One of the easiest ways, people here in recent times have found to accumulate the local audience is to just include 2-3 references from well known Hindu mythological texts and brand the game as a cultural showcase. I call these as “mythology slop” and it is what a lot of indie game studios in here are doing as well.
A lot of VC money has been poured in to create “the first ever AAA souls-like” from India, and it always turns out to be demo level with a couple of Indian references such as a mace as a weapon
But quality games do not have to be AAA. Hell, they do not have to be 3D even, which is something the VC backed indie studios are not understanding. We do not want a half buggy AAA slop, something even as half as polished as Hollow Knight would do wonders. I have always thought of metroidvanias to be one of the best ways to showcase our rich cast of characters and settings.
This is what I’m trying to change, actual well researched, well put lore and worldbuilding heavy representation of our Hindu mythology. I cannot go too ambitious on games so they would be somewhat limited to metroidvanias, dungeon shooters or top down rpgs, but that is not the point of the games.
Kardbrew is my love letter to the countless hours I have spent as a child being fascinated by Hindu mythology and reading books about them. And I would like you, the reader to join my mission. If you are a pixel artist, a composer, or a good programmer, please dm me on twitter or mail me at hey@namishh.com