Hasta La Motion!

Playing a game for the first time is indeed exciting. The mix of exuberance and rush felt as you are transported to a whole new world is an experience that the gaming world is well-acquainted with. The feeling that glues players to the game is something which can only be achievable if the game is unique yet relatable. Here comes the task for every game developer where they have come across the concept, design, gameplay by hitting hard on to their creativity button.

Taking the example of a popular game like PUBG, it has so many different elements will you believe that to put every single bit of element together, the creator might have to storm every bit of nerve.  For a creator, it is always a nerve-racking task to create something, despite that what drives the creator in the creation process is the inspiration, zeal and motivation to create something new.

Bypassing the swords and bullets, the other side of gaming which a lot of players never see in the game is the developer’s passion. Apart from that it also requires a whole lot of heart and soul put into characters who will run any form of art. The inspiration in developing a game can be anything it can be from a toy to a shadow. There’s inspiration everywhere if you know how to look for it. What will happen if the developer lacks the ability to develop a new game? Here are the few inspirations which have helped the Indie developers to continue the process of game development.

Some inspired by the  gaming heroes:

It is always crucial to find out interest from a particular gaming genre.  A developer can choose from the same genre which he/she likes playing or working for others or it can be from a varied one. Remembered the epic arcade video game Pac-Man? It was released in 1980 and developed by Namco and designed by Toru Iwatani has stormed the industry. Later a chain of similar videogames were launched and the reason behind it may be either the developers have a similar wavelength to Namco or inspired from Namco.

Whereas on the other hand Ogre Head Studio, co-founder and director, Zainuddeen Fahadh  who developed mythological game Asura,  short games and currently working on another ambitious project found his inspiration when him and his peers were working in the industry, says he”we were usually working on ports, or some kind of cricket game or Bollywood game which was repetitive and did not appease our creative thirst. We were always into Indian mythology and were playing games like Warcraft and Diablo.  So, we wanted to create something like that, and after the Unity engine came in, it became really easy as we did not have to create the whole infrastructure. We always had the ambition to start our own studio, so that we can choose the projects we want and not just work on ports.”

Some inspired by the passion:

Finding your passion and driving it to a creative piece is best for inspiration and the creative fluid evolve as we age and gain wisdom and experience. But people with a fixed mindset are much more likely to give up when obstacles arise. This is what happened when underDOGS studio CEO and founder, Vaibhav Chavan planned to create MUKTI out of his reverence and love for theatre. He says “being avid theatre lovers and performers, we love stories and the way they’re told. I myself love, and we believe games right now are one of the craziest mediums for storytelling in the way you want.”

Some inspired by real life:
Look back in past when you were a child. Can you recollect the moment of noticing something which you were unable to explain however you made your own interpretations and made stories out of it! Exactly like that in gaming, PlayBae, founder, Nakul Verma expressed that the idea of creating his upcoming game In the Shadows stroke him when he and his couple of friends were “at the terrace found a chain of shadows. Usually, in games and in real life, we are the one who creates shadows right,  what if the shadows have the power to control us  what if the shadows become the most important part of life, that was the  inception of the idea .”

 Some inspired after analysing the market
A key part of any business plan is the market analysis and gaming is no exception. This is one of the strategic inspirations which help the leaders to clutch the right ladder of success. This can be only possible when the leader has the expertise for the particular market and the market magnetism from a financial standpoint. Gameskraft founder and CTO Prithvi Singh started his journey in the gaming industry like that he said “I like to think of myself as an avid gamer. In fact, I started showing interest in gaming from quite a young age. While I never planned on becoming a professional gamer, I spent a lot of time playing video games during my college years. It was around that time when I realised that India’s gaming space is mostly dominated by internet players and therefore the games are not specific to the Indian market. My idea behind Gameskraft was simple – to create games that includes some Indian context and provides our customers with world-class gaming experience.”

Considering the gaming industry, there are endless stream of inspirations that connect the flowing river it is just one has to identify the right stream and flow according to the tide.

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Streaming giant, Netflix has announced its first original animated series from Africa, titled,  Mama K’s Team 4. Created by Zambian writer Malenga Mulendema, the inspiring action-comedy is produced by Cape Town-based Triggerfish Animation Studios and London-based kids’ entertainment leader CAKE.

One of the winner’s of the 2015 Triggerfish Story Lab, Mama K’s Team 4 revolves around four teen girls living in a neo-futuristic version of Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, who are recruited by a retired secret agent still committed to saving the world. The show’s designs by Cameroonian artist Malcolm Wope draw inspiration from ‘90s R&B and hip-hop girl groups.

Netflix VP of original animation Melissa Cobb said, “In addition to giving African writers a global platform on which to be heard, we are excited to present this powerful and entertaining new animated series that brings Mulendema’s incredible and unique vision to life on Netflix. Mama K’s Team 4 has the potential to give a whole new generation of African children the opportunity to see themselves on-screen in the powerful, aspirational characters they look up to.”

Netflix is also collaborating with Triggerfish and CAKE to launch a continent-wide search for female writing talent across Africa to join the series — local writers who have had their work produced for film, TV or theater who can apply or register through Triggerfish’s website .

