Interview with Indian Games Developer Paradox Studios

February 5, 2008

Paradox has been one of the few Indian studios to have received international awards. They are currently involved in what could be THE game that redefines the Indian development scene although they are currently tight lipped about the game and progress they are making on it. We managed to catch up with Sumit Mehra, the lead programmer for BattleDust: The Championship and the Development Manger for Paradox studios, about the past, present and future of Paradox studios and the Indian game development scenario.

GI: Can you tell us about yourself?

Sumit: I am the lead programmer and have been in this organisation since its inception. I got into game development since my 1st year in college. This is when I did my first game Nibbles in 1996 and followed it up with Nibbles 2 in 1997. I met Anurag, our CEO, in Delhi. Passion4games happened. While there we realized that game development is where we wanted to be. We got in touch with reliance and they gave us the opportunity.

GI: What games are you’ll currently developing?

Sumit: We are developing games for mobiles pc and the handheld. We have developed over 100 Java, Brew and Wap games and over 20 multiplayer web based games. We have had developed over 9 mini games for the pc. BattleDust: The Championship is our first big title per se.

GI: What kind of game engines will you be using for these titles?

Sumit: For Battledust we used A5 and A6 from Conitech. These engines were used as preliminaries to get our team acquainted with the various facets of game development. Both Battledust and Bomberbabe have helped them get acquainted with the intricacies of game design. As for the game we are currently developing we have not yet finalised on the engine we will use eventually.

GI: What according to you is different about BattleDust: The championship?

Sumit: We did the best we could with the engine. When Conitech saw the game they couldn’t believe we had taken the engine to that level of performance. Battledust has sold a high number of copies which is a rarity for an Indian game.

GI: What is your view on the Indian Game development scene?

Sumit: It’s growing, slowly but surely. The number of Indian game developers has increased. Game developers such as Dhruva Interactive, Indiagames, Raptor Entertainment are all contributing to what will be one of the biggest and most successful abodes of gaming in the world. I foresee studios such as EA coming here and setting up shop because of the sheer volume of talent and numbers available here. Another thing which will change is the outlook that Indian labour is cheap, we will probably outsource to countries like us in the due course of time.

GI: What are the problems facing Indian game developers?

Sumit: Definitely not a lack of talent. The biggest problem I would say is the lack of an industry itself. People want to join but the problem is that there is a huge risk involved in game development. Three years and a 50% chance of failure dissuades many people from joining game development when they can get a comfortable job paying as much in software development. Pc and console games are a huge investment. There is a system besides the glamour. A lot of people believe game development is entering the office in shorts and sipping on pina coladas, but the fact is that there is a proper system in place just like any business. Often people say that they have no fixed working hours, this hampers development. I want my employees to work for 8 hours and go back home. I want them to enjoy themselves, recharge and come back with a renewed focus. Mobile gaming is huge in India and development for Pc games will be the gospel in the near future.

GI: How do you think Indian titles compare to the current crop of games releasing internationally? Are there any plans to go international with the releases?

Sumit: How do you rate a good game? An AAA title is one which has sold over 1 million copies (10 lakh copies). I am sure the game we are developing now will be a AAA title. We are probably the only game development studio in India to have a specialized sound engineering team. We will be going global with the release and I think we will be able to compete with international titles

GI: Which platform will paradox be currently focussing on and which will it be focussing on in the near future?

Sumit: We are focussing on both the mobile and the pc equally both in the present and the future. We have a team of 108 out of which some are working on the pc title and the rest are involved with development for mobile based platforms, quality assurance and game testing. Out of those working on the title, 4 – 5 are passionate gamers.

GI: What kind of demographic are you’ll targeting with the games?

Sumit: I would say the average gamer between 14 -30

GI: Bomberbabe has recently won the FICCI Frames 2005 award, could you tell us about that?

Sumit: FICCI approached us and we sent two titles for the awards. Shatranj, a 3d chess game and Bomberbabe. There were a lot of international entries. FICCI appreciated the quality of our game and awarded us a Special Jury Award for PC. While Battledust: The Championship was where our team grinded their teeth on programming, AI and 3d graphics, Bomberbabe was where we concentrated all out on gameplay and FICCI appreciated that. Bomberbabe is second on the list on Spain’s list of most popular games. Infact we have received requests to translate it to Spanish. It shows a promising future and I think FICCI is doing a great job.

GI: Are there any plans to develop a mainstream big budget FPS or RTS title?

Sumit: We are in the process of developing a game for the PC and consoles currently. I cannot divulge on details now but all I can say is that wait and watch, it will be big. With regards to the graphical quality of the game, it will be as good as titles out there.

GI: What according to you is the future of game development?

Sumit: I think the unreal 3 engine will be big. From what information is available to the public, I think the tool set they offer is awesome. Source and the d3 engine are also impressive. If it came to choosing between the two, I would say I would choose source, because I haven’t seen how the D3 engine renders outdoor environments. For now, I think the Unreal3 engine will redefine and extend the possibilities available to developers.

GI: What is your advice to future game developers?

Sumit: Specialize. Think of the things you would love to do in games and do that. Some people like to do textures but deviate because they think there is more money involved in other things like 3d. This is not true. Pay in Paradox is based on the skill level, you could get anywhere from 4000 to 200000 depending on your skill. This is the system I was talking about, when someone receives a certain pay, its because of his skill level and nothing else. When we hire someone, we see demos of their work. If it’s a programmer, we see code they have written. Don’t do anything halfway, take a project, finish it and show it. There is no company in India which will hire you if you got up to them and say I want to do a doom3. But if you come up to us and say I am good at lighting and shadows which will add to your game, there is a good chance you will get hired. There is no room for a jack of all trades, people come with half baked projects and expect us to hire them. Specialize, Specialize, And Specialize.

GI: Are there any vacancies in your organization for those interested in game development?

Sumit: Yes, we want 3d programmers with a good understanding of maths and physics. Also character modellers and texture artists.