1979 Revolution: Black Friday
Prelude to a massacre
Set in the days before the infamous Black Friday massacre in which unarmed protestors were fired upon by the Iranian army, 1979 Revolution casts players in the role of Reza Shirazi, a London educated photographer who returns to Iran to both fight for freedom from the Pro-American puppet Shah, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and document the struggle as a photojournalist. It’s not a part of history that is particularly well known in the Western world, even though the aftermath - the autocratic rule of the Ayatollah Khomeini - is quite common knowledge. Reza is a very likeable and relatable character, a pacifist with a deep love for his homeland and his people and a belief that Iran becoming an independent state ruled by an Iranian rather than an American vassal ruled by a puppet. He’s charming, if a little naive, and extremely well voiced. Even in the short two or so hour running time of the game, Reza proves to be a relatable and realistic guide, a fully fleshed out person through whose eyes we see the tragic events unfolding.
Having the main character be a photographer is a very clever conceit for forcing players to focus on both the minutia and the bigger picture of the revolution. Early in the game, Babak first introduces Reza to the size and scope of the revolution from a rooftop overlooking Jalen Square. Protesters from all factions fill the square and Reza, as a photojournalist is compelled to start taking shots. The camera interface is simple showing two laterally moving halves of a viewfinder. These halves light up green when something of interest is being looked at and snaps can be taken when the two halves of the rapidly
action revolves around conversation and making decisions that will impact later events in the game
moving viewfinder line up. A successful picture rewards the player with a snap as well as a summary of the group, action or thing being photographed. Not all of the points of interest are immediately apparent, forcing the player to scour the scene, taking in everything to find those last few pictures. Shortly afterwards Reza walks down a street taking photographs of beggars, hawkers, preachers and passers-by, each photograph adding a little more flavour and information the unfolding events.
Not all of the action revolves around taking photographs. Much like the Telltale adventure games such as The Walking Dead, Tales from the Borderlands and The Wolf Among Us with which 1979 Revolution shares a great deal of mechanical DNA, much of the action revolves around conversation and making decisions that will impact later events in the game. Each conversation gives Reza four options for response with a time limit but remaining silent is always an option. The very first scene, in which Reza tries to escape from and is then interrogated by the SAVAK, the Shah’s notoriously violent and oppressive secret police. Reza has options for sass and submission but can also keep his mouth shut. Each option has its own drawbacks and impacts the way he is treated. It’s a terrifying situation and drags players right into the dangers of revolution before dropping them back into the sedate but no less dangerous events leading up to Reza’s capture.
There are a few quick-time, button matching action events spread throughout the game, starting with Reza’s attempt to flee SAVAK, but for the most part the action is more cerebral than physical, trying to make the right decisions and conversational gambits. Do you physically attack a communist agitator harassing Babak or do you take the pacifist approach? Do you assault soldiers arresting your best friend or do you try and take the non-violent path? Do you hide the fact that your brother is a member of SAVAK or do you admit that you are related to a potential torturer? These are the type of decisions that have to be made on a regular basis.
Unfortunately the brevity of 1979 Revolution: Black Friday means that many of these decisions don’t feel quite as consequential as they should and a number of these plot threads are left too open to be satisfying. This could be because the game ends on quite the cliff-hanger pointing to the fact that iNK Stories is most likely planning a follow-up game detailing the events after Black Friday, but given the fact that 1979 Revolution failed to meet its Kickstarter goal when it was first announced in 2013, a sequel or follow-up may be a long time coming if not a pipe dream. The result is that the game doesn’t feel quite as finished or polished as the excellent visuals or voice acting may otherwise imply.
Educational games, and passion projects for that matter, don’t have the best reputation, with the former often being too didactic to be entertaining or too trite to be fun, and the latter because the idea is often too grand for execution or the material is too personal to be accessible to players. In the case of 1979 Revolution, the fact that history is revealed in such a relatable way and Navid Khonsari has such a passion for the subject matter that makes it such a wonderful experience. It may be short and end on a slightly unsatisfying note, but the depth of feeling shown for the subject and the gentle, humane way in which what is ultimately a depressing history lesson is delivered make 1979 Revolution: Black Friday an enjoyable and deeply memorable experience.