Exploring Palestine's Game Development Scene

[@SalehAbuRashid]

Coming back to this. I hope they are ok.

[@Somno_toska]

Palestinian here studying game dev abroad, it's amazing to see my people back home be recognized :-) thank you for making this !

[@13thxenos]

A bit random, I didn't expect to see such a video in this channel, but amazing work. Thank you for shedding light on game development situation in Palestine. I would like to suggest Iran for the next video, I heard there was a law introduced last year there that made developers quite angry, about needing to submit their games for approval, including the source code. I hope I'm wrong, but in such a fast paced industry, having to wait for an approval before being able to publish is a death sentence for games.

[@AlbertSirup]

that law applies to virtually all art in Iran (incl. music concerts, exhibitions etc.) - not only does it cause delay as you said but projects can also be cancelled or heavily altered last minute without the organizers / developers being able to do anything.

[@Stalkie]

As the son of a Palestinian immigrant, thank you for shining the light onto such a underrecognized area of the world!

[@TheAmazingCowpig]

Always cool to see creative people from different places, this is great stuff. Very interesting to see some perspectives from a more... challenging source.

[@esayzgy]

It was a great experience to interview with you, I am thankful that you chose to highlight Palestinian game development and look forward to the next video in the series!

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

It's really inspiring that even in such dark conditions, these people can still do what they love in their free time.

[@hirzanabqary]

yeah light is very underappreciated

[@MrDrury27]

ok Unitiled actually seems useful as hell, thank you based Yasser

[@Brandon_Brando]

This is a amazing Idea I would love this for other countries like China if that's even possible especially after the video game ban, south America and Africa get no representation in anything, would love to learn more about those areas It's a shame most of the games are about the war over there but beautiful in a way seeing them express there experience using games. It shows the true art that games can be even if it's a mobile game I want to see more of that expression in games as a whole Also "drink beer neglect family" is a hilarious name for a game

[@evanmagill9114]

I definitely second your recommendation about China. There are a lot of misconceptions and that's definitely worth looking into. And it would probably be more accurate to say "Latin America" than "South America". We tend to forget the Central American countries and I couldn't say that Mexican game dev gets all that much attention. I'd be curious to hear about game dev in Honduras for example.

[@Madderthanjoker]

Didn't Mexico have SQUAD? Like the people who made that space game with the expendable green bois.

[@ArchieGamez]

@@Madderthanjoker Kerbal Space Program?

[@yrnteao]

The "video game ban" thing has been somewhat misleading. It is very specifically *_online multiplayer games_* which have been limited for students under 18. I agree that this restriction is ridiculous, but to call it a blanket ban on video games is misleading, when the world of video games is much more than just online multiplayer; though I suppose *_"online multiplayer game access limited for people under 18"_* isn't quite as catchy of a headline as *_"VIDEO GAMES BANNED IN CHINA"_*

[@Brandon_Brando]

@@yrnteao didn't know that part my bad just heard it through osmosis

[@Gweca002]

It would be cool to see a video like this for South America or South Africa. Every now and again I hear about an indie game that manages to make a splash on steam from one of those two areas but nothing much beyond that.

[@evanmagill9114]

South Africa the country?

[@omarabbas8804]

This is so sweet, great job Miziziziz

[@painleroux9486]

I love this idea , Thank you for highlighting Palestine's Game Developers , I wish to see more Videos like this

[@the-birbo]

I randomly remembered this video exists. I really hope they're all right. Free Palestine

[@imir_]

The names are crossed out in the description, hope it does not mean that they are not alive anymore

[@ahmede92]

@@imir_ I think it's crossed just in case google be google

[@sdsdfdu4437]

Fuck palestine, free the hostages

[@esayzgy]

I live in the US now, and from what I know everyone else is fine (as fine as you can be in that part of the world). None of us lived in Gaza.

[@atikahrostam5778]

Great video Miz! Gonna check out their games 🥰

[@NicoValdiviaHennig]

Thank you so much for the video!

[@lbgb9]

I'm endlessly appreciative of how authentic and uncensored your content always is. And I could not agree more with the sentiment of expanding the understanding of game dev (or artistic culture more generally) beyond the borders of historically domineering canon. Amazing video and idea for a series. Dare I posit some suggestions of game dev in Taiwan, Iran or nations within South America or Subsaharan Africa which I, and I'm sure many people here, know embarrasingly little about.

[@AliMshashazzz]

Thank you so much for giving us this kind of exposure

[@seumemel]

Amazing work Miziziz! Very very necessary!

[@Richard-zs1bm]

Great video, putting names and faces to people so often seen as “others”.

