Dehradun (The Hawk): The Additional Director General of PIB Dehradun held a press conference here today about the launch of ‘Azadi Quest’, a series of online educational mobile games developed by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in collaboration with Zynga India.
As part of the celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and to bring to forth the story of the Indian freedom struggle, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur had launched ‘Azadi Quest’ on 24th August. This was another step in a series of efforts by the Government to acknowledge the contribution, of our freedom fighters and
unsung heroes, to the freedom struggle.
These games are an effort to tap into the huge market of online gamers and to educate them through games. Various arms of the Government of India have collected information about unsung freedom fighters from all corners of the country. Azadi Quest is an effort to make this learning engaging and interactive.
In the past few years, India has risen to stand among the top 5 countries in the gaming sector. The gaming sector has grown by 28% in 2021 alone. The number of online gamers has risen by 8 per cent from 2020 to 2021 and by 2023 the number of such gamers is expected to reach 45 crores.
These apps will bolster the capabilities of our AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming and comics) sector and at the same time take our glorious history to the corners of the world. The information in these apps has been curated by the Publications Division and Indian Council of Historical Research and will become an easily accessible treasure trove of authentic information on our freedom struggle.
The one-of-its-kind initiative is inspired by the Hon’ble PM’s call to the stakeholders of the Gaming and Toy industries to develop games and toys that showcase the stories and milestones of India’s freedom struggle, and the valour of the great freedom fighters to engage, entertain and educate the people. The first two games in the Azadi Quest series tell the story of India’s freedom struggle, highlighting key milestones and heroes, interwoven with fun gameplay. The games’ content is simple yet comprehensive, having been specially curated by the Publications Division and vetted by experts of the Indian Council of Historical Research.
The press conference was also attended by Sh Raghwesh Pandey, Jt. Dir. DD News; Rohit Tripathi, Dy. Dir. PIB; and Dr Santosh Ashish, Asst Dir Central Communication Bureau, Dehradun.
About Azadi Quest:
The Azadi Quest games are available for Android and iOS devices in English and Hindi for the people of India and will be available worldwide from September 2022.
The unique game series, based on the concept of ‘Gamification of Education’ will revolutionise the education sector in the country. Game-based learning provides an equitable and lifelong education by expanding the learning process beyond the classroom and age. Azadi Quest series will impart the knowledge of India’s freedom struggle and the legends of the country’s great freedom fighters, thereby inducing upon the players, a feeling of pride and a sense of duty and will be instrumental in removing the sense of colonial mindset as also emphasised upon by Hon’ble PM in his 76th Independence day speech as ‘Panch Pran of Amrit Kaal’.
The first game in the series is Azadi Quest: Match 3 Puzzle, a simple and easy-to-play casual game presenting the players with the colourful journey of India’s independence from 1857 to 1947. As players progress through the gameplay, spread across 495 levels they can collect 75 trivia cards, each showcasing key moments in history, compete on leaderboards, and share in-game rewards and progress on social media. On the other hand, Azadi Quest: Heroes of Bharat is designed as a quiz game to test the knowledge of the players about the heroes of India’s independence through 750 questions spread across 75 levels and also tell them about the lesser known heroes through 75 ‘Azadi Veer’ cards which can be shared across social media platforms.
The year-long partnership between the Publications division and Zynga India will deliver more such games and will also expand the existing games in terms of content and features with a vision to educate about the different aspects of India’s freedom struggle and inculcate a feeling of patriotism among the people, especially students and youth. The games will also provide the players with exciting monthly rewards, including a certificate for those who complete the Azadi Quest.