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A neat little mobile game made by Indian studio SuperGaming caught my eye while browsing Twitter. Called Silly World: Devil Amongst Us, the studio is gearing up to release an upcoming new mode in its mobile game. Inspired by the hit Netflix show Squid Game, the game has received over 456,000 pre-registrations.
Gaming and game development in India is a steadily rising phenomenon. With bigger studios like Ubisoft letting their Indian team handle development and mobile gaming helping in normalizing the hobby, I always wanted to get in touch with one of the Indian studios and learn a bit about the industry as a whole.
Hence, I went looking and tried to get an interview with someone from the Pune-based SuperGaming. Little did I know I would get to talk to Mr. Roby John, the co-founder and CEO of SuperGaming.
In an exclusive interview for Sportskeeda, I asked Mr. Roby about the industry, the upcoming game mode for Silly World, and the future of SuperGaming.
SuperGaming on developing games, Silly World, its upcoming new game mode, and what is next
Since I have always loved gaming, talking about the how-tos of video games is something I really enjoy. With that energy, I asked Mr. Roby John about their studio, their games, and how the experience of making video games has been in India.
1) Thank you so much for the interview. Can we start by having the readers know a little bit about SuperGaming and what it does?
Roby: We’re a Pune-based games company that has built a host of diverse games such as MaskGun, Silly World (previously known as Devil Amongst Us), and Tower Conquest which have clocked in over 200 million installs cumulatively on Android and iOS.
At SuperGaming we’re driven to build our own tech to run our games rather than depend on off-the-shelf solutions. This proved beneficial not only to help us run our own aforementioned titles but also to run hyperscale, real-time multiplayer games. This includes the official PAC-MAN game that’s based on our own in-house June Engine. In addition to this, we have Bored. It’s a suite of games for remote teams.
2) In a country like India where the gaming culture is steadily rising and is becoming popular, how much of a hurdle has it been when it comes to developing games?
Roby: “Steadily rising” is accurate. And it also holds true for the Indian game development industry too, thanks to some key trends.
In the last few years, the industry has moved away from work-for-hire projects concentrated just around Bollywood and cricket games. The likes of Gametion with Ludo King prove that we can make great games and build a sustainable business around them too.
Furthermore, global publishers view India as more than just an outsourcing hub, with Ubisoft making the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake in India and EA depending on the nation for the live operations of a host of titles including Sims 4. However, the attention goes beyond game development and live services.
Due to our advantage in terms of audience size, we're seeing the likes of Krafton, Riot, and Garena looking to do more in the country in terms of pushing esports and fostering the community that comes with it.
With all of that in mind, one of the biggest hurdles is talent. Unlike established fields such as engineering and law, there are no good game development colleges in the country. When you consider the popularity of video games in this country, it's perplexing that there are no institutions to support it at the moment.
Nonetheless, we're hopeful. As SuperGaming, with each game, we've learned and grown as a team with the belief that game development is a never-ending process of discovery and skilling up.
After all, you can't just wake up one day and simply decide to make a GTA or a Fortnite or even an Angry Birds. It's quite likely that your first few games will be stepping stones towards something bigger and better. We hope to use those learnings to help the next generation of India's talent make better games and put India on the global gaming map.
3) From a development perspective, a lot of new engines and technologies are coming out for game development. Is there any particular technology you people are particularly curious and excited to check out for game development?
Roby: We are on top of the newer tech that Unity3D is bringing out with Unity’s Data-Oriented Tech Stack (DOTS) and the Entity Component System (ECS). It provides a framework for coding using a Data-Oriented approach to Game Development versus the earlier evolving style of doing development.
The ability to run cross-platform and being able to build for multiple platforms using the same singular code base is something that we think will drive a lot of speed and innovation to the Video Game industry. We are also excited to see what Blockchain integration with games brings to players worldwide.
4) Let us now move on to Silly World: Devil Amongst Us. Firstly, congratulations on hitting 300k+ pre-registration for the upcoming game mode. I played the game last night, and I really loved quite a lot of things about it. How did the inspiration for Silly World come up?
Roby: Inner Sloth’s Among Us was an inspiration. We had already been working on games being the new social network and thought that Among Us would make social deduction more a genre than just a one-off game. It's like how Candy Crush pretty much codified and amplified the match-three genre.
Rather than making a pure clone of the concept, we took the idea up a notch and then several more with our new game modes like Hide and Seek, and Jail Break. We then augmented the core gameplay experience with a fully-featured social layer in the form of Friend Lists, Presence, Chat, Voice Chat and now our new Spectate and Stream Offering.
The reason for our growth has been streamers and influencers using the game to create high-impact content to engage their own followers and be part of our events, like our developer live streams and contest, to keep our community buzzing. Self-expression of players' personalities with over the top designs for our Silly Character, which you play as, allows everyone to express themselves in game.
Our intent is to evolve Silly World into a destination for people to socialise over games and make new friends too, bonding over common elements that are a reflection of our culture. Be it the use of memes or events, they make Silly World’s world what it is.
5) Tell us a bit about Silly World and its upcoming Squid Royale mode. From the looks of it, the mode has taken some inspiration from the hit Netflix show Squid Game, and people are excited about it. The pre-registration number proves that.
What can fans of the game as well as newcomers expect from the upcoming game mode?
Roby: Since this is a brand new season for Silly World, you can expect Red Light Green Light, Dalgona Cookie, Tug of War, and Marble Game to name what we have made. With Silly World, we’re always experimenting with new game modes. While not all of them would be tied to Squid Game, fans can definitely expect something different and fresh ever so often.
6) To wrap the interview up, what are the future plans for Silly World and SuperGaming? How are you guys planning to evolve the game and studio in the future?
Roby: With Silly World, the focus is to deliver the best social multiplayer experience for you and your friends to hang out and play together. So you can expect a steady stream of modes, events, and tie-ups that build on our existing multiplayer gaming platform.
We also intend for it to be a way for influencers and streamers to engage with their fans and a wider audience by using it as a social destination to simply chill out and have a good time with its evolving game modes. In a way, we hope Silly World helps bring communities together.
As for what’s next, that’s Indus. It’s a made-in-India for-the-world battle royale that we’re working to bring to life.
Developed by SuperGaming, Silly World is a made-in-India real-time online multiplayer game best played by 4-12 players in a Haunted Mansion or Prison. Players can create their own avatar and get selected as a "Silly" or a "Devil" in Hide N Seek & Murder Mystery mode, and as a “Cop” or a “Robber” in the new Jail Break Mode.
You can catch all the latest news about Silly World: Devil Amongst Us and their Squid Royale mode by heading over to their Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
