Ramayana and Mahabharata Epic Games!

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Epic Games!

Ramayana and Mahabharata

http://hinduism.about.com/library/weekly/aa092300a.htm

The story of Rama as related in the Hindu epic Ramayana has always

enjoyed a strong universal appeal. No wonder, the original author of

this epic work, Valmiki is regarded as the adikavi or the first poet.

But little did he know, that his account of the exploits of Lord Rama,

millenniums later, would be the subject of numerous Web sites,

CD-ROMs, and computer games.

 

The Thai Ramayana Game

In 2000, a video game based on the Ramayana legend won Thailand's

national game software competition. In fact, the Ramayana game was the

thesis project of three computer science majors from Bangkok's Faculty

of Technical Education.

 

The prize-winning game portrays several wars between King Rama and

Ravana, the evil ruler of Lanka who abducts Rama's beautiful wife,

Sita. In an attempt to find his wife, Rama, aided by brother Lakshman

and a battery of monkeys, reach the Lankan island. In the game, Rama

and Laksman must successfully manoeuvre through four rounds of fight

in order to rescue Sita.

 

The Thai threesome turned to the epic Ramakian, as the Thai version is

called, for its unmatched fighting scenes and more than fifty

interesting human and semi-human characters appropriate for an

action-packed video game, like Super Mario or Street Fighter.

 

India Games

The online games site Indiagames.com is known for its mythological

Flash games, the most popular being Mrigaya, again based on a Ramayana

subplot. King Rama's golden deer flees into the jungle. To bring it

back, Rama ventures into the forest and encounters demons. Kill these

demons by clicking on Rama's bow and you are on to the second round -

finding and capturing the prized animal among a herd of spotted deer.

 

Also interesting are the games based on Arjuna, the geat mytical

archer of the Mahabharata. Propped up with background sound, voiceover

in three languages and excellent Flash animation, these online games

have quickly become popular, thanks to their epos themes.

 

Ancient Games

Ancient and medieval India was a fertile breeding ground of popular

card and board games. Historians are of the opinion that Chess, Snakes

and Ladders, Playing Cards had originated in India from where they

were taken to foreign countries, where they developed into their

present forms.

 

Playing cards was a popular pastime of Indians in ancient times. Here

too the epics step in. These cards, known as Krida-patram, were made

of cloth and depicted themes motifs from the Ramayana and Mahabharata.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Interactive Epics

Image Infotainment's CD-ROMs on Hindu epics and mythical stories are

packed with features that provide a good interactive experience. These

animated storybooks not only feature the full narration, they also

include timelines, read-along option, chronological indices of events

and characters, and search facility. The Ramayana CD, which also

includes puzzles and games, like building and shooting cost around $ 40.

 

What Worth?

In a way, these new avatars of immortal epics - be they video games,

online games, or interactive CDs - are worth their price in bytes, for

they're marvelous ways to introduce today's young people to the rich

cultural and spiritual tradition of their ancestors.