[@GingerNingerish]

I remember seeing you make a Tweet about wanting to make this series a little while back. Glad you followed through with it. Really interesting stuff.

[@zactron1997]

Such a cool video! I'm honestly surprised by the bravery you're demonstrating here by not just shining a light on people who need it, but also such a politically charged part of the world. Can't wait to see more of this from all over the world!

[@khalidsulaiman9029]

This is awesome ! This makes really want to go back and continue developing games !

[@OoALGUEMoO]

Here in Brazil we got a huge game dev community, and everyone is very accessible

[@Zach010ROBLOX]

You did a great job with this video, definitely want to see more of this content. I really liked how you just let the devs speak for themselves for the most part and your questions and interactions were only enough to prompt their discussion, and let them really expand on what their scene is without applying all of the US/EU based game scene frameworks.

[@ahmed_alfiki]

Free Palestine! Thank you for the video❤❤🍉🍉

[@timothyyoyovids6120]

Really interesting video, i love the concept. Not a popular suggestion but I would love to see Singapore's game dev scene in a later video!

[@archiemcw]

This is an amazing idea for a video :)

[@selgesel]

Most people tend to avoid stuff with the slightest hint of politics, but you went ahead and started off with the most sensitive one, you absolute madman! People who complain about others "mixing politics into everything" have no idea how privileged they are. In oppressed regions around the world it's impossible to escape politics, even more so in the Middle East, where the very breath you take is political. It's fascinating how people from these regions are able to keep their sanity, let alone do gamedev as a side hustle, so please keep doing this! What I'm about to say is nothing compared to waking up to your house being destroyed by a rocket blast, but if you'd like to take a glimpse into what living in one of the "luckier" countries in the area is like, here goes. I live in Turkey, and though we're not being illegally occupied like Palestine and we're not divided by an armed conflict like Iraq or Syria, we do have our own demons. As a Turkish citizen you can't browse Twitter without being bombarded by propaganda tweets sent by a gazillion bot accounts funded by the government, you can't use PayPal because of an arbitrary law that states all financial data must be stored within the country borders, you can't use Airbnb or Booking because the minister of tourism owns a similar website and doesn't want to compete, you can't get more than 8-10 Mbps of internet speed in most places because the minister of infrastructure has ties with the telecom monopoly and doesn't want anyone to compete, you can't get 5G cellular access because the government wants to make sure they can spy on you before they actually setup its infrastructure, you can't fully use Uber because the amount of cab licenses is fixed and many government officials own several of them so they simply can't allow individuals from becoming Uber drivers, you can't order alcohol online and nobody knows why, your livelihood is always in danger because the currency keeps moving up and down like a trampoline, you can't express your every single thought because the government might think you're a traitor, you might get killed just because you're a woman and had a disagreement with your partner, and he probably gets a reduced sentence because he wears a suit to the court or the judge might think he had motive... I can keep going but you get the idea.

[@johnjackson9767]

lol

[@Schrodingers_kid]

aged like milk

[@mikwul7946]

Very informative video! Also: this is a great idea for a series. Looking forward to the next one!

[@ash1kh]

I know Rasheed. What an inspiration. In physics if someone wants to measure result a competition the INITIAL CONDITION must be the same. So measuring Ubisoft to palanstinian game industry is much more like judging a fish by its ability to climb a tree. Looking forward to send any kind of programming or 3d support for free to those who wakes up everyday by the siren of bombing.

[@nocaptcha8110]

Bless them all.

[@mahrezlass1126]

my respect for u know is soo high after this video

[@Tod_x]

Miziziziz is truly an alpha male for making this video 💪👍

[@UnderfundedScientist]

This is such an exciting series

[@DrNabeel20]

I love everything about this! thank you 👏

[@Crowborn]

This is an amazing idea for a series! Thank you for making this

[@Skeffles]

Great seeing you reach out across the world. Often when I watch game dev content on youtube it feels dominated by the US so this was refreshing to see. I hope you do more videos like this!

[@franciscosuarez4521]

hmm I would like to see some of South/Central America scenes, we are underrepresented despite being really capable. Here in Argentina Godot was originally developed as close source for some studios that are now basically extinct thanks to the economic crisis (that why it became open source) but right now a bunch of small and medium studios are still alive despite the constant economic downfall. Brazil has a huge retro game market so they could still produce and sell new retro console games. They make a lot of mods for old games, like they still play PES 2004-2006 since it's actually more complete in terms of teams and players Would like to know more about about Mexico scene too since they have a lot of interesting culture, I saw some pretty cool games from them Sadly I don't know much more from the other countries but they probably have some really interesting stories and circumstances too

[@inversebrah]

loved this, thanks for sharing

[@io6619]

Definitely looking forward to this series

[@OscarRobbing]

Excellent idea and execution. Love that you’re not only one of the few actually good game dev vloggers in general, but that you’re using your renown to highlight important issues like diversity and challenges that some artists may face that most of us never consider. Bravo 👏 👏

[@YousefDana]

Love it! I'm from Palestine and didn't expect this.

