Video games are having an unquestionable influence on culture around the world. The Swiss have moved to ban violent video games altogether. But gamers are like the critters in a round of Whac-a-Mole. They just keep popping up in unexpected locations. A 20-member team in Tehran has created a game, Garshasp the Monster Slayer, which launches soon on the PC and has drawn international praise. It’s a fantasy game that draws upon Iranian myths, putting the player in a Persian world where he or she must solve puzzles and slay monsters called “deevs,” according to a story in the Washington Post. It’s telling that the team led by business developer Arash Jafari and chief executive Amir Hossein Fassihi was able to pull together such a complex project at a time when the headlines are all about Iran’s brinksmanship on nuclear weaponry, anti-government protests, and economic sanctions.
