對(duì)印度文創(chuàng)充滿信心:分析師談?dòng)《任磥?lái)一定會(huì)有類似《黑神話:悟空》和《原神》這樣的游戲
India's games industry is waiting for its Black Myth: Wukong moment, its developers tell us how it can happen
譯文簡(jiǎn)介
盡管印度游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)在發(fā)展過(guò)程中面臨不少挑戰(zhàn),但隨著多方支持和自身努力,其未來(lái)發(fā)展?jié)摿薮?,尤其在?chuàng)造反映獨(dú)特印度文化的游戲方面有著廣闊的前景。分析師認(rèn)為印度未來(lái)會(huì)擁有自己的類似《黑神話:悟空》和《原神》這樣的游戲!
正文翻譯
"We clearly have the talent."
“很明顯我們也擁有聰明才智。”
China's video game industry has had some huge, global hits in the past few years with games like Black Myth: Wukong and Genshin Impact. But we have yet to see equivalent success from games made in India - which has a similarly-sized population of around 1.4 billion people, along with the fifth largest economy on the planet. In fact, it's rare to see an Indian game become a big hit outside the country's own borders.
過(guò)去幾年,中國(guó)的視頻游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)憑借《黑神話:悟空》和《原神》等游戲在全球范圍內(nèi)取得了巨大的成功。然而,盡管印度擁有與中國(guó)相近的約14億人口規(guī)模,以及全球第五大經(jīng)濟(jì)體的地位,卻未能看到同等成功的本土游戲出現(xiàn)。事實(shí)上,印度游戲在除本國(guó)以外地區(qū)成為大熱門的情況極為罕見(jiàn)。
"Eighteen percent of the world lives here, how can we not be represented in one of the primary entertainment mediums?" asks Shalin Shodhan, director of the Gujarat-based indie studio Masala Games. "That's a mind-boggling thing, if you really think about it. We have so many stories to tell. There's so much interesting stuff, both in ancient and modern India, that could be showcased."
“世界上有18%的人口生活在這里,我們?cè)趺茨懿辉谥饕獖蕵?lè)媒介之一中有所斬獲?”總部位于古吉拉特邦的獨(dú)立工作室Masala Games的總監(jiān)沙林·肖丹問(wèn)道,“如果你認(rèn)真思考一下,這真的令人難以置信。我們有如此多的故事可以講述。無(wú)論是古代還是現(xiàn)代的印度,都有許多有趣的內(nèi)容值得展示。”
Narinder Kapur, a senior analyst at Niko Partners, notes that India-based developers have seen some domestic success, particularly on mobile. Smartphones are the dominant gaming devices in India, with around 94 percent of Indian gamers playing primarily on mobile, according to Niko Partners’ 2024 survey. "One of the most popular games in India is called Ludo King, and it's basically Ludo in app form," says Kapur, but other hits also include the battle royale shooter Underworld Gang Wars from Mayhem Studios in Bengaluru, and the recently released Indus: Battle Royale from SuperGaming, which has put its own spin on the Fortnite formula with an Indo-Futurism aesthetic.
Niko Partners的高級(jí)分析師納林德?tīng)枴たㄆ諣栔赋?,印度本土開(kāi)發(fā)商在國(guó)內(nèi)市場(chǎng)上取得了一些成功,特別是在移動(dòng)端。根據(jù)Niko Partners2024年的調(diào)查,智能手機(jī)是印度最主要的電子游戲設(shè)備,約有94%的印度玩家主要通過(guò)手機(jī)進(jìn)行游戲?!坝《茸钍軞g迎的游戲之一是《Ludo King》(魯多王,一款手機(jī)棋盤游戲),它實(shí)際上就是將傳統(tǒng)的飛行棋搬到了手機(jī)上,”卡普爾說(shuō)。其他熱門游戲還包括班加羅爾Mayhem Studios開(kāi)發(fā)的射擊類大逃殺游戲《Underworld Gang Wars》(地下世界幫派戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)),以及SuperGaming最近推出的《Indus: Battle Royale》(印度皇室戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)),該游戲以印式未來(lái)主義美學(xué)為特色,對(duì)《堡壘之夜》的玩法進(jìn)行了創(chuàng)新。
Niko Partners also reports that there are now around 508 million gamers in India, who spent an estimated $943 million in 2024. The venture-capital firm Lumikai puts the figure even higher, at $3.8 billion. Yet India's games industry still remains comparatively tiny. China, with its similarly-sized population and similarly mobile-dominated market, saw predicted gaming revenues of around $49.8 billion in 2024, according to Niko Partners.
Niko Partners還報(bào)告稱,目前印度約有5.08億游戲玩家,在2024年共花費(fèi)了約9.43億美元。風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資公司Lumikai的數(shù)據(jù)更高,估計(jì)為38億美元。然而,印度的游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)規(guī)模仍然相對(duì)較小。中國(guó)作為一個(gè)人口規(guī)模相似、同樣以移動(dòng)設(shè)備為主的市場(chǎng),據(jù)Niko Partners預(yù)測(cè),其2024年的游戲收入約為498億美元。
Ludo King is one of India's most popular and successful games.
Ludo King是印度最受歡迎且最成功的游戲之一。
Multiple reasons have been put forward to explain why India's games industry lags behind in terms of scale. Kapur notes it could be partly down to years of antagonistic attitudes towards gaming in the country. "For a long time, video games were looked upon as a waste of time and a waste of money, especially back when incomes weren't as high as they are now," he says, adding that parents would question the wisdom of using expensive computers for playing rather than education. "Even after India’s software services industry exploded, the video games industry didn't take off in parallel, because a lot of people who had the requisite talent to go out and develop games would go out into the larger software services industry."
對(duì)于為何印度游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)規(guī)模落后,業(yè)界提出了多種原因。卡普爾指出,部分原因可能在于多年來(lái)該國(guó)對(duì)游戲行業(yè)的敵視態(tài)度?!伴L(zhǎng)期以來(lái),視頻游戲被認(rèn)為是在浪費(fèi)時(shí)間和金錢,尤其是在收入水平不像現(xiàn)在這么高的時(shí)候,”他說(shuō),并補(bǔ)充道,家長(zhǎng)們常質(zhì)疑使用昂貴電腦玩游戲而非用于教育是否明智?!凹词乖谟《鹊能浖?wù)行業(yè)迅速崛起后,游戲行業(yè)也沒(méi)有同步起飛,因?yàn)楹芏嘤心芰﹂_(kāi)發(fā)游戲的人才選擇了進(jìn)入更大的軟件服務(wù)領(lǐng)域。”
Beyond that, there are at least two key issues that have stymied the ascent of the Indian games industry: training and funding, with the latter already garnering reports of how investors are failing marginalinsed groups of developers all around the world. "We don't have angel investors or VCs backing us, and platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo are not supported in India, so that revenue is not available," says Harish Chengaiah, the founder of Outlier Games in Chennai. Meanwhile, government funding has tended to prioritise essentials like sanitation and clean energy rather than media and entertainment. "So broadly speaking, there's no money anywhere."
除此之外,還有兩個(gè)關(guān)鍵問(wèn)題阻礙了印度游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)的發(fā)展:培訓(xùn)和資金。后者已經(jīng)引發(fā)了關(guān)于投資者如何忽視世界各地邊緣化開(kāi)發(fā)者群體的報(bào)道?!拔覀儧](méi)有天使投資人或風(fēng)險(xiǎn)資本支持,像Kickstarter或Indiegogo這樣的平臺(tái)在印度也不被支持,因此這些收入來(lái)源對(duì)我們來(lái)說(shuō)不是可選項(xiàng),”欽奈Outlier Games的創(chuàng)始人哈里什·程蓋亞表示。與此同時(shí),政府資助往往優(yōu)先考慮衛(wèi)生和清潔能源等基本需求,而不是媒體和娛樂(lè)?!八钥傮w而言,在游戲領(lǐng)域哪里都沒(méi)有資金。”
In addition, the late blooming of India's games industry means there are relatively few people in the country with enough experience to provide training. Chengaiah, who's now 28, experienced this himself when he enrolled into a game design course after high school, only to drop out following his disappointment at the quality of the teaching. "Unlike the West, the first generation of game developers are still working in industry: we haven't gotten old enough to retire and become lecturers," he says.
