Tahtib Research Retrospective
While I was developing the idea for SooDuel I did a myriad of research on Tahtib. I looked at how it was played, the purpose of it, the rules of it, and its significance in culture. Below are various sources and videos I looked at during the process of ideation.
Videos
The above video has a reporter interviewing a few men from Upper Egypt who explain the rules and importance of the game. They also mention how it was recognised by UNESCO as a cultural heritage.
Above are several YouTube short videos of traditional Tahtib being played in Upper Egypt. These videos influenced the way I went about designing and ideating on the mechanics. For instance, they gave me the idea of players being able to gain a point by successfully deflecting an attack. This was because of how hesitant the players in these videos were to clash their sticks together, which gave me the impression that it may be against the rules to clash sticks, thus whoever is better able to control their stick is more skilful. Therefore, I came up with the idea that the players need to avoid clashing their sticks altogether and that whoever successfully deflected an attack could win that specific engagement.
The video above is part of a series this man made to show the basics of how Tahtib is played. This proved insightful for understanding how it is traditionally played and helped me to come up with several gameplay mechanics.
The video above shows traditional Tahtib being played by two experts on rural farm land. This video gave me an idea for the sort of aesthetic and atmosphere I wanted to potentially create for SooDuel. The way the players also sort of dance and move to the rhythm of the music also influenced the decision to include a rhythm aspect into the game.
This video shows a match of modern Tahtib, which again helped me to think about the mechanics of the game and how I can adapt traditional and modern versions of Tahtib into a video game.
The video above details the history of Tahtib and how it has evolved. It also details the way modern Tahtib is played.
Articles
The article above details how Tahtib is played and some historical details about it. As well as how it has changed a bit over the recent decades.
https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/tahteeb-stick-game-01189
The link above goes to the UNESCO World Heritage Site and describes Tahtib and its relevance as a cultural heritage.
The site above is the website dedicated to Modern Tahtib. It describes the history of Tahtib, the founding of modern Tahtib, and the rules of Tahtib.
The link above goes to a blog post detailing the history of Tahtib and its evolution into a modern martial art.
Reflection
Overall, I have become very knowledgeable on the subject of Tahtib, which greatly helped and continues to help me in the development of SooDuel.
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