The Indian games industry’s storytelling trailblazers

Games developed by South Asian teams based in western countries have been finding critical praise and commercial success in recent years.

Venba, a cooking sim that told the story of a migrant family reconnecting with their heritage through food, became the first game of its kind to take home a Bafta Game Award this year.

Canada-based Visai Games, which developed the title, was revealed during SGF as one of the first beneficiaries of a new fund set up by Among Us developer Innersloth to boost fellow indie developers.

That will go towards their new, unnamed project based on ancient Tamil legends.

Another title awarded funding by the scheme was Project Dosa, from developer Outerloop, that sees players pilot giant robots, cook Indian food and fight lawyers.

Its previous game, Thirsty Suitors, was also highly praised and nominated for a Bafta award this year.

Games such as these resonating with players worldwide helps perceptions from the wider industry, says Mumbai-based Indrani Ganguly, of Duronto Games.

“Finally, people are starting to see we’re not just a place for outsource work,” she says.

“We’re moving from India being a technical space to more of a creative hub.

“I’m not 100% seeing a shift but that’s more of a mindset thing.

“People who are able to make these kinds of games have always existed but now there is funding and resource opportunities available to be able to act on these creative visions.”