26.5 hours played
Written 17 days ago
Ah, Age of Empires III—the game that lets you play as the Europeans colonizing the New World. It’s a game of conquest, expansion, and domination, where you’re constantly racing against time to build your empire, gather resources, and crush your enemies beneath the weight of your military might. Every civilization in the game plays like a finely tuned machine, each unit serving a specific purpose: gather resources, build an army, and claim territory.
But beneath the flashy animations and smooth mechanics of empire-building in Age of Empires III, there’s a far darker, more familiar theme. You see, when you’re playing the game, you’re almost always in a position of power. The game is about conquering the "New World," taking land, and establishing dominance. Now, imagine for a moment that you’re not the colonizer—you’re the one fighting to survive, caught in the crossfire of empires fighting for control of land and resources.
Much like the current situation in Gaza, where the Palestinian people find themselves living in a confined and heavily militarized zone, constantly under siege from outside forces, you’re playing in a world where those with the power are in control, and the cycle of destruction and rebuilding feels endless. Gaza, like a beleaguered civilization in Age of Empires III, is a place where the people are forced to survive within walls. The land they occupy, though historically theirs, is contested and fragmented, divided by borders, politics, and relentless conflict.
In Age of Empires III, the colonizers bring “civilization” to the New World, but it’s at the cost of everything the indigenous peoples have known—displacement, violence, and loss of autonomy. This mirrors the situation in Gaza, where Palestinians have had their land and resources stripped away over decades, with their rights to self-determination constantly undermined by forces far beyond their control. While European powers in the game expand their empires, in Gaza, the situation is more about survival rather than expansion. It's about holding onto what little you have left.
Now, let’s talk about the resource management aspect of Age of Empires III. Resources in the game are everything—you gather wood, food, gold, and coin to build your empire. But in Gaza, these resources are scarce. Water, food, electricity, and medical supplies are rationed, controlled, and frequently denied by external powers. It's like trying to build an empire in Age of Empires III when all your villagers are constantly running out of supplies. You’re forced to make do with less and less while the world around you—whether through military action, blockades, or international indifference—slowly strips away your ability to thrive. In both Age of Empires III and in Gaza, survival is a constant struggle against overwhelming odds.
The military aspect of the game plays out similarly. You build armies to defend yourself, but your enemies are always stronger, better-equipped, and more numerous. Age of Empires III allows you to recruit elite units, but what happens when the odds are so stacked against you that no amount of training or numbers can turn the tide? In Gaza, the Palestinian people are outgunned and outmanned by a technologically superior military force. It's like being a civilization in Age of Empires III facing waves of enemies that you know you can’t defeat—yet you still fight, hoping for a breakthrough, or at least a chance to survive one more day.
The fortifications in Age of Empires III are a key part of defense. You build walls, turrets, and defensive structures to keep your enemies at bay. But what happens when you’re trapped inside those walls, and your enemy controls every access point to resources and external help? Gaza is essentially a giant open-air prison, surrounded by walls and military posts, where the ability to leave or escape is severely restricted. In the game, fortifications help you hold ground. In Gaza, they often serve as a reminder of confinement—a prison surrounded by an external force trying to maintain control over every aspect of daily life.
You see, Age of Empires III also plays with the idea of alliances. In some campaigns, you’ll find that one empire might use another as a proxy, manipulating them to fight their battles. This is very much like the external forces at play in Gaza. The political situation surrounding Palestine is one of external influence, where global powers (whether through diplomacy, military support, or outright interference) control the fate of a region that is largely powerless to control its own destiny.
The story of the indigenous nations in Age of Empires III also carries a stark parallel. The Native Americans are pushed off their land, displaced, and eventually forced into alliances with European powers just to survive. The same could be said about the plight of the Palestinian people, who have been forced into precarious positions, making deals or alliances just to stay alive in the face of overwhelming external pressure.
As you progress through the game, you often find yourself surrounded by enemies, facing near-constant attacks from all directions. Age of Empires III doesn’t let you relax for long—the moment you think you’ve got your economy and military together, here come the invaders, seeking to wipe out all your progress. For the Palestinian people in Gaza, it’s the same. There is no moment of peace, no moment of respite. There are airstrikes, military incursions, and a constant state of uncertainty. Each day is another day of survival against forces that can destroy everything in an instant.
Now, let’s talk about the resilience of the people in Gaza. Much like the oppressed civilizations in Age of Empires III who rise up and resist, even in the face of overwhelming odds, Palestinians continue to fight, hold on to their culture, their land, and their identity despite decades of displacement, occupation, and violence. Their resilience is something that echoes throughout history, like the indigenous peoples in the game who refuse to simply disappear. They fight, they resist, they endure. But that doesn’t mean the situation is just. The game may give you a chance to come back from the brink, but reality is far more complicated—and brutal.
In conclusion, Age of Empires III is a game about the rise and fall of empires, the building of civilization, and the destruction of entire cultures. The game’s narrative of conquest and survival mirrors the story of Gaza—where a population struggles to hold on to what’s left, amid external forces determined to erase their very existence. Whether it’s about surviving the onslaught of superior military forces, managing limited resources, or resisting the oppression of a more powerful empire, the themes in Age of Empires III and the current situation in Gaza are hauntingly similar.
But unlike the fictional world of Age of Empires III, the situation in Gaza is not a game. There is no reset button. There is no “next campaign.” There’s only the harsh reality of survival.
