As promised, here is the interview of the Executive Vice President at Jump Games, Ninad Chhaya (NC). GameGuru.in (GG) went and met him at his workplace in Suburban Mumbai. He spoke to us about Jump Games and what are its future plans. Ninad himself is a gamer and when not working, he loves to play first person shooters on the LAN. Check out what he has to say:
GG: Can you tell us something about yourself?
NC: I am the Executive Vice President at Jump Games. I oversee the complete operations and productions and all the day-to-day running of the studio Jump Games, both in Mumbai and Pune. I have been in gaming from almost ten years and this has been quite a fun journey.
GG: Coming to Jump Games, tell us something about the history of the company?
NC: Jump Games started in 2001, pretty much in the early days of gaming in India. It was one of the pioneer companies in gaming in India. Prior to this, we were known as Paradox Studios. It was sometime during last year when we thought that we need to go in for a brand re-launch. We were going very aggressively out in the international market and we wanted to go in for a completely new look and new image because we also had to restructure our internal business verticals and prioritize our focus areas. When we were Paradox Studios, we were primarily focusing on mobile gaming and PC gaming. However, once we decided for a brand re-launch, we also changed our focus and right now, we are the premium developers and publishers of mobile games and are also involved in the causal online gaming space, where we are one of the key content developers in this space.
GG: You make games for Mobile and PC, but what do you focus on more?
NC: We were in the PC gaming space a few years back. However, we decided early on that PC gaming is one space we do not want to be, because in India it is not really feasible to develop a PC game. So, we have changed our focus and now we are developing mobile games and in fact the key focus area for us is developing both 2D and 3D mobile games and we are also in the casual online gaming space. We developed online and downloadable causal games using Flash and Shockwave.
GG: Can you elaborate on the technology used in developing the games?
NC: In mobile gaming, we primarily focus on platforms like J2ME, BREW, Symbian and FlashLite. These are the four key platforms on which we are developing games currently, both 2D and 3D mobile games. For casual online games, it is Flash and Shockwave, where we are developing both single player and multi player games for the online platform.
GG: As for the PC games, they are from the casual genre, will you make any hardcore PC games?
NC: I do not think we will be going in for hardcore PC games in the next few years to come. I really do not know whether we are ready or whether India as a region is ready to develop products like hardcore PC games. Yes, there are gaming companies and animation companies in India doing a lot of outsourced development work where they create components and arts for various games, but creating a product for PC platform or console is a different ball game altogether. We as Jump Games have decided as a focus area to stick where our core competency lies which is mobile gaming and online and causal downloadable space and not really the hardcore gaming space.
GG: What about consoles? What are your views on consoles? Are you looking forward to developing games for consoles in the future?
NC: In terms of console gaming space, internationally consoles are really huge. The penetration of consoles and the acceptance of console gaming is catching on very well in India. As for as developing games for the consoles go, as I said, as of now the focus area is more on the mobile and online side. There is a possibility of going on the casual gaming space where Xbox 360, for example has an Xbox Live Arcade and we might look at developing games for the Xbox Live, but that is still in some time to come. It is not in the immediate future.
GG: Tournaments. Will your mobile or PC games feature in any tournaments? Many mobile game developers hold tournaments for their games, are you planning to hold one too?
NC: Our games so far have not featured in any mobile gaming tournament or championships. Yes, we are planning, though they are still early stage plans to conduct such mobile gaming tournaments or be a part of such tournaments where our games can be a part of the whole gaming challenge and people can play games and be a part of the tournament It is still in the planning stages right now, not really concrete. Nevertheless, we do plan to go in that direction down the line.
GG: What about handhelds? Any plans for the PSP, DS and Game Boy Advance?
NC: As far as the handhelds go, the PlayStation Portable or the Nintendo DS, yes, I do see a possibility of us getting into that domain. These are still the very early stages and I would not really be in a position to say when we will be getting into that space but there are plans being made of getting into one of the handheld space and creating games for the handheld platform. Once the time is right, we will announce which platform we are going ahead with. As of now, we are not looking at handhelds in the immediate future, but I will say we are planning. Once we have our concrete roadmap ahead of what kind of products we are planning to roll out, what kinds of games will do well and what technology to focus on, we will decide whether we want to go the PSP way or the Nintendo DS way or the GameBoy Advance way.
