My weekend in a nutshell:
I was asked by the
@ArabGameAwards
to join as a juror. I was happy to accept, this helps other Arab women see women be CEOs. First I was questioned for not being Arab. So I wrote a poem in MS-Arabic (harder Arabic) and revealed my country of origin.
We are establishing an Arab Awards event that is inclusive, representative, & that highlights Arab developers & influencers, while also fundraising for studios led by women and marginalized groups in the region. Follow
@SwanaAwards
and help us get there (RT plz we need ur help)
To celebrate the Early Access launch of
#OldWorld
, we've decided to offer a discount for a limited time. If you pre-purchased the game at a higher price, you’ll be issued a refund for the difference. Sorry about the confusion, & thanks for your patience and support.
@mohawkgames
So we agreed perhaps I stepped down from being a juror on
@ArabGameAwards
- I regret this happening for many reasons, there are so many beautiful and good people I met this weekend but I can’t represent them. Not this year. Ouf! Sunday is not even over yet. How was your weekend?
We are looking for a 3D/Character animator, short term (full time/part time) from anywhere in the world, everyone is welcomed to apply! (RT help a friend find a job 🙏)
Then I was mocked for being a woman & “might bring the Armageddon to the
@ArabGameAwards
” for that I told them I am proud and will continue being a woman in the industry regardless of the many pictures of women belonging in the kitchen they sent me or posted.
Check out the announcement trailer for Old World's first expansion, Heroes of the Aegean, which goes to Ancient Greece with six new historical scenarios.
We need more artists to join the team of
@mohawkgames
- we are still looking for event and environment art. DM me or respond to the thread if you are interested.
#OldWorld
is a beautiful game made by talented people with passion. The results are incredible
I know I am bragging about my game, but I am so happy and proud. I seriously never felt a game can trigger a motherly-like feeling in me, being a mom of actual humans, I feel like my baby just unlocked a new level. Well done baby Old World!! 👏 (as of two hours ago) keep going!!!
Then I clarified that I am not Muslim in response to the many people commenting on how can I hold certain views and also be Muslim. That opened a whole new can of worms. So I contacted the organizers and asked, for their safety, to perhaps approach this differently.
We finally have a release date for
#OldWorld
! July 1st 2021! Sending love to my team
@mohawkgames
for all the hard work, can’t wait to share a finished game with you in just about a month!
Mohawk Games- OLD WORLD available on Steam and GOG
The full release of Old World is coming July 1st 2021 to the Epic Games Store!
Dynamic Event System with over 3000 unique events! 🖼
Choose from 7 Nations ⚔
Innovative Order system 📜
Original soundtrack from
@ChristopherTin
🎻
Get the game now!
Then I was showered by my company’s,
@mohawkgames
, views, in form of screenshots, supporting LGBTQ rights and we went to a Twitter space to discuss these views and was asked about my personal views. The discomfort was turned up to 100. Though, I thought we made progress, till …
Happy to announce that Old World will be coming to Steam very soon this Spring. The game won multiple awards so far and was named Best Strategy Game of 2021 by PC Gamer. Wishlist us. We have more news and additions all available with the Spring release!
Shortly afterwards they questioned my political views on Saudi Arabia’s Khajoggi issue & minor political stances. The Arab world is about 40 countries and sometimes people differ on political views. Though I regret saying Saudi Arabia is not a place to live years ago. Apologies.
Since then, happy ending, we changed the culture imposed a code of conduct that probably drove them away, hired women & that probably drove them away, & POC, that probably drove them away. We fired one highly toxic man, who claims he is not sexist because he “mentored a woman” 🙄
I called my mom a few hours ago, in Lebanon, and my sister in law answered. I did not think but this came out “are my brothers home?” For some reason, I couldn’t say “are they alive”. I know they commute back by there from work daily. My sister in law said “yes” then I breathed.
@chadloder
@ToyotaSoCal
Oh Chad, you have the ability to inform, educate, and depress me all the while making me hopeful that these thugs are getting what they deserve. I check on you almost daily, I also worry about you, stay safe
Thank you
@mtvlebanon
keep your fingers crossed for us and our soundtrack ❤️🎶
Our game got nominated for a Grammy and Lebanon knows about it.
