Based on a story written by mind-body M.D. Deepak Chopra and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, Ramayan 3392 A.D. is a comic book series from Virgin Comics, and will soon be an MMORPG by Sony Online Entertainment. Ramayan 3392 A.D. is a retelling of the ancient Indian tale Ramayana, anachronistically set in a post-apocalyptic world.
The game will feature all manner of demon-slashing for gamers to enjoy, but will also carry unique spiritual themes straight out of traditional Indian culture. How’s that for something new?
"Ramayan 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 re-affirms the fact that Ramayan is one of the greatest stories ever told," said Deepak Chopra. "The fact that the same creative team of young Indians that created the story will be involved in working with SOE’s game development team, is a testament to the innovative and mythic minds of these gifted Indian creators who will take a new generation to new frontiers across the seas of consciousness into new realms of mystery, magic, adventure, and transformation."
Gotham Chopra, Virgin Comics’ Chief Creative Officer commented, "While many of the characters and settings remain familiar to the original lore, we never intended to re-tell the story, but essentially use it as the key inspiration for something fresh. What remains intact to our story are some of the core universal themes like duty, honor, sacrifice, and fraternity while also mining uniquely Indian ideas like karma (how action and consequence are linked) and the malleability of time itself. To bring all of these ideas into a game with SOE is just awesome."
This project looks to be quite refreshing in the midst of all the me-too fantasy MMOs out there. Don’t get me wrong, I love that setting, but new ideas are always exciting.