此外,印度游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)起步較晚,導(dǎo)致國(guó)內(nèi)缺乏擁有足夠經(jīng)驗(yàn)的人來(lái)提供培訓(xùn)。程蓋亞今年28歲,他在高中畢業(yè)后曾報(bào)名參加了一個(gè)游戲設(shè)計(jì)課程,但由于教學(xué)質(zhì)量令他失望而退學(xué)。“與西方不同的是,第一代游戲開(kāi)發(fā)者仍在行業(yè)內(nèi)工作:我們還沒(méi)有老到退休并成為講師的地步,”他說(shuō)。
There are also big skill gaps. "We are very good at art, we are very good at programming, we are very good at QA, but design and narrative development is something that we lack. If you see our education system in India, it's very technically competent, not so much creatively competent."
行業(yè)技能差距也是一個(gè)大問(wèn)題?!拔覀?cè)诿佬g(shù)、編程和質(zhì)量保證方面非常出色,但在設(shè)計(jì)和敘事開(kāi)發(fā)方面存在不足。如果看看印度的教育體系,就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)它技術(shù)能力很強(qiáng),但創(chuàng)造力方面卻不夠突出?!?br />
Even though India's market is dominated by mobile, Chengaiah reckons that among the 120 or so members of the Indian game dev founders WhatsApp group he created, around 50 are working on PC and console titles. Outlier Games itself has been periodically developing a third-person PC action-adventure game called Deliverance for around three years, often relying on friends doing pro bono work.
盡管印度市場(chǎng)以移動(dòng)端為主,但程蓋亞估計(jì),在他創(chuàng)建的一個(gè)約有120名成員的印度游戲開(kāi)發(fā)者創(chuàng)始人WhatsApp群組中,大約有50人正在開(kāi)發(fā)PC和主機(jī)游戲。Outlier Games本身也一直在開(kāi)發(fā)一款名為《Deliverance》的第三人稱PC動(dòng)作冒險(xiǎn)游戲,該項(xiàng)目已持續(xù)了大約三年時(shí)間,團(tuán)隊(duì)經(jīng)常依靠朋友免費(fèi)幫忙完成工作。
Deliverance has been put on the back burner for now due to a lack of funding support.
由于缺乏資金支持,《Deliverance》項(xiàng)目目前已被暫時(shí)擱置。
"We don't have an office," Chengaiah says. "I mean, for registration purposes, we do have an office, but nobody works in that. It's all remote, nobody's getting paid. So the way I sustain my teammates is I have a day job in another game company, and I do a lot of consulting and freelance game design, game production work."
“我們沒(méi)有辦公室,”程蓋亞說(shuō)道,“我是說(shuō),為了注冊(cè)需要,我們確實(shí)有一個(gè)辦公室,但沒(méi)人在那里工作。所有工作都是遠(yuǎn)程完成的,團(tuán)隊(duì)成員都沒(méi)有報(bào)酬。我維持團(tuán)隊(duì)的方式是,我自己在另一家游戲公司有一份全職工作,同時(shí)我還做了大量的咨詢和自由職業(yè)的游戲設(shè)計(jì)與制作工作?!?br />
The hope is that if they find a publisher, people can start earning salaries. But PC and console publishers are as rare as hens' teeth in India. The only one Chengaiah knows of is 1312 Interactive, which was formed recently by a friend. Outlier Games was aiming for a $1 million USD budget for Deliverance, "which, by Western standards, is actually not that much for a third-person action-adventure game." He reckons a similar title would cost perhaps $5-6 million USD if it was made outside India. Even so, given current market conditions, the publishers he has approached are only willing to put up a maximum of $300,000 USD - so Chengaiah has made the difficult decision to put Deliverance on the back burner and start again with a smaller, narrative-driven title.
他們的希望是,如果能找到發(fā)行商,團(tuán)隊(duì)成員就可以開(kāi)始領(lǐng)取薪水。但在印度,PC和主機(jī)游戲的發(fā)行商非常稀少。程蓋亞所知道的唯一一家是最近由一位朋友創(chuàng)立的1312 Interactive。Outlier Games原計(jì)劃為《Deliverance》爭(zhēng)取到100萬(wàn)美元的預(yù)算,“按照西方標(biāo)準(zhǔn),這其實(shí)不算多,特別是對(duì)于一款第三人稱動(dòng)作冒險(xiǎn)游戲?!彼J(rèn)為,類似的游戲如果是在印度以外開(kāi)發(fā)的,可能需要花費(fèi)500萬(wàn)到600萬(wàn)美元。即便如此,在當(dāng)前的市場(chǎng)條件下,他接觸過(guò)的發(fā)行商最多只愿意提供30萬(wàn)美元的資金支持——因此程蓋亞做出了艱難的決定,將《Deliverance》項(xiàng)目暫時(shí)擱置,轉(zhuǎn)而從頭開(kāi)始制作一款規(guī)模更小、以敘事驅(qū)動(dòng)的游戲。
Like Outlier, Shalin Shodhan’s Masala Games is a mostly remote-working company, and it mostly relies on contract work. But Shodhan had the advantage of gaining valuable experience in the US. While he was doing his master’s degree at Carnegie Mellon University in 2003, a recruiter from EA spotted his work on terraforming, and snapped him up to work with Will Wright on the groundbreaking Spore. After spending years at EA, Shodhan left to join Pixar, working as a shading artist on movies such as Toy Story 3 and Inside Out. But when his wife gave birth to twin boys in 2014, they made the momentous decision to move back and raise them in India.
與Outlier類似,沙林·肖丹的Masala Games也是一家主要依靠遠(yuǎn)程工作的公司,并且主要依賴合同工作。不過(guò),肖丹有在美國(guó)積累寶貴經(jīng)驗(yàn)的優(yōu)勢(shì)。2003年,他在卡內(nèi)基梅隆大學(xué)攻讀碩士學(xué)位時(shí),EA的一位招聘人員發(fā)現(xiàn)了他的地形改造作品,并將他招入麾下,與Will Wright一起參與了開(kāi)創(chuàng)性的游戲《孢子》的開(kāi)發(fā)。在EA工作了多年后,肖丹離開(kāi)公司加入皮克斯,擔(dān)任電影《玩具總動(dòng)員3》和《頭腦特工隊(duì)》的著色藝術(shù)家。然而,2014年,當(dāng)他的妻子生下一對(duì)雙胞胎男孩時(shí),他們做出了重大決定,搬回印度撫養(yǎng)孩子。
"We definitely needed family support," Shodhan says. "So the decision was very big, but also very clear. And in retrospect, actually a really good move, because it freed me to do some of the more entrepreneurial stuff and try some of the more bold things that brings us to where we are, whereas if I'd stayed in the US, I’d still have to work within other companies."
“我們確實(shí)需要家庭的支持,”肖丹說(shuō),“所以這個(gè)決定既重大又明確。回想起來(lái),這實(shí)際上是一個(gè)非常好的選擇,因?yàn)樗屛夷軌蜃鲆恍└邉?chuàng)業(yè)精神的事情,嘗試一些更大膽的舉動(dòng),這才讓我們走到了今天的位置。如果我留在美國(guó),我可能還得繼續(xù)在其他公司工作?!?br />
Now, after around two years of development, Masala Games' first PC title is due for release on 3rd April 2025, accompanied by an animated movie. Detective Dotson features an aspiring Bollywood star who reluctantly becomes a detective after the death of his father, then sets out to solve a series of cases set in modern India.
現(xiàn)在,經(jīng)過(guò)大約兩年的開(kāi)發(fā),Masala Games的首款PC游戲定于2025年4月3日發(fā)布,并附帶一部動(dòng)畫(huà)電影?!禗etective Dotson》講述了一位有志成為寶萊塢明星的年輕人,在父親去世后不情愿地成為一名偵探,并著手解決一系列發(fā)生在現(xiàn)代印度的案件。
Detective Dotson arrives on Steam this April.
《Detective Dotson》將于今年四月登陸Steam。
"I don't just want to talk about ancient, epic, magic, fantasy India; I really want to talk about the India that I walk out into, because I feel that it's more interesting than our past," Shodhan says. As such, Detective Dotson offers a pixellated representation of crowded, chaotic, modern Indian life, with elements such as the ubiquitousness of election posters and the constant, casual littering - which Dotson can take exception to by hurling the litter back at the culprit. "Littering is a real problem here," Shodhan says. "This is a personal pet peeve, and something that I wanted to send a message about."