Tagging our magician-composer
@christophertin
2 hours and 30 minutes to go and
#OldWorld
becomes available on Early Access on the Epic Games Store! 1.5 hours to go for the stream by
@mohawkgames
with
@SorenJohnson
- we’ll talk more about the game, see you there!
Xalavier
@WritNelson
: I do this because I am broken, but if you are going to tackle this, know that you are going somewhere exciting and challenging.
Also included his tips in a pic below
#GDC22
#GDC
As soon as I can open the tech tree in
#OldWorld
I set it to guide me towards the Forestry tech, so I can build a Lumbermill. Our 3D artist created this awesome looking Lumbermill, it is gorgeous, thank you
@awinkler21
It takes energy to fight for a good cause, still, it baffles me how little/no self reflection some people have. While this is not exactly why this previous employee was called sexist, he just added a new line to his repertoire in a recent post. Women are not safe in the industry.
When your kids (if you have them) refuse to have a hair cut. There is an alternative, I found. Just make everything else match the hair (credit to my 8yr old, he’s a sport) 😬🤣 with
@SorenJohnson
The latest DLC for Old World, developed by
@mohawkgames
, launches today!
It’s time to shape history as the head of a great dynasty in Wonders and Dynasties. Play as 30 new leaders across multiple civilizations and establish your empire with eight new wonders.
My name is Leyla, I am a Lebano-American woman. I am currently working on a game called
#OldWorld
and my studio,
@mohawkgames
, released a previous game called Offworld Trading Company
#IamPOCinPlay
and love being where I’m at with all of you, making strategy games.
@RoseDabak
@Kapitastic
@HazelTheHobbit
Dear Rose,
I am the CEO of
@mohawkgames
& Paul was contracted with us till 10 minutes ago. Thank you for speaking up, I saw your report on
@betterthemask
thread. Also, it is not your fault, I too gave him the benefit of the doubt (photo), I hope this brings you some consolation
In 2011, I gave
@SorenJohnson
twins on his birthday, indicating that he should not expect such gift every year. One unique and final deposit of two gorgeous and absolutely amazing creatures. All three unite in getting one year older today. Happy Birthday!
They‘re all gone now, but the picture below is sent from a (white) man protecting his (white man) colleague. The guy who sent the offensive email never apologized. Since then they‘re all gone, quit because now we have women and POC - I think the change of culture got the job done
Exciting times making games. Old World is soon on Steam, we have a decent number of wishlists + we are prototyping 2 games that I’m extremely excited about. My level of adrenaline equates itself to being in love, I can’t go to sleep thinking about things. Where are you at?
Have opened their DMs (including myself) to help, listen, and support. Bullying, intimidating, harassing of any kind, should be stopped. If you know someone who is enduring or has endured horrific and targeted bigotry, tell them you support them. Make it clear, they need it.
Confirming that
#OldWorld
will be available starting 𝟭𝟭𝗮𝗺 𝗘𝗧 𝗼𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟱𝘁𝗵-
@SorenJohnson
and I will be streaming at the same time it goes live. Looking forward to seeing you in the stream, for more information please join our Discord server
We are currently creating baby portraits for
#OldWorld
- you want your baby pic to make it in game? Please send them our way. Or to the Discord server . By June first we’ll announce the 10 picks who’ll make it in. Are you ready to be Mediterraneanized?
The agony that white dude had “Is it sexist? Yes
Is it inappropriate? Oh man yes
Is it racist? Yes Xenophobic? Yes, but... Leyla, (his words) “I know it is the right thing to let him go, but do we have to do the right thing?”. We have a long way to go if this is the attitude.
Front page of Steam!
Wonders and Dynasties is out today! Many thanks to my team
@mohawkgames
and to our publisher whom we love and appreciate
@HoodedHorseInc
well done team Old World 🎉
This is what a great team looks like!
@mohawkgames
team celebrated another good year and a first “union” (is a first meeting a union?) as we finally met irl! Here’s to few more years together making more games!
