NO POINT PLAYING SAFE
Their game Asura is a good three months away from launch, but it’s already winning awards. Developed by Zainuddin Fahad, Neeraj Kumar and Aubhik Nath of city-based Ogre Head Studio, Asura was declared the ‘Upcoming Game of The Year’ by Nasscom last year. Recently, it won the Game Hack Hyderabad hosted by Reliance Games.
Zainuddin, the art and game designer of Asura, couldn’t be happier. His idea of adding a bit of Indian mythology to games seems to have clicked — Asura is about a demon prince who’s out to destroy the Deva (gods) empire. Gods fighting for their kingdoms is too mainstream, so the trio chose a demon-driven plot instead. There’s more to this hash ‘n’ slash game. If the player dies or leaves the game mid-way, he/she has to start from the start, even if he/she is on the eighth and the final level, a step away from destroying the kingdom. Then, every time you play, the set-up of the game will be a little different, even your enemies. Clearly, the user must play with some strategy.
Zain says, “We started our studio last April. And we didn’t want our first product to be a casual game. That’s being safe… We wanted to do something epic, that hadn’t been explored much in the Indian gaming industry... Asura does owe some inspiration to Lord of the Rings, War Hammer, Dawn of War etc.”
It was the idea of former colleagues Zainuddin, 24, and Aubhik, 27, to include mythology. The two design games and absolutely love legends. Soon they found a coder in their former coworker Neeraj, 27.
The three game-freaks are certainly enjoying themselves in Hyderabad, away from their homes in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. That’s because work at their Bowenpally office often overlaps with breaks over a game of God of War, Warcraft or Starcraft.
We wanted to make something that hadn’t been explored much in the Indian gaming industry — ZAINUDDIN FAHAD