“我不想僅僅談?wù)摴爬?、史?shī)、魔法、奇幻的印度;我真的很想談?wù)勎易叱黾议T所看到的印度,因?yàn)槲矣X(jué)得它比我們的過(guò)去更加有趣,”肖丹說(shuō)。因此,《Detective Dotson》以像素化的形式展現(xiàn)了擁擠、混亂的現(xiàn)代印度生活,其中融入了許多元素,比如無(wú)處不在的選舉海報(bào)和隨處可見(jiàn)的隨意亂扔垃圾現(xiàn)象——Dotson可以通過(guò)將垃圾扔回肇事者身上來(lái)表達(dá)不滿?!皝y扔垃圾在這里是個(gè)大問(wèn)題,”肖丹說(shuō),“這是我個(gè)人非常討厭的事情,我也希望通過(guò)這種方式傳達(dá)一個(gè)信息。”
Chengaiah enthuses about the huge potential scope for games set in India. "We have about 3000 years’ worth of history to tap into, so that's a lot of material, right?" Then again, he adds that the past few years have seen a few hurried releases of mobile games set in India that have "left a very, very sour taste in the mouth of Indian gamers". He cites titles such as the shooter FAU-G, as well as the just-released Indus. "[Indus] is barely in beta, and then they released it, so it's a very rushed game."
程蓋亞對(duì)以印度為背景的游戲潛力充滿熱情。“我們有大約3000年的歷史可以挖掘,所以素材非常豐富,對(duì)吧?”不過(guò),他補(bǔ)充說(shuō),過(guò)去幾年出現(xiàn)了一些匆忙發(fā)布的印度背景手機(jī)游戲,給印度玩家留下了“非常糟糕的印象”。他提到了射擊游戲《FAU-G》,以及剛剛發(fā)布的《Indus》?!啊禝ndus》還處于測(cè)試階段,但他們就發(fā)布了,所以是一款非常倉(cāng)促的游戲?!?br />
The much-hyped card battler Kurukshetra: Ascension, based on the famous epic of the Mahābhārata, has also been a commercial disappointment, he says. "Indians don't play card battlers. You can't just have Mahābhārata and then put it in a genre that no one in India cares about." As a consequence of all this, he thinks that Indian gamers have become wary of India-set games. "They'll be like, 'Ah, no, no, we are not trusting that. Make a good game first, and then come back to us. It doesn't even have to be set in India, make a good game'."
他還提到備受期待的卡牌戰(zhàn)斗游戲《Kurukshetra: Ascension》,這款游戲基于著名的《摩訶婆羅多》史詩(shī),卻在商業(yè)上令人失望?!坝《热瞬煌婵ㄅ茟?zhàn)斗游戲。你不能只是把《摩訶婆羅多》塞進(jìn)一個(gè)印度沒(méi)人關(guān)心的類型里?!闭?yàn)槿绱?,他認(rèn)為印度玩家對(duì)以印度為背景的游戲變得謹(jǐn)慎起來(lái)?!八麄儠?huì)說(shuō),‘啊,不要,我們不會(huì)再信任這些了。先做出一款好游戲,然后再來(lái)找我們。甚至不需要設(shè)定在印度,只要是一款好游戲就行?!?br />
Nevertheless, a recent report by Lumikai found that 60 percent of Indian gamers want to see more games that represent their local culture and language. Furthermore, all the signs point towards the Indian games industry turning a corner in the near future. The Indian government is implementing a new Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) policy, which should provide funding and training for people working in the games industry.
然而,Lumikai最近的一份報(bào)告顯示,60%的印度玩家希望看到更多代表本地文化和語(yǔ)言的游戲。此外,所有跡象都表明,印度游戲行業(yè)即將迎來(lái)轉(zhuǎn)機(jī)。印度政府正在實(shí)施一項(xiàng)新的動(dòng)畫(huà)、視覺(jué)效果、游戲和漫畫(huà)擴(kuò)展現(xiàn)實(shí)(AVGC-XR)政策,該政策將為游戲行業(yè)從業(yè)者提供資金和支持。
Chengaiah, who has helped to advise on the policy, says it will make it much easier for games companies to set up subsidiaries in India, and it will also help to fix the "chicken and egg problem" of universities failing to provide video-game-related courses as a result of there being so few jobs in the industry. Instead, Chengaiah says, the government, academies and industry will decide together which courses are required, and the government will offer incentives for universities that run the chosen courses.
曾參與政策建議的程蓋亞表示,這項(xiàng)政策將使游戲公司在印度設(shè)立子公司變得更加容易,同時(shí)也能解決“雞和蛋問(wèn)題”,即由于游戲行業(yè)的工作機(jī)會(huì)太少,大學(xué)未能提供與視頻游戲相關(guān)的課程。相反,政府、學(xué)術(shù)界和行業(yè)將共同決定哪些課程是必要的,政府還將為開(kāi)設(shè)這些課程的大學(xué)提供激勵(lì)措施。
At the same time, the visa process is being streamlined for foreign nationals who want to come and work in games, with the hope that by attracting experienced professionals from Europe, the US and Japan, "that knowledge will trickle down in our industry," Chengaiah says. Perhaps most importantly, the policy is also looking to provide funding for developers in the form of things like prototype grants and production incentives, where a percentage of a game’s production budget is reimbursed by the government.
與此同時(shí),簽證流程正在簡(jiǎn)化,以便吸引來(lái)自歐洲、美國(guó)和日本的外籍專業(yè)人士前來(lái)印度工作,程蓋亞說(shuō):“這些知識(shí)將會(huì)滲透到我們的行業(yè)中?!被蛟S最重要的是,該政策還計(jì)劃為開(kāi)發(fā)者提供資金支持,例如原型開(kāi)發(fā)補(bǔ)助金和生產(chǎn)激勵(lì)措施,政府將報(bào)銷游戲生產(chǎn)預(yù)算的一部分。
Those are the broad guidelines, but because India operates under a federal system, it's up to each individual state to pick and choose which parts of the policy it intends to implement, and in what way. "Some states have already implemented it," says Chengaiah, adding that his state, Tamil Nadu, will be implementing the policy later in 2025.
這些都是總體指導(dǎo)方針,但由于印度實(shí)行聯(lián)邦制,各邦可以自行選擇實(shí)施政策的哪些部分,以及如何實(shí)施。“有些邦已經(jīng)實(shí)施了這項(xiàng)政策,”程蓋亞說(shuō),他所在的泰米爾納德邦將于2025年晚些時(shí)候?qū)嵤┻@一政策。


The logo for PlayStation's India Hero Project.
The logo for Krafton's India Gaming Incubator project.
PlayStation的印度英雄項(xiàng)目(India Hero Project)。
Krafton的印度游戲孵化器項(xiàng)目(India Gaming Incubator)。
There are industry programs, too. Following on from the success of its China Hero Project, PlayStation launched the India Hero Project in 2023 to support and showcase emerging talent from the region, and the inaugural cohort of five games includes Meteora: The Race Against Space Time, Fishbowl, Mukti, Requital: Gates of Blood, and Suri: The Seventh Note. The second cohort has just been announced, too, though it's shrunk to just two games this year: Bloody Boots and Lokko.
行業(yè)內(nèi)也有相關(guān)的扶持計(jì)劃。繼其“中國(guó)英雄項(xiàng)目”(China Hero Project)取得成功后,PlayStation于2023年推出了“印度英雄項(xiàng)目”(India Hero Project),以支持和展示該地區(qū)新興的游戲人才。首屆入選的五款游戲包括《Meteora: The Race Against Space Time》、《Fishbowl》、《Mukti》、《Requital: Gates of Blood》和《Suri: The Seventh Note》。第二屆名單也剛剛公布,不過(guò)今年縮小到僅兩款游戲:《Bloody Boots》和《Lokko》。
Krafton, the publisher behind PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, also opened registrations for the second cohort of its Krafton India Gaming Incubator last October, where six to ten development teams will receive six to twelve months of mentorship and financial support to make their game. The first cohort comprised four games, and included Sojourn Past, Tale of Honor, Gangster Carnival and Spice Secrets.
《絕地求生》的發(fā)行商Krafton也在去年十月開(kāi)啟了其“印度游戲孵化器”(Krafton India Gaming Incubator)第二期項(xiàng)目的報(bào)名工作。該項(xiàng)目將為六到十個(gè)開(kāi)發(fā)團(tuán)隊(duì)提供為期六到十二個(gè)月的指導(dǎo)和資金支持,以幫助他們完成自己的游戲。第一期項(xiàng)目包含四款游戲,分別是《Sojourn Past》、《Tale of Honor》、《Gangster Carnival》和《Spice Secrets》
Given all this, Chengaiah thinks we’ll be seeing "a very steady launch of Indian PC and console games" from 2025 onwards, while Lumikai predicts that India’s gaming revenues will skyrocket to $9.2 billion by 2029. And if one Indian game was to break through internationally, it could elevate the whole industry and attract much-needed investment, just like The Witcher did for Poland, for example. "Every country has that one game," Chengaiah says, and similarly, Kapur sees no reason why India won't have its own breakout game: "I think the Indian market at some point will have its Black Myth: Wukong or Genshin Impact moment."
