Viral

The shortest path to resistance now runs through social media. While resistance is struggle against injustice, cancel culture and digital backlash have proven powerful enough to reshape even long-standing state policies. In recent years, inhumane practices carried out in Iran under the so-called legitimacy of law have sparked a global response. In a country where many choose to say “I would rather lose by resisting than survive by obeying,” social media may not be salvation itself — but it is undeniably a call toward it.

This project engages directly with the theme of the mask through the veil as a lived, political reality rather than a metaphor. In the context of Iran, the veil operates as a visible boundary between obedience and resistance, turning the body itself into a contested space.

The game uses the veil not as a symbol of concealment, but as a variable state of visibility. Acts transform everyday gestures into political statements. These actions gain meaning precisely because they are public, repeatable, and shareable.

By translating these gestures into gameplay, the project highlights how resistance today is performed, recorded, and circulated. The mask is no longer only worn on the face or the body but also in digital spaces—through usernames, profiles, and algorithmic visibility. The theme extends beyond physical disguise into questions of exposure, risk, and amplification.

CHARACTERS

Farah : The player character. Farah moves through the city performing actions that increase public and digital attention. Her role is defined by momentum: each choice extends or interrupts the spread of resistance. 

Morality Police : A regulating force that defines the limits of the playable space. The Morality Police respond to accumulated visibility, dynamically altering routes, timing, and risk. Rather than serving as a narrative villain, they function as a mechanic that constrains duration and escalation.

The People of Tehran : They wander around the streets.



Eylül Kılınç - Artist, Game Designer
Umut Bideci - Programmer, Game Designer