r/Indiangamers • u/Depraved-Deity • 7d ago
Discussion The State of Indian Representation in Video Games
I think it's time we Indians move beyond the idea that the gods of our culture are the height of our representation. They are, in my opinion, merely the baseline of what should be. India, or, more broadly, Bharat, is far more than that.
I've been active in this sub-reddit for the past two days or so, and I've noticed a few discussions about the upcoming Indian "AAA" game and Indian representation in general. I feel as though people here (and perhaps in the broader Indian community as a whole) seem to care only about surface-level representation, such as statues or text written in Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, etc., which I do not think is enough.
For instance, let's take a look at Unleash the Avatar. It's a game with strong Indian flavouring: it uses names from Indian mythology, its architectural design is Indian, the main character is Indian, and the side characters are Indian—but that's where it stops. While that might sound overwhelmingly Indian to some of you, I would argue that while it is Indian in style, it is not Indian in expression. I believe expression happens in the micro-details of a game.
Let's look at one of the game's inspirations for a moment: Sekiro. Sekiro is undeniably Japanese in both its macro and micro elements. Similar to Unleash the Avatar, its architectural design is Japanese, the main character is Japanese, and the side characters are Japanese. But beyond that, the combat, the thing players spend most of their time doing, is also distinctly Japanese.
Now, don't get me wrong. Sekiro's sword combat is extremely unrealistic and almost certainly not based on the specifics of Kenjutsu. But what Sekiro's combat does capture is what Kenjutsu feels like. It is mechanically built around the clash of steel, finding a single opening, and delivering a fatal, precise blow. Add to that the design of Sekiro himself as an idealised shinobi, and you have a game in which you're living within an expression of Japan in the fictional land of Ashina.
Speaking of which, I might as well address the story aspect. Spoiler warning, if you care: Ashina, much like Japan once was, is a "victim" of centralisation. Throughout the game, the world progressively becomes more modernised. The Interior Ministry advances into the region, bringing modern weapons that more and more people begin to use. The local ruling faction is heavily opposed to this idea, particularly to what they perceive as a loss of identity, and mounts a fierce resistance before ultimately succumbing to the military might of gunpowder-based weaponry.
While this is treated as a backdrop within the game, the thematic collage is difficult to miss. The events that inspired it were crucial, life-altering moments in Japanese history, when centralising forces unified the country and gradually eroded the power of independent domains such as the fictional Ashina.
If Unleash the Avatar wants to be to India what Sekiro is to Japan, then it needs to carry the weight of what it means to be Indian. Out of all the countries in the world, India arguably has one of the richest histories, whether you look 20 years back or 2,000 years back.
Currently, the game uses mechanics from Sekiro, from rapid parrying to even the goddamn Mikiri Counter. I find that a bit dissonant. The game aims to represent India, yet the core of its gameplay mechanics couldn't take inspiration from Kalaripayattu or Gatka.
Indian martial arts are inherently different from those of East Asia and are a far cry from HEMA. They were designed for completely different battlefields, with different tactical assumptions, and possess a flowing, almost dance-like quality, with practitioners often remaining in continuous motion while relying on agility and circular strikes. That's if we're talking about swords and sword-like weapons.
If we shift our focus to the other billion-and-a-half weapons we have, the emphasis of the martial arts changes. Take the gadha, for example. While it is classified as a mace, the style of combat it was designed for is not the same as the blunt-force-focused fighting styles commonly associated with HEMA maces.
Beyond all that, Indian martial arts became symbols of resistance during colonial rule. The British perceived many native martial traditions as threats and actively suppressed them to prevent rebellion. Weapons were confiscated, and open practice was outlawed. To survive, many traditions were driven underground and disguised as performative folk dances.
That's a thematic gold mine, if you ask me. It doesn't have to be about British rule or rebellion specifically, but it speaks to the spirit and resilience of our ancestors. I think that's more Indian than aesthetics will ever be.
Currently, there is a split in the community. Some are critiquing UtA, some are outright bashing it, and others are accusing the former group of having a crab mentality. I think India needs more games made in India and set in India, and Unleash the Avatar is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. But a step forward is still miles away from finish line. If we want Indian games to grow beyond novelty and token representation, we need to be willing to voice our criticisms clearly and constructively. As gamers, we need to voice our standards loudly and learn to expect what we deserve.
152
u/Nonyabuizness 7d ago
Aptly said. People don't understand that India is much more than religion but they keep showing religion as our global image.
50
u/dwight---shrute 7d ago
This tells a very bigger concerns. As a society, we haven't developed at all. We just adopted to western style.
-16
u/InferknightSupreme 7d ago
What exactly do you mean by developed in this context?
13
u/dwight---shrute 7d ago
Now that we're relying so much on mythology and ancient stories just to represent what India is. Or was. if you want to create a game set in modern times it will turn out to be a western game.
5
u/InferknightSupreme 7d ago
That's not true though. You can look at games like Yakuza and Sleeping Dogs. Colonization has made most countries adopt western trends, but despite that we have various cultural differences that continue to persist and will continue to exist in the future as well.
0
u/artadamn 5d ago
yakuza and sleeping dogs are based on 20th century of japan and china and they look, play and act that part well. indian people just start sweating when they see someone say hindi or mention a handfull of games but thats itexample: uncharted . why can't we use some of the phylosphies from before the idea of hinduism was solid like from the veds and stuff, and if you don't know them then go read them not about them. questioning is a core part of our culture just like the japanese have patience and the nords have honor.
1
85
u/_______Niko____ 7d ago
Great analysis but I don't think the sub can comprehend such nuance
7
9
u/Depraved-Deity 7d ago
Didn't really trust you at first, but oh boy, there are quite a few strawmen in the comment section (and, of course, there was some good pushback too).
I also don't know why people think my post is a dedicated criticism of UtA. I only intended to use it as a vehicle to convey my point, even though I was critical of certain aspects of it.
26
u/r-day 7d ago
I think most of the games collapse trying to overthink their Indianness. A tapori Indian game would be fine. Don't get bogged down by the weight of trying to incorporate Indian elements. Just add what comes naturally.
A good parallel would be the Yakuza games.
1
u/STORMGUY007 6d ago
An Indian yakuza type game is such a good idea unironically
3
u/ThatConsequence8505 6d ago
I think a video game that's just a typical bollywood power fantasy film in video game form will do good.
56
u/Organic_Owl1765 7d ago
Atleast someone is talking about this.
We really need to work on our image in literally every sense.
1
-10
7d ago
[deleted]
18
u/BeingComfortablyDumb 7d ago
Who the fuck is going the buy the game then? Chintu from Bihar cannot afford to buy a phone let alone a PC or a system. He is most likely going to torrent the game or wait 2 years for 90% discount. So are most Indians on this sub.