鑒于這些發(fā)展,程蓋亞認(rèn)為從2025年開(kāi)始,我們將會(huì)看到“印度PC和主機(jī)游戲的穩(wěn)定發(fā)布”,而Lumikai預(yù)測(cè)到2029年,印度的游戲收入將飆升至92億美元。如果有一款印度游戲能夠像《巫師》(The Witcher)對(duì)波蘭的影響一樣,在國(guó)際上取得突破,這可能會(huì)提升整個(gè)行業(yè)并吸引急需的投資。程蓋亞表示:“每個(gè)國(guó)家都有那么一款代表作?!蓖瑯樱ㄆ找舱J(rèn)為印度完全有可能擁有自己的爆款游戲:“我認(rèn)為印度市場(chǎng)遲早會(huì)迎來(lái)屬于自己的《黑神話:悟空》或《原神》時(shí)刻?!?br />
Shodhan thinks it’s high time, too. "I see folks from India, such as myself, who go abroad and are plugged into the culture there, and are doing exceptional things. Why can't the same happen here?" He reckons it’s simply a case of someone being brave enough to venture out and succeed, carving a path for others to follow. "Once that happens, all hell will break loose."
肖丹也認(rèn)為是時(shí)候了?!拔铱吹皆S多像我一樣的印度人出國(guó)后融入當(dāng)?shù)匚幕?,并做出了非凡的成?jī)。為什么同樣的事情不能在印度發(fā)生?”他認(rèn)為,這只是需要有人勇敢地邁出第一步并取得成功,從而為其他人開(kāi)辟道路。“一旦這種情況發(fā)生,整個(gè)行業(yè)將迎來(lái)爆發(fā)式增長(zhǎng)?!?br />
"We are already doing a lot of work for these companies all around the world, and we're already providing the quality," he concludes. "We clearly have the talent. It's just a matter of belief and a few foolishly bold investments."
他總結(jié)道:“我們已經(jīng)為世界各地的公司做了大量工作,也已經(jīng)證明了自己的質(zhì)量。我們顯然擁有人才?,F(xiàn)在所需要的只是信念,以及一些大膽而冒險(xiǎn)的投資?!?br />
“很明顯我們也擁有聰明才智。”
China's video game industry has had some huge, global hits in the past few years with games like Black Myth: Wukong and Genshin Impact. But we have yet to see equivalent success from games made in India - which has a similarly-sized population of around 1.4 billion people, along with the fifth largest economy on the planet. In fact, it's rare to see an Indian game become a big hit outside the country's own borders.
過(guò)去幾年,中國(guó)的視頻游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)憑借《黑神話:悟空》和《原神》等游戲在全球范圍內(nèi)取得了巨大的成功。然而,盡管印度擁有與中國(guó)相近的約14億人口規(guī)模,以及全球第五大經(jīng)濟(jì)體的地位,卻未能看到同等成功的本土游戲出現(xiàn)。事實(shí)上,印度游戲在除本國(guó)以外地區(qū)成為大熱門的情況極為罕見(jiàn)。
"Eighteen percent of the world lives here, how can we not be represented in one of the primary entertainment mediums?" asks Shalin Shodhan, director of the Gujarat-based indie studio Masala Games. "That's a mind-boggling thing, if you really think about it. We have so many stories to tell. There's so much interesting stuff, both in ancient and modern India, that could be showcased."
“世界上有18%的人口生活在這里,我們?cè)趺茨懿辉谥饕獖蕵?lè)媒介之一中有所斬獲?”總部位于古吉拉特邦的獨(dú)立工作室Masala Games的總監(jiān)沙林·肖丹問(wèn)道,“如果你認(rèn)真思考一下,這真的令人難以置信。我們有如此多的故事可以講述。無(wú)論是古代還是現(xiàn)代的印度,都有許多有趣的內(nèi)容值得展示。”
Narinder Kapur, a senior analyst at Niko Partners, notes that India-based developers have seen some domestic success, particularly on mobile. Smartphones are the dominant gaming devices in India, with around 94 percent of Indian gamers playing primarily on mobile, according to Niko Partners’ 2024 survey. "One of the most popular games in India is called Ludo King, and it's basically Ludo in app form," says Kapur, but other hits also include the battle royale shooter Underworld Gang Wars from Mayhem Studios in Bengaluru, and the recently released Indus: Battle Royale from SuperGaming, which has put its own spin on the Fortnite formula with an Indo-Futurism aesthetic.
Niko Partners的高級(jí)分析師納林德?tīng)枴たㄆ諣栔赋?,印度本土開(kāi)發(fā)商在國(guó)內(nèi)市場(chǎng)上取得了一些成功,特別是在移動(dòng)端。根據(jù)Niko Partners2024年的調(diào)查,智能手機(jī)是印度最主要的電子游戲設(shè)備,約有94%的印度玩家主要通過(guò)手機(jī)進(jìn)行游戲?!坝《茸钍軞g迎的游戲之一是《Ludo King》(魯多王,一款手機(jī)棋盤游戲),它實(shí)際上就是將傳統(tǒng)的飛行棋搬到了手機(jī)上,”卡普爾說(shuō)。其他熱門游戲還包括班加羅爾Mayhem Studios開(kāi)發(fā)的射擊類大逃殺游戲《Underworld Gang Wars》(地下世界幫派戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)),以及SuperGaming最近推出的《Indus: Battle Royale》(印度皇室戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)),該游戲以印式未來(lái)主義美學(xué)為特色,對(duì)《堡壘之夜》的玩法進(jìn)行了創(chuàng)新。
Niko Partners also reports that there are now around 508 million gamers in India, who spent an estimated $943 million in 2024. The venture-capital firm Lumikai puts the figure even higher, at $3.8 billion. Yet India's games industry still remains comparatively tiny. China, with its similarly-sized population and similarly mobile-dominated market, saw predicted gaming revenues of around $49.8 billion in 2024, according to Niko Partners.
Niko Partners還報(bào)告稱,目前印度約有5.08億游戲玩家,在2024年共花費(fèi)了約9.43億美元。風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資公司Lumikai的數(shù)據(jù)更高,估計(jì)為38億美元。然而,印度的游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)規(guī)模仍然相對(duì)較小。中國(guó)作為一個(gè)人口規(guī)模相似、同樣以移動(dòng)設(shè)備為主的市場(chǎng),據(jù)Niko Partners預(yù)測(cè),其2024年的游戲收入約為498億美元。

Ludo King是印度最受歡迎且最成功的游戲之一。
Multiple reasons have been put forward to explain why India's games industry lags behind in terms of scale. Kapur notes it could be partly down to years of antagonistic attitudes towards gaming in the country. "For a long time, video games were looked upon as a waste of time and a waste of money, especially back when incomes weren't as high as they are now," he says, adding that parents would question the wisdom of using expensive computers for playing rather than education. "Even after India’s software services industry exploded, the video games industry didn't take off in parallel, because a lot of people who had the requisite talent to go out and develop games would go out into the larger software services industry."
對(duì)于為何印度游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)規(guī)模落后,業(yè)界提出了多種原因。卡普爾指出,部分原因可能在于多年來(lái)該國(guó)對(duì)游戲行業(yè)的敵視態(tài)度?!伴L(zhǎng)期以來(lái),視頻游戲被認(rèn)為是在浪費(fèi)時(shí)間和金錢,尤其是在收入水平不像現(xiàn)在這么高的時(shí)候,”他說(shuō),并補(bǔ)充道,家長(zhǎng)們常質(zhì)疑使用昂貴電腦玩游戲而非用于教育是否明智?!凹词乖谟《鹊能浖?wù)行業(yè)迅速崛起后,游戲行業(yè)也沒(méi)有同步起飛,因?yàn)楹芏嘤心芰﹂_(kāi)發(fā)游戲的人才選擇了進(jìn)入更大的軟件服務(wù)領(lǐng)域。”
Beyond that, there are at least two key issues that have stymied the ascent of the Indian games industry: training and funding, with the latter already garnering reports of how investors are failing marginalinsed groups of developers all around the world. "We don't have angel investors or VCs backing us, and platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo are not supported in India, so that revenue is not available," says Harish Chengaiah, the founder of Outlier Games in Chennai. Meanwhile, government funding has tended to prioritise essentials like sanitation and clean energy rather than media and entertainment. "So broadly speaking, there's no money anywhere."
