ISIS Wants Gamers, Apparently

It looks like the Islamic State
is perhaps hoping that the theories that video games either make
players more aggressive or lose touch with reality are true. A new
recruitment propaganda video released to the Arabic media features
ISIS footage filtered to look like the latest Grand Theft
Auto installment, mixed with what appears to be footage from
the actual game. The Intercept
took note of the effort:

Just as in the original GTA, the Islamic State “player” can be
seen running around, stealing cars, and engaging in firefights.
However, instead of using the music soundtrack that accompanied the
original series, the trailer plays clips of nasheeds (religious
songs) against this background of video game mayhem. All the while,
the Islamic State flag can be seen displayed at the top of the
player screen.

The Islamic State was already well known for its sophisticated
filmmaking, and many of the scenes depicted in the video appear to
be a “gamification” of previous Islamic State propaganda footage,
including their hour-long “Clanging of the
Swords” film released earlier this year. Though the new video
appears to constitute a trailer, there’s no indication yet that a
real, playable game is in the offing anytime
soon. Nonetheless, coupled with the group’s release yesterday
of a new
propaganda trailer directed at the United States, it appears
that the ISIS media war is continuing to evolve in new and
unforeseen directions.

The video starts with a statement poorly translated into
English: “Your games which are producing from you, we do the same
actions in the battelfields [sic].” I’m guessing they mean to say
they do the kinds of things we do in American-produced games on the
actual battlefield. I’m not sure if that’s a recruitment tactic or
a taunt (possibly both at the same time, given the male psyche).
The Intercept has the video embedded
here.

To me, the video looks ridiculous. But New York
Magazine spoke with a psychologist about how ISIS is managing
to recruit disaffected people ready to buy into a fantasized
concept of righteousness using slick marketing like this. Read that
interview
here.