UAE-based NexyMedia is looking for a modest $10,000 in crowdfunding for its Arabian-inspired survival game Atajrubah.

The game is described as "Minecraft meets DayZ meets Middle East, but with Ghuls and Djinn instead of Zombies or Creepers."

"I'm a huge fan of MineCraft and DayZ and they are my primary influences," says lead programmer Alan Robinson on the game's Indiegogo page. "I wanted to create a game that embodies the spirit of those games, but takes place in a setting that people don't often explore much outside of stereotypes."

Back in September last year, Robinson had spoken to IGN ME about why he chose a Middle Easten setting for his game, and the challenges of making games in the region.

"I first came to the UAE in 2003. My experiences in travelling back between the UAE and my home country, South Africa, as well as some travelling in Asia gave me the time to look at all these different cultures, but I didn’t take time to look at the culture that’s here. It’s completely different. I feel a greater sense of adventure here - it’s one of those settings where you have to survive," he said.

Getting the game off the ground wasn't an easy task for Robinson, as he struggled against a mindset that saw gaming in the region as a hobby and not a career.

"Funding is still very scarce in the UAE because gaming and game development is seen as a passion or a hobby and not generally seen as a career that you can pursue, or something that you can make money out of," he said.

"It’s going to be something around five to ten years. They are opening places where you can do training, you have game companies opening even if they are companies that only do localisation of games. But there needs to be more funds available. You can sit and develop a prototype to a certain point, but after that you need funding."

With the Indiegogo campaign, Robinson and his team hopes to develop a beta with features such as online multiplayer, day/night cycles, crafting and exploration mechanics, and even mounted travels in camels.

An alpa demo of Atajrubah is available here.

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