Q.
Can you give us a brief introduction about Quirkat? How it began?
A.
Quirkat was established in late 2004, and have positioned ourselves as the Middle East’s leading video gaming brand. We are represented by a group of companies in Dubai and Amman.
Our mandate is to drive the development and publishing of regional relevant content, by capitalising on knowledge of the region’s history, culture, social structures, religions and demographics. Quirkat’s strength lies in its partnership with leaders like Breakaway Games.
Q.
Do you think Middle East region has an edge when it comes to electronic gaming? Please explain.
A.
Absolutely, The Middle East has shown extensive and impressive interest in electronic gaming, we have some of the best gaming talent right here. The demand is proof enough and it is refreshing to see a game of this quality address regional storylines.
Q.
What is Arabian Lords all about? Why Arabian Lords? How it differs from other PC games? And is there something that you can say 'unique' about the game?
A.
Arabian Lords is the world’s first Arabic strategy game. It sets a new standard for Arabic language video games in terms of production quality, graphics, relevance and storyline. It provides an innovative blend of real-time strategy and city-builder game play that lets players take the role of an enterprising merchant lord as they start with one palace and expand to rule an ancient empire. As players gain prestige and wealth they must engage in competition and shrewd diplomacy against rival factions, while keeping their own customers and citizens happy and community thriving.
One of the unique aspects of Arabian Lords, is that players can employ different strategies and win in a variety of ways including, building a culturally advanced city, amassing the most wealth or becoming the most respected leader
Players are rewarded for shrewd negotiations, cultural finesse and great leadership – not by relying on military might or violent means.
Q.
How were you able to include the touch of the Arab region in spite of its sensitivity most especially when it comes to religion and culture?
A.
Arabian Lords bases its historic setting during the golden era of Islam between the 7th and 13th centuries where merchant trade and growth were at its zenith
We looked for a subject that would appeal to the gaming masses across the region and many focus groups were conducted prior to committing to a game genre. The golden era of Islam provided a great game play setting, and Arabs having been famous for their trading skills at that time was a natural choice for the strategy elements of the game.
Q.
Is there any particular game that has similarity with Arabian Lords? How is it similar?
A.
The game is a little bit like Civilization where you try to build an empire, how ever AL has a little more in common with a typical city builder and games like Settlers come to mind.
Q.
What was the biggest challenge in creating Arabian Lords?
A.
The biggest challenge was to create a fun game to play and maintain all the great elements of a city-builder/strategy game while staying true to the historic events of the era. Our second biggest challenge was adapting the strategy game terminology for the Arabic language. Classical Arabic doesn’t naturally lend itself to gaming and with the increased uptake of internet and computer literacy across the region, we found ourselves setting a new lexicon of Arabic terms.
Q.
Aside from Middle East, where else is it available?
A.
Arabian Lords is available across the Middle East including Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, UAE and Kuwait.
We are exploring possibilities of international availability at this point. The Arab American community and Arab Diaspora in general would be a natural second market for this game. The fact that you can also play the game in English would have appeal for strategy gamers from all over the world and would serve as a medium by which the story of the rise of Islam can be told.
Q.
Do you have plans to enter Asia Pacific region?
A.
We are focusing our efforts on establishing a viable game development pipeline in the Middle East. We feel that this region has been neglected for too long in terms of fun, relevant games tailored for its Arabic speaking population. Any expansion beyond this region is currently not on the table.
Q.
Any upcoming projects or tie-ups with other companies?
A.
Breakaway Games, in partnership with Quirkat, is working on several new titles for the Middle Eastern market. These include a collectible card game, a mobile game and a new PC game that is due for release next year.