Designing a Middle-Eastern inspired culture.

[Spirographic]

I've decided that the main character in the project I'm working on is going to be descended from a middle-eastern inspired culture, rather than the usual Japanese/European/Western setting that we normally see in RM games.

I love the character design possibilities and absolutely love that darker, somewhat more saturated complexion for character design.

The thing that makes doing this sort of thing difficult however is that due to current and ongoing political tensions between English speaking nations and middle-eastern nations, it's difficult to really find things that capture that culture(at least in my native - and sadly, only language) online.

I was wondering if there's anyone more well versed in that sort of culture, and even if you're not, throwing some ideas in here would be awesome - not just for me, but anyone else considering building this sort of world as well, I'd think.

Mind, I don't want this to turn into an argument or debate, and given political tension, there is some danger here. I just want to go on record saying that it is far from my intention to start a fight and more my intention to have a more culturally diverse discussion on art and game design than the norm.

Also, I apologize in advance if anything I say in this thread previously or otherwise may come off as racist.

 

[NPC]

I've a similar character in one of my projects. It really depends on what era you are basing your character off of. Depending on who they are, they could range from an artisan from a big city, to a soldier in a more modern army. The choice is really what era you want to focus on. I'd choose a specific country (if it be the UAE or whatever, so be it) and research until you find the era you want to work off. The best way to avoid political conflict is to not address it directly or indirectly. There is nothing wrong with a middle eastern character (or even a middle eastern based game), but if you make a big deal out of the problems, instead of focusing on making the game good, then trouble comes. Just make it with the intention to be accurate, cuturally respectful (don't mock something serious like a religious ceremony, etc.), and fun to play for everyone.

 

[Tarsus]

What time period equivalent are you setting your game in?

If its day to day life stuff you should just stick with what you know, trying to hard to follow something unfamiliar can make it seem to forced. If it's mythology then Wikipedia is your friend, it might not always be 100% but if your game is a fantasy setting then it doesn't matter that much.

 

[Warpmind]

Well, obviously "Arabian Tales from the Thousand and One Nights" would be a decent starting point; there's a lot that can be gleaned and extrapolated from that.

But really, keep in mind that the Middle East is probably less homogenous than Europe in many aspects - religious in particular; I do believe Islam has more major branches in the Middle East than Christianity does in Europe - and it is by far not the only religion in the region.

Also, a big question is what sort of era we're talking about; there've been periods where scholars and artists have been revered, and times when they've been... restrained, for example. Periods of prosperity and autonomy, and periods of colonial rule. Your original post there is a wee bit unclear on the temporal setting, so...

 

[Scythuz]

That's quite a challenging goal you're taking on there.  I think what you should do is pick an area, a period of time, research the history of these things, find some notable rulers/people from the era to use as character influences (e.g. Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror) and then use all the resources you find to try and recreate the setting as best as you can.

Good luck!  It's nice to see someone trying something a bit different from the usual theme.

 

[whitesphere]

Well, first of all, is this intended to be historically accurate?   

Personally, I would go for a Middle Eastern "feel" rather than a historically accurate one. 

Create a rich tradition based on the Middle Eastern nomadic cultures.  Some big features of the culture that come to mind:

* Hospitality IS LIFE OR DEATH important.  People are deadly serious about hospitality, its obligations for host and guest.  One time, an American soldier was staying with a certain tribe.  Enemies of the soldier were looking for him, but the tribe defended him, being willing to die --- NOT because they cared for the soldier, but due to the rules of hospitality.

* How about religion?  Again, if you're creating a custom world, you can make whatever works for your story.  Imagine wandering through a parched desert --- what is most important to you?   And if it's a fantasy world, who says the Gods/Goddesses don't take an active role in their believers lives?

Interestingly, psychologically, people become kinder when they feel they are more alone.  This may play a key factor in some Middle Eastern inspired culture.  When nomadic tribes meet rarely, how do they interact?   Look up "caravanserai" --- sort of a hotel for nomadic travelers, if I understood the term at all correctly.

If you've read The Wheel of Time, the Aiel seem to be roughly Middle-Eastern inspired.

Best of luck!  Making an accurate or even authentic feeling rendition of a completely different culture is extremely difficult.

 

[Spirographic]

I suppose my general vagueness was something of a fault in my OP, so apologies about that.

I'm looking at a more old-fashioned time, such as the Islamic Golden Age as a temporal reference. But I am intentionally being very loose on time ideas, since I want to see perspectives on the culture from different eras and consider the history of the culture; what brought it up and forced it to evolve, rather than specific socio economic or political issues.

And yeah, this is going to be rather difficult for me to do - I should probably be trying to write what I know more, but if I can pull this off, it can display an unusually unique perspective on a fantasy tale.

Also, a great thanks to anyone who has posted so far~!

 

[captainproton]

If you're really worried about offending people, the best thing may be to utilize the aesthetics common in the region (as opposed to the very European feel of the RTP) but create the culture itself from scratch.

Rulers, history, religion--go ahead and make it up yourself. You can allude to real-life events and beliefs, but don't make it too on-the-nose.

 

[Dragnfly]

If you're really worried about offending people, the best thing may be to utilize the aesthetics common in the region (as opposed to the very European feel of the RTP) but create the culture itself from scratch.

Rulers, history, religion--go ahead and make it up yourself. You can allude to real-life events and beliefs, but don't make it too on-the-nose.

I'm also all for this. Since you're not aiming for modern day then a lot of the things you seem to be worried about, Spirographic, don't even need to come into it at all. Research the cultures that fit what you're looking for and then bend, mix, exclude until you have something new. I dunno if this helps but I started thinking like this: What if a frog lives in the arctic? What if ancient Egyptians had made plate mail. Would it look like European plate mail? No. Would the frog look like a regular bullfrog? No. Don't just tell a fictional history like a real history and don't tell a fictional culture like a real one. Start with a clay boat and mould and mould until you have a vaguely boat-shaped castle.

Also, it's super important to note that "Middle Eastern" covers loads of cultures. When working on an old project where the main character was a Tuareg for (at first) purely aesthetic reasons I quickly learned that I didn't know crap and my "middle easterner" was from Africa. Likewise there was also an Ainu character in the project. At least I had the right country for that one LOL. Much of what people from outside any culture (even teachers) say is very off the mark with this stuff so research, research, research. Especially their folklore. IMO a culture's folklore and legends are steeped in their morals, taboos, values, their thoughts on relationships and their thoughts on death. And don't feel left out on this since every culture overgeneralizes every other culture all the time.

However, to completely counter what I just said I follow a rule with my main project that "If people say it's meant to be a specific Earth culture, I didn't write it well enough."

Also, here's something that will take a load of bravery and be very deeply dependant on your skills with strangers. I only give that warning because this method is certainly not for everybody. When you've found the culture you are looking to work with, try and meet one. You're aiming for somebody who's not a doctor or something but also not a random joe blo. Express that you're interested in learning and that you don't trust the general media to paint a very accurate picture for you. Somebody who's at least knowledgeable about the time period. Asking at your library or university works well but try not to bug an actual professor. And don't ask them to tell you everything. Ask them if they can refer you to good material (and more importantly warn you of bad material).

So good luck. It sounds nice and fresh so you can colour me interested. Heck, the last RPG (well, action RPG) I played that had anything to do with the Middle East was probably the Exile games. God that was a long time ago.

 

[Simon D. Aelsi]

This sounds amazing. If you can pull this off I've a feeling your game(s) will be epic.  Best of luck to you. I look forward to hearing/seeing progress!