DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2016.v04i09.028

Pages: 1198-1212

The discussion of the history of the world discussion has always been a desirable subject for strategic games and various producers have created games in the field being inspired by historical adventures. The entirely mythical history of Iran has led the Hollywood to tend to producing computer games in historical genres with a reference to Persian history myths. In the same regard, many games are produced and supplied to the market with ideological and religious themes based on old and modern era instructions and stories in which political, cultural and religious beliefs of various groups are represented in a special world view. This article has an attempt to investigate methods of reintroducing Middle East countries and in particular Iran in context of recreating historical myths, events and phenomena in computer games. Accordingly, 3 computer games produced in historical genre are examined using semiotic analysis qualitative method. The theoretical framework of this study is an integrative approach with an emphasis on five dominant theories including Orientalism, stereotyping, representation, imaging, and cultivation. We conclude that the historical games exploit an Orientalistic imaging as well as pseudo-historical elements to represent the Middle East as a world of fantasy and terror in order for inducing an Orientalistic perception in the user.