Durgesh Gupta -
Televisionpoint.com | Mumbai Breaking wind,
burping and shirking responsibilities were something that only
uncouth people were associated with, but now it has become a
way to de-stress and can be done with the click of a mouse all
thanks to gaming. The Indian gaming industry, which is growing
at a rapid pace, is also seeing some innovative twists that
are characteristically desi.
While there are games on
sites like Zapak.com and Games2win.com modeled around
navigating through crowded city roads there are also games
like Pig Blast and Sugandhiben P.A.A.D which seem to be
equally popular. Pig Blast involves rescuing a pig trapped in
its pen by controlling the power of its air movements and in
the latter game Sugandhiben's farts are directed at terrorists
to keep them at bay. In both these games the characters are
constantly fed bean juice, vada pav or theplas to keep their
gas quotient high.
Manisha, an animator, says "Burping
in public is considered improper but it's always great to have
fun at someone else's expense. My colleagues and I absolutely
love these games and they are a far cry from the violent, racy
ones which only add to one's stress levels."
The
makers of these games say that such funny, corny and humourous
games are a huge hit with their audience, especially
youngsters. "We get about 2.1 million hits a month. Most of
the users who play these games are youngsters and many of them
have commented that they find such games more interesting than
the strategies and races. A majority of the target audience of
these games claim that it helps them de stress," remarks Alok
Kejriwal, Founder and CEO, Games2win.com.
The makers
of these games admit that they could be gross, a notion that
could vary among users, but say that they are nevertheless
popular. Adds Kejriwal, "We agree that these games sometimes
border on the gross factor but then our users encourage us
with their feedback and some of these games are actually born
out of comments from users."
According to gaming
portals, there is a marked increase in the number of gamers in
India. While sporting games remain a clear favourite, the ones
with a touch of humour are also high on the popularity lists.
"This is because when you are playing racy, adrenaline
filled games there is a lot of concentration involved and it
can be a physically as well as mentally exhausting experience.
On the other hand, with such 'fun' games you can unwind and
laugh at these situations - all of which contribute to
reducing your stress levels. Even though some of these games
are considered gross or embarrassing, the truth is that we
have received excellent and positive feedback from our
gamers," says Rohit Sharma, COO, Zapak Digital Entertainment.
Well it seems like when food can be ordered online and
even bills can be paid, it shouldn't be a surprise that such
activities too find a place on the World Wide
Web. |