How Raji 2l433u An Ancient Epic Was Ported to Mobile: In Conversation With Nodding Heads Games

Nodding Heads Games optimised the Nintendo Switch version of the game down to a mobile version that weighed half the size. 6g5c4j

Written by Rahul Chettiyar, Edited by Ali Pardiwala | Updated: 26 April 2023 18:12 IST

How Raji: An Ancient Epic Was Ported to Mobile: In Conversation With Nodding Heads Games

Photo Credit: Nodding Heads Games 6mfs

Young Raji is chosen by the gods to prevent a demonic invasion

Highlights

Raji: An Ancient Epic is available for Netflix subscribers on a paid plan
Unreal Engine 4 was used to develop the game on all platforms
There are currently no plans to release Raji as standalone on mobile

ment

The handheld gaming segment has seen a surge in popularity, in recent years — mainly owing to the runaway success of the 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 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 PS5 DualSense controller — via Bluetooth — but configuring any other buttons was troublesome. There's no proper button mapping option or indicators in the in-game settings either, so that's something the team could definitely improve upon.

The Last of Us Part I PC Review

Raji: An Ancient Epic has you master divine weapons such as the Trishul or the Sharanga bow
Photo Credit: Nodding Heads Games

“Once we had launched on all platforms we had planned for, we immediately started working on the mobile port. We received a lot of requests for launching the game on mobile devices, this also helped us come to the decision of porting to mobile,” Singh added. Developing a game on mobile (from scratch) understandably comes with a ton of limitations, but Nodding Heads Games had a reference point to fall back on. They tested the Nintendo Switch version of Raji: An Ancient Epic as a direct port on Android and iOS, which showed poor performance based on the average smartphone hardware.

“Following that, the game went through multiple iterations of optimisations. A lot of the geometry and VFX in the levels was reworked to reduce the GPU load while still maintaining the aesthetic quality of the game,” Singh explains. “Textures were downsized to save up on memory. Parts of the code had to be rewritten to optimise U usage.” The team took almost every use case into consideration, be it owners of a budget device to flagship, by adding an FPS limiter — 30 and 60fps — in the settings and a toggle for graphics quality. That way, no one's left out from the experience.

Another challenge facing Nodding Heads Games was the overall size of Raji: An Ancient Epic, which had to comply with the 2GB limit on app bundles on Google Play Store. “The size of the game was reduced from about 4 GB of the Nintendo Switch version to 1.8GB for Android,” Singh said. “The optimisation process took exceptional effort from the team because we wanted to maintain the quality bar that had been set in the PC and console versions of the game, and at the same time deliver a game that is enjoyable on mobile devices.”

This opens the door for discussion on whether today's mobile devices are powerful enough to run select Nintendo Switch and older Netflix subscription.

Sid Meier's Railroads Review

The game's size was reduced from 4GB (Nintendo Switch) to 1.8GB (Android)
Photo Credit: Nodding Heads Games

Currently, Nodding Heads Games has no plans to release Raji: An Ancient Epic separately, and s Netflix's efforts to expand itself to an entertainment hub, of sorts. Launched Apple Arcade seems to be its closest competitor with more games in its catalogue, and somewhat more flexible subscription options. However, both seem to be going for an all-in mobile market approach instead of console or PC, at least for now.

This could have to do with the general cost involved in owning/ maintaining a current-gen 5G internet and budget or mid-range smartphones that come with decent hardware. This makes content streaming on platforms such as Netflix a breeze, ultimately letting more players experience the game while not having to put a price tag on it.

XDefiant Closed Beta Impressions

Raji has the potential to grow into a decent roguelike, but Nodding Heads Games plans to sticks to its action-adventure roots
Photo Credit: Nodding Heads Games

Raji: an Ancient Epic on mobile is a Netflix exclusive for now, and it includes every bit of content Nodding Heads Games has ever released for it. That includes the Hades, but based on Hindu mythology.

“We love Supergiant Games and Hades! However, we always stick to our action-adventure gaming roots,” Singh exclaimed, talking about the future of his studio. “There is something brewing. For everyone interested, do follow our social media handles.”

From Elden Ring to BGMI's ban, 2022 gave us a lot in the gaming space. We discuss it all on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Raji: An Ancient Epic r3y1y

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Good
Lovely background score, sound design
Visual influences and detail
Narrative threading of Indian mythology
A feminist fable

Bad
English voice acting impacts authenticity
Combat doesn't innovate on genre
Poor graphical fidelity
Lags at times on the Switch

Read detailed Nodding Heads Games Raji: An Ancient Epic review

Genre Action-Adventure

Platform Android, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 (PS4), Xbox One, iOS, PC: Windows

Modes Single-player

PEGI Rating 12+

More Nodding Heads Games Games

Comments

For the latest reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.