Free online games like Jantar Mantar Chalo and Bhaag Neha Bhaag now let players recreate Delhi protests on their screens. Developer Suraj Kushwah said, "I was watching the news and, out of sarcasm, thought of making a game around it." These virtual challenges use AI to simulate real-life demonstration scenes.

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Free online video games inspired by recent protests in Delhi are allowing players to recreate demonstrations on their screens, from gathering crowds and navigating police barricades to evading detention. The games include Jantar Mantar Chalo, Bhaag Neha Bhaag and Jantar Mantar to Jail, each drawing on different episodes linked to the demonstrations.

Jantar Mantar Chalo was developed by 27-year-old Suraj Kushwah, a Bareilly-based technology professional working at a cloud gaming company. Speaking to PTI, Kushwah said the idea came to him while watching the news.

"I was watching the news and, out of sarcasm, thought of making a game around it," he said.

Using artificial intelligence (AI) and his gaming knowledge, Kushwah developed the game in just one-and-a-half days. Players can choose between a protester and Delhi Police personnel. Demonstrators must gather supporters and march towards Jantar Mantar, with larger crowds increasing their strength, while those playing as police officers must detain as many protesters as possible.

The game features tear gas that slows demonstrators, water cannons, police stations, detention centres, India Gate and the Badarpur border. Players can also dance before water cannons and give interviews to journalists, with media interactions potentially increasing their influence and attracting more people to the procession.

Kushwah initially shared the game on social media, where it gained traction through reels. He told PTI that around 2,000 people played simultaneously on one day, while an average of 500 players regularly logged in.

"I made it as a sarcastic take, but now that it is getting so much attention; I am looking at updating it further," he said.

Kushwah, who uses the Instagram handle Bugswriter, also runs a Linux-focused YouTube channel with around 30,000 subscribers worldwide. He studied game design in college and told NDTV that Claude and other AI tools assisted with coding and artwork, while the central concept and gameplay were his own.

Other games draw on protest developments

Bhaag Neha Bhaag was created by 30-year-old screenwriter and filmmaker Anav Nayar with coding assistance from his brother, Akshay Nayar. Inspired by Neha Bora's repeated attempts to reach Jantar Mantar, the game requires players to help her character jump over barricades, police personnel and cars. A collectible letter representing democracy appears during the run. Nayar said around 2,700 verified players had tried the game.

The brothers also developed Jantar Mantar to Jail, featuring Cockroach Janta Party members Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka dodging falling jail bars and police personnel while collecting coins marked "Accountability" and "Democracy".

PTI reported that another game features Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in a satirical scoring exercise.

The games draw on protests held in June and July, including a July 20 march to Parliament demanding the resignation of then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Demonstrations resumed in October, with opposition parties and student organisations demanding Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities involving the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.