One of the biggest dangers in the gaming space is creating a title that immediately draws people to make comparisons to huge titles that they already know and love. Sure, some people do that intentionally via “clones” of key franchises, but others try to make something on their own, but immediately get “tagged” as a “new version” of a title or gameplay style that’s been made popular recently. For the now fully named Ananta, many people have stated that it reminds them of certain games featuring Spider-Man, or, thanks to its crime element, Grand Theft Auto. Those are some big labels to be held over your head.
In an interview with GamesRadar+, producer Ash Qi talked about the game and how the dev team both accepts the labeling, while also being determined to expand things in meaningful ways:
“We’re trying to create a big storyline that will evolve, giving the characters focus, which will add new characters and new cities to explore. Take Marvel as an example; there are many different heroes and champions in The Avengers.”
Continuing with the Marvel references, Qi went on to state that while Marvel has plenty of heroes, there are MANY within its ranks that you could dub a “main character,” and the team’s game wants to emulate that, too:
“However, characters like Captain America and Spider-Man have their own storylines, separate from the larger plot, and they are the protagonists of their own stories, each with their unique missions. That’s how we see our approach to keeping these characters in focus. We’re also developing a feature where multiple characters can team up to fight other antagonists.”
Ananta clearly isn’t afraid to hide its inspirations, including the recent Insomniac Games titles that featured Peter Parker and Miles Morales. However, they’re also trying to make the city that everything takes place in feel full of life beyond just people being around to save and fight:
“We are trying to achieve a design that feels unique compared to other RPG games, and to capture some of the imagination from our childhood. With cities being vast spaces where different people and professions coexist.”
If they’re able to pull this off, this could be a truly cool project. Whether they actually are able to make it work, though, is up for debate. No matter what, this free-to-play game will be one to keep an eye on going forward. You know, so you and your friends can…assemble…in it?
