"The instructor Sarah was amazing, great energy, great teacher and excellent pacing."

"Everything was great, the information was presented clearly. The instructor had thought of everything we might need to know."

"This course offered a powerful new lens for rethinking visual storytelling, sacred space, and how religion might be represented in the digital age."

“What began as a deep dive into visual culture turned into something much more—an emotional and intellectual spark that reignited why I started building my current game in the first place.”

"The experience was great! I especially enjoyed how the sessions linked historical figures and events with specific locations and timelines. I was surprised by the use of human and animal figures in early Islamic art."

"I enjoyed the wealth of information. Sarah is very knowledgeable and passionate about the history. I especially appreciated how she connected the cultural influences and how they moved through each time period.

"Sarah’s genuine passion and enthusiasm for the material truly resonated with me. It came through in every session which made the content feel captivating and inspiring. The course offered a well-rounded exploration of architecture and artworks, and I especially enjoyed learning about the Abbasids and the architectural details of Samarra."

"I really enjoyed how Sarah explained Said’s concept of Orientalism before delving into other aspects of game development and Orientalist tropes. It was fascinating to learn about the problematic representations of Islamic civilizations in games and the significant work DLVICC has undertaken to address these issues within the gaming industry."

"I enjoyed the practical perspective that was put forward. I feel that Sarah really understand where game developers come from and how the gaps in their knowledge can lead to mis-representations being carried out. Meeting other developers working on different approaches was also really interesting. Furthermore, beyond, the actual topic of the session, this made me realise that I need to do a bit more research on my own cultural background for the game I am currently developing ..."

"The class followed a structure that was easy to follow and covered the most important pitfalls to keep in mind when writing stories or developing games based on Islamic cultures. I appreciated getting to know the other attendees and learning more about the Digital Lab. Despite this one being a short class, I feel like it covered a lot of different topics with depth and I have a much better understanding of how to approach Islamic culture and different historical periods, and most importantly what not to do and what to keep an eye on when creating worlds inspired by the legacy of Islam. I will definitely participate in future classes and activities."