Saudi Puzzle Game Celebrates Islamic Golden Age
A puzzle-adventure game featuring historical scholars of the Islamic Golden Age has the potential to put Saudi Arabia on the global map of game development, its creator believes.
Riyadh: A puzzle-adventure game featuring historical scholars of the Islamic Golden Age has the potential to put Saudi Arabia on the global map of game development, its creator believes.
Since the launch of the National Gaming and Esports Strategy in 2022 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, many Saudi initiatives supported by public and private entities have been released.
Now 'House of Hikmah,' or 'House of Wisdom,' has become the first Saudi narrative puzzle game to dive into the history of the Islamic Golden Age—a time of scientific and cultural development from the 8th to the 13th century.
The game is set within the House of Wisdom, inspired by the intellectual hub of the Islamic Golden Age.
Lunacy Studios—a fully remote gaming studio founded by Saudi creative director Faris Attieh, and with team members from the Kingdom and worldwide—created the game, which focuses on an era when the Muslim world was the intellectual center of the globe.
Attieh lived in Los Angeles for eight years and pursued a career in video games but left the city after finishing his studies and returned home in 2024.
He told Arab News that 'House of Hikmah,' which was released on April 8, is a 3D adventure game that blends historical intrigue with a deeply personal story.
It tells a hopeful story about grief and how one grows from losing a parent.
Maya, a young girl during the Islamic Golden Age, loses her father who was away at sea.
When she starts having vivid dreams of him, she travels to the House of Wisdom in search of answers.
There, she meets famous historical scholars and steps into fantastical worlds built around their work.
The game is set within the House of Wisdom, inspired by the intellectual hub of the Islamic Golden Age.
The 33-year-old game developer said that the death of his own father was a catalyst for the project.
The stories about loss in games didn't really resonate with him, so he set out to make the game he wished he had when going through it.
He hopes that if someone finds this game while they're going through grief, they'll feel understood.
The game features seven historical scholars including Fatima Al-Fihri, Ibn Sina, Ibn Hayyan, and Ibn Al-Haytham.
Cultural authenticity was very important to the team, so they studied their work and led with that.
The distinctive features of the project include full voice acting in both English and Arabic, music by Grammy-winning composer Austin Wintory, who flew to Saudi Arabia to record with Saudi musicians.
It is also the first game to explore worlds built around these scholars with puzzles based on their fields of study.
Attieh explained his motivation for creating a small studio and growing the local gaming industry in Saudi Arabia.
He emphasized the importance of studios helping each other for the growth of the games industry in the Kingdom.
Since the launch of the National Gaming and Esports Strategy in 2022 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, many Saudi initiatives supported by public and private entities have been released.
Now 'House of Hikmah,' or 'House of Wisdom,' has become the first Saudi narrative puzzle game to dive into the history of the Islamic Golden Age—a time of scientific and cultural development from the 8th to the 13th century.
The game is set within the House of Wisdom, inspired by the intellectual hub of the Islamic Golden Age.
Lunacy Studios—a fully remote gaming studio founded by Saudi creative director Faris Attieh, and with team members from the Kingdom and worldwide—created the game, which focuses on an era when the Muslim world was the intellectual center of the globe.
Attieh lived in Los Angeles for eight years and pursued a career in video games but left the city after finishing his studies and returned home in 2024.
He told Arab News that 'House of Hikmah,' which was released on April 8, is a 3D adventure game that blends historical intrigue with a deeply personal story.
It tells a hopeful story about grief and how one grows from losing a parent.
Maya, a young girl during the Islamic Golden Age, loses her father who was away at sea.
When she starts having vivid dreams of him, she travels to the House of Wisdom in search of answers.
There, she meets famous historical scholars and steps into fantastical worlds built around their work.
The game is set within the House of Wisdom, inspired by the intellectual hub of the Islamic Golden Age.
The 33-year-old game developer said that the death of his own father was a catalyst for the project.
The stories about loss in games didn't really resonate with him, so he set out to make the game he wished he had when going through it.
He hopes that if someone finds this game while they're going through grief, they'll feel understood.
The game features seven historical scholars including Fatima Al-Fihri, Ibn Sina, Ibn Hayyan, and Ibn Al-Haytham.
Cultural authenticity was very important to the team, so they studied their work and led with that.
The distinctive features of the project include full voice acting in both English and Arabic, music by Grammy-winning composer Austin Wintory, who flew to Saudi Arabia to record with Saudi musicians.
It is also the first game to explore worlds built around these scholars with puzzles based on their fields of study.
Attieh explained his motivation for creating a small studio and growing the local gaming industry in Saudi Arabia.
He emphasized the importance of studios helping each other for the growth of the games industry in the Kingdom.