除此之外,還有兩個(gè)關(guān)鍵問(wèn)題阻礙了印度游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)的發(fā)展:培訓(xùn)和資金。后者已經(jīng)引發(fā)了關(guān)于投資者如何忽視世界各地邊緣化開(kāi)發(fā)者群體的報(bào)道?!拔覀儧](méi)有天使投資人或風(fēng)險(xiǎn)資本支持,像Kickstarter或Indiegogo這樣的平臺(tái)在印度也不被支持,因此這些收入來(lái)源對(duì)我們來(lái)說(shuō)不是可選項(xiàng),”欽奈Outlier Games的創(chuàng)始人哈里什·程蓋亞表示。與此同時(shí),政府資助往往優(yōu)先考慮衛(wèi)生和清潔能源等基本需求,而不是媒體和娛樂(lè)?!八钥傮w而言,在游戲領(lǐng)域哪里都沒(méi)有資金。”
In addition, the late blooming of India's games industry means there are relatively few people in the country with enough experience to provide training. Chengaiah, who's now 28, experienced this himself when he enrolled into a game design course after high school, only to drop out following his disappointment at the quality of the teaching. "Unlike the West, the first generation of game developers are still working in industry: we haven't gotten old enough to retire and become lecturers," he says.
此外,印度游戲產(chǎn)業(yè)起步較晚,導(dǎo)致國(guó)內(nèi)缺乏擁有足夠經(jīng)驗(yàn)的人來(lái)提供培訓(xùn)。程蓋亞今年28歲,他在高中畢業(yè)后曾報(bào)名參加了一個(gè)游戲設(shè)計(jì)課程,但由于教學(xué)質(zhì)量令他失望而退學(xué)。“與西方不同的是,第一代游戲開(kāi)發(fā)者仍在行業(yè)內(nèi)工作:我們還沒(méi)有老到退休并成為講師的地步,”他說(shuō)。
There are also big skill gaps. "We are very good at art, we are very good at programming, we are very good at QA, but design and narrative development is something that we lack. If you see our education system in India, it's very technically competent, not so much creatively competent."
行業(yè)技能差距也是一個(gè)大問(wèn)題?!拔覀?cè)诿佬g(shù)、編程和質(zhì)量保證方面非常出色,但在設(shè)計(jì)和敘事開(kāi)發(fā)方面存在不足。如果看看印度的教育體系,就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)它技術(shù)能力很強(qiáng),但創(chuàng)造力方面卻不夠突出?!?br />
Even though India's market is dominated by mobile, Chengaiah reckons that among the 120 or so members of the Indian game dev founders WhatsApp group he created, around 50 are working on PC and console titles. Outlier Games itself has been periodically developing a third-person PC action-adventure game called Deliverance for around three years, often relying on friends doing pro bono work.
盡管印度市場(chǎng)以移動(dòng)端為主,但程蓋亞估計(jì),在他創(chuàng)建的一個(gè)約有120名成員的印度游戲開(kāi)發(fā)者創(chuàng)始人WhatsApp群組中,大約有50人正在開(kāi)發(fā)PC和主機(jī)游戲。Outlier Games本身也一直在開(kāi)發(fā)一款名為《Deliverance》的第三人稱PC動(dòng)作冒險(xiǎn)游戲,該項(xiàng)目已持續(xù)了大約三年時(shí)間,團(tuán)隊(duì)經(jīng)常依靠朋友免費(fèi)幫忙完成工作。

由于缺乏資金支持,《Deliverance》項(xiàng)目目前已被暫時(shí)擱置。
"We don't have an office," Chengaiah says. "I mean, for registration purposes, we do have an office, but nobody works in that. It's all remote, nobody's getting paid. So the way I sustain my teammates is I have a day job in another game company, and I do a lot of consulting and freelance game design, game production work."
“我們沒(méi)有辦公室,”程蓋亞說(shuō)道,“我是說(shuō),為了注冊(cè)需要,我們確實(shí)有一個(gè)辦公室,但沒(méi)人在那里工作。所有工作都是遠(yuǎn)程完成的,團(tuán)隊(duì)成員都沒(méi)有報(bào)酬。我維持團(tuán)隊(duì)的方式是,我自己在另一家游戲公司有一份全職工作,同時(shí)我還做了大量的咨詢和自由職業(yè)的游戲設(shè)計(jì)與制作工作?!?br />
The hope is that if they find a publisher, people can start earning salaries. But PC and console publishers are as rare as hens' teeth in India. The only one Chengaiah knows of is 1312 Interactive, which was formed recently by a friend. Outlier Games was aiming for a $1 million USD budget for Deliverance, "which, by Western standards, is actually not that much for a third-person action-adventure game." He reckons a similar title would cost perhaps $5-6 million USD if it was made outside India. Even so, given current market conditions, the publishers he has approached are only willing to put up a maximum of $300,000 USD - so Chengaiah has made the difficult decision to put Deliverance on the back burner and start again with a smaller, narrative-driven title.
他們的希望是,如果能找到發(fā)行商,團(tuán)隊(duì)成員就可以開(kāi)始領(lǐng)取薪水。但在印度,PC和主機(jī)游戲的發(fā)行商非常稀少。程蓋亞所知道的唯一一家是最近由一位朋友創(chuàng)立的1312 Interactive。Outlier Games原計(jì)劃為《Deliverance》爭(zhēng)取到100萬(wàn)美元的預(yù)算,“按照西方標(biāo)準(zhǔn),這其實(shí)不算多,特別是對(duì)于一款第三人稱動(dòng)作冒險(xiǎn)游戲?!彼J(rèn)為,類似的游戲如果是在印度以外開(kāi)發(fā)的,可能需要花費(fèi)500萬(wàn)到600萬(wàn)美元。即便如此,在當(dāng)前的市場(chǎng)條件下,他接觸過(guò)的發(fā)行商最多只愿意提供30萬(wàn)美元的資金支持——因此程蓋亞做出了艱難的決定,將《Deliverance》項(xiàng)目暫時(shí)擱置,轉(zhuǎn)而從頭開(kāi)始制作一款規(guī)模更小、以敘事驅(qū)動(dòng)的游戲。
Like Outlier, Shalin Shodhan’s Masala Games is a mostly remote-working company, and it mostly relies on contract work. But Shodhan had the advantage of gaining valuable experience in the US. While he was doing his master’s degree at Carnegie Mellon University in 2003, a recruiter from EA spotted his work on terraforming, and snapped him up to work with Will Wright on the groundbreaking Spore. After spending years at EA, Shodhan left to join Pixar, working as a shading artist on movies such as Toy Story 3 and Inside Out. But when his wife gave birth to twin boys in 2014, they made the momentous decision to move back and raise them in India.
與Outlier類似,沙林·肖丹的Masala Games也是一家主要依靠遠(yuǎn)程工作的公司,并且主要依賴合同工作。不過(guò),肖丹有在美國(guó)積累寶貴經(jīng)驗(yàn)的優(yōu)勢(shì)。2003年,他在卡內(nèi)基梅隆大學(xué)攻讀碩士學(xué)位時(shí),EA的一位招聘人員發(fā)現(xiàn)了他的地形改造作品,并將他招入麾下,與Will Wright一起參與了開(kāi)創(chuàng)性的游戲《孢子》的開(kāi)發(fā)。在EA工作了多年后,肖丹離開(kāi)公司加入皮克斯,擔(dān)任電影《玩具總動(dòng)員3》和《頭腦特工隊(duì)》的著色藝術(shù)家。然而,2014年,當(dāng)他的妻子生下一對(duì)雙胞胎男孩時(shí),他們做出了重大決定,搬回印度撫養(yǎng)孩子。
"We definitely needed family support," Shodhan says. "So the decision was very big, but also very clear. And in retrospect, actually a really good move, because it freed me to do some of the more entrepreneurial stuff and try some of the more bold things that brings us to where we are, whereas if I'd stayed in the US, I’d still have to work within other companies."
“我們確實(shí)需要家庭的支持,”肖丹說(shuō),“所以這個(gè)決定既重大又明確。回想起來(lái),這實(shí)際上是一個(gè)非常好的選擇,因?yàn)樗屛夷軌蜃鲆恍└邉?chuàng)業(yè)精神的事情,嘗試一些更大膽的舉動(dòng),這才讓我們走到了今天的位置。如果我留在美國(guó),我可能還得繼續(xù)在其他公司工作?!?br />
Now, after around two years of development, Masala Games' first PC title is due for release on 3rd April 2025, accompanied by an animated movie. Detective Dotson features an aspiring Bollywood star who reluctantly becomes a detective after the death of his father, then sets out to solve a series of cases set in modern India.
