Arabian Themed Games

[James]

For some reason I was thinking Karnov when I read this thread, then I remembered he's a Russian stereotype rather than Arabic.

James

[Compass]

As for the content of these games, they all have flying carpets or scimitars- a very played out stereotype. It would be along the same lines as having a game where black people eat watermelon or one with chinese people swimming in a pool of rice.

Congratulations! In the interest of keeping Compass's blood pressure down, you've been selected as his first TNL user to be 'ignored'. Keep up the good work!

Anyway, yeah, I love this theme. But then I've always had a soft spot for desert levels in games (unlike the many of you who expressed your fondness for snow levels in that other thread). Scheherezade was cool but I only ever rented it. Legend of Oasis was fantastic. Try as I might I couldn't get into Shantae. I'm sure I'll try again someday. I gotta try some of those other titles up there. Nice thread! These are my favorite ones to read.

[James]

I read Tonic's lines three times running trying to figure out what kind of content it had to aggravate you in that fashion and there's nothing there that I can see. Comparing one racial stereotype to another seems pretty harmless overall. Seeing as you brought up the topic of the ignore list and made a point of getting ticked at his post, care to fill us in on the details? I'm honestly curious as to what you see in there that I don't.

James

[Compass]

I read Tonic's lines three times running trying to figure out what kind of content it had to aggravate you in that fashion and there's nothing there that I can see. Comparing one racial stereotype to another seems pretty harmless overall. Seeing as you brought up the topic of the ignore list and made a point of getting ticked at his post, care to fill us in on the details? I'm honestly curious as to what you see in there that I don't.

James

Don't want to hijack/sidetrack this nice thread with my rantings. PM'd ya.

[xS]

Cool thread. Monster World 4 is by far the best arabian themed game that I've played.

[ferricide]

As for the content of these games, they all have flying carpets or scimitars- a very played out stereotype. It would be along the same lines as having a game where black people eat watermelon or one with chinese people swimming in a pool of rice.

do you think it's really a negative racial stereotype?

it's romanticised. it's much the same as japanese-themed games about ninjas and samurai or american-themed games about the old west... over-sensitivity to issues like this is pretty ridiculous.

and what the hell is "chinese people swimming in a pool of rice" anyway? =P

[Lordmrw]

I'm wondering about the whole black people eating watermelon thing. I sure as hell haven't seen many black people that like watermelon, myself included.

[red_war_machine]

As for the content of these games, they all have flying carpets or scimitars- a very played out stereotype. It would be along the same lines as having a game where black people eat watermelon or one with chinese people swimming in a pool of rice.

Along with everyone else, I'm gonna point out how patently ridiculous this is. These games are historically based, and just romanticise the past mythology of a particular area of the world. I'm pretty sure it makes for a much more exciting game than an Arabain-themed title WITHOUT swords and magic carpets.

Basically, if you're not gonna have themes that will be OBVIOUSLY Arabian to the player, there's no point and you may as well set it in the country of origin.

[FPM]

The first stages of Metal Slug 2 and Metal Slug X took place in Egypt.

[RoleTroll]

I'm wondering about the whole black people eating watermelon thing. I sure as hell haven't seen many black people that like watermelon, myself included.

The picaninny was the dominant racial caricature of Black children for most of America?s history.*Picaninnies had bulging eyes, unkempt hair, red lips, and wide mouths into which they stuffed huge slices of watermelon. They were themselves tasty bits for alligators. They were routinely shown on postcards, posters, and other ephemera being chased or eaten. Picaninnies were portrayed as nameless, natural buffoons running from alligators and towards fried chicken.

http://tinyurl.com/i11w

For many blacks, there is nothing like the watermelon joke to rush the adrenaline. Cartoonists in the 1930s often depicted some grand activity--a parade, a march--and in the background had Negroes sitting on fence posts, chomping on watermelon. I remember vividly my grandmother in Columbus, Ohio, refusing to let her grandchildren eat watermelon on the front porch. Less neighbors see us. Less the world think we had no couth.

http://www.prospect.org/print/V11/26/haygood-w.html