Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Afghanistan's First Female Coders Develop Game To Combat Opium
The first Afghan female coders, a group of students in Western Herat, have developed a game centered around fighting Taliban-controlled opium poppy fields.
The game, called Fight Against Opium, is based on stories 20-year old coder Khatera Mohammadi's brother told her from his experience as a translator for U.S. soldiers in the Helmand province. "Each time he came back home, he would tell us about the poppy fields, the terrible mine blasts, battling opium traffickers and drugs," she said.
In FAO, players assume the role of an Afghan soldier trying to clear out the drugs in Helmand, which is based on actual events. With five lives, players have to watch out for dangerous elements such as land mines, drug traffickers, and enemies hiding in corn fields. Mohammadi and her colleagues hope the game, which took them a month to develop, will target children and raise awareness of the dangers of opium. The United Nations estimates that Afghanistan produces more opium than all other countries combined.
The women learned to code through a female-only program called Code to Inspire, which has over 80 students from high school and universities. The purpose of the school is to give girls a sense of empowerment through coding and to change their lives for the better. Students learn to develop games, apps, websites, and more.
Fight Against Opium is currently not available to play outside of Afghanistan.
[Source: The Associated Press via VOA]
Our
Take
It's
brave for coders -
especially in this case as the first female coders in their
country - to develop a game centered around fighting Afghanistan's biggest drug. It
might not be the next Witcher or Half-Life, but what the game represents certainly
is important. Though it's highly unlikely, it would be cool to see the game
released in other countries.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
