The game, created by a 20-member team, is expected to be released abroad to coincide with the Iranian new year, which starts Saturday. There have been other Iranian-produced computer games, but “Garshasp, the Monster Slayer” is the first that can compete internationally.

The action-adventure game is set in ancient Persia (as Iran was formerly known) in a world taken over by mythological monsters called “deevs.” All characters are drawn from Iranian myths and legends. Players must fight their way through three “worlds,” or levels, by killing opponents and solving puzzles.

The creative impetus behind “Garshasp,” which won praise during recent gaming conferences in the United Arab Emirates, Germany and France, was set in motion years ago in Tehran. During jam sessions with a semiprofessional rock band and breaks from university basketball games, a group of youths started daydreaming about making a computer game.

“Me and Soheil Eshraghi played in a band,” said Jafari, a former electronics engineer with long, dark hair. “We liked games, but I didn’t know Soheil could make animations,” he said. One of Eshraghi’s cartoons received a U.N. award in 2000.

While at the prestigious Sharif University of Technology, Jafari met Fassihi, an old friend, who was studying civil engineering. Both had passed a grueling national exam taken by 200,000 students a year. The top 800 are accepted at Sharif University; Jafari placed 97th and Fassihi 180th.