Video gaming in Bangladesh

Video gaming is relatively a new sector in Bangladesh. Games have been developed since 2002, mostly independently. However, from 2014, some IT companies have started to develop video games commercially. Some research has been carried out at various universities for the betterment of the video game development sector.[1]

History

Apple Soft IT is one of the first video game companies in Bangladesh, and was established in 2011. It is a game developing company in Bangladesh. Red Cloud 71 was its first product of Applesoft IT. Video gaming was introduced in the country through arcade gaming through a significant growth during the late 1990s because of the availability of personal computers at lower prices. However, the local video game development only started in the early 2000s.[2] Dhaka Racing, a racing video game set in the streets of Dhaka, is the first 3D video game to be developed in the country.[3] The game was designed by two undergraduate students of computer science and was launched independently by eSophers in 2002.[3][4] Getting a huge response from the gamers across the country, the game eventually paved the way for the local video game development sector. A year later, inspired by the success of Dhaka Racing, a group of computer science students from Chittagong developed Chittagong Racing.[5]

In 2004, a first-person shooter game titled Arunodoyer Agnishikha was developed by Trimatrik Interactive, which was based on the events of Bangladesh Liberation War. Being the first Bangladeshi game of its genre, it received widespread acclaim and started a new chapter of video game development in the country.[6] In 2012, a group of students from BRAC University developed Aerial Multi-Player Dogfight which they claimed to be the first massively multi-player online (MMO) game for PCs in the world that responds to body movements and voice command.[7]

On 16 December 2012, the first professional game development team after 2004 was formed, named "Team 71". They started their journey by announcing a first person shooter game named Liberation 71 based on the Bangladesh Liberation war and inspired by the game Arunodoyer Agnishikha. Liberation 71 will contain the actual history and events of the liberation war of 1971. The game is a big project using the Unreal 4 game engine, so it is still under development. Team 71 is called the "pioneer of the computer game development" era of Bangladesh after 2010.

In 2014, Hatirjheel: Dream Begins, an open world action-adventure game, was developed and published by MassiveStar Studio. It was the first commercially published video game in Bangladesh.[8]

In 2015, a new game titled The Reels:Welcome to Bangladesh was being developed by another development team named LAI MASSIVE, which was a story based, linear racing game that lets the players drive through from Dhaka to Chittagong. The developers were very young and few in numbers, but made a game of next-generation quality. They also made other games like The Division Sa World At War, The Run, and Night Time Bed. In June 2016, Dream World Studio released a new third person shooter game called Durjoy.[9] Also, a first person shooter game called Hound6: The Escape is being developed by the team as a sequel to Hound6: Strike,[10] which was also released in 2016.

In 2015, Bangladeshi game developer team "The Mascoteers" hit the top chart with their game 360 Degree. The game was downloaded more than a million times in both the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store.Google Play Store featured 360 Degree.[11][12]

In 2016, Swiperoo and Dropple by The Mascoteers were downloaded more than a million times in both the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store. Google Play Store featured Swiperoo and Dropple. Many of The Mascoteers' games, including MineBoom, Drumheads, JetFly, Boo Wee, Pogo Jump, Carpenter, Nail It, Mad Head, and Smatch were featured in iTunes' "New Games We Love" section.[13]

Development teams

  • The Mascoteers are a Bangladeshi game developer hub known for the worldwide arcade games 360 Degree, Swiperoo, Dropple and many more. They are a pioneer of Apple Watch Games, Apple TV Games and VR Gear games in Bangladesh.[14]
  • Team 71 are the developers of the Liberation 71 game.
  • Rise Up Labs or RUL is a successful mobile game developing company who created the worldwide famous mobile game Tap Tap Ants. They also created some other Android and iOS games. Rooftop Frenzy and Highway Chase are two mobile games by RUL.
  • Massive Star Studio (MSS) is the developer of the first open world racing game of Bangladesh Hatirjheel: Dream Begins.
  • Dream World Studio (DWS) is a new developing team of young developers and the first multinational developing team in Bangladesh. The Hound6 series, Durjoy, and Crimact are the creations of the team.
  • 143Play.com is a gaming and entertainment company which works with popular card games and MMORPGs along with augmented reality. This gaming house also provides gamification aspects in various domains.[15]
  • GHOST Interactive is currently working on WAR71 and IGI: GHOST Fighter (Project IGI-3).

