Xbox Discovery Day 2024
A Special day for the Indian devs by Xbox ✨
Xbox recently hosted the Xbox Discovery Day 🎮, a celebration of the thriving Indian game development community in Namma Bengaluru.
The day was packed with insightful talks, inspiring stories, and, of course, games from talented young creators. Xbox's dedicated support was front and center, with the team offering invaluable guidance to help Indian developers level up their journey and get their best games out to market.
The agenda was brimming with learning opportunities and networking sessions, bringing together an exciting mix of game creators—from indie devs to academics. Here’s a look at the day's highlights!
Xbox and their mission for India🪷
Arjun Varma from Xbox kicked off the day, spotlighting the many ways Xbox is empowering developers to self-publish and upskill. Here are some key initiatives:
ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Programme: A program designed to help developers learn, prototype, port, and release their games on the Xbox ecosystem and leverage their massive audience. It offers grants (non-equity, non-restrictive, non-recoupable!), mentorship, and other invaluable support.
Xbox Game Camp (Asia): A two-month training camp that provides upskilling as well as valuable mentorship from Xbox studios.
Indian Games in of ID@Xbox: Featured Indian titles like Brocula, Detective Dotson, and Palace on the Hill.
GameDev India & the power of community 🤝
Yadu Rajiv, co-founder of Gamedev India, talked about the importance of community and how its striving to empower and build sustainable ecosystems for the Indian game development community.
He highlighted the Initiatives by GameDev India (The Discord community, The People page, Directories, Campfires, BYOG, Podcasts, Newsletters - all of which are listed on the gamedev.in website) and also plans for the future, to support and help in the discoverability of Indian gamedevs on the global stage 🌏
P.S If you’re still not in our fabulous Discord community, please come join us!
Blending history with vision by Glass Jar Interactive🪔
Glass Jar Interactive showcased their game Ghatika which is early in its production. Raunaq Kavalu and Manik Sachdeva shared insights on crafting a stand-out offering and paying homage to India’s rich cultural roots. The founders, with their law and business background also gave actionable legal tips for devs embarking on their indie game journey⛵.
Pursuing the indie dream by Brewed Games💫
Prashanth DG, co-founder of Brewed Games took the audience through their development process and shared dos and don'ts for indie game devs. He also showcased their game, Winds of Arcana, a sleek 2.5D action platformer, boasting tight gameplay and superb visuals 😍 that is now part of the Tokyo Game Show!
Do check out the demo and wishlist the game on steam! 💖
The appeal of Visual Novels by Monica Selvandurai💌
Monica Selvandurai gave an insightful talk on Visual Novels (VN) and the Otome sub genre of games that originated from Japan, and are now popular globally. They shared the journey of their game - Shroudfall Cove, which took shape during the Otome jam 2024 and how it garnered good reviews and a small but dedicated fan base. They also spoke about their current development process, making games with low code tools like Ren’Py, and how to manage challenges while working fully remote with a collaborator in a different time zones 💻
Learning by doing: The NID Approach🛠️
Students of NID Bengaluru showcased an array of games they developed as part of their academic journey. The games ranged from simple yet incredibly fun concepts, including games with a focus on educating the player about the conservation of nature and our resources, to a fully featured 3D action couch co-op shooter. Quite the visual fiesta! 😍
Open Panels and Networking 🗣️
The afternoon featured dynamic, interactive discussions covering a wide range of topics—from the representation of Indian mythology in global gaming, to Xbox’s initiatives supporting students and educational institutions, to in-depth analytics on the gaming market. The conversations were rich with insights and opportunities for further growth 📈.
All in all, the day was truly unforgettable. Xbox demonstrated its deep commitment to nurturing India’s indie game development scene, and with the energy and creativity of passionate indie developers, bright students, and Xbox's continued support, the future looks bright for Indian game development. We can’t wait to see the next generation of Indian gaming gems!🤩
If you're excited about future events and want to connect with fellow creators, join the thriving community of over 5,000 Indian game developers on the Gamedev India Discord!