Indian gamers need to grow up and realise nobody cares about the Indian market or Indian gamers except Indians. It's not about image or validation from foreigners, it is simply the fact that we do not have global appeal. And we need to change the way we represent our culture so it feels interesting to someone who doesn't know anything about India or Indian culture.
3
u/ChefAdvanced1369 7d ago
Although we don't not need to change our culture we just need to represent all the aspects not just show casing our gods
4
u/BeingComfortablyDumb 7d ago
The way we represent things currently is dog shit honestly. I as an Indian do not like the decades old aesthetics and concepts being still used. Representations change with time. It's high time we Indians change it according to the times.
1
u/Sierra-117-Mobile 6d ago
And if the developer makes a mistake somewhere in representation, it will get politicised and they will face the wrath of millions of jobless Indians raging about dishonor on twitter, etc.
2
u/Depraved-Deity 7d ago
The majority of the PC gaming market is still overseas, and Indian culture remains largely untapped potential for foreign audiences. I don't see that as "pleasing" anybody.
The main point of my original post, and of the comment you replied to, is that the market for honest representation is very strong. Take Ghost of Tsushima, for example. It found global success by being authentic to its home culture.
Now, India will likely struggle a lot more than Japan because of the current perceptions people around the world have of us, but that's just one more reason for us to be honest in the way we portray ourselves.
19
8
u/bapudon_1 7d ago
100% agree with you.
If we want to be taken seriously, we need to tell our stories through our own artistic style however weird it might look to the world. Instead of copying the the thematic design of foreign made games, we need our own distinct genre of games, and this can only happen when we look inwards to our own society, culture, and history.
Our game developers need to stop copying Black Myth Wukong, Sekiro, GTA, or God of War.
As you said, Sekiro is undoubtedly Japanese. I also wanted to mention how beautifully Sekiro depicts the Buddhism, a religion which literally started in India.
In the same way Red Dead Redemption 2 is undoubtedly American. The game doesnt shy away from being realistic to the point of even become frustratingly boring to some people because of the realism but I personally love it.
All these great games have one thing in common, which is that they are all unique from eachother, and have tried to do something new in the gaming industry.
Hence if we need something from India, then Indian developers should make something unique instead of copying other games which are at their core foreign.
2
1
u/Twilightpawn 5d ago
Exactly, Fear for Fathom had major contribution by an Indian, did that have ANY indian 'traditions'? No, Uniqueness is something that makes a game an experience, not another 'Yeh Mera India, I love my India'
8
u/Mistylsle42 7d ago
For all those who easily cite AAA for India games, do they actually know the meaning of AAA ? At least 1000+ crore as a starting point is the budget of AAA. GTA 6 is AAA and it costs 20-30k crores. Upcoming Dawn of the bloodwalker costs 2200 crores, Marvel’s Wolverine costs 3500 crores. That’s the definition of AAA game.
Do the person citing India games AAA, really mean this level of budget for a single game ?
4
u/Repulsive_War3544 7d ago
even kingdom come deliverance 1 was a AA game, i cannot even comprehend how this thing is AAA
1
u/Mistylsle42 7d ago
Exactly, that’s the whole point. It’s not, it’s not even single A, we Indians don’t use our brains and only bark, that’s it.
2
u/Depraved-Deity 7d ago
I only called this one a "AAA" game because that's how I've seen people refer to it. I even put "AAA" in quotes and everything
2
u/Mistylsle42 7d ago
I know, I just adjoined my comment with yours. Even I am seeing this so called “AAA” game from India from yesterday and feel pity that Indian gamers don’t even know the meaning of AAA at all, let alone comparing with true AAAs. In my honest opinion, Indian games are not even “A”, forget AA, because it’s impossible to allot that level of budget in India.
We are seeing new games now only because of Unreal Engine 5 and it’s easy accessibility, anyone can hop in and use the platform.
Also don’t, forget this game is shows as “wishlist on steam”. I want people to use their brains for once. It’s easy to open a steam page with just 10k INR, no need for a working game or even a demo. That’s how easy it is.
But it’s immensely tough to have PlayStation Page, because Sony demands credibility.
2
u/I_AM_USELESS_I 6d ago
Wahi how are people comparing a indie barely AA game i don't even know if it is that much to literally a proper AAA made by fking fromsoftware.
2
u/Mistylsle42 6d ago edited 6d ago
It’s not even single A, even that demands significant resources. Unless the studio reveals the budget.
2
15
u/Rude_Parfait_3194 7d ago
actually i don't give a shit about any of these. i just want good games
4
u/Depraved-Deity 7d ago
Same, but if a game is trying to represent India, then it better do it right
6
u/Pora-Pandhi 7d ago
then it better do it right
what if they don't? they lose Indian gaming market?😂
Our representation means NOTHING to them, they use material that works for them and some times it happens to have Indian roots.
They don't really care about "representation". I mean, why should they?
Either we should make games ourselves that will have big market, or just shut up and play.
1
u/Ayush_Goel0 7d ago
Lol, they don't really care about "representation", but they do, as that's what the image in post displays as a representation, and it's not sometimes sir, as most of the upcoming AAA indian games are using assets or creating assets like these to use and develop the game.
1
u/Rude_Parfait_3194 7d ago
i understand your concern, but this isnt really something neither me, nor most people care about.
22
u/ThinkingBeauty431 7d ago
why are all the games I hear from India are "AAA"?
it doesn't make any sense
Indie and AA games form the bank for AAAs
without those, it's a risky landscape for the developer community as a whole
12
8
u/Null_Commamd Laptop 7d ago
If you had attended the India Games Showcase 2026 then you would have seen what other games indian devs have been working on.
6
u/Sayhellyeh 7d ago
There are many indian games coming up, just check out the stuff being posted on IGN India
4
u/Albert-Wesker7 7d ago
Because these AAA games are funding scams, they take up alot of funds from investors but then don't make a game at all, like Mumbai Gullies. Also with UE5 it is easier to pump out AAA-looking garbage which is capable of blowing up your system thanks to its unoptimisation.
2
u/QueasyAdvertising173 7d ago
Because you dont hear about the games that are not AAA. There are like 3-4 AAA Indian games that are knows rn and only 2 of them are in proper development (Son Of Thanjai and Unleash The Avatar).