Nothing says love like building a world wonder for the one you love. This man built The Hanging Gardens for his beloved, so she won’t miss her home back in Persia. This man is Nebuchadnezzar & he is one of the leader in
#OldWorld
by
@mohawkgames
@SorenJohnson
Early Access May 5th
In Q1 2025 our next game ********** will come out on Early Access. We do not have a publisher yet but the sales of Old World on Steam might allow us to self publish. Till then we are prototyping. RT for fun and try to guess the name!
They say Nebuchadnezzar (painting by Erik Ehoff) built The Hanging Gardens for his beloved to resemble the hills of Persia. Our artist (Aria SafarZadegan)built that painting for our game
#OldWorld
#WonderArt
by
@mohawkgames
@SorenJohnson
May 5th
#EarlyAccess
at 11am ET
Due to popular demand, we’ll be streaming
#OldWorld
at 10am ET instead of 11am tomorrow, May 5th. Follow
@mohawkgames
Twitch stream, we’ll be there to answer questions and talk about the game some more with
@SorenJohnson
Many beauties of Babylonia are long gone, though some parts of the Ishtar Gate and the Processing Way still exist. This is how we reimagine The Ishtar Gate in
#OldWorld
built by Nebuchadnezzar II to honor his god Marduk, created by our talented artist Aria -
@mohawkgames
The hardest part for me was the lack of support. I remember being carried out on a stretcher with a heart rate that reached 207. So please reach out, talk to someone about this, get support. Men might not do anything to help, or might do something, but there are enough people who
Great talk by
@colewehrle
, a great start to this year’s
#GDC
. Reaffirming that avoiding discussion of historical controversies and terrors in games is NOT the best way of telling the players it is bad, often resulting in erasure of stories and history that should be told.
We are always looking for talented people to join
@mohawkgames
- this time around we are looking for concept art to do work like the ones below. Please forward or tag someone you know who can capture our style for
#OldWorld
The Great Lighthouse by Aria SafarZadegan now in
#OldWorld
- Keep an eye on a game that is made with a passion for history and by veterans of the genre.
@mohawkgames
Happy BETTER year to all! I am grateful for 2021 & have so much to do in 2022! We have an Arab Games Awards announcement coming up soon, a new game announcement, & our game launching on Steam very soon with localized languages. My kids are doing well, thank god, and I am happy!
The Hagia Sofia, a story of rebuilding and transformation. From an Orthodox cathedral to a Roman cathedral, to a mosque, and currently to a museum, find this Wonder Bulding transforming in
#OldWorld
@mohawkgames
(in the r͟e͟a͟l͟ w͟o͟r͟l͟d͟, this building is in Istanbul, Turkey)
After months of reading about his father, I think that Alexander would have never been able to achieve any of his conquest without him paving the way. Meet the man who made Alexander great: Philip II of Macedon
#OldWorld
by
@mohawkgames
from
@SorenJohnson
We want to have each of the 22 Arab countries be represented. Hopefully we’ll get to have network of developers & influencers who we can support from each and every country. Also, we want to make something from Arabs to Arabs while also bringing to the front marginalized creators
Congratulations,
@humankindgame
is out! We met
@jspock
and team at one of the last PAXs before the pandemic, and they invited us to Amplitude’s party afterwards. We hope you are all well, and congrats again.
I need to add how unsafe it was to go to work when he was around. He once inquired about my job at the State Department with a skeptical tone regarding their “vetting process”, then emailed “ can we trust Leyla”, yeah, I am Middle-Eastern and PROUD! POC women are not safe!
Portrait of the Kushite queen, Amanirenas, by
@mohawkgames
she is said to be buried in pyramid Bar. 4.
I want to extend my appreciation to the designers behind the Pharaohs of the Nile DLC,
@Joshua_Unsworth
and Dale Kent!
I grew up on stories of the Tyrian princess Elissar/ Elyssa, the Phoenician who became Queen of Carthage. Her being Phoenician, a heritage that connects me to her, made me dig up her stories everywhere. The world knows her as Queen Dido.
