Endgame: Syria

Last updated
Endgame: Syria
EndGame Syria, Computer Game, Front End Screen.png
Developer(s) GameTheNews
Engine GameMaker:Studio
Platform(s) HTML5, Android
Release12 December 2012 (Android, HTML5)
Genre(s) Trading card game newsgame
Mode(s) Single-player

Endgame: Syria is a trading card based newsgame developed by GameTheNews.net, a project looking to turn news into games. It launched on the 12 December 2012 and claimed to be the first ever attempt to cover an ongoing conflict in the form of a video game. [1] It attracted a range of responses from the positive [2] [3] to critical. [4] The game places the player in the role of coordinating the rebel side of the Syrian Civil War, where they have to decide the political and military choices faced in resolving the conflict. An iOS version was planned, but cancelled due to conflicts with Apple's developer rules concerning its subject matter.

Contents

Gameplay

The game is a turn-based card game, in which each turn is divided into a political and military phase. Each of these two phases can positive or negatively affect the support level of either of two factions. The game ends when either one faction loses all support or both factions agree to a peace deal.

iOS version controversy and aftermath

A planned iOS version of the game was rejected by Apple's App Store, citing App Store guidelines forbidding games that “solely target a specific race, culture, a real government or corporation, or any other real entity”. This sparked debate over both the rules of the App Store and the appropriateness of the form in covering war. [5]

Russia Today featured a report on Apple's refusal to publish the game, agreeing with the decision citing the game as "unethical" and "only on one side" as there is only an ability to play as the rebels and not as the Syrian Government. They also considered it to be factually inaccurate, as the game features Russia as supporting the government despite "statements coming from the foreign ministry that Russia does not take any side in this conflict." [6]

Three separate submissions were made to Apple, in an attempt to get the game passed, each time removing a wider range of things that might be considered a reference to real groups or people. [7] Ultimately, Apple refused to allow Endgame: Syria onto the App Store for simply mentioning the country of Syria itself, resulting in the cancellation of the iOS version.

Alternate reskins

Hemmings Play Company, a radical reskin of the game Hemmings Play Company, Computer Game, The Performance Screen.png
Hemmings Play Company, a radical reskin of the game

Following the failure to get the iOS version of Endgame: Syria authorized for release, GameTheNews cancelled such version and repurposed it as a new game, Endgame: Eurasia.[ citation needed ] Tomas Rawlings, the game's lead designer, expressed disappointment with this decision, as it would prevent the game from achieving its intended educational purpose. He said, "We've come to the end of three rejections and one appeal and the only way we've been able to get Endgame: Syria out on iOS was to remove all references to the real world and sadly that changes it from a 'newsgame' into just a 'game'." [8]

In the wake of the controversial cancellation of the iOS version, GameTheNews' parent company Auroch Digital then used the engine of Endgame: Syria to create a new game for Shakespeare's Globe, titled Hemmings' Play Company. [9] Rawlings lauded the reskin, remarking that "these bold adaptations of our existing titles show how the dynamics of a game should not be confused with its subject matter. If the core functionally is robust and game play intuitive, they can become the canvass for a variety of great projects." [10]

Related Research Articles

The history of macOS, Apple's current Mac operating system formerly named Mac OS X until 2011 and then OS X until 2016, began with the company's project to replace its "classic" Mac OS. That system, up to and including its final release Mac OS 9, was a direct descendant of the operating system Apple had used in its Mac computers since their introduction in 1984. However, the current macOS is a UNIX operating system built on technology that had been developed at NeXT from the 1980s until Apple purchased the company in early 1997.

iWork Office suite of applications created by Apple Inc.

iWork is an office suite of applications created by Apple for its macOS, iPadOS, and iOS operating systems, and also available cross-platform through the iCloud website.

iOS Mobile operating system by Apple

iOS is a mobile operating system developed by Apple exclusively for its smartphones. It was unveiled in January 2007 for the first-generation iPhone, launched in June 2007.

Twitterrific was a macOS and iOS client for the social networking site Twitter created by The Iconfactory and was the first Twitter desktop client to come to macOS. It lets users view "tweets" or micro-blog posts on the Twitter website in real time as well as publish their own. Twitterrific is closed source software.

<i>Pocket God</i> 2009 video game

Pocket God is a simulation game developed by Bolt Creative, in which the player manipulates an island and its inhabitants. It was released for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch on January 9, 2009, and released for Verizon Wireless on September 1, 2010, Android on December 1, 2010, and Windows Phone on December 4, 2010. The Facebook version was released December 23, 2010.

<i>Flight Control</i> (video game) 2009 video game

Flight Control is a time management video game for iOS, Wii, Nintendo DS, Android, and Windows Phone 7 developed by Firemint and first released for iOS on March 5, 2009. The app was a number one bestseller on the App Store in 19 countries simultaneously on April 6, 2009 and has sold over 3.8 million copies. The development and publishing of Flight Control on non-Apple mobile phones is being handled by Namco under license.