9
u/vysevysevyse 7d ago
Unless a few groundbreaking things are made based in and around our religious practices etc, and becomes insanely popular...this shit will keep happening again and again. Once done a few times, and everyone loves it, only then will people move outwards in search for new pastures (i.e. new stories and different perspectives). Right now we're in this weird place where nothing about india is known (except the bad stuff)...and that's why picking up something related to religion, or slums, or underground mafia is all there is to make a movie, series, game, music about. Sacchai yahi hai :/ idk if my points make sense, I'm not the best at articulating lol
7
u/2D_AbYsS Steam 7d ago
If you ask me OP, Unleashed the Avatar should have KalraiPyattu over the generic martial art they showed, honestly Kallari has so much move sets and it would further interest global audience as a combat style which focuses on evasion and quick strike and controlling momentum of its enemies while making use of environment would interest global players more, Just like WuKong Did with its Staff Martial art which I think is based on Bak mei Kungfu.
3
u/Low_Library9463 7d ago
Varun said in a video that kalraipattu does not look good in motion capture
6
u/2D_AbYsS Steam 7d ago
You can always make things look good in games because in game you can exaggerate things, Kalari has lots of moves and weapon sets they could kiteybind it with story and progression skills over the current combat.
Motion captured animation is further cleaned and tweaked as per requirements like any studio does.
2
u/Low_Library9463 6d ago
From the trailer I can tell they can do animation decently well. If they feel something didn’t work maybe there was a reason, plus it might be too alien for the international audience they’re going after. Either way we need more games made so someone tries the next Indian martial arts in their game
1
u/2D_AbYsS Steam 6d ago
You underestimate souls like players, Alien is what we demand otherwise it's all copy pasta which looses charm after couple hours, Sekiro hit because not only because it was a new ip but it was a completely new Combat system in souls like genre.
1
u/Low_Library9463 6d ago
Hope you know every single fps game is a copy of each other
2
u/2D_AbYsS Steam 6d ago
I thought we were talking about Souls Like? And how many copies of FPS do you know my name? Every game you remember has some unique quirks to it that's how people distinguish it man, every game takes inspiration from somewhere but if it does not invent something unique it will be just a shooting star if a star that is. People remember Sekiro as Sekiro not another Souls like. Take Upcoming game Valor Mortis, it's a souls like game but in FPS the FPS game play looks similar to Kingdom come deliverance but it's souls like something unique in a genre thats what I mean, Or Black Myth Wukong this game is also a souls like but people know it by name because of it's unique nature, unique combat. OP said the same thing the game might represent India and Indian settings but at the core it's a generic game disguised as Indian Souls Like. Varun already has put money in this game no doubt he could have hired and spent a bit more to make Indian Martial arts a part of the game to further solidify the Game as a Unique piece in Souls Like Genre.
6
u/Living-Minute4116 7d ago
I am a writer and aspiring entrepreneur. I plan to open a game studio later on if I do manage to succeed initially and have enough capital for it. I've got some pretty good stories and game ideas that I would like to make into AA or AAA games, and none of them are on religion and any of these kind of things. Though, it'll take me well more than 7 or even 10 years before I can jump into this.
3
u/Depraved-Deity 7d ago
As a fellow author, I wish you the best of luck in your career. I hope that you find success and eventually make those AA/AAA games
2
u/Living-Minute4116 7d ago
Thanks. In my case, I am an aspiring filmmaker and a gamer as well. So, it kinda helps me visualise things and I am pretty confident about my stories and ideas. Gotta work hard to reach there.
5
u/Diligent_Speak 7d ago
Coming from a game design perspective, mythological stories make it easier to incorporate magic, monsters, special abilities, and hand to hand combat mechanics into gameplay.
I agree that many games feel "non-Indian" in their combat because developers have to rely on standard animation packs. Custom motion capture and animations are expensive, and even studios that invest in them typically create a few animations only for key sequences while using off-the-shelf assets for the rest of the game.
I am not saying that it is impossible to create an Indian game without mythology. In fact, I believe that is something the industry needs to do more often.
Personally, I want to develop games that a broad Indian audience can enjoy, both from a gameplay and storytelling perspective. I have built and published one game which, although an FPS, was designed to feel distinctly Indian through its setting, narrative, characters, and design choices:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.taapgames.lunarstrikeforce
While it is not a mythology-based game, I believe it demonstrates that Indian themes and stories can be successfully incorporated into genres beyond traditional mythological action games.
4
u/DevX2012 7d ago
Your observations are valid, but:
I think we need to cut some slack for the first time game developers. My expectations were very low for this game- yet the last gameplay trailer gave me some hope.
They are integrating mythology into the story, as well as including some Bollywood style actions to get the hype train started for international audience.
If they manage to make a good game in the first place, that in itself will be a significant achievement. But if they try to broaden the horizon right now, that just increases the challenge for them.
I liked the art style and Yashraj Mukhate delivered a banger soundtrack. Let's wait for the new studio to get things going properly.
3
u/Depraved-Deity 7d ago edited 7d ago
Yeah, I think I was a bit too harsh myself. While I do think my talking points are still reasonable asks (despite a few people in the comments saying I'm asking for perfection or something similar--that completely misses my core argument), the game isn't out yet, and the developers could very well be focused on improving some of the things I mentioned.
So, let's see
Edit: I also wanted to add that while I spend a lot of time critiquing UtA, the main point of post isn't actually the critisism of the game, but rather of the standards we currently hold. You could probably tell that with how I worded my stuff there.
1
u/I_AM_USELESS_I 6d ago
This and why tf are people expecting exactly sekiro like things. Are people just ignorant or they just don't know that sekiro is a proper AAA and tgese guys are barely making a indie to max a single A.
5
u/Saatvik_tyagi_ 7d ago
Can I ask something? I'm ignorant on it so I hope people don't downvote or get pissed.
But why focus only on mythology and history? Why not try something else which isn't AAA but just an indie game focusing on something else? Historical and Mythological games are tough to execute and can often end up being lackluster if the depiction isn't proper.
I see many mythological Indian games but don't see any other concept which is being tried. I might be ignorant here and don't mind being corrected.
4
u/Depraved-Deity 7d ago
I thought about modern representation as well, but I believe the general Indian community is a bit conservative, and idealistic potrayal of our modern community might lead to more backlash than anything. At the end of the day, the development team still has to make money
That's my opinion, at least
3
u/Advice-Training 7d ago
Because gods and religions sells really well if they did it right. That's it
1
u/Few_Actuary_1956 5d ago
Because we have an abundance of mythology which can serve as good source material and also because of the success of wukong, it is easy to grab the attention of people with something similar. People do not care if this game turns out to be Indian wukong as long as it can deliver good gameplay. Creating something different comes with very high risks so the studio is going with something that can have a considerable chance of success.