GG: What games are you currently working on?
NC: On the mobile front, we are working on quite a few 2D and 3D mobile games across various platforms. These are both, games based on licenses and also our own original IP. On the 2D front, we are creating quite a few games on international property like, we have signed up with Virgin Comics and we are creating games based on three of their comic books that is Devi, Sadhu and Ramayana 3292 AD. We are also creating games based on the popular icon, Fido Dido with whom we have signed up. So these are also the games which are going to be created for the 3D mobile platform. There are a bunch of other games going on even on the domestic celebrity front where we have signed up with a lot of media celebrities in the Indian scenario. These are Bollywood celebrities with whom we are making games.
We recently developed few games based on actors like Sameera Reddy, Madhavan, Bappi Lahiri and in fact the game Bappi Da Disco King got the best mobile game year of the award at FICCI Frames 2007. We recently announced an alliance with Malaika Arora-Khan where we are making games based on her. So in a nutshell we have got a mix of products coming up based on both domestic and international property which we are sure will appeal to the mass audiences out there.
GG: Which games are you planning to release in the near future?
NC: We are planning to launch the games based on the Virgin Comics series like Devi, Ramayana 3292 AD and the Sadhu. So will be the games on various other in-house properties that we are working on. These are both 2D and 3D. We are going to launch a 3D mobile game based on Fido Dido very soon in the market and there are other bunch of games we are working on which at this point of time I will not be able to share details on.
GG: Are you planning to roll out any new features for the mobile or PC?
NC: Going forwards, one of our key area focuses is going to be the connected gaming space where we are going to develop multimedia games, both on the mobile front and the online front and we are also looking at developing a few cross platform games. These are games where people across different platforms can play with each other. So it could be a cross platform between the online and mobile game. We are also looking at creating various other verticals where we think we have a technology edge, it could be location based gaming down the line. But it is sometime away, not in the immediate future. We are constantly on the drive to innovate and excel in what we do. Going forward, it is going to be 2D and 3D mobile games and online games, which will be both single player and multiplayer.
GG: What about MMOGs on the mobile? Do you think it is possible to bring a MMOG on the mobile platform? Would you work on something like that?
NC: There have been earlier attempts to create MMOGs on the mobile front. I think there are a few games out there, which are working towards this, and yes, going forward as the networks open up their bandwidth, it is going to be possible for having a lot of MMOGs on the mobile front available for the end user. While we are right now not developing any such game per se, but yes, we would definitely plan something on those lines in the future.
I think it is just a matter of time. There are operators who are now looking at trying out something new and looking at opening networks and bandwidths. The broadband connections are increasing and even on the online front, things are moving ahead very fast and that’s where we are now poised in the next year or so to take the next big leap and really push gaming forward and push the barriers of gaming to introduce new features to the end user and create games which are par with international games.
GG: Mobile Advergaming. How did you come about it?
NC: We are one of the pioneers of mobile advergaming in India. We started off sometime in early 2004 where we teamed up with Coca-Cola India when they were doing promotion of one of their brands, Thumps-Up where they had signed up Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar. The whole campaign was about Akshay Kumar climbing Mt. Everest. That was the time when we teamed up with Coca-Cola India and created a game based on similar lines and that game was very well received by the mobile gaming audience. Following that, last year we worked with Coca-Cola very closely to create a game based around the FIFA World Cup as Coke was one of the sponsors of FIFA World Cup. We developed a game known as Coke Super Footer, which was a penalty shootout kind of a game and was made for the online platform and the mobile platform.
So again, that went of quite well and we found that advergaming, as a medium is quite popular because for that advertiser he is getting the captive audience for at least three to five minutes per gameplay session. Now if you compare it with audiences of a thirty-second TV commercial, you can yourself see how much exposure the brand gets when a user is playing with the game and interacting with the brand in the game. We realized this and even discussed with few of our partners and clients who are in the consumer goods space. Coke, one of the primary partners we work with, also find it appealing as this is where you are not just limited by a viewer watching your television advertisement on a TV and on a particular channel at a particular point of time.
