Hyderabad-based game developers shine at IGDC

Three Hyderabad-based game developers from Backstage Pass Institute of Gaming made it to the top five in the Student Game of the Year category

‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ is an adage these three youngsters believed in firmly, as they grew up. They played while they studied, and they played (and are still playing) while working. Now they are making a career out of it. The trio – Abhishek Singh, Jay Jain and Ram Mohan — all Hyderabad-based game developers from Backstage Pass Institute of Gaming of Hyderabad, made it to the top five in the Student Game of the Year category at the India Game Developer Conference (IGDC) in Hyderabad last week in Hyderabad at Hitex. 

The IGDC is one of India’s most significant platforms for game developers. It was established in 2023. The IGDC brings together game developers, students, and enthusiasts from India and South Asia to share knowledge, upskill, network, and showcase their gaming skill. It has awards across 12 categories — including the Student Game of the Year — to recognise excellence in the gaming industry. 

Talking about his game Warbound, Abhishek Singh explains, “It (Warbound) is a card deck game that I developed to showcase at the IGDC. Building the deck is akin to building an army. I plan to release it next year.

Having grown up playing Road Rash, GTS series, Chinese consoles like Mario etc, Abhishek worked on both the programming and design aspects of the game. He says, “Warbound is an engaging action role-playing game (ARPG) with a twist, combining strategic card mechanics with empire-building gameplay. Players must build their kingdom, upgrade cities, conquer new lands, and expand their empire.”

Abhishek had earlier developed games which are already on Google Play and the App Store. “Games that I have developed earlier include Paperly, where the player has to navigate a paper plane to land safely. Lazer Tanks (a game where you battle against alien monsters) and Webslinger, where a spider eats insects to become big and powerful, were also developed by me.” 

International games he likes are Slay the Spire, Hearthstone, and Clash of Plans, developed in European countries. “Earlier I played games for fun; now I play to learnabout their features ,” he adds.  

Apart from being a game enthusiast, Jay Jain is a digital music composer and Ram Manohar is an art enthusiast.