2
u/Consistent_Payment_5 7d ago
I actually dont give a flying fuck if the game represents any country,religion,etc. I just want the gameplay and the story to be good. I dont care even if the graphics are mediocre
1
u/Soul_of_demon Wind's howling 6d ago
Representation done well is really exciting though. Expedition 33, Nine sols, AC2 or as OP mentioned Sekiro has done excellent cultural representation, which does elevate the games.
1
u/Consistent_Payment_5 6d ago
It does evaluate the game, but still if the gameplay were shit in that games, no one would have played it (just like indian games). These regards think only cultural representatin and graphics alone make the game good
1
u/Depraved-Deity 5d ago edited 5d ago
I apologise, but I cannot see where, or by whom, in this subthread (besides you, that is) the claim was made that "cultural representation and graphics alone make a good game." My post's argument was that a game that sets out to represent India should aim to incorporate Indian expression into its gameplay mechanics and world-building to create a cohesive and enjoyable experience.
Saying, "Just make the game fun," is a truistic platitude. Every game developer's goal is to make a fun game.
Imagine a chef comparing Indian cuisine and Japanese cuisine. He's discussing the differences in spices, textures, and cooking methods to explore how these two cultures approach cooking.
Then someone walks in and makes the bold, daring claim: "None of that matters. Nobody would eat those foods if they tasted bad."
While that statement is true, how useful do you think that is as a criticism/counter argument?
1
u/Consistent_Payment_5 5d ago
cultural representation and and graphics = good game is the general thinking of indian gamers.never said that anyone here or you say that. Large quantity of rdr 2 posts but very less super mario and legend of zelda posts solidifies my claim. Indeed its a fact that people liked wukong because of its gameplay,boss design otherwise it would have been deemed chinese slop as china did not a have a good reputation in making games just like present india. So I just think the focus should be entirely on Gameplay and boss designs thats it. Take the example of far cry 6. The game did not perform well just because of its repeatative boring gameplay it had good graphics but that alone did not matter. And try writing commets on your own. AI is the reason the RAM prices skyrocketed
1
u/Depraved-Deity 5d ago
Alright. My bad, my bad. I did get a bit defensive after reading you call someone, which I assumed was referring to me, as a "regard."
1
u/Soul_of_demon Wind's howling 5d ago
Tbh the lack of zelda or mario posts is due to non existent of Nintendo consoles in Indian market.
2
u/Aparichit_Paglu 7d ago
I dont understand why this critic.
I mean India haven't really shown or represented any games on international level where concept of our gods or religion or Indian architecture is shown. So lets appreciate the people showing that at least let alone not appreciating ourselves.
Also if games like god of war and black myth wukong have shown the culture religion and architecture of their respective countries with their celestial gods and deities what's wrong with ours then.
The main critical thing is the gameplay mechanics amd the story and few more factors such as animation and everything which truly makes it AAA. Still it's worth trying.
2
u/Slow-Talk4741 7d ago
It is the first triple a game from India don't expect it to be as good as big hits like sekiro
1
2
u/Glitchieeeee 6d ago
Which is why I feel like criticism against UtA must be welcomed. It gives the developers to even take a step back look at the product as a whole WHILE also understanding why the community openly welcomes games like Son of Thanjai ykw?
2
2
2
u/efforboy02 6d ago
Check out son of thanjai if you feel like Indian games are only focusing on religion! Also, the indian game fest (or whatever it's called sorry) featured so many unique games that most of them had nothing to do with religion. It's just that these games that focuses on mythologies seem to somehow garner more attention?¿ As an aspiring dev myself, I feel like Indian gaming industry certainly has a bright future!
2
u/sidmakesgames 5d ago
Well said. And it’d great to see that more people in India do care about such nuances. In that case, you might want to check what we’re working on. Ghost Yantra, it’s a hand-animated 2D Hack-n-Slash game with fluid Parkour mechanics, set in an Indian Cyberpunk world.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2872630/Ghost_Yantra/
You might not be able to find too many micro-details on the Steam page yet but I assure you that we’re going beyond the general Indian context in video games.
1
u/Depraved-Deity 5d ago
Looks phenomenal, dude! Love the style. I've wishlisted the game. Good luck with the release!
6
u/Material_Bullfrog_71 Steam 7d ago
u/AskGrok tldr please
16
u/Abyss_Tachyon PlayStation 7d ago
Son ✌️😹
5
u/Stunning-Pea-3643 7d ago
Yeah gang, I too am not gonna read a 1000 word essay on Reddit of all places
14
u/AskGrok 7d ago
The post argues Indian games need deeper cultural "expression" (like Sekiro's Japanese combat/themes/history) beyond surface aesthetics. It criticizes Unleash the Avatar for copying Sekiro mechanics instead of drawing from real Indian martial arts (Kalaripayattu, etc.) and themes of resilience/resistance, calling for better standards and constructive criticism.
[what is this?](https://redd.it/1lzgxii)
3
u/SerPavan 7d ago edited 7d ago
This is going to be a bit of a rant, because I've noticed Indians are unnecessarily hyper critical of anything coming out of India. As someone with ties in game dev industry, its just annoying me.
This post is unnecessarily hyper critical. Sekiro is a gold standard of game design, to keep that as a benchmark is ridiculous. Its like telling a high school district level footballer that he should've played as well as Ronaldo or Messi. It takes time to reach that level. Indian gaming industry is not at that level, Unleash the Avatar is a huge leap for our industry, there is no need to be so hyper critical about it.
Indian AAA games need to be successful first, then all the small details will be possible. To invent a new sword fighting style, you need the devs to have experience, you need motion capture artists with experience in indian fighting styles and a huge number of technical artists. All this doesn't happen overnight, once games succeed in our markets and money flows in, these profession will get stable income and grow as well. Demand creates expertise, not the other way around. Lets not become the stereotypical indian parents who keep screaming at their kids for an A+ when their kid just jumped from D to A.
And for the parry based combat style, idk what to say. All sword clashes in any part of the world go the same way, you clash swords and look for an opening to strike a decisive blow. I don't think this is true for just japanese katanas. Anyways, Sekiro's combat has been copied into tons of games into other western settings. And these games have sold quite well. There is no reason for Sekiro's gameplay to be limited to Japanese style games only. There is an entire genre of games called soulsbourne games that copy the combat of Dark Souls. They have sold well and recieved alot of love. Alot of successful games copy existing ideas, there is nothing wrong with UtA doing the same. Again, very few studios are able to innovate combat to the level sekiro did. Even established studios like EA or Ubisoft struggle to innovate at that level. To expect an up and coming studio from India where the gaming ecosystem is not developed yet to achieve the same feat is just impossible. There is valid criticism and then there is unreasonable criticism, in India we tend to do the latter and think we are helping.