Malenga Mulendema

“In creating a superhero show set in Lusaka, I hope to introduce the world to four strong African girls who ‘save the day’ in their own fun and crazy way. Most importantly, I want to illustrate that anyone from anywhere can be a superhero,” commented Mulendema.

“After animating four multi-award-winning BBC Christmas specials set in England, including the Oscar-nominated Revolting Rhymes, Triggerfish is delighted to bring an African capital city to life on Netflix,” added Triggerfish development producer Vanessa Ann Sinden .

CAKE CEO and creative director Tom van Waveren concluded, “We are delighted to be partnering with Triggerfish and Netflix on Mama K’s Team 4, a uniquely empowering, but most of all fun project, which brings a fresh perspective to a classic cartoon genre.”

Mama K’s Team 4 joins Netflix’s growing slate of original animated programming designed for kids and families everywhere, brought to 190 countries by artists from around the world.

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Tinkle’s legendary series Tantri the Mantri will fulfil a popular demand from Tinkle readers. After 35 long years, Tantri gets his heart’s desire to rule the kingdom of Hujli, with the death of Raja Hooja.

Tantri is a minister at the court of king Hooja. However he always had his eye on the throne of Hujli. In this effort, he has tried his best to get rid of Hooja over the years. To his frustration, all his attempts have ended up in failure.

The king of Hujli, Raja Hooja was a foodie and particularly loved laddoos. He considered his minister, Tantri, his best friend and blissfully remained unaware of the latter’s schemes to get rid of him. It is Hooja’s phenomenal luck that has saved his skin over the years.

Tantri the Mantri first debuted in Tinkle comics in 1984 and over the years became one of the magazine’s most iconic characters. The series has been written and illustrated by multiple writers and artists earlier but is currently illustrated by staff artist Vineet Nair.

“Tantri the Mantri has followed many twists and turns over the years. But one abiding demand from readers has been that Tantri should be given the chance to become king. We have decided to turn the world of the Tantri the Mantri series upside down by doing exactly that,” shared Tinkle Comics editor-in-chief Rajani Thindiath.

The new series will see Hooja dead with Tantri dealing with the various royal duties that are on his plate. Tinkle has fanned the curiosity of readers by making Tantri the king. It’s a matter of time to see if Tantri will also have to fight to keep the throne? Will there be attempts on Tantri’s life and if yes, how will Tantri deal with them, without Hooja’s perennial luck?

Tinkle also created a motion comic for the fans to know the cause of Hooja’s death, which is a prelude to the current story.

The issue is out in the market from 16 April 2019. When are you grabbing your copy?

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Toonz Media Group is celebrating its 20^th Anniversary this year. The organisation proudly announces the 2019 edition of its Animation Masters Summit (AMS), on 3 and 4 May at the TechnoPark Campus in the picturesque city of Trivandrum, Kerala in Southern India.

Established as the first ever animation event in India in 1999, each year Toonz celebrates the art of animation bringing together experts and leading figures from the global animation industry from across the world to interact with aspiring young talents, and for masters to showcase their work to animation professionals, entrepreneurs and the media.

The theme at this year’s AMS is ‘Connecting Content: Seeing the Big Picture’.

Industry experts who will gather in Trivandrum at the AMS include: the creator of the YouTube global success song I’m a Gummy Bear Christian Schneider; founder and CEO of Goldieblox Debbie Sterling; writer, animation artist and director who has worked on  Watership Down, Frankenweenie, Fantastic Mister Fox and Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride Pete Dodd; Discovery Kids India head Uttam Pal Singh; Brand Monk CEO and VFX supervisor in the film industry Srinivas Mohan. A full list of speakers and industry guests will be announced in due course. Updated information can be found at http://animationsummit.in/

P Jayakumar

Toonz Media Group CEO P. Jayakumar comments on the AMS,“Designed to facilitate interaction between veterans and future generations of artists, the Animation Masters Summit is an important part of Toonz’s legacy to inspire young animation and special effects artists and inform them of how animation is being crafted and created around the world.”

Coinciding with the AMS, Toonz is this year launching the Cocoon Concept Lab, a program to support authentic story-telling and ideas by providing individualized concept development for emerging concept creators and writers with a TV/digital series idea or screenplay; and the selected projects will be taken to the international market to develop further under the Toonz banner.

In this ever-evolving and increasingly complex global multi-platform, consumer driven world empowered more and more by kids; how we create and deliver content is at the forefront of the development, production and delivery process. Our vision, understanding and capability to see the whole picture and connect content and build deeper engaging relationships through an enhanced and compelling emotion-driven viewing experience, is key to success and at the core of animation excellence.

From left to right: Peter Dodd, Uttam Pal Singh, Debbie Sterling, Srinivas Mohan, Christian Schneider

Recognised and respected industry talents and experts from around the world will share their experiences, reflections and learnings at the Animation Masters Summit, offering inspirations and insights into what it takes to have vision, and connect and drive content in this invigorating new entertainment era. This year’s event will include many activities, to celebrate Toonz’s two decades of ‘entertaining the world’ of animation, positioning it as one if the largest and most active production studios in Asia.

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