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Spray paint, roller skates and resistance: The activism of upcoming 'Palestine Skating Game'

Spray paint and roller skates are instruments of protest in an upcoming video game set in the Middle East.
Pro-Palestinian and overtly activist, a downloadable prototype for “Palestine Skating Game” has players roll around the occupied West Bank, blasting globs of paint at tanks and a massive separation wall.
“We have about two kilometers of the Israeli separation wall, along with like two kilometers of graffiti that is actually on the separation wall or has been on the separation wall,” says Justin, the main developer of the game. He spoke on the condition of using only his first name as his political views have sparked severe online harassment.
More than 50 mostly-volunteer developers have contributed to “Palestine Skating Game” since its bootstrapped beginnings three years ago. The project grew from Justin’s love of Arabic electronic music and a 2018 visit to the region.
“If absolutely nothing else, we will be recreating a lot of things that Palestinians are seeing and what they experience in an actual 3D space,” says Justin, “like the harassment at a checkpoint or an encounter with a gang of settlers.”
Should it reach crowdfunding goals, the team plans to build levels based on the past, present and future of the West Bank and Gaza to both preserve a place that’s been destroyed and to imagine possible solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“What would a good future for Palestine look like?” asks Justin. “What would any kind of just a peace settlement look like — could they truly get along in any way, especially at this hour?”

Meanwhile, the game’s community has taken real-world action. Its fans donated thousands of dollars to help a developer who worked on the game flee Gaza earlier this year. Justin traveled to Cairo to pay a travel service $7,500 to facilitate the coder and her sister’s escape to Egypt.
Ultimately, Justin believes that “Palestine Skating Game” could bridge an empathy gap.
“I really do hope that we reach American youth and people who play video games — it would be wonderful to target young white men who voted for [President-elect Donald] Trump with leftist video games generally,” says Justin. “To introduce them to a side of the Arab world that they never knew about — it's a vibrant, diverse and artistically brilliant place.”
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James Perkins Mastromarino produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Ahmad Damen. Perkins Mastromarino also adapted it for the web.
This segment aired on November 22, 2024.