New Delhi: What if marching towards Jantar Mantar meant earning 'points' by gathering crowds, dodging tear gas and water cannons, and trying to avoid detention? Scenes that unfolded on the streets of Delhi are now being recreated on screens as free online video games inspired by the Jantar Mantar protests.
From 'Jantar Mantar Chalo', where players can choose between a protester and police personnel to 'Bhaag Neha Bhaag' inspired by AISA president Neha Bora's attempts to reach Jantar Mantar, game creators are turning the political developments into gaming experiences.
In another game, 'Jantar Mantar to Jail', players step into the shoes of Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) members Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, dodging falling jail bars and police personnel while collecting coins marked 'Accountability' and 'Democracy'.
For Suraj Kushwah, a 27-year-old Bareilly resident who created the 'Jantar Mantar Chalo' video game, the idea came while watching the news. He works at a cloud gaming company and is a tech enthusiast.
"I was watching the news and, out of sarcasm, thought of making a game around it," Kushwah told PTI.
Using artificial intelligence (AI) and his knowledge of gaming, Kushwah developed the game in just one-and-a-half days.
The game allows players to choose between being a protester and Delhi Police personnel. Protesters must gather people and march towards Jantar Mantar, with a larger crowd making them more powerful. Those playing as police personnel, meanwhile, must detain as many protesters as possible.
The game recreates several elements associated with the demonstrations. Tear gas slows down protesters, while water cannons provide another obstacle. Players can also dance in front of water cannons and give interviews to media personnel.
Media coverage influences the course of the game, with interviews potentially increasing a protester's influence and drawing more people into the gathering. The virtual map features locations such as police stations, detention centres, India Gate and the Badarpur border among other spots.
Kushwah said he initially shared the game on social media platforms, where it gained traction as users began making reels about it. Around 2,000 people were playing the game simultaneously on one day, while an average of 500 players regularly logged in, he said.
"I made it as a sarcastic take, but now that it is getting so much attention; I am looking at updating it further," he said.
Another game, 'Bhaag Neha Bhaag', was developed by 30-year-old Anav Nayar, a screenwriter and filmmaker who co-founded Wizloop Studios with his brother Akshay Nayar. The company focuses on content strategy, IP addresses for brands and the creative use of AI.
Nayar said the idea emerged as the brothers followed Neha Bora's attempts to reach Jantar Mantar and the repeated detentions that followed.
"We were following how Neha Bora and other protesters were trying to reach Jantar Mantar. They were detained but the very next day, they were back at the spot.
"My brother Akshay asked me how they were managing to do it, and that got me thinking about creating a game around it," Nayar told PTI.
"I initially tried to build the game myself but couldn't get it to work the way I wanted to. So I took my brother's help, and he developed the code for the game. We named it 'Bhaag Neha Bhaag', inspired by one of our favourite German films 'Run Lola Run' (1998)," Nayar said.
Inspired by games like 'Super Mario', 'Subway Surfers' and the dinosaur that appears when an internet connection goes offline, 'Bhaag Neha Bhaag' features Neha's character running while police personnel chase them. Players must make the character jump over barricades, police personnel and cars to avoid detention. The letter 'D', representing democracy, appears as a collectable that players can save during the run.
Nayar said they were planning updates to ensure the game represented Neha respectfully.
The game has received a positive response, with several users messaging the brothers to ask for the link. "We have received several positive DMs (direct messages) asking for the link that we have put it in our bio. Around 2,700 verified players have played the game so far," Nayar said.
The Nayar brothers also created 'Jantar Mantar to Jail', in which players choose between CJP members Dipke, Das and Ranka. Jail bars and police personnel in orange kurtas fall from above, forcing players to dodge the obstacles while collecting coins marked 'Accountability' and 'Democracy'. Collecting the letters earns points, with democracy carrying the higher score.
Among other games inspired by the protests is one featuring Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, in which players can deliver a tap on his head, turning the act into a satirical scoring exercise.
The games have emerged against the backdrop of the CJP's protests, drawing inspiration from the memes and scenes that unfolded during two major demonstrations in the capital.
In June and July, the CJP led a protest including a July 20 march to Parliament demanding the resignation of the then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The group returned to the streets in October, joining opposition parties and student organisations in demonstrations demanding the resignation of CEC Kumar over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
From virtual marches and police chases to collecting coins for democracy and accountability, the games offer a playful, screen-bound version of events that have unfolded on Delhi's streets.
The protests may continue outside, but in these digital recreations, players can decide how far they march, how many people they gather and whether they make it to the finish line without being detained.