The Door and Devil May Cry 3

For those of you joining in late, the Devil May Cry series is a best-selling franchise developed by Capcom Ltd., Japan marketed here by Capcom Entertainment Inc, Central Europe.

The series primarily revolve around demons and other dark forces, which Dante – the series protagonist – must overcome. Gameplay is quick with plenty of adrenaline pumping slashing and gore…
…until you get to a scene in the 3rd game (available for PS2 and PC) where Dante's brother enters the Demon's domain through a rather familiar-looking door. Here is what it looks like: 

 

If you can’t make the connection, here’s a hint:

Above shows a picture of the Door of the Ka’bah, the single most sacred religious location on earth for over a billion people of the Islamic faith.

That this so-called “devil’s door” borrows its design from such an incredibly holy relic causes deep hurt and offence..and is completely unacceptable no matter which side of neutrality you look at it.

Understandably, a lot of people are upset and I personally know people who’ve been shouting their voices (or at any rate, their keyboards) hoarse about “boycotting Capcom” and “banning their products”.
But what I can’t really understand (or accept) is why we as a people – Asians, Muslims and Indians in particular – are so paranoid about banning and boycotting stuff all the time…
…as if its gonna do anyone any good. I mean, assuming boycotts did work, who’s going to tell the statistics guy scratching his head at Capcom that the REAL reason the sales of one particular game dipped by 3% was due to religious indifference?

I’m one guy who doesn’t believe in Online Petitions or boycotts, so I wrote to Capcom at their London headquarters address telling them exactly what I felt about the whole thing.
To be honest I didn’t really expect a reply (who answers back to criticism anyway?) but they did. And here is what they had to say (translated from German):

“Dear Mr. Noor,

Thank you for your message regarding religious artifacts in Devil May Cry 3 We regret that this injury has been caused to religious feelings. The title was developed in a production department of our Japanese parent company, which we will refer to this as soon irreverence.

We will do our best to remedy this artifact representation. Unfortunately, this would be in the form of a patch and would be available only in the PC version because for the PS2 console version it is not possible to produce any program code changes, and also not is not allowed on our part.

With kind regards from Hamburg,

<name withheld>
PR Manager
(Capcom Entertainment) Central Europe”

I know we still have no confirmed dates for the rollout of this patch, but at least they acknowledged that the problem exists…and promised to do something about it.
Of course they are saying there’s nothing they could do about the PS2 version but that is understandable – after all the ten-year-old console isn't exactly cutting edge on upgradability.
But still, I guess I'll be okay even if it is just the PC version getting the patch to remove the offending door. 

Personally, for me it means there is still hope in the world and that people are willing to listen, and reaffirms my faith in the power of the Written Word.

And that “boycotts” and “bans” aren’t necessarily the best way to deal with a problem.

Ramadan reflections

Today, depending on the part of the world you're currently in, it’s either the 17th or 18th of Ramadan, the blessed month of Fasting.
And today is also the day I realized its been about a month I've been away from (mine and other people's) blogs, and the social internet in general.

Now coming to Ramadan, I’m guessing almost everyone knows at least someone muslim, but I find it alarming that in spite of this, a lot of people have quite a few misconceptions; so here we present, The Square Circle's Guide to Understanding Ramadan... for the people who didn't know it already
:)

1.
Firstly, "Ramadan" (or "Ramzan", depending on how you pronounce it) is NOT the festival. It is the blessed month when we fast and it lasts 29 to 30 days depending on the lunar calendar.
The festival is called "Eid", and that comes at the end of the month.

2.
There’s more to fasting than just staying away from food and water. The fasting person also exercises mental discipline – and that includes staying clear of fights, arguments and abusive language as well.

3.
We don't particularly appreciate it when people ask us if we’re hungry, and then wonder out loud that its incredible how you can go a whole day without eating anything.
Its not like we’re setting up a new world record by being without food and drink for 15hrs – people have been doing this for at least 1,400 years.

4.
Actually, people have been fasting for even longer than that – and every major religion on earth has and requires of its members to undergo fasts.

5.
We don’t fast to lose excess flab, cut down on calories or save on lunch money. Quite surprising even some (educated) people from work think that.
We fast because the Creator of the heavens and the earth asks us to, and we do it to seek His bounty, who has bestowed upon us all we have and don't think twice about.
(including that snickers bar in your hand right now!)

6.
If you’re a smoker, no it is not ridiculous that you have to go through the day without a smoke.
Personally, I think it is smokers who are ridiculous.

7.
Yes, women fast too.

8.
Not everyone gets to eat haleem everyday (or for that matter, knows how to make it). Yes, I do miss it, but there’s only so much a guy can cook for himself.

9.
Iftar (after sun down) is not an excuse to stuff yourself with everything in the fridge and make up for the lost food.
Unfortunately, even most muslims seem to have no clue about this.

Above all, Ramadan is a time to reflect – upon all things that we have been blessed with, of all things we aren’t thankful for, and think about all those people, who involuntarily fast every single day…

…whose fasting doesn’t necessarily end at sunset with a big table of food.

May Peace be upon you all.