[@Dorchukk]

Do you mean Israel?

[@evelin1006]

@@Dorchukk are you really going to start a political debate here?

[@Panossa]

@@evelin1006 It's all they wrote under many comments here, yeah.

[@evelin1006]

@@Panossa that sucks.

[@YousefDana]

Ah yes. Thanks to all the people reminding me that I am not a human. Just scum of the earth. Doesn't matter that we all love the same things.

[@F3ND1MUS]

Everybody come together for peace and creation😁😃

[@maio4712]

Hi there! Amazing work! Let me sugest Argentina for the next video. I'm Argentinian (but not a videogame dev, only a boardgame designer) and there is a really big and amazing indie scene here. I highly recomend everyone to check it out!

[@StarContract]

Thanks!!! I am a Palestinian game developer from Al-Quds!!! So glad we are getting recognition. I will soon release my first project on itch.

[@Dorchukk]

*Jerusalem

[@hmmhm6620]

you mean Jerusalem?

[@gobe9197]

he meant al-Quds 🥰

[@hmmhm6620]

@@gobe9197 "Al-Quds" does not exist. There is only Jerusalem. "Al-Quds" is an invention by Arab colonizers who ethnically cleansed the population in the 7th century and invented themselves names for places because they have erased the names given by the REAL "Palestinians" who lived there -- the Jews.

[@gobe9197]

damn thats crazy sounds like something i would say if i thought rome was arab

[@hotleg777]

Very cool, and a great idea for a series!

[@kaiser9321]

This is very eye-opening

[@xregreenredx]

thanks for making this!

[@gldev8191]

great video man, glad to see the community is hard at work everywhere!!

[@gamongames]

Id love one of these about Brazil.

[@xasdrubalex]

Great video ❤️

[@nizarfteiha890]

Thank you so much for showcasing Palestine!

[@bonsaipropaganda]

why are the names crossed out in the description?

[@guidogarciacattaneo1054]

This was amazing and really interesting, I hope that you can continue with this series

[@NyleGames]

Incredible video, thank you for making it!

[@zestydev_]

Feels pretty good to be this early, also cool video, as always...👍

[@debashishmishra9309]

Please check out Indian Game Development Scene. Especially the sacrifices of the creators behind Raji

[@TheMrbonkers115]

Commenting because this needs more views

[@musikalniyfanboichik]

such a great idea, would love to see more videos!!

[@Lasstpak]

This is a very pleasant surprise that KZbin algorithm brought me

[@Deolrin]

I am Israeli but opposed to my government's actions in Palestine. I just want to say that those people are awesome and I wish them all well. I think it might've been worth it to mention that Suhail is not living in the Occupied Territories, that is why he says his experience feels isolated and torn (or at least that's what I picked up on based on context, I might be wrong) - it's quite a unique predicament here in this fractured land. Thank you for highlighting voices too few people hear, Miziziziz.

[@esayzgy]

You are not wrong, I am from Haifa :) This I think is said in the uncut interview that linked.

[@Schrodingers_kid]

Kind of hurts to read this :/

[@Deolrin]

@@Schrodingers_kid I wish everyone interviewed here well and I hope they are safe. I wish for peace and understanding between our two peoples and an end to the hostilities, bloodshed, fear and oppression. As far as I'm concerned nothing has changed, despite Hamas' despicable atrocities and our military's murderous counteroffensive. I just want the loss of lives to end.

[@Schrodingers_kid]

@@Deolrin Mature point

[@ratzelkujo7880]

As someone who is half palestinian and want to becoming an game developer it makes me happy to learn that there are palestinians game dev who make games and sad because they are living in tight condition enforced by israel government, I hope they got more attention globally so people notice their works

[@p0tatocat_28]

It's always nice to see how game development works in other countries :D Developers are all over the world and just like you said it's a shame that most people only focus on a few spots when there are so many creative minds out there. Perhaps you could do a video about Hungary's gamedev scene? I'm from there so it would be cool to see! Great video as always, thanks!

