1971: Indian Naval Front is a game based on Indian Navy’s war campaign in Indo-Pak war of 1971. The player can take command of a number of ships as well as fighter jets and helicopters in 15 single player missions and multiplayer that’ll come later. The single player missions are based on actual missions that the Indian Navy undertook during the war and reproduce most details in fairly good detail. It’s developed by an Indian studio Neosphere Interactive founded by Rajesh Iyer and Hitesh Ramchandani.
Anyhow, I am writing this post as I played a small role of writing the in-game dialogue for this game. That is, most of the conversations, briefings and orders you will hear in the game were written by yours truly with help from Hitesh and Rajesh. I had played and uploaded the video of one mission in Oct 2021 which you can see below and really liked it. It was before I got involved. There are very few such India focused games and even fewer which try to be true to the spirit and story. So I think it will appeal to people who appreciate such details.
Writing a script for the game is quite different from anything I’ve done till now and has been an enjoyable challenge. The text below is a small excerpt from script of one of the missions. This is still not 100% final and there maybe a few changes before the final release in a few months.
Mission Brief: –
Good day gentlemen. Cox Bazar is a vital air base for PAF in the eastern sector and we want it to be taken out of service as soon as possible. Doing so will hinder their air operations and afford some breathing room to our forces. They started the war by bombing our air bases in the west and IAF is returning the favour as we speak. We’ll do our part in the east. It is heavily defended, so you’ll need all your skills as well as some luck. Jai Hind!
Cutscene 1: – Mission briefing room, interior scene.
Vikrant Captain – Alright men, pay attention. Command has decided to strike Cox Bazar airbase to suppress enemy air operations. Your orders are to raid the airbase and inflict maximum damage. We got some pictures of the base, courtesy of R&AW. (Showing pictures on projector screen…)
Your primary target today is the ground infrastructure of the base, which includes the fuel storage, armory, warehouses and repair sheds, comms station, administrative quarters and of course the fleet of bombers and jets deployed there. This is an important base for PAF in the eastern sector, so expect stiff resistance from ground.You take off at 1400 hours. Any questions?
Pilot – How much time do we have for this mission?
Vikrant Captain – Approx. 15-20 minutes. You have to move out of there before PAF jets reach there. One last thing, recon reports suggest that there are enemy patrol boats on your way to target. Destroying them is optional, but if you don’t, they may fire at you or call air reinforcements which can make your primary mission a bit more difficult. It’s your call. Timing is the key for this mission. Any other questions?
Alright then. Get ready for the mission. Dismissed!Game Start. Jet ready to take Off: –
Vikrant Flight Control – Headwind 3 knots. Clear skies. Fly heading Zero Seven Zero. Shikra 1, you are cleared for takeoff.Vikrant Flight Control – Radar contact. Good luck Shikra-1. Over.
Jet crossing 1KM (Trigger): –
Vikrant Flight Control – Shikra 1, this is Flight Control R 11. Do you read? Over.
Jet – Shikra 1 to R 11, good copy. Over.
Vikrant Flight Control – Climb to 2000 feet and maintain speed 300 kmph. Over.
Jet – Copy that, R 11. Over and out.
Enemy patrol boats detected on Radar (Trigger): –
Jet – Shikra 1 to FC R 11, two enemy boats spotted. Over.
Vikrant Flight Control – We have limited time for this mission, Shikra 1. It’s your call whether to destroy them or not. Over and out.
If patrol boat not killed (Trigger): – Time will get minus.
Vikrant Flight Control – FC R 11 to Shikra 1, come in. Over.
Jet – This is Shikra 1. Over.
Vikrant Flight Control – We picked up radio transmissions from patrol boats. They’ve alerted PAF and enemy jets on the way. You are now T minus 5 minutes to complete this mission. Over.
Jet – Got it, R 11. Over.
If you want to follow the progress of game and get it when it becomes available, here is Steam link for the game.
Greetings!
I’m Shivam Mukherjee, an Indian game programmer trying to find a steady source of income for supporting myself. Your game seems really innovative in terms of what it is trying to accomplish in the Indian video game space, so I want to join you and make the most of my experience while supporting the team with my skill set.
I’ve provided my LinkedIn profile. Will supply my resume if needed.