Here you are sending your brand on the mobile users’ handset and he is interacting with your brand for three to five minutes every time he plays the game. If the game is good, and if at the end of the game you give good gratifications he is going to play it again and again. That means that your brand recall value should surge exponentially. This I think has worked like a win-win situation for everyone, be it the advertiser, the network operator, the developer, or the end user. It is something that is working for everyone and going forward, advergaming is going to play a key role for many marketers when they plan their advertising budgets and promotions.
GG: So you will be putting ads in all your games, PC as well as mobiles?
NC: Yes, we are looking at online advergaming as well as mobile advergaming. We are already working on a few projects on the same lines. I would not be able to share many details on that but it is on the anvil.
GG: Jump, like Zapak works with celebrities. With whom are you currently working? Who is next on the radar for you? Are you planning to get any international celebrities?
NC: In the future, we are planning to work with a few good celebrities; I would not be able to share details at this stage because we are close to signing up with them. In India if you want to tap the pulse of the mobile gamer or the online gamer, there are certain key aspects, which you need to look at because gaming is something that is also culture driven. In India what works and what we have seen, even in our games is Cricket as a game definitely works and Bollywood is something that every Indian can relate to, so Bollywood and celebrity based gaming work. As I mentioned before, we have developed games based on celebrities like Madhavan, Bappi Da and Sameera Reddy. These are the celebrities we are working with and there are more down the line. I definitely see a lot of scope in this area.
We are actually working with a couple of international properties. In terms of celebrities, we have the exclusive rights of Jean-Claude Van Damme based on whom we have created video games. We are open to various licenses. Fido Dido is an international celebrity that we have. Yes, he is a virtual character but I think he is as big a celebrity but he is as big a celebrity as any human celebrity is and we have made games on Fido which are out there in the market and which are being appreciated highly.
GG: So will you still make games on cricket?
NC: I do not see any reason; yes India did not do well in the Cricket World Cup. That is not the end of the world. There are more matches coming up, there are more series and tournaments coming up, and cricket is something every Indian is passionate about and can relate to at any point of time So in fact, this time is good as any other time to launch cricket games. Cricket is a sport which Indians prefer playing, watching, or being part of all year round. While we will be focusing on other sports as well, its not that we are going to stop working on cricket and it is going to be a premium product for us. We are launching a cricket game very soon, which is going to be a really big game in the international space.
GG: What about your content? Whom have you collaborated with, nationally and internationally?
NC: We have signed up with partners such as Virgin Comics where we are developing games based on their properties. We have a lot of celebrity licenses. We are distribution partners with quite a few international gaming companies. We are also creating content for many gaming companies internationally. On the online as well as the mobile front, we are also creating our own IP that is going out in the international space. We work very closely Disney in India, create games based on Disney’s properties, and also repurpose their international content to be distributed in India. We are working with a lot of partners and there are a few partners, we are close to signing up.
GG: Are you open to bringing big console and PC hits like Counter Strike, Gears of War, Tekken to the mobile?
NC: If a game blends itself to the mobile platform, yes we will be keen. It so happens, that when the console game is made, it is made from a perspective of a console user and to bring it on the mobile platform is a different challenge all together, where you need to tone it down for the mobile platform. As I mentioned, if a game is captivating enough and if we feel that it will make a good mobile property, we will definitely look at bringing some of the PC and console games on the mobile platforms.
GG: Where do you see Jump Games in the next 2 -3 years? What games can the gamers expect in 2007?
NC: In the next two to three years, Jump Games is going to be one of the leading publishers and developers of mobile games, we already are expanding very aggressively in the international markets, signing up partnerships with various channels in the international and domestic markets and also creating quality content in 2D and 3D mobile gaming space.
In the online gaming space, I see Jump Games as one of the premium developers of really good quality online and casual downloadable games, which are both single player and multiplayer. So I think, the only way from here is up, up and up. We are going to be the top few companies who are producing really good content.
Indian gamers can expect a lot of games in 2007.
GG: Are you a gamer yourself? What kinds of games do you play?
NC: I am a gamer myself. I play games depending on what device I am playing it on. I have my various choices. If I am playing it on the PC, I like to play a first person shooter over LAN or even racing games. If I am playing it on the mobile, it could be a casual puzzle game or an action game or a racing game. If its online game, choice varies depending upon what kind of game it its. Nevertheless, if I would look at top two genres of games, which I like playing, they would be first person shooters and racing.