the.world.is.flat-第46节

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phone　to　a　computer　pool　game　you　can　play　on　your　PC　or　laptop。　In　2004；　it　bought　
the　rights　to　use　Charlie　Chaplin's　image　for　mobile　computer　games。　That's　right…a　
start…up　Indian　game　company　today　owns　the　Chaplin　image　for　use　in　mobile　computer　
games。　
In　Bangalore　and　in　later　e…mail　conversations；　I　asked　Rajesh；　who　is　in　his　early　
thirties；　to　walk　me　through　how　he　became　a　player　in　the　global　game　business　from　


Bangalore。　
〃The　first　defining　moment　for　me　dates　back　to　the　early　nineties；〃　said　Rajesh；　
a　smallish；　mustachioed　figure　with　the　ambition　of　a　heavyweight　boxer。　〃Having　lived　
and　worked　in　Europe；　as　a　student；　I　was　clear　in　my　choice　that　I　would　not　leave　
India。　I　wanted　to　do　my　thing　from　India；　do　something　that　would　be　globally　
respected　and　something　that　would　make　a　difference　in　India。　I　started　my　company　
in　Bangalore　as　a　one…man　operation　on　March　15；　1995。　My　father　gave　me　the　seed　
money　for　the　bank　loan　that　bought　me　a　computer　and　a　14。4　kbp　modem。　I　set　out　
to　do　multimedia　applications　aimed　at　the　education　and　industry　sectors。　By　1997；　
we　were　a　five…man　team。　We　had　done　some　pathbreaking　work　in　our　chosen　field；　but　
we　realized　that　this　was　not　challenging　us　enough。　End　of　Dhruva　1。0。　
〃In　March　1997；　we　partnered　with　Intel　and　began　the　process　of　reinventing　ourselves　
into　a　gaming　company。　By　mid…1998；　we　were　showing　global　players　what　we　were　capable　
of　by　way　of　both　designing　games　and　developing　the　outsourced　portions　of　games　
designed　by　others。　On　November　26；　1998；　we　signed　our　first　major　game　development　
project　with　Infogrames　Entertainment；　a　French　gaming　

company。　In　hindsight；　I　think　the　deal　we　landed　was　due　to　the　pragmatism　of　one　
man　in　Infogrames　more　than　anything　else。　We　did　a　great　job　on　the　game；　but　it　
was　never　published。　It　was　a　big　blow　for　us；　but　the　quality　of　our　work　spoke　for　
itself；　so　we　survived。　The　most　important　lesson　we　learned：　We　could　do　it；　but　
we　had　to　get　smart。　Going　for　all　or　nothing…that　is；　signing　up　to　make　only　a　full　
game　or　nothing　at　all…was　not　sustainable。　We　had　to　look　at　positioning　ourselves　
differently。　End　of　Dhruva　2。0。〃　
This　led　to　the　start　of　Dhruva's　3。0　era…positioning　Dhruva　as　a　provider　of　game　
development　services。　The　computer　game　business　is　already　enormous；　every　year　
grossing　more　revenue　than　Hollywood；　andit　already　had　some　tradition　of　outsourcing　
game　characters　to　countries　like　Canada　and　Australia。　〃In　March　2001；　we　sent　out　
our　new　game　demo；　Saloon；　to　the　world；〃　said　Rajesh。　〃The　theme　was　the　American　
Wild　Wild　West；　and　the　setting　was　a　saloon　in　a　small　town　after　business　hours；　
with　the　barman　cleaning　up　。。。　None　of　us　had　ever　seen　a　real　saloon　before；　but　
we　researched　the　look　and　feel　＇of　a　saloon＇　using　the　Internet　and　Google。　The　choice　
of　the　theme　was　deliberate。　We　wanted　potential　clients　in　the　U。S。A。　and　Europe　
to　be　convinced　that　Indians　can　'get　it。'　The　demo　was　a　hit；　it　landed　us　a　bunch　
of　outsourced　business；　and　we　have　been　a　successful　company　ever　since。〃　
Could　he　have　done　this　a　decade　earlier；　before　the　world　got　so　flat？　
〃Never；〃　said　Rajesh。Several　things　had　to　come　together。　The　first　was　to　have　enough　
installed　bandwidth　so　he　could　e…mail　game　content　and　instructions　back　and　forth　
between　his　own　company　and　his　American　clients。　The　second　factor；　said　Rajesh；　
was　the　spread　of　PCs　for　use　in　both　business　and　at　home；　with　people　getting　very　
comfortable　using　them　in　a　variety　of　tasks。　〃PCs　are　everywhere；〃　he　said。　〃The　
penetration　is　relatively　decent　even　in　India　today。〃　
The　third　factor；　though；　was　the　emergence　of　the　work　flow　software　and　Internet　
applications　that　made　it　possible　for　a　Dhruva　to　go　into　business　as　a　


