How Ogre Head Studio found its niche with Indian folklore

Following the success of its debut title Asura, Ogre Head Studio is busy developing its next roguelike: a deckbuilder called Yodha.

GamesIndustry.biz recently caught up with the developer's founder Zain Fahadh, discussing how the studio came to be and the importance of making games for everyone rooted in Indian culture and folklore.

Fahadh entered the industry as a 3D artist, working at an outsourcing studio making characters for AAA titles. After five years of looking for an opportunity to work on PC and console games, he started his own studio.

"We founded Ogre Head Studio with the idea to make PC and console titles [taking] inspiration from the local folklore and culture," he says.

As an independent developer, Fahadh says Ogre Head has not received any external funding or support from investors. Initially, he personally invested $2,000 of his savings into the studio.

"We burned that out in six months," he explains. "With the little bit of money we had left, we went to Dubai and showcased the prototype for Asura, and that's where we got a lot of traction for the game."

Released in 2017, Asura is an action roguelike featuring a procedurally generated skill tree, meaning no two playthroughs are the same.

"The current Indian culture is very vibrant – there are so many stories that can come out"

"Because of Asura, people were asking us if we could help them with their games," he says. "We used Asura as a tool to expand our other businesses."

Outside of developing their own games, Ogre Head provides outsourcing and consultation to companies including Warner Brothers and Paramount. The studio builds "entire games" for firms alongside partners who manage localisation and marketing.

"[This], in turn, enabled us to fund the studio by consulting with other game developers and companies," Fahadh continues. "We'd get paid for that, then we funneled that money into Asura, and Asura sold well, and that also made money."

While promoting the game at events, including BitSummit in Japan, Fadhah speaks of how industry people reacted to the game, asking why the studio wasn't making casual mobile titles "because that's where the money was [at the time]."

"And we said, 'No, we don't want to do that. This is something we're passionate about," he says.

With one game released, another in development, and providing outsourcing and consultation to bigger companies, Ogre Head has a lot of work on its hands for its six-person team. So how does the studio balance these three verticals?

"There's a lot of downtime involved. For example, with Yohda, there's a lot of R&D that we're doing on the technical side of things. There are times where we have these spaces we can easily accommodate for another game. We manage, and I have 14 years of experience in this industry.

"We're not making the next GTA 6 or games of that caliber. Our games are more like AA titles, and we do white labels so we can't declare what we're working on. But that's how we balance."

When looking at Ogre Head's portfolio, Asura and Yodha are two very distinct games heavily inspired by Indian folklore – something that's not tapped into as much in games compared to European and Western mythology.

Fahadh is optimistic this will change over the next decade, however.

"I think it's going to happen when the emerging generation go to developers like Ubisoft and become studio directors," he says. "Unless there is a lead who has some personal affinity towards the country or the culture they're from, it won't happen.

"The next generation will bring that in the big titles, in the smaller realm of things. I would say it's a very touchy subject, as the culture [in India] is people practicing to the Gods. It's not like [Western mythology] – no one is angry about Kratos killing Zeus. But try doing that to a God over here, and you will get backlash. A lot of people find this [connection to the Gods] very personal."

Fahadh continues: "People haven't even tapped into medieval India, which is a completely different story to be built upon. And the current Indian culture is very vibrant – there are so many stories that can come out. In Asura, you will not see any Gods there. But if you play the game, you'll still feel like an Indian made it. That's what I think when I'm saying that I'm inspired by folklore and culture."

"Gaming is a tool for us to spread our message of Indian fantasy"

Fahadh uses the cultural differences of playing Dungeons & Dragons as an Indian to illustrate how Ogre Head approaches storytelling during development.

"If I'm running a D&D session, instead of meeting a mage or a cleric, I would be a sage or a Sadhu in a forest somewhere. Rather than meeting someone in a tavern, you would be meeting in an Ashram – those are the kind of tools we use," he notes.

Fahadh says Ogre Head aren't targeting anyone in particular with their games – he wants them to be accessible to audiences outside of India.

"What we are saying is that we are making games for everyone. If you're a gamer, you should be able to enjoy Yodha. Genre also matters and our game is a little niche – it's a roguelike deckbuilder, it's not for everyone.

"Our games are very genre-specific rather than region-specific – that's what we've always focused on. It's just that because I'm an Indian, my game looks like an Indian-made game."

As for Ogre Head's long-term goals, Fahadh is looking to build "really strong IPs" that the studio can leverage in the future.

"I'm trying to build worlds rather than just games, and we're heading towards that," he says. "My ideal Ogre Head would be a shop that [many] creative ideas come out of, not just games. Things like comics, movies, and animation – that's what I'm trying to steer the studio towards. Gaming is a tool for us to spread our message of Indian fantasy, so let's see where it goes."