Gamevironments of the Past: A Broad Take on Games and History

This report by Xenia Zeiler examines the Indian indie game development scene as of 2016, focusing on the tension between commercial market realities and creative ambitions around cultural heritage. Drawing on interviews with developers conducted in New Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, and other centers, the piece argues that while Indian developers must navigate a market dominated by mobile card and casino games, a growing number are turning inward to draw on India's history, mythology, architecture, and music as game themes.

The findings highlight the rapid dominance of smartphones as the primary gaming platform in India, with console and PC gaming remaining niche. Successful domestic mobile titles since 2015 have been overwhelmingly card and casino games, particularly the Teen Patti family, alongside a smaller number of mythology-based, animation-tied, or film-tied titles that tend to have short lifespans. Earlier attempts to produce large-scale Indian heritage games, such as Hanuman: Boy Warrior (2009), are described as having largely failed, which makes the current wave of indie projects notable.

The report's primary case studies are three forthcoming titles at the time of writing: Asura, loosely inspired by Hindu mythology; Antariksha Sanchar, which blends steampunk with the historical figure of mathematician Ramanujan; and Sky Sutra, which draws mainly on Indian architectural landscapes and meditative music. Developers cite their own cultural backgrounds and a desire for a distinct identity as motivations. The research is qualitative, based on developer interviews and a review of recent market activity rather than large-scale survey data, and its conclusion is that the Indian scene is in a period of rapid transformation in which indie developers are leading the exploration of heritage-based content.