Independent game developer Masala Games’ animated film revolving around its upcoming game Detective Dotson, will premiere at AniMela — India’s international animation, VFX, gaming, comics and XR festival. Titled Detective Dotson: The Movie, the film is an animated companion piece to the studio’s cosy mystery game for PC and Xbox Series X|S.
In the game Detective Dotson, players take control of Dotson, an aspiring Hindi cinema star turned detective determined to find his father’s killers. Players can utitlise the protagonist’s detective abilities to gather clues, wear disguises and interact with other characters to find information.
Made in Unreal Engine 5, Detective Dotson: The Movie focuses on the titular Dotson. He’s a grieving amateur detective thrust into a deadly conspiracy involving a corrupt corporate empire, a mysterious assassin, and a shocking family secret, as he races to stop a catastrophic attack during a high-stakes cricket match and more importantly, find out who he really is.
While the game is slated for a 3 April launch, the movie will be screened in its entirety on 8 March 2025 at 6 pm at P.C. Saxena Lecture Theatre, IDC, IIT Mumbai campus. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with Masala Games CEO and co-founder Shalin Shodhan. “This is our labour of love. We’re thankful that AniMela has partnered with us to bring the adventures of Dotson and friends to you,” shared Shodhan, a former EA alumni (Spore) and an Oscar-winning Pixar artist (Toy Story 3, Brave)
Like the game, the movie has the same stylised 2D-meets-3D rendition of modern-day India. Players can wishlist the game from the Steam store page.
This movie premiere would be the first time ever a film adaptation of a video game would be showcased at AniMela, which returns to Mumbai for its second year from 7 to 9 March 2025 at IDC, IIT Bombay. “AniMela provides a platform for Indian talent from the AVGC-XR industry to exhibit their work to a large international audience and Detective Dotson: The Movie is a perfect fit,” said AniMela artistic director Anne Doshi. “Detective Dotson: The Movie is the first time a video game to movie adaptation caught our eye. Hopefully we see more such passion projects from the Indian games industry.”
Created and run by Aniverse and Visual Arts Foundation (AVAF), AniMela’s inaugural edition took place from 18 to 21 January 2024 at the NFDC’s Films Division premises in Mumbai.