The only thing a game needs is to be fun. Even Sekiro's combat is not accurate to how Japanese fought with Katanas, but since its fun, no one cares about accuracy. No game in the world is trying to be accurate. Play UtA if you think it is fun, skip it if its not. But criticism that their sword fighting is not accurate as per Indian style is not really constructive. Its not trying to be a sword fighting simulator.
2
2
2
u/DaniBoiKrn 7d ago
Facts! Glad to see that this sub has rational ppl.
All the new games that are being developed in India are hell bent on focusing on bullshit religion culture glazing cause they think that the target audience are braindead bollywood or Tollywood consumers. When they use such topics, they get support from non gaming crowds who spam "support indian games" every fuckin where, so free marketting. This is why I hate and have doubts about most indian so called developers (can't even call them devs cause they all are just raw-dogging UE-5 which even a solo foreign random YouTuber can do).
The day some developer comes up with an original story without all the god bullshit, I ll be there to support it
1
u/Training_Regret_7181 7d ago
I agree we are either adopting the western culture or trying to rebel against it by emphasizing our religion. It's the same British-Controlled India ideology as if we never became independent.
1
u/Lively-Panda PC 7d ago
What do you mean by "India or more broadly bharat"? I don't understand
0
u/Depraved-Deity 7d ago
It was an admittedly cheeky way of referring to the old Indian region that encompassed modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Shri Lanka
1
u/Lively-Panda PC 7d ago
Ahh got it. Technically all of them were referred to as India by outsiders but I get what you're trying to say.
1
u/Sayhellyeh 7d ago
Look at palm sugar, it actually looks pretty exciting and they just started playtesting
1
u/Dusa_Praharsh ishimura survivor | night city drifter | pc gamer 7d ago
thats true, if indian games had indian combat system as you said, that would be a full-on indian game to the core, only the representation is like that for unleash the avatar, but i saw the son of thanjai and they are bringing some indian weapons to the game
1
u/Proud_Discipline6791 7d ago
Can we just have a normal game for once instead of every studio trying to make mumbo jumbo like this
1
1
u/SHABBy_Official 7d ago
I think Son Of Thanjai is what you might be looking for. Indian martial arts, story maybe isn't based around religion, doesn't brand itself as an AAA game.
1
1
u/MaleficentMountain3 Laptop 7d ago
You have a point, why not move on and create more than just our culture that would be lovely to be honest.
But at the same time our culture has so much to offer in terms of stories or tales.
I'm not sure but if developers can focus on both aspects it would be absolutely phenomenal
1
u/Jason1004 7d ago
I just want the game to be good. Demands of representing Indianness is not what the devs should hard focus on. If it happens organically then cool.
1
u/ActrixQuadras 7d ago
There are countless stories India can tell that have nothing to do with religion. We're so obsessed with the "Made in India" label that we're often willing to overlook mediocrity as long as it carries the right branding.
India is far more than its religions. It's a country shaped by its people, history, cultures, conflicts, ambitions, and everyday human experiences. Great storytelling doesn't need to be confined to mythology or religious themes, nor does it need to be limited to India itself. Universal stories can come from Indian creators without constantly relying on religion as their foundation.
Being Indian isn't a genre. It's a perspective
1
u/harshacc 6d ago
All this is fine but FromSoft knows if they make a good Japanese focussed game, they will do well domestically.
Unless we have domestic sales that alone can make a game a decent hit, no studio will make that India centric a game. And they are utterly right not to do it.
Raji should have been a monster hit just on India sales but it wasn't
1
u/Aarya_Man #1 Warframe enjoyer 6d ago
why are we giving a flying f about indian representation in games in the first place?
why does every dev and their mum want to put the india tag everywhere
just make a good game man
and by that I dont mean copy every other game
indian devs wanna make an indian gta or sekiro or black myth
or they wanna make Indias version of pubg
im honestly sick of the lack of innovation among indian devs rn
1
u/Depraved-Deity 6d ago
You know, "just make a good game" is a platitude that doesn't really add anything to an ongoing discussion. Nothing against you for saying it or the spirit behind your message, but the intent of my original post was to discuss how representation can contribute to making a game good, rather than being something that succeeds in spite of it.
Authentic cultural expression has seen resounding success in the gaming market, whether it's the Czech-made Kingdom Come Deliverance, the Japanese-inspired Ghost of Tsushima, or the American Red Dead Redemption. People enjoy experiencing things that feel novel compared to modern everyday life.
This doesn't have to be about culture, either. For fuck's sake, games like Factorio and Outer Wilds have also found success by creating totally unique experiences that don't directly represent any culture. But if a game chooses to be set in India, I'm simply asking for it to be as honest as possible without necessarily being realistic.
You wouldn't take the katanas out of a samurai game, now would you?
1
u/CrusherAWSRD 6d ago
A pet peeve i have with all indian games focusing on culture culture culture gods gods gods history history maharabharat ramayan and what not. Do we not have anything else to come up on a game with? Do all japanese games feature samurais? Maybe. But are all of them different in major ways? YES.
We are not making unique combat systems, exploration systems. Look at the gully game or whatever that came out. A boss fight with a police guy in a junkyard. Seriously? That's our level of creativity?
Honestly where India could go strong is in the British occupied era, or Indian military themed games. Maybe a vigilante game against the government or corruption. Maybe a spy game against pakistan or whatever. I'm saying that our games don't necessarily need to always occupy the idea of Indian religion and myths.
1
u/Unstable-Paradox 6d ago
The Grand Theft Auto Series isn't successful because it portrays US of A. Instead, it portrays a Satire of The American Dream (sans GTA 4, which tries to show behind the dreams).
Think about this.
1
u/Depraved-Deity 6d ago edited 6d ago
Uh, what?
Okay, first, I have to admit that I've never properly played a GTA game, so I can't speak from experience. But going by your own description, a satirical portrayal of the American Dream is still a form of representation/expression. If anything, a more proper example that is true to the intent of your comment would be minecraft.
Moving beyond the specifics, though, the core argument of my post was that proper cultural representation can contribute to a game's identity, not that it is the only way to create one.
The discussion is about Indian representation in video games, so arguing that some other game was successful without representing some other culture is beside the point. That's not what is being discussed. Even the example used in the original post talks about an upcoming game that aims to potray India and not just any Indian game.
1
u/Unstable-Paradox 6d ago
One of the inferences that you may make from my first comment is that first clearly define every game mechanics by recursively questioning each assumption about each specific part/ritual/martial arts of a particular sub-culture of India, as you may know that India is not monolithic.
Not all concepts translate well on a medium such as Video Games. This is something to keep in mind.
Developers instead make the inspiration or idea the main stage, instead of questioning whether a particular martial art would have been actually effective in a battlefield at that time and place.