現(xiàn)在,經(jīng)過(guò)大約兩年的開(kāi)發(fā),Masala Games的首款PC游戲定于2025年4月3日發(fā)布,并附帶一部動(dòng)畫(huà)電影?!禗etective Dotson》講述了一位有志成為寶萊塢明星的年輕人,在父親去世后不情愿地成為一名偵探,并著手解決一系列發(fā)生在現(xiàn)代印度的案件。

《Detective Dotson》將于今年四月登陸Steam。
"I don't just want to talk about ancient, epic, magic, fantasy India; I really want to talk about the India that I walk out into, because I feel that it's more interesting than our past," Shodhan says. As such, Detective Dotson offers a pixellated representation of crowded, chaotic, modern Indian life, with elements such as the ubiquitousness of election posters and the constant, casual littering - which Dotson can take exception to by hurling the litter back at the culprit. "Littering is a real problem here," Shodhan says. "This is a personal pet peeve, and something that I wanted to send a message about."
“我不想僅僅談?wù)摴爬?、史?shī)、魔法、奇幻的印度;我真的很想談?wù)勎易叱黾议T所看到的印度,因?yàn)槲矣X(jué)得它比我們的過(guò)去更加有趣,”肖丹說(shuō)。因此,《Detective Dotson》以像素化的形式展現(xiàn)了擁擠、混亂的現(xiàn)代印度生活,其中融入了許多元素,比如無(wú)處不在的選舉海報(bào)和隨處可見(jiàn)的隨意亂扔垃圾現(xiàn)象——Dotson可以通過(guò)將垃圾扔回肇事者身上來(lái)表達(dá)不滿?!皝y扔垃圾在這里是個(gè)大問(wèn)題,”肖丹說(shuō),“這是我個(gè)人非常討厭的事情,我也希望通過(guò)這種方式傳達(dá)一個(gè)信息。”
Chengaiah enthuses about the huge potential scope for games set in India. "We have about 3000 years’ worth of history to tap into, so that's a lot of material, right?" Then again, he adds that the past few years have seen a few hurried releases of mobile games set in India that have "left a very, very sour taste in the mouth of Indian gamers". He cites titles such as the shooter FAU-G, as well as the just-released Indus. "[Indus] is barely in beta, and then they released it, so it's a very rushed game."
程蓋亞對(duì)以印度為背景的游戲潛力充滿熱情。“我們有大約3000年的歷史可以挖掘,所以素材非常豐富,對(duì)吧?”不過(guò),他補(bǔ)充說(shuō),過(guò)去幾年出現(xiàn)了一些匆忙發(fā)布的印度背景手機(jī)游戲,給印度玩家留下了“非常糟糕的印象”。他提到了射擊游戲《FAU-G》,以及剛剛發(fā)布的《Indus》?!啊禝ndus》還處于測(cè)試階段,但他們就發(fā)布了,所以是一款非常倉(cāng)促的游戲?!?br />
The much-hyped card battler Kurukshetra: Ascension, based on the famous epic of the Mahābhārata, has also been a commercial disappointment, he says. "Indians don't play card battlers. You can't just have Mahābhārata and then put it in a genre that no one in India cares about." As a consequence of all this, he thinks that Indian gamers have become wary of India-set games. "They'll be like, 'Ah, no, no, we are not trusting that. Make a good game first, and then come back to us. It doesn't even have to be set in India, make a good game'."
他還提到備受期待的卡牌戰(zhàn)斗游戲《Kurukshetra: Ascension》,這款游戲基于著名的《摩訶婆羅多》史詩(shī),卻在商業(yè)上令人失望?!坝《热瞬煌婵ㄅ茟?zhàn)斗游戲。你不能只是把《摩訶婆羅多》塞進(jìn)一個(gè)印度沒(méi)人關(guān)心的類型里?!闭?yàn)槿绱?,他認(rèn)為印度玩家對(duì)以印度為背景的游戲變得謹(jǐn)慎起來(lái)?!八麄儠?huì)說(shuō),‘啊,不要,我們不會(huì)再信任這些了。先做出一款好游戲,然后再來(lái)找我們。甚至不需要設(shè)定在印度,只要是一款好游戲就行?!?br />
Nevertheless, a recent report by Lumikai found that 60 percent of Indian gamers want to see more games that represent their local culture and language. Furthermore, all the signs point towards the Indian games industry turning a corner in the near future. The Indian government is implementing a new Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) policy, which should provide funding and training for people working in the games industry.
然而,Lumikai最近的一份報(bào)告顯示,60%的印度玩家希望看到更多代表本地文化和語(yǔ)言的游戲。此外,所有跡象都表明,印度游戲行業(yè)即將迎來(lái)轉(zhuǎn)機(jī)。印度政府正在實(shí)施一項(xiàng)新的動(dòng)畫(huà)、視覺(jué)效果、游戲和漫畫(huà)擴(kuò)展現(xiàn)實(shí)(AVGC-XR)政策,該政策將為游戲行業(yè)從業(yè)者提供資金和支持。
Chengaiah, who has helped to advise on the policy, says it will make it much easier for games companies to set up subsidiaries in India, and it will also help to fix the "chicken and egg problem" of universities failing to provide video-game-related courses as a result of there being so few jobs in the industry. Instead, Chengaiah says, the government, academies and industry will decide together which courses are required, and the government will offer incentives for universities that run the chosen courses.
曾參與政策建議的程蓋亞表示,這項(xiàng)政策將使游戲公司在印度設(shè)立子公司變得更加容易,同時(shí)也能解決“雞和蛋問(wèn)題”,即由于游戲行業(yè)的工作機(jī)會(huì)太少,大學(xué)未能提供與視頻游戲相關(guān)的課程。相反,政府、學(xué)術(shù)界和行業(yè)將共同決定哪些課程是必要的,政府還將為開(kāi)設(shè)這些課程的大學(xué)提供激勵(lì)措施。
At the same time, the visa process is being streamlined for foreign nationals who want to come and work in games, with the hope that by attracting experienced professionals from Europe, the US and Japan, "that knowledge will trickle down in our industry," Chengaiah says. Perhaps most importantly, the policy is also looking to provide funding for developers in the form of things like prototype grants and production incentives, where a percentage of a game’s production budget is reimbursed by the government.
與此同時(shí),簽證流程正在簡(jiǎn)化,以便吸引來(lái)自歐洲、美國(guó)和日本的外籍專業(yè)人士前來(lái)印度工作,程蓋亞說(shuō):“這些知識(shí)將會(huì)滲透到我們的行業(yè)中?!被蛟S最重要的是,該政策還計(jì)劃為開(kāi)發(fā)者提供資金支持,例如原型開(kāi)發(fā)補(bǔ)助金和生產(chǎn)激勵(lì)措施,政府將報(bào)銷游戲生產(chǎn)預(yù)算的一部分。
Those are the broad guidelines, but because India operates under a federal system, it's up to each individual state to pick and choose which parts of the policy it intends to implement, and in what way. "Some states have already implemented it," says Chengaiah, adding that his state, Tamil Nadu, will be implementing the policy later in 2025.
這些都是總體指導(dǎo)方針,但由于印度實(shí)行聯(lián)邦制,各邦可以自行選擇實(shí)施政策的哪些部分,以及如何實(shí)施。“有些邦已經(jīng)實(shí)施了這項(xiàng)政策,”程蓋亞說(shuō),他所在的泰米爾納德邦將于2025年晚些時(shí)候?qū)嵤┻@一政策。


The logo for PlayStation's India Hero Project.
The logo for Krafton's India Gaming Incubator project.
PlayStation的印度英雄項(xiàng)目(India Hero Project)。
Krafton的印度游戲孵化器項(xiàng)目(India Gaming Incubator)。
There are industry programs, too. Following on from the success of its China Hero Project, PlayStation launched the India Hero Project in 2023 to support and showcase emerging talent from the region, and the inaugural cohort of five games includes Meteora: The Race Against Space Time, Fishbowl, Mukti, Requital: Gates of Blood, and Suri: The Seventh Note. The second cohort has just been announced, too, though it's shrunk to just two games this year: Bloody Boots and Lokko.
行業(yè)內(nèi)也有相關(guān)的扶持計(jì)劃。繼其“中國(guó)英雄項(xiàng)目”(China Hero Project)取得成功后,PlayStation于2023年推出了“印度英雄項(xiàng)目”(India Hero Project),以支持和展示該地區(qū)新興的游戲人才。首屆入選的五款游戲包括《Meteora: The Race Against Space Time》、《Fishbowl》、《Mukti》、《Requital: Gates of Blood》和《Suri: The Seventh Note》。第二屆名單也剛剛公布,不過(guò)今年縮小到僅兩款游戲:《Bloody Boots》和《Lokko》。
Krafton, the publisher behind PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, also opened registrations for the second cohort of its Krafton India Gaming Incubator last October, where six to ten development teams will receive six to twelve months of mentorship and financial support to make their game. The first cohort comprised four games, and included Sojourn Past, Tale of Honor, Gangster Carnival and Spice Secrets.
