DIPLOMATIC REBEL
Lea Glob, Karen Waltorp, Nilab Totakhil, Mursal Khosrawi, Asma Safi, Sama Sadat Ben Haddou, Andreas Dalsgaard / Denmark, Afghanistan / 2023
Diplomatic Rebel is an RPG for Smartphone and Tablet. You play the 16-year-old ’Ariana’ navigating the Afghan and Danish cultures, earning both Rebel points and Diplomatic points along the way as you create a space for YOU without burning bridges.
You are invited to a party at your Danish high school and badly want to participate, but you need your Afghan parents’ consent. In Diplomatic Rebel – an RPG for Smartphone and Tablet – you play the 16-year-old ’Ariana’ who got a ‘no’ from her mom straight away.
This is where the game starts: To attend the party with your friends, you need to turn a ‘no’ into a ‘yes’ – A dilemma that might seem simple but, as you will figure out along the way, is more complex than appears at first sight. You now have to navigate different expectations and norms to earn points in the game. You also move across two worlds; the physical and the metaphysical. The portal between the two is an Afghan carpet, which you get transported to when your magic lajwar amulet lights up. In the metaphysical world you obtain wisdom in the form of globes that light up – these globes of wisdom help you to understand and navigate your physical world – but you must choose the right one. You get help from your Bibi Jaan – grandmother – and other helpers along the way. You are a success in the game IF you get permission to go to the party in a way where you’ve also reached a better understanding with your family as well as classmates. You will also have learned something about yourself, your roots and your everyday world. When you’ve earned both Rebel points and Diplomatic points, you’ve managed to create a space for YOU without burning bridges. The physical world is monochrome in the beginning of the game, but as you collect colourful globes in the metaphysical realm and gain wisdom, you can add some colour to your everyday world and life, integrating the beauty of your diverse backgrounds.