Explore Rajendra Chola's empire with this one-of-a-kind immersive video game

CHENNAI: Most of us have been obsessed with PlayStation (PS) or computer games since childhood. Whether it was GTA, racing, WWE, or God of War, the quick movement of our fingers using the joystick, spontaneous thinking, and aggressive emotions are core parts of our memories. However, the craze has faded with time. To bring the gaming sector back on track, the Indian government is taking initiatives and supporting innovative ideas.

The Tamil region has witnessed the valour of kings and queens, diverse cultures, and traditional practices, which are still spoken about today. Giving a gaming form to our rich history, Ayelet Studio has come up with Unsung Empires: The Cholas II - The Legacy of Rajendra Chola.

“This is the first-of-its-kind Tamil game, recreating the 11th century. Through this creation, today’s generation will gain insight into the lifestyle of people back then and how prosperous our culture was. This is a PC and console game,” says Abraham K, creator and head of the studio. The Chennai-based studio has tried its best to incorporate traditional flavour into every element of the game. “To design the combat, which involves physical conflict between the players and enemies, we have taken Kalari as an inspiration in the way of holding swords and the types of weapons,” he adds.

Unsung Empires: The Cholas II - The Legacy of Rajendra Chola is narrative-driven and offers an immersive experience for players. “Kids these days are hardly interested in delving deep into our history. But through games, we can narrate our past in an interesting way,” the creative director states.

“For a game, the community is crucial in getting feedback after the playtest. Building that market is key. Gaming developers in India have tried their hands at mythology or traditional games. Many studios in India do outsourcing, and previously, mobile games have been developed. But retelling history through an original IP on this scale is the first time in India,” says Venkata Subramanian, vice president of marketing at Ayelet Studio.

“Even the colour palette matters in bringing authenticity to create a world. The green colour tone in Thanjavur is new for Indians. We have a lot of experience in games like Jallikattu, Therukoothu, Pallanguzhi, Aadupuli Aattam, and more. Players will engage in these games with songs that add value to Unsung Empires: The Cholas II - The Legacy of Rajendra Chola, which is a single-player game,” Abraham shares.

There are four types of classes—Valour, Warfare, Shadowcraft, and Wisdom—out of which players can choose any class, and their moves will impact the game. “Valour is a class of shield, sword, bow, and arrow, where one can attack or defend. Warfare is completely aggressive, using dual swords. Shadowcraft is a stealth game, involving sneaking and assassinating. There is also Wisdom, where the player need not fight. For example, if you have an enemy camp, you can either defeat them or cross it. You can choose to be a farmer and simply cross. The choice can be made depending on your play style,” elucidates the studio head.

Talking about the target audience for the game, Venkata Subramanian explains, “We believe that Unsung Empires: The Cholas II - The Legacy of Rajendra Chola will cater to a wider audience, both as a story and art. Our primary target is the 18 to 30 age group. People in their late 40s are also interested in history. When we released the trailer a few months ago, many people watched it with their families. Even kids were interested.”

The team exclusively revealed to DT Next that they are planning to develop a mode for children. “Only those who are above 16 are allowed to play games involving bloodshed. But many parents wanted their kids to play this game as it speaks about our history and culture. The 'One' mode will switch to the educational part of the game,” shares the team.

Ayelet Studio initiated the idea in 2022. This is a two-part game, with the first one released in January last year. The conclusion for the prologue was unveiled in April, and the story will continue from where it ends. Unsung Empires: The Cholas II - The Legacy of Rajendra Chola is expected to be released by the end of 2025 worldwide in Tamil and English. Depending on the reception, the team, which consists of 26 visionary minds, is planning to add more languages.

Explaining the development process, Abraham says, “This is like an interactive movie. The sequence will be cinematic, and we will enter the game. To develop a temple, we either visit the place and take pictures or collect references. We researched how people dressed, the types of fabric, their lifestyle, food, and more. We create concepts, which are then converted into 3D and put into the game engine. We build the environment in the gaming world.”

The team was cautious during the development of the game as they are representing Tamil culture on the world stage, and everything needs to be accurate with creative freedom. However, the story is fictional.

Giving us insights into the current status of the gaming sector, Venkata Subramanian remarks, “In India, our market is mobile. So, game development studios are already focused on mobile games. They call this phenomenon hyper-casual games. The major reason is accessibility. The number of people with a PS or a gaming laptop is comparatively lower. So, as a market, it takes about five to seven years to create a console game of this scale. It's like commercial films versus art. In terms of market and revenue, India’s gaming sector has grown a lot. But the growth is monotonous. On the other hand, United States and European studios have titles defining their heritage. We do not have anything like that in the past decade. When it comes to concept and 3D creation, we have a pool of talent in India, which increases our potential to create unique ideas.”

He forecasts that IPs will be a unique selling point in the industry. “In the past, PS was a luxury. But now it's changing. And the culture of viewing games as a hobby is also evolving. It helps with hand-eye coordination and decision-making skills. There are negative effects due to certain games, but story-based games are a game changer.”

Abraham wishes to develop a world of the Pandiyas in the future. “Since the release of the Ponniyin Selvan franchise, the hype for history has increased multifold. Even people from other regions are aware of the Pandiyas now. Games are an effective platform to represent the heritage of Tamil globally, and we aim to explore more,” he concludes.