《絕地求生》的發(fā)行商Krafton也在去年十月開(kāi)啟了其“印度游戲孵化器”(Krafton India Gaming Incubator)第二期項(xiàng)目的報(bào)名工作。該項(xiàng)目將為六到十個(gè)開(kāi)發(fā)團(tuán)隊(duì)提供為期六到十二個(gè)月的指導(dǎo)和資金支持,以幫助他們完成自己的游戲。第一期項(xiàng)目包含四款游戲,分別是《Sojourn Past》、《Tale of Honor》、《Gangster Carnival》和《Spice Secrets》
Given all this, Chengaiah thinks we’ll be seeing "a very steady launch of Indian PC and console games" from 2025 onwards, while Lumikai predicts that India’s gaming revenues will skyrocket to $9.2 billion by 2029. And if one Indian game was to break through internationally, it could elevate the whole industry and attract much-needed investment, just like The Witcher did for Poland, for example. "Every country has that one game," Chengaiah says, and similarly, Kapur sees no reason why India won't have its own breakout game: "I think the Indian market at some point will have its Black Myth: Wukong or Genshin Impact moment."
鑒于這些發(fā)展,程蓋亞認(rèn)為從2025年開(kāi)始,我們將會(huì)看到“印度PC和主機(jī)游戲的穩(wěn)定發(fā)布”,而Lumikai預(yù)測(cè)到2029年,印度的游戲收入將飆升至92億美元。如果有一款印度游戲能夠像《巫師》(The Witcher)對(duì)波蘭的影響一樣,在國(guó)際上取得突破,這可能會(huì)提升整個(gè)行業(yè)并吸引急需的投資。程蓋亞表示:“每個(gè)國(guó)家都有那么一款代表作?!蓖瑯樱ㄆ找舱J(rèn)為印度完全有可能擁有自己的爆款游戲:“我認(rèn)為印度市場(chǎng)遲早會(huì)迎來(lái)屬于自己的《黑神話:悟空》或《原神》時(shí)刻?!?br />
Shodhan thinks it’s high time, too. "I see folks from India, such as myself, who go abroad and are plugged into the culture there, and are doing exceptional things. Why can't the same happen here?" He reckons it’s simply a case of someone being brave enough to venture out and succeed, carving a path for others to follow. "Once that happens, all hell will break loose."
肖丹也認(rèn)為是時(shí)候了?!拔铱吹皆S多像我一樣的印度人出國(guó)后融入當(dāng)?shù)匚幕?,并做出了非凡的成?jī)。為什么同樣的事情不能在印度發(fā)生?”他認(rèn)為,這只是需要有人勇敢地邁出第一步并取得成功,從而為其他人開(kāi)辟道路。“一旦這種情況發(fā)生,整個(gè)行業(yè)將迎來(lái)爆發(fā)式增長(zhǎng)?!?br />
"We are already doing a lot of work for these companies all around the world, and we're already providing the quality," he concludes. "We clearly have the talent. It's just a matter of belief and a few foolishly bold investments."
他總結(jié)道:“我們已經(jīng)為世界各地的公司做了大量工作,也已經(jīng)證明了自己的質(zhì)量。我們顯然擁有人才?,F(xiàn)在所需要的只是信念,以及一些大膽而冒險(xiǎn)的投資?!?br />
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很贊 ( 12 )
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A game where they fight off British colonialism would be interesting. They have a lot of history and legends to pull ideas from.
一款以抗擊英國(guó)殖民主義為主題的游戲會(huì)很有趣。印度擁有豐富的歷史和傳說(shuō),可以從中汲取創(chuàng)意。
diesto_cresta 0386
@Gtm100 that would be cool.
Incorporate bollywood style ott action.
Dynasty warriors meets max payne meets removing coloniolism....haha
@Gtm100 那會(huì)很酷。
融入寶萊塢風(fēng)格的夸張動(dòng)作。
《真三國(guó)無(wú)雙》遇到《馬克思·佩恩》,再結(jié)合反殖民主義……哈哈。
zestfulix 7271
@diesto_cresta is it weird to say i immediately thought of the simpsons take on bollywood action when i read this
@diesto_cresta 我讀到這個(gè)時(shí),立刻就想到了《辛普森一家》對(duì)寶萊塢動(dòng)作戲的惡搞,這么說(shuō)奇怪嗎?
Brainflowers 6851 Supporter
@Gtm100
Hate to say it, but just imagine the anti-woke uproar over that
Truly the worstest timeline.
@Gtm100
很遺憾,但想象一下如果真的做了這樣的游戲,反對(duì)“覺(jué)醒文化”的人群會(huì)有多憤怒
真是最糟糕的時(shí)間線了。
Gtm100 4096
Google 'British empire war crimes' Worse than the nazis. And that's saying something. They used the British empire brutality to sell fascism to the Germans in the 1930's. It was in their propaganda. It's also where they got the idea of concentration camps from. People don't forget and it takes multiple generations.
谷歌一下“英國(guó)帝國(guó)戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)罪行”,比納粹還惡劣。這已經(jīng)說(shuō)明了很多問(wèn)題。他們?cè)?0世紀(jì)30年代以大英帝國(guó)的暴行向德國(guó)人兜售法西斯主義,這是英國(guó)人的宣傳手段之一。集中營(yíng)的概念也是從他們那里來(lái)的。人們不會(huì)忘記,這種記憶需要幾代人才能消散。
IronCladChicken 0546
@Gtm100
They have a lot of history and legends to pull ideas from.
This is the thing India has a HUGE history and legendarium to pull from.
But all the west wants is stuff about itself - again and again and again.
I'd like to see Indians as Indians - not perpetual victims.
@Gtm100
他們(印度)有豐富的歷史和傳說(shuō)可以借鑒。
這正是印度的優(yōu)勢(shì)——有著極其龐大的歷史和傳說(shuō)體系。
但西方人只想要涉及自身的游戲內(nèi)容——一遍又一遍永無(wú)休止的。
我希望看到印度人樹(shù)立作為印度人本身的形象,而不是以永遠(yuǎn)的受害者姿態(tài)出現(xiàn)。
Teharistocrat 7356
@Gtm100 I'd prefer a Wukong/God of War game that leverages Hindu gods for material. That could be amazing really.
@Gtm100我更喜歡一款像《黑神話:悟空》或《戰(zhàn)神》那樣的游戲,利用印度教的神靈作為素材。那真的會(huì)非常精彩。
yovargas2 5528
Make a good game first, and then come back to us. It doesn't even have to be set in India, make a good game'.
This advice on the setting strikes me as particularly noteworthy. I find the assumption that because the game was made in India then it's going to be about India in one way or the other kind of strange. Trying to do something with specifically Indian flavor is cool and all but going in with that mentality is also needlessly limiting. If you look at successes in the games industry, most games are based in invented settings, from Mario to Mortal Kombat to Minecraft to Monster Hunter.
“先做出一款好游戲,然后再來(lái)呼喚玩家。甚至不需把游戲設(shè)定在印度,只需要推出一款好游戲即可?!?nbsp;
這條建議特別深入我心。我覺(jué)得假定因?yàn)橛螒蚴窃谟《戎谱鞯?,就一定?huì)以某種方式圍繞印度展開(kāi),這種想法有點(diǎn)奇怪。嘗試制作具有印度特色的內(nèi)容是挺酷的,但如果一開(kāi)始就抱著這種心態(tài),反而會(huì)顯得局限。看看游戲行業(yè)的成功案例,大多數(shù)游戲都設(shè)定在虛構(gòu)的世界中,從《馬里奧》到《真人快打》,再到《我的世界》和《怪物獵人》。
kipue 5585
I loved my time with the game, but I still think that Black Myth was lightning in a bottle moment
China produces tons of great, very interesting games of the like all the time, but usually they get bogged down by bad translation, very culture-specific, hard to convey world setting/story, terrible performance, etc.
I don't know how this one got to capture the international interest, as they usually don't really bother to do marketing and such to capture a WW audience...
I'm waiting to see what next huge hit they are able to make, but I don't know when/if it will happen.