<i>Zenonia</i> 2008 video game

Zenonia is an action role-playing game created, developed, and published by Gamevil for iOS, Android, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DSi, Zeebo and Windows Mobile. It was released on the App Store on May 24, 2009 and on the Google Play Store on March 27, 2010. It was released for the PlayStation Portable on October 12, 2010.

<i>Fishdom</i> 2008 video game

Fishdom is a puzzle game developed by Playrix for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Android, iOS, and iPadOS. The game was launched 19 June 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mac App Store</span> App Store on macOS

The Mac App Store is a digital distribution platform for macOS apps, often referred to as Mac apps, created and maintained by Apple Inc. The platform was announced on October 20, 2010, at Apple's "Back to the Mac" event. Apple began accepting app submissions from registered developers on November 3, 2010, in preparation for its launch.

Submissions for mobile apps for iOS are subject to approval by Apple's App Review team, as outlined in the SDK agreement, for basic reliability testing and other analysis, before being published on the App Store. Applications may still be distributed ad hoc if they are rejected, by the author manually submitting a request to Apple to license the application to individual iPhones, although Apple may withdraw the ability for authors to do this at a later date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amazon Appstore</span> App store by Amazon

Amazon Appstore is an app store for Android-compatible platforms operated by Amazon.com Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Amazon.

An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the computer itself. Complex software designed for use on a personal computer, for example, may have a related app designed for use on a mobile device. Today apps are normally designed to run on a specific operating system—such as the contemporary iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux or Android—but in the past mobile carriers had their own portals for apps and related media content.

This is a comparison of mobile operating systems. Only the latest versions are shown in the table below, even though older versions may still be marketed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OS X Mavericks</span> Tenth major release of OS X

OS X Mavericks is the 10th major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. OS X Mavericks was announced on June 10, 2013, at WWDC 2013, and was released on October 22, 2013, worldwide.

<i>NarcoGuerra</i> 2013 video game

NarcoGuerra, Spanish for "DrugWar", is a strategy newsgame developed by GameTheNews.net. It was released in June 2013 for Android, PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

iPad Air 2 Tablet computer made by Apple (2014–2017)

The iPad Air 2 is the second-generation iPad Air tablet computer designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. It was announced on October 16, 2014, alongside the iPad Mini 3, both of which were released on October 22, 2014. The iPad Air 2 is thinner, lighter and faster than its predecessor, the first-generation iPad Air, and features Touch ID with the height, width and screen size the same as the iPad Air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music (app)</span> Media player developed by Apple

Music is a media player application developed for the iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, visionOS, tvOS, Android, and Windows operating systems by Apple Inc. It can play music files stored locally on devices, as well as stream from the iTunes Store and Apple Music.

<i>Rebel Inc.</i> (video game) 2018 video game

Rebel Inc. is a strategy video game developed and released by Ndemic Creations for iOS in December 2018. It was later ported to Android on February 2019. A Microsoft Windows and macOS version was released on Steam as Rebel Inc: Escalation on October 2019. The goal of the game is to stabilize a region of a country while preventing insurgents from seizing control.

<i>Predators</i> (video game) 2010 video game

Predators, sometimes mislabeled as Robert Rodriguez presents Predators, is a real-time strategy tie-in to the Predator franchise, based on the 2010 film of the same name. The game was developed by independent game developer Angry Mob Games and was released for iOS on July 1, 2010, over a week before the film's theatrical release. The game was later ported to Android and published by Fox Digital Entertainment in 2012.

Sweatshop is a 2011 educational simulation game with tower defence elements. Developed by Littleloud in partnership with and published by Channel Four Television, it was first released for browsers on July 18, 2011. An iOS port titled Sweatshop HD was released in November 2012, but it was removed in February 2013 due to concerns with the game's content.

References

  1. ↑ "Endgame Syria Launched (official announcement)". 2012-12-12. Archived from the original on 2013-01-13. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
  2. ↑ "Apple rejects iOS game exploring Syria's civil war (wired)". 2013-01-08. Archived from the original on 2013-02-11. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
  3. ↑ "Review of Endgame Syria (gameswarp)". 2013-01-08. Archived from the original on 2013-03-09. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
  4. ↑ "Endgame Syria - Reducing The Civil War To A Game Is Unhelpful And Distasteful". 2013-01-08. Archived from the original on 2013-02-21. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
  5. ↑ Stuart, Keith (2013-01-11). "Guardian article on interactive journalism". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
  6. ↑ "Endgame Syria: Apple shoots down rebel scenario simulator". YouTube . 2013-01-09. Archived from the original on 2013-01-09. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  7. ↑ "Endgame: Eurasia". 2012-03-21. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  8. ↑ "Endgame: Eurasia Released Across Multiple Platforms". 2012-03-21. Archived from the original on 2013-07-24. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  9. ↑ "Banned iOS game morphs into Shakespeare kids game". Polygon . 2013-07-17. Archived from the original on 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
  10. ↑ "Banned iOS game morphs into Shakespeare kids game". 2013-07-18. Archived from the original on 2013-07-20. Retrieved 2013-07-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.