rasheed Abueideh is a well-known figure in the gaming scene. In 2016 he launched Liyla and Shadow of Wara video game for PC and mobile devices set in 2014 Gaza tormented by Israeli missiles and drones. The protagonist is a man who tries to return to his family to guide them towards survival. Beyond the highly sensitive topic, Liyla and Shadow of War captured attention because, at launch, Apple removed it per policy from its digital store, triggering very critical articles and social statements. The public reaction made the Cupertino giant backtrack: the title is now also available on the App Store.
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Abueideh uses video game language to spread the suffering to which the Palestinian people are subjected throughout the world. “Palestinians in the mainstream media are always dehumanized. Their personal stories are not told, they ignore the fact that we exist, that we have feelings, that we live under attack and that we do not have the same rights as everyone else in the world. I tried to create something to break this pattern” the developer said in 2021 during an interview on WiredUS.
His next title, Dreams on a Pillowis based on the same principle: through the story of Khadra, of his sometimes crude and sometimes dreamlike exodus amidst massacres and violence, the aim is to “humanize the historical narrative and shed light on the tragedies of that era” explained Abueideh in another interview for The poster. The developer believes a lot in the empathetic power of video games.
Video games as a tool of Palestinian resistance
He’s not the only one. On Fanpage.it, we have already had the opportunity to talk about Palestine Skating Game, the pacifist video game in which you oppose the shootings of IDF soldiers through street art and roller skates. Violence is not contemplated as a response. This title is also still in the prototype phase and, although it is available for free, it has received support through donations on itch.io. The money raised supports Palestinian and Lebanese female and male developers. However, it should be noted that the video game representation of the Israeli-Palestinian issue is not recent.
Already at the beginning of the 2000s it was possible to individualize titles such as PeaceMakerreleased in 2007 and focused on resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine through diplomacy. Then there are other titles, some considered controversial, such as Raid Gaza!dating back to 2008, in which you have to get the highest score by killing as many Palestinians as possible, as an IDF soldier. In the game, there are special objectives that allow you to obtain additional points such as hospitals and police stations. A satirical game, which uses the scoring mechanic to talk about the violence – still – taking place in Gaza. The game broke the critics. For example, the French critic Tony Fortin had assessed it as a product capable of powerfully describing the injustice of the conflict, especially when compared to traditional media. Others, such as journalist Matt Peckham, believe that the title developed by Marcus Richert is a “loud oversimplification” of the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
