1979 Revolution: Black Friday is a 2016 Telltale-style Visual Novel by iNK Stories, directed by Rockstar Games alumnus Navid Khonsari. It was released on April 5, 2016, and is available for PC and Mac OS via Steam, Playstation 4 and Nintendo Switch, as well as iOS and Android.
Reza Shirazi is an aspiring photojournalist who has returned home from Germany to Iran at the same time as the Iranian Revolution. Attending and photographing a protest against the Shah of Iran with his friend Babak Azadi, Reza finds himself at the centre of intrigue when a rebel leader, Abbas, is stabbed during the chaos after the police and military attack the protestors, and Reza's pictures show the possibility of finding the culprit. With other leaders such as his cousin Ali and firebrand Bibi Golestan, Reza must figure out his allegiances, while also worrying about family, as well as his policeman brother, Hossein.
Despite its relatively low production values, the game has been lauded as one of the few games set in Iran (outside more Qurac portrayals) and for portraying the revolution from the perspective of an Iranian.
This game contains the following tropes:
- Actual Pacifist: Babak. Ali considers him a Suicidal Pacifist, and given the atrocities of the Shah both before and during the game, it is certainly arguable, but the narrative doesn't take sides.
- Bilingual Bonus: All the characters sprinkle Farsi into their lines.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Hajj Agha, in copious amounts. He physically tortures both Reza and Hossein
- Defiant Stone Throw: One of the first major choices in the game is Ali giving Reza a stone to throw at the soldiers who are attacking the protest leaders, with Babak asking Reza to show restraint.
- Foregone Conclusion: Obvious given the relation to the actual event. The Shah's regime will fall, but the new Islamist regime will be just as bad.
- Full-Circle Revolution: While present, downplayed compared to most portrayals of the Iranian Revolution. While the new Islamic Republic is still considered as bad as the rule of the Shah, given their personification in the form of Hajj Agha indulging in torture in Evin Prison, the game focuses far more on the spirit of revolution and the atrocities of the Shah than the atrocities of the Islamic Republic.
- The Fundamentalist: Hajj Agha, of course.
- Historical Domain Character: Asadollah Lajevardi
, or "Hajj Agha", was a real person who was the warden of Evin Prison. Known as the "Butcher of Evin", he presided over thousands of executions. - How We Got Here: The whole game is told in flashback as Reza being interrogated by Hajj Agha.
- Human Notepad: Variant, human picture book. The protests include a man who has pasted pictures of murdered protestors and rebels onto his clothes, known as the Walking Memorial. Truth in Television, as the game will tell you if you take a picture of him.
- It Will Never Catch On: "No religious Mullah is going to lead this country!" Sure, Sayid.
- Jerkass: A lot of people, starting with the communist who confronts Babak and Reza on the rooftop, Sayid. Jafar is one, being completely unapologetic for attacking Reza. This may make you think one of them is the mole. Ali is probably the biggest one.
- Morton's Fork: The search for the mole in the resistance. No matter who you finger as the mole, Hajj Agha tells you that they were killed, but they were not a traitor.
- Press X to Not Die: How most non-conversation and non-photographic actions are carried out.
- Punch-Clock Villains: Babak's perception of the military who are suppressing the revolt, which is why he doesn't support violence against them. Ali is less sympathetic.
- Real Footage Re-creation: Throughout the game, homage is paid to many famous Real Life snapshots of the Iranian Revolution, encouraging the player to seek them out and capture them.
- We ARE Struggling Together: The rebel group we see are almost all in conflict with each other about the path of the revolution, even considering the fact that we see them during a particularly torrid time, with the stabbing of Abbas. There is significant conflict between the members regarding the path Iran must take after the Shah is deposed, with Communists, Islamists, and liberals in a tenuous alliance.
