The Iranian city of Mashhad, home to one of the world's greatest Shia holy sites, may soon also become the capital of the country�s fledgling video game industry.


A video game development course will be launched in�September for�the computer engineering students at�the Ferdowsi University of�Mashhad (FUM). This development was announced by�Hassan Karimi Ghadousi, executive director of�the Iran Computer and Video Game Foundation (ICVGF), during�a meeting with�representatives of�Ferdowsi University�s video games society.


"If you consider the number of�potential video game developers in�Razavi Khorasan Province, along�with the people who already study computer engineering at�this university, the Ferdowsi University of�Mashhad has every means necessary to�lay the foundation for�video game industry in�the province," he said, according to�Mehr News Agency.


He also declared that ICVGF intends to�fully support the university�s video game development efforts, and that a game jam will be held there late in�September.
"Anyone who wants to, [including] both teachers and students who are members of�the university�s video games society, may take part in�this program and help develop the video game industry," Sa�id Abrishami, a computer engineering teacher at�FUM, added.


Meanwhile, Tasnim News Agency also reports that the video games developers at�the Ferdowsi University intend to�produce games that would be �morally� and �mentally� different from�those manufactured by�Western companies.

By Sputnik