The Indie developers scene is something to watch out for in the domestic market, specially on the mobile front. There have been many small studios that have hit it big in the recent past, to the extent of being featured on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, like Yellow Monkey Studio’s Socioball, HashStash’s Splash Damage and Mech Mocha’s Puppet Punch.
In the recently concluded Reliance Games PGConnects Bangalore there were a host of such Indies who had flown in from various quarters of the nation only to be enamoured by the sheer scale and size of the mobile gaming space while interacting with foreign delegates along with members of the western press.
AnimationXpress.com found one such ‘enamoured pro’ in the creator of Thomas Was Alone, Mike Bithell, as we caught him on the sidelines of the event to share his views on the Indian gaming ecosystem; is mobile gaming the way ahead for India and finally to spill the beans on his much awaited game, Volume.
Excerpts:-
So Mike how was your experience at PGConnects Bangalore?
The experience was great; meeting people and seeing how things work over here is kind of an eye-opener; I must admit I came here massively ignorant, but that has changed for the better. There is a lot of shared ground from which we can learn from one another, which is what you want as a take-away from such conferences, so it has been a great to know about these Indie games popping from India.
How do you find the work of Indian Indie developers?
There is a good scene here. There are a lot of creative people I met, who are making really good stuff. I have seen and played a couple of really interesting games and there is a general standard we’ve been seeing here which is on par with the Indie scene around the globe. Considering the fact that maybe you guys haven’t had a start like we did, it’s simply brilliant. What you need is that couple of these games to really pick-up and inspire everyone and there are couple of games that I have seen in these two days that stand a good chance.
India has been predominantly a mobile market, do you think is it bad for other platforms?
Different kinds of markets will have different requirements. India is a very specific kind of country in terms of how people buy things; how they use their phones, PCs and consoles which are very different from what we have in the West. This is a decision a lot of Indie’s need to make. Do they want to make games for India or for everyone else or for everyone in total?
Everyone in total is a tricky one, because mobile games do very well in the West as well but are dominated by bigger companies. Then there are niches, places like I occupy, where I sell kind of what would be by mobile pricing standards very premium games and that’s working for me. Mobile has really levelled the playing field because I’ve been playing with PCs and consoles since I was a toddler because I had access to all of the stuff; but a lot of developers in India did not have that opportunity earlier. But when smartphones and touchscreen devices came in they got it at the same time as I did which means you guys are on absolutely the same level playing field with individuals in the West.
What is great to see is that you can kick our arses, which you should be trying to do and I have seen a couple of games that seem to be trying to do that, and personally I love that. I was in a panel yesterday where someone said we have great developers in India but we used to need Western designers to guide us and help us. We don’t anymore and I stood up and applauded. It’s great that there is that slight cockiness that is coming in. That is what every Indie developer needs. At some point in life you have to sit down and say – “I am going to release a video game and try living off the money that it makes.” Which is one of the most profoundly arrogant things one can do and I’d like to see that kind of a ‘can do’ attitude from guys here.
What do you think about the education scenario in India and skill sets required to enter this massive industry?
I did not realise that our education for video games is so different from what it is here. I met some students and was really excited to learn some of things that they are being taught. The key skills to learn include: how to work in a group because very few games are made by one person. Even the ones people think which are made by one person; actually have several people working on it. Others skills required are teamwork, collaboration, understanding, how to work with a team and how to lead a team as well. Also one thing I learnt pretty early was how to take feedback and criticism and look at criticism as a useful tool to make the work better rather than a barrier or block. You have to listen to people who you are talking to and make note of it and make it better.
What is the future of Indian gaming; can something big like a Thomas Was Alone come out of here?
For legal reasons I hope I never see Thomas Was Alone out of India, called ‘Sanjeev Was Lonely’ (bursts out laughing). I think you guys are very close; maybe just a year away from the first big Indian Indie superstar and that person has to be really clever, to manage to break into the West and build an audience there, along with India and Asia. They have to impress the local domestic industry and also maybe the population at large. I want to see a mega star because this country celebrates heroes and one hero that makes video games would be a cool addition to the line-up.
Tell us something about Volume…
Volume is adapted from the legend of Robinhood. It is about a kid who steals from the rich to give it to the poor. What we’ve done is that we’ve adapted the Robinhood story and put it in a near future setting. We are very close to completing the game with little chunks to work here and there. We are working with the amazing team that worked on Thomas Was Alone and an awesome voice cast. We got the guy who played a certain ‘Gollum’ aka Andy Serkis in Lord of the Rings, to give the voice of the antagonist Guy Gisborne. We’ve also got Danny Wallace back, who also did the voice over in Thomas Was Alone. He plays an AI for the device called Volume. So, we are bringing the band back together and doing cool stuff.