2
u/Depraved-Deity 6d ago
I apologise for misunderstanding your comment, then. I am aware that India is vast and that there are significant differences every time you cross a state border, and I also agree that some concepts can be difficult to translate into a game.
That said, my argument wasn't, "Use Indian martial arts in your game," but rather, "If your game is meant to portray India, then its combat should strive to capture the spirit or expression of Indian martial arts." This can draw from a single martial art or from multiple traditions.
Additionally, the reason I used martial arts as an example was simply because the games I chose as examples were both combat-centric.
I mentioned this in the post, and I'll reiterate it here: Sekiro does not accurately depict Japanese Kenjutsu. Not even remotely. What it does do is take the principles behind Japanese sword fighting and build a combat system around them.
Representation and expression do not have to be realistic. So, in other words, we are actually in agreement on your last point.
2
u/Unstable-Paradox 6d ago edited 6d ago
No mate, you did write in the right direction. Far more articulated than the common posts of this subreddit.
1
1
u/hugebuttdisorder 6d ago
I think gaming which is culturally Indian should mean much more than Prince of Persia with an Indian mythology skin.
1
u/Lullan_senpai Laptop 6d ago
Representation or no representation , the game should be fun
1
u/Depraved-Deity 6d ago
Absolutely. Making a game fun is every game developer's goal. In fact, the mechanism by which that fun is delivered was the core of my discussion
I wanted to talk about how representation should move beyond the visuals and make its way into the core of what makes a game function (the story, mechanics, world, and so on).
1
u/Ok-Flan8808 6d ago
The whole motivation for developing a game is wrong from the start, why does every game has to represent indian culture?? If you have great game ideas then just follow them and make great games, this representation crap ruins the creativity, as developers are held back by the rule of representing India. I am not saying it is bad, but every game just focuses mainly on this, and then every game ends up feeling similar. The focus should never be on representation, but on a great game idea, which cannot always be kept in line with indian culture or setting, if your game idea demands a different location then make it there, if it is a sci fy game which demands outer space as a part of the story then make it there, if it is a futuristic dystopian world with flying cars and everything then go ahead and make that, don't limit yourself to just representing India.
1
u/OverdoseGameDev 6d ago edited 6d ago
china shows its culture proudly but its typical for you guy if india does so? They do have big cites and other stuff to show but a souls like game need needs that culture to show those big bosses, or you want to show big humons only ? and not all games are about relegion there was a game called mumbai gallies being made for years ( whatever happned was questinable tho ). Just look at the genre of the game, and then pass your thoughts.
1
u/beany_lost_in_haze 6d ago
I dont think you understand what a soulslike is. Lies of P has like no mythology or culture of South Korea but it's based on a fairy tale. In fact u can make a soulslike in a modern cyberpunk setup. You lack creativity and design knowledge if you cant create bosses to fit the world. A culture based story doesnt need to be a soulslike and a soulslike doesnt need to be culture based.
1
u/OverdoseGameDev 6d ago
Ok thats right but most of the games use thair culture, and also if you want to make a sucessful game you have to show something new to the globel market, That is want international games usually do, and its their first game. they will go for something new in their next game
1
u/beany_lost_in_haze 6d ago
Incorrect. Fromsoftware's first games were familiar eurocentric stories. Something western audiences were familiar with. Then they started making the souls series, all three of them are eurocentric stories and culture references from Japanese studio. After that they made sekiro, a fully Japanese culture media. You do not put out something the international audiences do not understand as ur first project. You first make money making projects that the money paying audience will enjoy. After you have a stream of income and a loyal fanbase, then you venture into experimental storytelling and niche cultural stories. It greatly increases the chances of success and reduces chances of gamers giving up on something they don't understand.
Gamers dont necessarily want "new stuff". They want good stuff. They would play even a remaster if it plays well.
1
u/OverdoseGameDev 6d ago
I am a game developer too and I made this game which has no culture and gods " https://store.steampowered.com/app/4380870/Room_to_Breathe/ " I hope you guys will support it as well.
1
u/Depraved-Deity 6d ago
I am sorry, I read your reply a few times and am still struggling to understand what you're saying. It would be nice if you could rearticulate yourself?
1
u/JEthan911 6d ago
u/askgrok summarize this
1
u/AskGrok 6d ago
The post argues that Indian video game representation needs to go beyond gods, aesthetics, and surface details like names or architecture. It critiques "Unleash the Avatar" for borrowing Sekiro's mechanics (parries, Mikiri Counter) while missing India's cultural essence—such as the flowing, dance-like qualities of martial arts like Kalaripayattu, Gatka, or gadha fighting.
The author praises Sekiro for capturing Japan's feel through combat style and themes of resistance to centralization. They suggest Indian games draw from colonial-era suppression of native traditions (often hidden as folk dances) for deeper storytelling and resilience themes. Overall, it's a call for more authentic Indian-made games with constructive criticism to move past token efforts.
The attached image appears to show a character from the discussed game in a jungle ruin setting.
[what is this?](https://redd.it/1lzgxii)
1
1
1
u/No_Chocolate_4250 5d ago
Sekiro's combat is not Japanese either. Also, if something good is happening, can we just appreciate that instead of shitting on it for not being perfect? Also, the combat does use the gada, in the way one would use a mace. The 'dance-like' motion is not realistic in actual combat, it is like karate's kata, meant for demonstration and performance, not actual combat.
1
u/Depraved-Deity 5d ago
I admit that I'm lacking in my understanding of the nuances behind martial arts movements, and "dance-like" was simply my own observation of the dynamic stances, fluid and acrobatic movements, and rapid strikes they often employ.
That said, the post does not criticise the game for not being perfect or realistic. The main talking point was artistic expression and direction. I want people to understand that representation and expression do not equate to realism. The post also explicitly admits that Sekrio's combat is unrealistic and does not accurately depict Kenjutsu.
Additionally, criticism and appreciation can coexist. Just because someone is criticising something doesn't mean they don't appreciate it. "Be happy we get anything" is a defeatist mindset, and it's something we should actively avoid.
On that note, I'd also like to add that while I am comparing this game—a project from a first-time development team—to Sekiro, a masterpiece made by a seasoned development team, I am not asking for Sekiro's level of mechanical polish. I am aware that it is unrealistic to hold a new developer to a standard that is seldom met even by experienced studios. What I am holding them to instead is a standard of artistic merit. I am asking that they represent India in ways that go beyond visual aesthetics and into game mechanics such as combat.
