Game for a dive BHATTLE

While soaking up a good Bollywood flick, haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like for you to be a part of the Indian entertainment industry? Apparently, you don’t have to anymore as you can live it up in Alia Bhatt: Star Life, India’s first filmy narrative adventure game with none other than livewire Alia Bhatt for your BFF! Created by Bengaluru-based app developers Moonfrog Labs, we speak to Tanay Tayal and Mark Skaggs on what to expect from the game, even as Alia Bhatt dishes on why she chose to be a part of it.

Taking inspiration from their love for Indian movies and the native film industry that produces them, the developers decided to tap the millennial market. “The Indian youth is fast moving away from traditional media like movies and TV with different forms of digital entertainment flooding the market.

A narrative game that explores the interests, style and taste of a youth icon like Alia Bhatt is bound to get their attention at least,” says the cofounder and director. Tanay, getting candid about their latest adventure. In the game, players get to live a fantasy version, be a star of their own game, meet other characters, collaborate, travel and even date them while bragging that Alia is your bestie. Hawk-eyed gamers have been quick to draw comparisons between this homegrown game and Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. Mark Skaggs, the creator of addictive games such as Farmville and Cityville on Facebook, now, one of the directors at the company, fields the comparison. “Yes, this is a narrative adventure genre and Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is one of the successful games in that genre. The idea when making and running Alia Bhatt: Star Life has always been to work within the framework of a narrative adventure game but tailor it to India, Bollywood and of course the personal choices and tastes of Alia Bhatt. In its essence, it belongs to the genre of Hindi movies and TV. The stories, the themes, the characters, the drama, the romance and comedy have the masala that truly makes it right for the Indian players,” he believes, of the game that can be played in both Hindi and English.

While players are kicked about how realistic the game is, Alia for one says she’s addicted to it. “It grew on me like a virus!” says an excited Alia, who has been exploring over 50 oddball characters in the game, including her cat, Sheeba. She tells us that the opportunity came to her when she was working on Dear Zindagi in Goa. “Because of my hectic work life, I don’t find enough time to reply to everything on my social media. I’ve always wondered how I could continue to stay connected to the people who love my work, my taste and my style. This game felt like I could be a part of so many more lives than I can reach with traditional media like movies and television,” she says.

The actress who is on a six month sabattical before her next film, Dragon, with Ranbir Kapoor begins, says that she’s not a self-centered person and the idea of being the centre of a game always haunted her. “This was ideal because it puts the player front and centre and I play the best friend who helps the player navigate through their life and work,” she says. If you know Alia, you’d also know that she’s a style icon, so an element of fashion was a given. “Currently, we have over 250 clothing items and accessories and I’m working hard with the team to add more,” she reveals. It’s also a treat for her fans, why? “The game’s story and my avatar encourage the players to explore a lot of things that I am into – like self-expression via acting and singing, speaking up against animal cruelty, standing up to bullies and more,” she says in conclusion.