[Arabic]

In the midst of Egypt's current tumult, a new social game on Facebook was recently launched to let players experience the events occurring in Tahrir Square. But do Egyptians need such a reminder?

Tahrir Square Defense, as it's called, was developed by Alkottab - which means writers in Arabic -  a game developer and cartoon producer based in Egypt. During an interview with the co-founder, Omar AlKhafif, he discusses their goal of creating a title that mirrors the struggles of Egyptian society today and creating a "game with a cause”.  

After competing gainst six other teams, the company won an incubation period at the newly launched AUC Venture Lab.

The idea started in 2010 when the co-founders were still in college. After graduating, they worked part-time for a while before deciding to quit their jobs last year to focus on the project. After renting their own small office, the duo launched this first game on May 15, 2013. The game has 15 levels, the first three are free then users have to pay less than a dollar to unlock the other levels.

According to AlKhafif, the game has over 8,200 users, and around 300 players have made an in-game purchase. But Alkottab isn't the first to gamify the revolution. Competitor Nezal Entertainment, based in Alexandria, has also created a similar game focused around the Egyptian revolution.

[Editor’s note: It's interesting to see a game created around current events, instead of reenacting historical battles or struggles. But it begs the question, is it too soon to make a game out of a popular uprising that is still ongoing? Or will the game lose popularity once Egypt sees more stability?]

Check out the short video above to find out more about the game and let us know if you'd play a game focused around current political activity in the comments section below.