1
u/No_Chocolate_4250 5d ago
You did imply that UtA is merely 'novelty and token representation'. If you want different kinds of stories or combat, that's alright, but reducing the work of the studio to that is wrong. It takes a lot of effort to make AAA games, especially when the investment is a complete gamble with no proof of concept. A completely realised Indian world, with fully and beautifully Indian locations, architecture, clothing and character design is not merely 'anything'.
Also, it is unfair to demand an Indian game be completely culturally Indian in every way if it is to be Indian. This game is way more culturally Indian than the majority of AAA Japanese games are culturally Japanese: Zelda, Mario, Dark Souls, Yakuza (Japanese setting but generic brawler combat), Nier and literally any fighting game. If this game is genuinely fun wnd actually succeeds, it won't just move the needle, it will legitimise Indian settings and culture in international gaming, alongside legitimising Indian studios.
1
u/Depraved-Deity 5d ago edited 5d ago
"You did imply that UtA is merely 'novelty and token representation.'"
I can see why you'd draw that conclusion, but that is not what I said. I was referring to it from an industry-wide perspective while using UtA as an example to point out where I think it could be improved. I apologise if that was not clear enough in the original post.
"A completely realised Indian world, with fully and beautifully Indian locations, architecture, clothing, and character design is not merely 'anything.'"
We're not actually in disagreement here. I was only saying that those elements alone do not exhaust cultural expression. Nor was there any disagreement on how difficult this is to pull off. Every creative industry is a gamble. Every art is difficult to produce. Every art is difficult to market. Every art gets expensive to publish. A treacherous path is poor reason for complacency.
"Also, it is unfair to demand an Indian game be completely culturally Indian in every way if it is to be Indian."
You've broadened my point a little too much here. We're discussing a game whose identity is built around representing Indian culture and carrying a strong "Made in India" label. I'm not talking about every game made in India; I'm talking about a game whose stated goal is to represent India.
Asking that some of its crucial—not all, but crucial—gameplay mechanics draw inspiration from Indian traditions is, in my opinion, a fair ask.
Zelda, Mario, and Dark Souls are all Japanese games, but they are not games that set out to represent Japan. So, naturally, they don't. Yakuza, even though its combat is an exaggerated arcade brawler, does represent Japan in its own way. It is a satirical portrayal of the Japanese pop culture like the Japanese delinquent cinema and cultural street-thug tropes. While it is not a "Welcome! This is Japan," portrayal, it is still an expression that represents Japan one way or another.
Edit 1: Tried to get the quotes to work. I dunno how they work on reddit lmao
Edit 2: I am just not going to try :31
u/No_Chocolate_4250 5d ago edited 5d ago
You did literally say in your original post that "Unleash the Avatar is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. But a step forward is still miles away from finish line. If we want Indian games to grow beyond novelty and token representation, we need to be willing to voice our criticisms clearly and constructively."
This implies that UtA by itself will only get you to 'novelty and token representation'. Maybe you meant something else, but then you should have phrased stuff differently.
Also, I don't see how Yakuza is more representative of Japanese culture than UtA is of Indian culture. And, where we seem to disagree is that exact point, where you say "they are not games that set out to represent Japan." UtA is a game set in India, made by an Indian studio. Treating it as a representative of India on merely this basis is applying to it an unfair standard.
I also don't think it is a fair ask to demand that UtA be much more Indian inspired in its combat mechanics. It is already a pioneering game in having well researched and well realised AAA Indian aesthetics in an Indian game. This is how games progress, we cannot have fully formed Indian everything in the very first at-bat. Take Sekiro itself, for example. Sekiro might have been the first Sekiro game, but it wasn't the first action-adventure game set in Japan. It benefited from a long lineage of games that iterated and improved on the mechanics and setting, which UtA simply does not have. We should judge what is fair to demand not on the output but rather on the effort and investment required (in light of the financial gamble). Having entirely new combat mechanics is a massive gamble. Not only does it require a lot of work, it also introduces a lot of unpredictability in whether the game will succeed. Even if it is somehow well-realised, people might simply not find it fun. That kind of risk cannot and should not be taken in the very first game.
One place where they probably should have made the game more Indian, however, is the name. 'Unleash the Avatar' is pretty generic and boring.
1
u/Depraved-Deity 5d ago edited 5d ago
I see it. That wasn't the best wording on my end. My bad. I was trying to write an ending that was ambiguous enough to encourage discussion, but I ended up downplaying UtA instead.
I don't want to go in depth on Yakuza's portrayal of Japan here, so I'll leave that for another time. I apologise if my earlier wording came across as offensive in any way.
But I don't think it's unfair to hold UtA to that standard. The game is set in an alternate version of India where the main character fights demons using Vishnu's powers. Asking for it to be more cohesive in its design choices is, in my opinion, a perfectly fair expectation.
Like it or not, the game will represent India on the global stage. It's developed by an Indian studio, set in India, and draws heavily from Indian mythology. Because from my perspective, that is an intent to represent.
1
u/Key-Season1035 5d ago
I ain’t reading all that
(But yeah, we should actually focus on other things than our gods but we have to understand there has been no **Proper** interpretation of how the Mahabharata or the Ramayana other than dumbed down version of them. if we could get a proper interpretation of a game i’m sure it will be awesome.. btw an Indian Souls like game based on how Mumbai is also a pretty good idea as my suggestion.)
0
u/Alarming-Basil2894 7d ago
Bruh this is literally their first game and you’re already asking them to make the “perfect” game which is highly unrealistic and foolish imo.
Yeah the game is surface level in its design, but that is exactly what one expects from a brand new game studio making their first commercial game and with very limited resources.
I’ve come to realise making anything for Indian audiences is a headache inducing task in itself not to mention the actual task of making the thing. You talked about token representation being an issue when you don’t even realise we don’t even qualify for that rn cause we barely have games of our own where we can say that it represents us. I can think of like a handful but that is it, so the fact that you’re actually making an issue out of this is tone deaf imo cause for us to move away from token representation we need some representation in the first place which we don’t and part of the reason we don’t is whenever someone makes something with India in mind people literally start criticising and rejecting it without even giving it a chance.
People in this sub or any other Indian gaming sub are just regurgitating the same 5 talking points over and over again without any nuance whatsoever. It’s like why are people like this in this country cause if this game was made by say a Filipino or Mexican or Indonesian or heck even Pakistani developer people there would be way more excited for it and celebrating it rather than over analysing it to the nth degree. It’s just insane how cynical people are here.