minimultinational　from　day　one：　Word；　Outlook；　NetMeeting；　3D　Studio　MAX。　But　Google　
is　the　key。　〃It's　fantastic；〃　said　Rajesh。　〃One　of　the　things　that's　always　an　issue　
for　our　clients　from　the　West　is；　'Will　
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you　Indians　be　able　to　understand　the　subtle　nuances　of　Western　content？'　Now；　to　
a　large　extent；　it　was　a　very　valid　question。　But　the　Internet　has　helped　us　to　be　
able　to　aggregate　different　kinds　of　content　at　the　touch　of　a　button；　and　today　if　
someone　asks　you　to　make　something　that　looks　like　Tom　and　Jerry；　you　just　say　'Google　
Tom　&　Jerry'　and　you've　got　tons　and　tons　of　pictures　and　information　and　reviews　
and　write…ups　about　Tom　and　Jerry；　which　you　can　read　and　simulate。〃　
While　people　were　focusing　on　the　boom　and　bust　of　the　dot…coms；　Rajesh　explained；　
the　real　revolution　was　taking　place　more　quietly。　It　was　the　fact　that　all　over　the　
world；　people；　en　masse；　were　starting　to　get　comfortable　with　the　new　global　
infrastructure。　〃We　are　just　at　the　beginning　of　being　efficient　in　using　it；〃　he　
said。　〃There　is　a　lot　more　we　can　do　with　this　infrastructure；　as　more　and　more　people　
shift　to　becoming　paperless　in　their　offices　and　realize　that　distances　really　＇do＇　
not　matter　。。。　It　will　supercharge　all　of　this。　It's　really　going　to　be　a　different　
world。〃　
Moreover；　in　the　old　days；　these　software　programs　would　have　been　priced　beyond　the　
means　of　a　little　Indian　game　start…up；　but　not　anymore；　thanks　in　part　to　the　
open…source　free　software　movement。　Said　Rajesh；　〃The　cost　of　software　tools　would　
have　remained　where　the　interested　parties　wanted　them　to　be　if　it　was　not　for　the　
deluge　of　rather　efficient　freeware　and　shareware　products　that　sprung　up　in　the　early　
2000s。　Microsoft　Windows；　Office；　3D　Studio　MAX；　Adobe　Photoshop…each　of　these　
programs　would　have　been　priced　higher　than　they　are　today　if　not　for　the　many　
freeware/shareware　programs　that　were　comparable　and　compelling。　The　Internet　
brought　to　the　table　the　element　of　choice　and　instant　comparison　that　did　not　exist　
before　for　a　little　company　like　ours　。　。　。　Already　we　have　in　our　gaming　industry　
artists　and　designers　working　from　home；　something　unimaginable　a　few　years　back；　
given　the　fact　that　developing　games　is　a　highly　interactive　process。　They　connect　
into　the　company's　internal　system　over　the　Internet；　using　a　secure　feature　called　
VPN　＇virtual　private　network＇；　making　their　presence　no　different　from　the　guy　in　
the　next　cubicle。〃　
The　Internet　now　makes　this　whole　world　〃like　one　marketplace；〃　added　Rajesh。　〃This　
infrastructure　is　not　only　going　to　facilitate　sourcing　
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of　work　to　the　best　price；　best　quality；　from　the　best　place；　it　is　also　going　to　
enable　a　great　amount　of　sharing　of　practices　and　knowledge；　and　it's　going　to　be　
'I　can　learn　from　you　and　you　can　learn　from　me'　like　never　before。　It's　very　good　
for　the　world。　The　economy　is　going　to　drive　integration　and　the　integration　is　going　
to　drive　the　economy。〃　
There　is　no　reason　the　United　States　should　not　benefit　from　this　trend；　Rajesh　
insisted。　What　Dhruva　is　doing　is　pioneering　computer　gaming　within　Indian　society。　
When　the　Indian　market　starts　to　embrace　gaming　as　a　mainstream　social　activity；　


Dhruva　willalready　be　positioned　to　take　advantage。　But　by　then；　heargued；　the　market　
〃will　be　so　huge　that　there　will　be　a　lot　of　opportunity　for　content　to　come　from　
outside。　And；　hey；　the　Americans　are　way　ahead　in　terms　of　the　ability　to　know　what　
games　can　work　and　what　won't　work　and　in　terms　of　being　at　the　cutting　edge　of　
design…so　this　is　a　bilateral　thing　。　。　。　Every　perceived　dollar　or　opportunity　that　
is　lost　today　＇from　an　American　point　of　view　because　of　outsourcing＇　is　actually　
going　to　come　back　to　you　times　ten；　once　the　market　here　is　unleashed　。　。　。　Just　
remember；　we　are　a　300…million　middle　class…larger　than　the　size　of　your　country　or　
Europe。〃　
Yes；　he　noted；　India　right　now　has　a　great　advantage　in　having　a　pool　of　educated；　
low…wage　English　speakers　with　a　strong　service　etiquette　in　their　DNA　and　an　
enterprising　spirit。　〃So；　sure；　for　the　moment；　we　are　leading　the　so…called　wave　
of　service　outsourcing　of　various　kinds　of　new　things；〃　said　Rajesh。　〃But　I　believe　
that　there　should　be　no　doubt　that　this　is　just　the　beginning。　If　＇Indians＇　think　
that　they've　got　something　going　and　there　is　something　they　can　keep　that's　not　going　
to　go　anywhere；　that　will　be　a　big　mistake；　because　we　have　got　Eastern　Europe；　which　
is　waking　up；　and　we　have　got　China；　which　is　waiting　to　get　on　the　services　bandwagon　
to　do　various　things。　I　mean；　you　can　source　the　best　product　or　service　or　capacity　
or　competency　from　anywhere　in　the　world　today；　because　of　this　whole　infrastructure　
that　is　being　put　into　place。　The　only　thing　that　inhibits　you　from　doing　that　is　
your　readiness　to　make　use　of　this　infrastructure。　So　as　different　businesses；　and　
as　different　people；　get　more　comfortable　using　this　infrastructure；　you　are　going　
to　see　a　huge　explosion。　It　is　a　matter　of　five　to　seven　years　and　we　will　have　a　
huge　batch　of　excellent　English…speaking　Chinese　graduates　

coming　out　of　their　universities。　Poles　and　Hungarians　are　already　very　well　connected；　
very　close　to　Europe；　and　their　cultures　are　very　simil