Date:11/08/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/08/11/stories/2007081158172200.htm
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International

Online game based on the Ramayana

NEW YORK: The Ramayana will form the basis of a new online video game for which global entertainment major Sony has teamed up with Richard Branson and new age guru Deepak Chopra.

“Ramayana 3392 A.D.”

In a world increasingly dominated by games influenced by western myths, Sony Online Entertainment’s (SOE) multi-player game would be based on “Ramayan 3392 A.D.” — a comic book from Mr. Branson and Mr. Chopra’s Virgin Comics that re-imagines the epic in a futuristic realm.

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, a co-founder of Virgin Comics, was also involved in the project.

Greatest epic

“Ramayana has inspired the lives of millions of people through the ages. The re-imagining of this great ancient epic through the creativity of a game platform reaffirms the fact that Ramayana is one of the greatest stories ever told,” Mr. Chopra said in a statement.

The deal for the game was announced by SOE president John Smedley and Sharad Devarajan, CEO of Virgin Comics, in New York on Thursday.

Gripping and brilliant

“Virgin Comics approached us with a portfolio of amazing comic properties based on Indian lore. We particularly love Ramayan 3392 A.D., as we feel Virgin Comics’ telling of ‘The Ramayana’ is particularly gripping, graphically brilliant and lends itself extremely well to an MMO (massively multi-player online video game),” said Mr. Smedley in the statement. — PTI

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