How Raji: An Ancient Epic Was Ported to Mobile: In Conversation With Nodding Heads Games
The handheld gaming segment has seen a surge in popularity, in recent years — mainly owing to the runaway success of the Nintendo Switch and the more recent Steam Deck, which offered enough horsepower to run quality titles with portable convenience. It's no secret that its closest kin is the ordinary smartphone, which already has its own library of games, albeit none too alluring for the mainstream PC or console gamer. The hardware is clearly the culprit here, even the best of which cannot run most AAA or even popular indie titles at decent frames or quality — that is unless the studio takes the extra effort of making or porting a dedicated version for the same.
In most action-heavy titles with 3D modelling, such attempts are futile, owing to the number of particle effects and artefacts that would make games appear downright unappealing. The next best option is to take the least demanding version — usually the Nintendo Switch one — and gradually downgrade and port it to mobile by making appropriate platform-oriented changes. It's even more convenient if they're all built on the same engine, and that's what Pune-based developer Nodding Heads Games did with its recent Netflix collaboration, bringing its acclaimed Hindu mythology-inspired title Raji: An Ancient Epic to Android and iOS. Gadgets 360 recently had the chance to speak with Avichal Singh, co-founder and game director, and Paras Chaudhary, the lead programmer at the studio, to understand the porting process.
“Raji has been developed using Unreal Engine 4 for all major platforms,” Singh said, adding that an eventual mobile version had always been at the back of their minds. “It has been no different for iOS and Android. The mobile version of the game is not a
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