InterEd Spotlight Series: The Cat and the Coup
The Inter-Ed Spotlight series provides a platform to showcase games that seek to share cultural knowledge and understanding between peoples and nations.
Game Title: The Cat and the Coup
Release Date: June 15, 2011
Developers: Peter Brinson and Kurosh ValaNejad
Publisher: Peter Brinson and Kurosh ValaNejad Awards: Indiecade 2010 - Documentary Award, A Games for Change 2010 Favorite Nominations: Meaningful Play 2010 Finalist, Independent Games Festival 2011 - Nuovo Award Finalist, Games For Change Festival 2011 Runner-up, Adobe Design Awards 2011 - Innovation in Interactive Media Education Semifinalist
Platforms: Microsoft Windows
I am happy to feature The Cat and the Coup as my next installation of the InterEd Spotlight Series. This graphic narrative is a PC mini-game available for free on Steam and for direct download on the game's website. In this self-described "documentary videogame," the player controls the pet cat of Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh, the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, in the most significant years of his political career -- more specifically, the events leading up to the CIA-engineered coup to wrest him from power. The Cat and the Coup was independently developed by Peter Brinson and Kurosh ValaNejad in collaboration with the University of Southern California's Game Innovation Lab. This game's breathtaking artscape and compelling recounting of a lesser-known historical figure make this game a must-play for any fan of "serious games."
The Cat and the Coup relies on two major themes in gameplay: gravity and time.
As his cat, you lead Mossadegh backwards through significant events of his life by knocking objects off of shelves, jumping on his lap, and setting the entire scene off-balance. You also feel the effects of gravity as the camera follows Mossadegh descend from the top of the game environment to the bottom. By including specific dates within each scene, we the players know that we are moving backwards in time. The developers' choice to have the player move through the timeline in both directions is quite clever. You first experience this real-life event backwards and distracted, while you attempt to solve puzzles as the cat; but then, the ending camera pan allows for an unusually insightful opportunity for reflection. After having an adequate amount of time to understand who these real political actors were, as well as having time to contextualize oneself in the local political environment, we as players now get to experience the magnitude of the real-life timeline of events as they unfolded. The metaphors are peeled back to expose how the United States' used Mossadegh as a convenient pawn to later ridicule and discredit.
The game's 13th-16th century Persian Miniaturist art is inspired by the sketches of Iranian political cartoonist Ardeshir Mohasses, according to Kurosh ValaNejad. The art provides a visually rich and culturally contextual backdrop against the haunting accompaniment of Erik Satie's "Gnossiennes No. 1 - Lent," creating a surreal, yet reflective game experience. It is engaging, yet it provides plenty of room for the absorption and contemplation of these historical events as they are presented to the player, scene by scene.
This title provides a great example of how gaming can tackle serious topics in history and politics. Winston Churchill once claimed, "History is written by the victors." In today's world, that statement need no longer hold true, as alternative perspectives and opinions now have endless outlets for dissemination. When asked in an interview for the game's inspiration, Peter Brinson explained, "When I learned about Mohammed Mossadegh, a Western-educated, secular, democratic leader in Iran, I realized he was an important person for Americans to know about." Western countries such as Britain and the U.S. have long downplayed their historical (and current) support of military regimes and authoritarian governments, justifying these moral sacrifices as necessary to the protection of U.S. corporate or geopolitical interests in the region. Alternative viewpoints and stories must be brought into the mainstream to provide a more diverse perspective on the effects of such political intervention. The Cat and the Coup uniquely contributes to such a mission. This game is kid-friendly and invites a new way to experience history both in or outside of the classroom.
Full walkthrough of the game:
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