我很喜歡這款游戲,但我仍然認(rèn)為《黑神話:悟空》是一個(gè)不可復(fù)制的成功。
中國(guó)一直在制作大量?jī)?yōu)秀且有趣的類似游戲,但通常它們會(huì)被糟糕的翻譯、文化相對(duì)特定的制約、難以傳達(dá)的世界觀/故事以及性能問(wèn)題所拖累。
我不知道這些作品是如何吸引國(guó)際關(guān)注的,因?yàn)橹袊?guó)開(kāi)發(fā)商通常并不怎么努力去做全球營(yíng)銷……
我期待看到他們接下來(lái)能否做出另一個(gè)爆款,但我不知道這會(huì)在什么時(shí)候發(fā)生,甚至?xí)粫?huì)發(fā)生。
themightyant 3975 Supporter
@kipue “l(fā)ightning in a bottle” suggests it’s happened once. How do you explain Genshin Impact’s lasting popularity? Around 60 million players a month after 4+ years and only around half in China. Or Honkai Star Rail, Wuthering Waves, ZZZ, etc.
@kipue “l(fā)ightning in a bottle”(瓶中閃電)意味著這種事情只發(fā)生了一次。那么你怎么解釋《原神》的持久流行?四年多過(guò)去了,每月仍有約6000萬(wàn)玩家,其中只有一半來(lái)自中國(guó)。還有《崩壞:星穹鐵道》、《鳴潮》、《絕區(qū)零》等等。
I think China has only just started to push massive budgets towards games, only started to push graphical fidelity, and as they learn what the global audience wants, and improve their craft, they will continue to see massive success.
我認(rèn)為中國(guó)才剛剛開(kāi)始為游戲投入巨額預(yù)算,才剛剛開(kāi)始追求畫(huà)面真實(shí)度,隨著他們了解全球受眾的需求并提高制作水平,他們將繼續(xù)取得巨大的成功。
Not every release will be Black Myth Wukong in scale, just as very few Western Games hit Hogwarts Legacy’s success, but I’m certain we will see a lot more huge hits from China over the next decade. It’s only just starting.
并不是每一款作品都能達(dá)到《黑神話:悟空》的規(guī)模,就像很少有西方游戲能達(dá)到《霍格沃茨之遺》的成功一樣,但我確信在未來(lái)十年我們會(huì)看到更多來(lái)自中國(guó)的巨大成功。這才剛剛開(kāi)始。
India meanwhile is further behind on that journey, their audience is still mostly mobile and it doesn’t align with western gamers so much. But I’m sure in time their time will come too.
與此同時(shí),印度在這條路上走得更慢一些,它的受眾主要還是集中在移動(dòng)端,與西方游戲玩家的偏好不太一致。但我相信隨著時(shí)間推移,印度也會(huì)迎來(lái)屬于自己的機(jī)會(huì)。
I look forward to playing all these games with different views on the world.
我期待玩到這些展現(xiàn)不同世界觀的游戲。
kipue 5585
@themightyant good points, I focused on black myth which was mentioned here in the thread.
but the games you mention are to my eyes more broad in general appeal, not rooted so much in the deep country's culture.
But you are correct!
@themightyant你說(shuō)得很有道理,我只是專注于這個(gè)帖子提到的《黑神話:悟空》。
不過(guò)你提到的游戲在我看來(lái)確實(shí)更具普遍吸引力,沒(méi)有那么深植于本國(guó)文化的根基。
但你說(shuō)得對(duì)!
StriderShinryu 3730
I would imagine it's only a matter of time. As stated in the article, a lot of the challenge is just that it's quite a ways behind many other places in the world for that level of experience and history in the medium. Though I an curious about the level of interest in very specifically "Indian" games outside of India.
我想這只是時(shí)間問(wèn)題。正如文章所說(shuō),印度面臨的很多挑戰(zhàn)在于,在這一領(lǐng)域,它落后于世界上許多其他地方。盡管我對(duì)“純印度”游戲在印度以外引起玩家的興趣程度感到好奇。
There did seem to be a lot of interest in Black Myth outside of China but it's hard to say where the balance was between it's exceptional graphics, serving an at the time relatively under represented genre and it's clearly China focused inspiration in a story that was still at least known elsewhere. I'd imagine it was a mix but I don't know how it would have landed if any of those pillars was removed.
《黑神話:悟空》在中國(guó)以外的確引起了很大關(guān)注,但很難說(shuō)這種興趣的平衡點(diǎn)在哪里——是因?yàn)樗錾漠?huà)面、填補(bǔ)了一個(gè)當(dāng)時(shí)相對(duì)空白的類型,還是因?yàn)樗m然靈感來(lái)源聚焦于中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)文化,但游戲故事本身至少在其他地區(qū)也有一定的知名度。我覺(jué)得可能是多種因素的結(jié)合,但如果去掉其中任何一個(gè)支柱,效果可能會(huì)大不相同。
Crit20 5908
508 million gamers in India, who spent an estimated $943 million in 2024
There is your reason
印度有5.08億玩家,在2024年花費(fèi)了約9.43億美元。
這就是原因。
Raveen 3672
@Crit20 Not even two bucks each. Can’t really support much diversity on a market like that.
Any premium (not free-to-play) games would have to aim for other markets, like China or the west.
@Crit20合每個(gè)人平均不到兩美元。這樣的市場(chǎng)很難支撐起足夠的多樣性。
任何高端(非免費(fèi)游戲)都必須瞄準(zhǔn)其他市場(chǎng),比如中國(guó)或西方。
mYmBiryaniOP
India Will Never Have Its Own 'Black Myth: Wukong' or Any of Our Mythologies or History Come to Life.
印度永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)擁有自己的《黑神話:悟空》,也不會(huì)讓我們的神話或歷史在游戲中煥發(fā)新生。
We will never have our own "Black Myth: Wukong," which, as far as I know, is based on an old Chinese book. Think about it—India has incredible mythologies, epic stories, the whole package. But sadly, these stories are never going to make it into the gaming world, and it’s really our own fault.
我們永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)擁有自己的《黑神話:悟空》,據(jù)我所知,這款游戲是基于一本古老的中國(guó)書(shū)籍改編的。想想看——印度有著令人驚嘆的神話、史詩(shī)般的故事,應(yīng)有盡有。但遺憾的是,這些故事永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)進(jìn)入游戲世界,而這完全是我們自己
的錯(cuò)。
First off, we’d be too busy tearing any attempt to shreds. Some of us would be constantly finding errors, nitpicking every little thing, while the rest would get offended and start screaming blasphemy. It’s like we’re more interested in being outraged than in seeing our culture come to life in a cool, creative way.
首先,我們會(huì)忙于撕碎任何嘗試。有些人會(huì)不斷挑錯(cuò),挑剔每一個(gè)細(xì)節(jié),而其他人則會(huì)感到被冒犯,開(kāi)始大喊褻瀆。就好像我們更感興趣的是憤怒,而不是以一種酷炫、創(chuàng)造性的方式讓我們的文化煥發(fā)生機(jī)。
And then there’s the issue that we don’t have any major gaming publishers in India. Where are our versions of Rockstar Games, EA Sports, or 2K? Oh wait, most of us are too busy dreaming of working for American gaming companies instead of building something of our own here. If we actually put our energy into creating games that reflect our culture, we could start seeing some amazing titles. And with our massive population, these games could easily gain worldwide exposure, showcasing our culture in a way that really sticks.
其次,我們沒(méi)有大型游戲發(fā)行商。印度版的Rockstar Games、EA Sports或2K在哪里?哦,等等,我們大多數(shù)人忙于夢(mèng)想為美國(guó)游戲公司工作,而不是在這里建立自己的東西。如果我們真的把精力投入到創(chuàng)造反映我們文化的游戲上,我們可能會(huì)看到一些驚人的作品出現(xiàn)。憑借我們龐大的人口,這些游戲很容易獲得全球關(guān)注,以一種真正令人印象深刻的方式展示我們的文化。
But until we fix this, don’t hold your breath for an Indian 'Black Myth: Wukong.' We’ll never see a proper game based on our mythologies, something like a Kali Yuga or a Ram's conquest or even about Chola kings And that’s a damn shame.
但在我們解決這些問(wèn)題之前,別指望能看到印度版的《黑神話:悟空》。我們永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)看到一款基于我們神話的正經(jīng)游戲,比如關(guān)于卡利時(shí)代、羅摩的征服或者朱羅王朝的作品。這真是個(gè)恥辱。
Are we all just too caught up in our own drama to let it happen?!
我們是不是都太沉迷于自己的戲劇性沖突,以至于無(wú)法讓它(指創(chuàng)造出偉大的作品)發(fā)生?!