A survival horror video game could be an effective way of conveying the horrors experienced by Israelis during Hamas's October 7 massacre to campuses across the US, senior hasbara (public diplomacy) figures said Tuesday.
The concept was proposed at the HASBARA NOW conference at the Holon Institute of Technology's (HIT) FUTURE HIT innovation and entrepreneurship center. The goal of the conference was to develop new and creative solutions to overcome the challenges Israeli hasbara often faces on US campuses.
The survival horror game is only an idea at this time. However, according to what was presented at the conference, it would see players put themselves in the shoes of partygoers at the Nova music festival in Re'im. The players would have to escape from Hamas terrorists as they storm the music festival, where one of the worst atrocities of the October 7 massacre would take place.
In real life, over 360 people were murdered at the party, and dozens of others were kidnapped by Hamas and taken back to Gaza as hostages.
"The idea is an explanatory tool, whose purpose is to evoke feelings of identification with the victims," an HIT spokesperson said, adding that it is currently "just an idea."
"One of our biggest challenges is reaching the younger generation and getting them emotionally involved with our side, to make them want to know more," senior hasbara figure Ilana Stein said in a statement. "The human story creates curiosity in them."
Video games about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
This is not the first time video games have been proposed or even made about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with several games having been made over the years reflecting both sides of the conflict in a variety of genres.
One of the most recent and most infamous is Fursan al-Aqsa, an anti-Israel shooter made by Nidal Nijm, a Brazilian resident of Palestinian origin whose father was a former Palestinian Fatah fighter.
The game is very story-driven and follows a Palestinian man joining a new resistance group where he fights and kills IDF soldiers.
Nijm refers to his game as the "most BASED" indie video game of all time, though it has been met with controversy.
The game is available on Steam and despite its controversial content, it has been met with very positive reviews and has full subtitles and interface in English and Hebrew.