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WATCH: Indian Air Force releases its first mobile game; Guardians of the Skies

Saqib Shah
July 4, 2014

Showing just how interactive military recruitment has become, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has released a free 3D mobile game entitled Guardians of the Skies (GOTS).

The title, which is available on iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices, was designed in an effort to attract the country’s youth to pursue a career in the air force.

Guardian of the Skies is a 3D flight simulator with action elements, fast-paced gameplay and solid graphics. The game works on tilt and touch controls.

Although the IAF has been quick to promote the game’s narrative as fictitious, it bears more than a passing resemblance to real-world events.

GOTS features a storyline in which the IAF is locked in a heated battle with a fictitious nation named ‘Zaruzia’, that is economically and politically unstable having undergone a military coup.

It is surely more than just mere coincidence that India’s next door neighbour Pakistan has been plagued by those same issues in its contemporary history.

GOTS was created by Indian developer Threye and seems to be a mod of its previous flight- sim action game – the rather amusingly titled – Operation Morning Glory. The latter also involved the IAF seeking out terrorists in possession of nuclear assets in another semi-fictitious region (Jacobabad, anyone?). However, that game was not officially endorsed by the IAF.

Threye apparently has close ties with the Indian military, having previously created animated shorts of its battles with Pakistan in the mountainous regions of Kargil and another flight simulation tool, this time using augmented reality, as part of a military publicity campaign in a New Dehli shopping mall.

You can download the Android version of Guardians of the Skies here.

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About the Author

Saqib Shah

Tech/gaming journalist for What Mobile magazine and website. Interests include film, digital media and foreign affairs.

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