Actor Suriya travels back and forth in different time zones in three different roles in his film 24, a sci-fi thriller. He plays a scientist attempting time travel; a watch mechanic and an evil Athreya. “Replicating a movie of this scale in an android game is a big challenge,” says Deepak Aravind P of Creative Monkey Games & Technologies, a start-up based in Coimbatore. “The producer of the film, actor Suriya and co-producer Rajsekarpandian who is also the CEO of 2D Entertainment, liked our idea. It was a big honour for us to be associated with a film that has legends like music director A.R. Rahman, award-winning director Vikram K Kumar and a big star Suriya in the lead,” he says.
24 Athreya Run, the official game developed and published by his team in association with Suriya’s 2D Entertainment, is now trending as one of top 10 in the category of new free games. It has already crossed one lakh downloads in both Android and iOS. The game teaser has been viewed more than one lakh times on YouTube. It is an infinite runner game, something like the popular Temple Run and Subway Surfers , which can be played by anyone. “Suriya launched the android version of the game. Though the game and the film follow the same story thread, the challenge was to develop the game without revealing the story line. It has to build curiosity and those who play the game should go back and catch the movie to find the answers. Most big-budget movies now launch a mobile game to build pre-release hype. And, it works. An android game gives an instant reach,” says Deepak.
While Deepak’s earlier game based on Dheeraj Vaidya’s film Jil Jung Juk was an exciting mix of racing and action, 24 Athreya Run tackles time-travel in real time, a novel gaming theme. The player has to accomplish mission 1 and mission 2. In mission 1, he has to build the 24 watch, a scientific watch that lets people travel between the past and future. “The player, Mani (watch mechanic) has to collect 24 components and build the special watch. He is chased by the paraplegic Athreya, who wants to grab the watch. The chase takes place in the busy roads of Watch maker street and the player has to avoid oncoming autorickshaws, ice-cream vehicles, manholes, barricades, fruit stalls, ladder-men and blocking walls,” explains Deepak.
In mission 2, the player enters a different time zone as Dr.Sethuraman (scientist). “He has to keep an eye on his ‘health bar’ and prevent it from draining off. He has to collect power sources to charge his time travel watch, escape Athreya and tackle both time zones as Mani and Dr. Sethuraman. The many obstacles keeps the players hooked to the game.”
It is available on Google play and iOS.