Games

Here is the list of several games developed by Bangladeshi developers:

  • Liberation 71
  • 360 Degree Game[16]
  • Volkan[17] - first VR Gear Game in the history of Bangladesh (available on Samsung Oculus Store)
  • Dropple[18]
  • Swiperoo[19]
  • Games by The Mascoteers[20]
  • Hatirjheel Dream Begins
  • Tap Tap Ants[21]
  • The Division Dhaka
  • Tap Tap Ants: Battlefield
  • 29 Card Game[22]
  • Heroes of 71
  • Rooftop Freenzy
  • Hound6: Strike[23]
  • Stickman Crossfire[24]
  • Crimact[25]
  • RUN N RUN (coming soon)
  • WAR71
  • Planet RED
  • GHOST Fighter

Research and development

Lately, there has been some research and development carried out on video gaming. In 2014, Microsoft Bangladesh organized a game development workshop titled "Imagine Cup Bangladesh 2014 - Game Camp" for the participants of the games category of the Imagine Cup Bangladesh 2014.[26] It followed two other game camps.[27] In the same year, MassiveStar studio began a project to train 80,000 students as video game developers.[28]

The mobile game industry of Bangladesh is also rising rapidly,[29] and some companies provide world class games. The Mascoteers are a pioneer of Apple Watch games,[30] TV games,[31] VR Gear games, and many popular arcade games in Bangladesh. They are taking the level of Bangladeshi video gaming industry to a new level. Now they have 25 games in the Google Play Store and Apple iTunes, along with their games for Apple Watch and TV, and VR Gear powered by Oculus Store. Tap Tap Ants, downloaded 15 million times,[32] is one of the most popular games developed by the Bangladeshi company Rise Up Labs.

References

  1. ↑ "IUB holds 2D game development workshop". Daily Observer. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "World of gaming". New Age. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 "The first 3D game developers of Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Hang on, it's race time". The Daily Star. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Chittagong Racing: Another racing game on the track". The Daily Star. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Relive the '71 sensation". The Daily Star. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "Brac boys take PC games to new height". The Daily Star. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  8. ↑ "First ever commercial Bangladeshi-made video game 'Hatirjheel' launched". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  9. ↑ Durjoy
  10. ↑ Hound6: Strike
  11. ↑ "??". Epaper.prothom-alo.com. Retrieved 2017-01-18.
  12. ↑ "Game of developers - New Age Youth". 4 September 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  13. ↑ "Games by The Mascoteers". Themascoteers.com. Retrieved 2017-01-18.
  14. ↑ "The Mascoteers - iOS & Android Game Developer & Publisher". Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  15. ↑ "Gaming Industry and it's future in Bangladesh". Forum.daffodilvarsity.edu.bd. 2014-06-08. Retrieved 2017-01-18.
  16. ↑ 360 Degree Game
  17. ↑ Volkan
  18. ↑ Dropple
  19. ↑ Swiperoo
  20. ↑ Games by The Mascoteers
  21. ↑ Tap Tap Ants
  22. ↑ 29 Card Game
  23. ↑ Hound6: Strike
  24. ↑ Stickman Crossfire
  25. ↑ Crimact
  26. ↑ "IUB Microsoft Student Partners (MSP) Conduct Game Development Workshop at Microsoft, BD". Independent University of Bangladesh. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  27. ↑ "Second episode of imagine camps was held at Microsoft". TechWorldBD. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  28. ↑ "Mission Hatirjheel". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
  29. ↑ "A Beacon of Light for Bangladeshi Game Developers". HiFi Public. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  30. ↑ "Swiperoo - Swiperoo is now available on Apple watch!... - Facebook". Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  31. ↑ "Pogo Jump for TV on the App Store". Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  32. ↑ "How did Tap Tap Ants get over 15 million downloads?". Quora.
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