Soon-to-be-launched ‘Replay India’, the brainchild of Siddharth Ganji to open a new era of interactive gaming
Maharashtra, India, 23 August 2021:
The Covid-19 pandemic, and the lockdown it has induced across the country, are benefiting the Indian gaming industry in a big way. With people staying indoors along with a definitive lack of entertainment options, gaming is seeing a boom.
It is here that Mr Siddharth Ganji, Producer at Replay Collective, steps in with an ambitious plan that promises to transform the interactive gaming scenario in the country. Replay Collective is a video production agency that specializes in producing engagement-driven content targeted at the millennial generation.
Lining up an offshoot of Replay Collective, Mr Siddharth Ganji is set to create a flutter in the interactive gaming market in India with his new ‘Replay India’. Positioned as a forum for storytellers in emerging mediums such as interactive films/games, VR, AR amongst others, Replay India will have as its goal, the creation of disruptive entertainment with a clear purpose and vision that meaningfully pushes the boundaries through the merging of technological innovation and effective storytelling.
Replay India will soon be launched at a webinar with experts within the gaming industry weighing in on their experiences. Mr Ganji has produced more than 75 titles, from interactive content to commercials to more traditional content like feature films and series.
Mr Siddharth Ganji has already worked on various projects, including the BAFTA-nominated ‘Telling Lies’. Seen as a game-changer in the ‘Interactive Gaming’ genre, Telling Lies had a whole new set of challenges that called for a custom production solution like never before. Such experiences have added to the resources and team on his side, and this has helped him to be ready with effective solutions to ward off any challenge that might come up in future.
According to Mr Siddharth Ganji, “The most exciting thing about my projects is spending time with the game developers and being exposed to new ways of storytelling. I produced a 30-minute showcase recently for Annapurna Interactive which was very well received and shows a bright future for independent gaming.”
“The Indian gaming market is one of the sectors that has benefited significantly in the pandemic with more people staying indoors and a lack of entertainment options. One report projects the online gaming industry to touch $2.8 billion by 2022 in India. This places India as one of the premier markets for content consumption, and we will see the casual gaming audience increase even more,” Mr Ganji added.
Pointing out that different games have different ways to implement the ‘interactive’ element, Mr Ganji said that the core idea is to let the character do more than shoot and reload – to really get into the head of the character and make decisions based on the story arcs of each character they interact with.
The interactive gaming scene is expected to give more opportunities to independent game creators in India and platforms for them to launch on. It will also provide access to experts and resources that would aid in the development of projects.
How Interactive Gaming Works
Interactive gaming places the story first above all and provides a whole new way to experience the story and there is no linear path necessarily. This opens up various avenues to take the gamer on a journey that he wouldn’t otherwise experience with a standard linear game as such.
Interactive games are usually single-player, with the player being more involved in the character and his/her environment, hence them being limited to independent creators for the time being and not being AAA titles. These games would have to be marketed heavily or catch traction by way of the community pushing it forward, which could take some time in India, but is the way forward.
Replay India looks to tap this market in a major way. Though the interactive sub-sector is a small portion of the overall digital gaming industry, it is still significant as the unified market is forecasted to reach $207 billion value by 2025. It is in its nascent stages now but with creators from all over the world, and especially India, it could be one of the fastest-growing sectors in the near future.
