CHENNAI: The screen flickers with bursts of red, yellow, and blue as enemies swarm from every direction. There’s no time to think only to react, to mix, to survive. In Chromadi, a retro-inspired shoot-’emup game with colour-mixing mechanics, colour isn’t just there to enhance the visuals; it is actually the difference between victory and defeat.
The name of the game itself is a portmanteau of two words, ‘chrome’ meaning ‘colour’ and the Tamil word, ‘adi’ meaning ‘to hit’. Players manage a colour wheel and must merge primary colours (red, yellow, blue) to create the correct secondary colours needed to defeat enemies.
The game features randomised coloured tiles during each run, forcing players to adapt their mixing strategies in real time. Enemies called ‘chromas’ approach from three different lanes, and players must mix colours from the panel at the bottom of the screen and shoot them at the chromas. Before picking up another colour, players have to return to white to reset.
Chromadi was developed by a 5-member team at Kleanup Games, led by founder and game designer S Jaiwanth (27). Shortlisted from over a hundred applicants, Kleanup Games received $100,000 in equity-free funding from global gaming giant Krafton.
The goal is to bring back the pure, harmless fun of arcade games as an experience.
– Nandini Nachiar, producer and level designer
Accessibility was key to the game’s design. “We wanted anybody to just sort of pick up the game and play it,” says S Nandini Nachiar (26), producer and level designer. The goal, she says, was "to bring back the pure, harmless fun of arcade games as an experience."
Nearly two years into development, Chromadi looks very different from its earliest version. “When we started out making Chromadi, we had only one gameplay mode, which was the endless mode. Now we have two additional modes --puzzles and adventures --- to complement the endless,” says Nandini. Players are introduced to the game through the adventure mode and, as they continue playing, are introduced to the endless and puzzle modes simultaneously.
“All the elements of art, audio, everything was made in-house, which makes it feel very indie,” explains Nandini. Inspired by the two-dimensional pixel art of the 1990s, the game’s art and music were developed by artist Navya Johnson (28) and audio director Niranjan Nair. The game is reminiscent not only of how an arcade looks, but also of how it feels. While its familiarity evokes nostalgia, the colour-mixing mechanics add a modern touch.
"One of the biggest challenges with Chromadi was figuring out how to turn a simple idea into something that stayed fun over time. Since it started as a small indie project, there was a lot of testing and iteration throughout the development process,” Nandini says. She, along with Jaiwanth and Harish Neethi (21), both game developers, spent considerable time refining the gameplay loop, pacing, progression and retention. On the technical side, the team worked through a process of trial and error to ensure the game’s mechanics functioned smoothly and delivered a polished experience.
Although most of the team is based in Madurai, not a traditional gaming hub, Nandini believes location is no longer a barrier to game development. “I think people anywhere can make games,” she says. With resources and learning tools readily available online, she feels aspiring developers outside established gaming hubs such as Bengaluru and Hyderabad have the opportunity to create and publish their own games.
The team also believes Madurai and other Tier 2 cities are likely to play a significant role in the future of game development, driven by growing interest in gaming and greater access to education and development tools. They hope Chromadi inspires others to pursue game development and bring their own ideas to life.
Priced at Rs 69 in India and 3 dollars globally, Chromadi is slated for release on both mobile and PC on June 6.