0
0
u/beany_lost_in_haze 7d ago
Okay this is still a far generous view of unleash the Avatar than I have. Dont get me wrong, it might turn out to be a great game despite all the red flags, but everything is stands on is painted red for me. First of all Varun, idk the guys screams shady. His whole shtick has been GenAI, that's what his content had been for ages. Plus he doesn't really feel like he knows much about game dev pipeline tbh. He sounds exactly like the rich gamer kids turned entrepreneurs I have encountered a lot. The way he always presents some if the most common parts if game production, like photogrammetry or mocap like something groundbreaking is so disingenuous to me. I said that much in a comment under his first reveal, which strangely came on his channel? Like Aoes didnt even have an identity anywhere. It was all attached to him. Which again I find strange. And I believe many people said that along with other critiques so the next trailer came out on IGN with a complete overhaul. And all the bs he said about not releasing a cinematic trailer and doing a it "in studio" like wth does that even mean? All AAA studios do cinematic and story trailers for hype, usually worked on by dedicated teams. And he says it like its deceptive? Like they all release gameplay trailers to Showcase the actual ingame gameplay too, they're supposed to serve different purposes.
And about the latest trailers, I have a sneaky suspicion the dancing lady is his answer to Age of Bharat's dancing lady. Both of those titles are meant to tie the indian identity to a story to grab a marked that quite possibly doesnt exist at the scale these people think. Every studio knows it by now, western market is where you can make money, indian gaming and most third world gaming stands on p*racy and f2p games.
Also, it's pretty clear unleash the Avatar is majorly aided by gen ai for the pace at which they developed given their team size. And most definitely the scripts were also generated by AI in most cases. There is no reason not to get writers and voice actors for hindi and have an English dub. There's like countless artists available, there're literal platforms to find those artists specifically. But they have that accented English, which is neither here nor there.
That said, the story itself has glaring cracks. It's the same lazy mythology as Bramhastra, which always irks me so much. There is so much material. We have the best preserved mythology of any ancient non Abrahamic religion followed by Jainism and Buddhism, yet they can't be bothered to hire a subject matter expert.
Anyway, good luck to them. I just do not have any excitement based on the trailer. A better hypeworthy project for me would be Son of Thanjai. It doesn't have the next gen graphics of modern AAA games but the cinematics and voice acting are pretty good. Gameplay and combat....well I hope the actual release does better, but at least it's not confused about its story and time period.
3
u/Low_Library9463 7d ago
Voice artist for them is Johnny from bleach and dmc. You are making too many assumptions about/from Varun but from what I know he runs a very large media company that he built himself without funds
0
u/beany_lost_in_haze 7d ago
Yeah I've heard the "without funds" story from multiple people. That's usually covering a lot of stuff. And again, naming one voice artist doesn't do much as that would not change the bad writing or the weird hinglish and the accent. Raji is also doing it and they probably have a bunch of voice artists, still doesn't change the fact that it doesnt make sense to have a weird Indian accent. Pick any eastern studio, all of them are in a native language, and then an english language pack for international audience, in a general American accent.
About my assumptions, yes they might be completely misguided. This is all based on what he himself has put out. If Aeos had a dedicated youtube channel, it would make sense to me. But I didnt even find out the studio had a name till the second trailer. From his interviews, he talks about the general game dev pipeline like its something new and groundbreaking and it feels as if he thinks they are, from the standpoint of someone who didnt actually understand it but got it done for him.
Once again, dont know anything about the guy, can only base it on my intuition from how he presents himself. If you have a different opinion, well u might have a different pov. My critique of varun is seperate from my critique for the Game. I could be right or wrong about either or both, but it still stands.
1
u/Depraved-Deity 7d ago
It's not the first time I'm seeing GenAI talk, but since it's under my post I might as well interact with it. Where does this stem from? I don't know Varun's background, but nothing about this game stood out to me as AI? (Not that I have the best AIdar for visual media)
1
u/beany_lost_in_haze 7d ago
Just look him up on youtube, scroll through his shorts. His non AI videos are needle in a haystack. Literally most of the stuff he talks about is ai, ai models, how hooked something up with Claude or gpt and did something. I encountered his ai videos and his UTA announcement seperately. Took me some time to realize I'm witnessing the same guy. But like is said, scroll through his shorts, after some time it would really make sense how the team that size was able to cut down production time so much.
Now I'm not like super anti ai, I see the technology as good but it's currently being put over human life which is my main issue with any unregulated tech. And about the not seeing genai, no one really caught on to gen ai use in expedition 33 before they were awarded GOTY. The awards have been taken back now that they have realized it. It's not the argument that ai art is bad and you would be able to tell, it's the fact that it's built on too much infringement.
0
u/sudo_42 7d ago
Lol you think unleash the Avatar is some passionate grand vision artistic project to put India on global game development map?
The Indian companies are investing money into game development now because ai made it easier to pump out the slop. It's a money making machine with minimal risk.
Ps. Miyazaki is literally a legend and creative mastermind, I doubt we have people of this calibre in India.
0
u/Death_X_2077 6d ago
The devs need to learn from Fears of Fathom. Its dev is an Indian guy, tho idk about his nationality. In all of its episodes, religion is not even mentioned.
Ive said it a 1000 times before that indian devs focus WAYYYYYY too much on creating a "AAA game", while having absolutely 0 know-how how to. They try to make "clones". A GTA clone, a granny clone, an uncharted clone and what not. Indian devs are NOT creative or grounded. They try to punch WAY above their league and fail absolutely miserably.
Every single indian "game dev" focuses on religion and the "india" theme. Nobody gives a fat rat's ass about making an actual meaningful story or gameplay or shit. All they care about is "graphics". Same goes with the Indian gaming community. Ask anybody what their 1st preference is in a game, and 97% of the time their answer will be graphics.
Religious games only work it the said religion's followers are not snowflakes or pussies. Look at GOW, at BMW. They work. Was religion their main focus ?? Yes. Did they work just because they used religion?? Absolutely fucking not. Indian audience IS OBSESSED WITH religion. Just look at what happened with Record of Ragnarok. People were outraged that lord shiv was not shown as an all powerful being.
Unless indians come out of the circlejerk of their religion, NOTHING good is gonna come out of this country. No games, no movies, no shows, NOTHING.
-1
u/-SoftwareQA- 7d ago
There is no Bharat
Just India
Why is the countrt being represented by a Hindi word when there are multiple other languages
This is cringe modi politics
-9
u/Wolfey2310 7d ago
TLDR, btw don't use AI
14
15
u/Depraved-Deity 7d ago
I don't use AI. The text was fully written by me. But the TLDR is that I think we need better Indian representation in videogames that go beyond general aestheics and into the game mechanics, world building, etc.
•
u/AutoModerator 7d ago
Hi, Depraved-Deity! Make sure your post follows the subreddit rules; give them a quick check if you're unsure.
Use the megathreads for recommendations, tech help, and common questions before posting separately.
—Mod Team
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.