[@alfredbaeumer3643]

This is cool. Maybe South africa next :)

[@cookies23z]

that article "saying its political themes mean it is not a game" burh... I guess modern warfare 2 isnt a game, nor any fucking thing that exists... pos also hearing this is pretty rough, but cool to know. edit: thank you for the talks and showcase... it was interesting, and "I think we should focus on what we can do" is a hopeful message/focus... I wish them all luck and success also, "we dont need to make another call of duty or a fifa... we could make smaller games that share our stories that arent shared" is really succinct

[@T1mure]

As an Israeli gamedev its quite frustrating how there are nearly no companies in middle east to recruit aspiring developers. In Israel the only big one is Plarium - the Raid Shadow Legends guys, but its quite funny. All of the actual developers of raid are in Lvov, Ukraine. While Israel has only the marketing departments and the HQ. In future I envision my own company in middle east which would unite gamedevs from different places without the stupid politics attached. Well see how it goes. Thanks for the lovely and very original video, maybe not as exciting as wrought flesh devlogs but I really appreciate it.

[@superzolosolo]

overwolf is israeli

[@jonathan4943]

@@superzolosolo yoo fr? didn't know that

[@superzolosolo]

@@jonathan4943 yeah i saw one of their ads in tel-aviv and was quite surprised as well

[@Schrodingers_kid]

Wait, Ukraine, really? Now I know where to look for them

[@n8dev]

really cool video!

[@felipej.oribeiro6700]

Brilliant material! Keep it up

[@kofiro253]

Cool video! Maybe check out some African countries! Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon, South Africa just to name a few

[@gnardawgyt]

This is an AWESOME series

[@KidsWreckMovies]

Thanks for this video!

[@brujua7]

Great video, thanks a lot

[@ameenoacids9909]

Love to see representation of my country great video!!

[@_remblanc]

Been pretty curious about Nigeria recently, so maybe it would be cool to find out abt their gamedev scene, provided they have it

[@snail8720]

What? I live in Israel, maybe we could collab, gotta find me some peers from over there

[@evanmagill9114]

Go for it! Epic Israeli-Palestinian game dev for the win!

[@timartinc4740]

Brooooo, thats gonna be lit

[@a56br68]

@@evanmagill9114 you on something ??

[@snail8720]

Interestingly, the dark content-focused games from Palestine are quite similar to my own games and art style. So might even work out well

[@a56br68]

@@snail8720 pretty sure the dark-content-focused games are because of what yall did, it would never work out well

[@steffenderfreak1]

This is awesome, thank you!

[@TarekAlShawwa]

This is amazing!

[@nocultist7050]

People all over the world become game developers mostly for the same reason. Because games are fun and world always could be more fun.

[@Balakademi]

Thank you. Great video

[@ahmada1629]

My people ❤ the honorable people of Gaza will win

[@zxGHOSTr]

This. You are the overdog of the underdogs!

[@JovemEverton]

Amazing idea.

[@grymdylan]

This is incredibly important video to be posting, so that US citizens can become more aware of the fact that the Middle East, ESPECIALLY Palestine, is not just some shithole with nothing going on.

[@wesker6908]

Why just US citizen? Everyone around the world

[@grymdylan]

@@wesker6908 as a non-US citizen, I’m pretty certain of the fact that the US is the worst offender for minimising Palestinian legitimacy through Israeli support. The whole world needs a better perception of the Middle East, but the US is the worst offender.

[@danke1150]

@@wesker6908 It's important specifically to the US because America is financing Israel and fighting their wars, it's not Poland giving them billions annually and sending Polish to die for Israel, it's not the Polish starting Middle Eastern wars to make the area weaker so they cannot oppose Israel.

[@thegameranch5935]

It is a shithole I live there

[@obsidianskin9502]

back to back videos!

[@KaizarNike]

This is an important video!

[@Khoura]

Amazing bro!

[@xbaneet3969]

Great video !

[@kidando]

This is just so awesome

[@nyeeesss2424]

Amazing! Do China, India or Africa next, please?

[@williambjork2777]

Great stuff, can’t wait for the next one. Free Palestine 🇵🇸

[@perishonimpact]

This is excellent!

[@Schrodingers_kid]

Ouch

[@2nafish117]

I wish i could find like minded game devs where i live. Indie game dev is a very lonely endeavour.

[@barbedwiredbones]

Can you cover Mongolia next

[@AbdouMadjidi_.]

next time you should see algerian game developers like me, btw I'm 13 years old 😁😁

[@GostosasGarotas]

name checks out

[@ameenoacids9909]

Such a heard warming video love this

[@gnomoverdissimo]

thank you Miz

[@taeeat12]

Free them boys!

[@KrystofKlestil1337]

Hey this is a great video

[@jordanrichards3585]

Great video :)