#OldWorld
by
@mohawkgames
@SorenJohnson
Watching The Eternals with my kiddos, which already has two more Arab actors than Dune. Additionally features the Ishtar Gate of Babylon that we reconstructed for Old World and was adopted by a tour inside the British Museum. ( pic from the movie)
Old World is nominated for 2 Awards, Best Indie Game and Best PC Game of the year, we are humbled. Good luck to everyone today and congratulations to my team at
@mohawkgames
for a job well done. Thank you
#GoldenJoystickAwards
Mohawk Games- OLD WORLD available on Steam and GOG
You can watch the Golden Joystick Awards TODAY at the times listed below! Old World is nominated for Best Indie Game and PC Game of the Year. "See" you there! ✨
Big sale at the Epic Games Store- applicable to
#OldWorld
, now on Early Access. Get it and meet me to build up a list of achievements that is ALSO now available on the Epic Games Store. Let’s build empires, found religions, and create wonders!
The
#GRAMMYs
are this Sunday. We are nominated for a Grammy for Old World’s soundtrack. I hope we win.
I want to thank everyone who made this nomination possible for us, an indie studio with a lot of passion. It would be much easier to create great soundtracks with AAA budgets,
Out of all the wonders of the
#OldWorld
only one survives: The Pyramids of Giza. Although the golden cap is gone, the majestic and towering pyramids still exist as a testimony to the glory of the Egyptian Civilization.
#OldWorld
May 5th Early Access,by
@SorenJohnson
@mohawkgames
Congratulations to those who worked on AC’s Mirage. The Arab world is full of beauty and Baghdad was, for centuries at a time, throughout history, the place to be if one is seeking culture, music, poetry, and adventure. All the love to the dev team, all the love to Baghdad.
نعم، يُسعدنا التأكيد على أن لعبة
#AssassinsCreedMirage
ستكون مُعربة بشكلٍ كامل حيث تتضمن قوائم وحوارات مُترجمة، بالإضافة إلى دبلجة كاملة باللغة العربية 😍
لمعلومات أكثر حول ما تُقدمه لنا اللعبة:
@Ostrov_A
@carlbildt
Explain 2006 to me, I was there when over 33%of the victims were children and another 45% were women and older kids (12+).1300 ppl killed then, what aid when a hospital was bombed and a fire department was totaled? Let’s keep this about Lebanon and the people who died there today
I found this video on my kid’s chrome book. I wish I could load up the whole video but there is a time restriction. No animals were harmed in the making of this short. With permission I share this creation with all of you ❤️
Happy Birthday
@SorenJohnson
Thank you for the good memories, the great games, the wonderful kids, and the many many travels, books, series, and much more we share together. May your life be filled with ice-cream ❤️
All that rage because I tweeted about Male Silence. I originally blacked out his name, but he went public on Facebook. Calling out “BULL” to actual facts. Mohawk was 100% white male, & the picture I shared is from his colleague. Facts not fiction, this is not a matter of opinion
Two different forms of delivering the same news. I am not recommending either outlet just pointing out what appeared in my feed and how it did.
One informs the other distorts.
As a Middle Eastern woman I find this Wikipedia crap offensive and racist. We should stop this shameful portrayal of the indigenous people of the land. I reported the page. If you can read this and look away unfollow me.
Steam is trending so I’ll take a moment and state that Old World is coming out on Steam on May 19th!
Also, Dune: Spice Wars is out on Early Access, made by a talented and amazing team
@shirogames
go check it out.
Meet Romulus of Rome! Son of a god, raised by a she-wolf, this dude is ready to lead an empire. Coming soon as one of our leaders in
#OldWorld
by
@mohawkgames
@SorenJohnson
Sebastian and Oliver have a friendship I’ve only seen in movies about a kid and their pet. It is beautiful to witness. They are such buddies. How does he get him to pose for a picture without moving?!
History is nuts! This lady was married to her brother, and had to declare herself male so she can rule as a Pharaoh. Egypt prospered under her rule, and her successors tried (and failed) to hide/hijack her achievements. Meet Hatshepsut!
#OldWorld
by
@mohawkgames
@SorenJohnson
@3oxiol
@ArabGameAwards
@mohawkgames
لا عيب هيك انا اطلقت اعمال ناجحة ولازم تكونوا فخورين صديقي والله نحنا بحاجة دعمكم ومحبتكم في العالم العربي. انا حمدالله ناجحة خارج العالم العربي وعيب يكون وجودي ضمن اهلي اقل ترحيباً من بلاد الغرب. انا مسيرتي صحيح في اميركا بس قلبي في بلادنا