Vicky Arora joins Shortgun Games as action director for upcoming third-person shooter title

Economic Times

2 days ago

Bollywood action director Vicky Arora
Bollywood action director Vicky Arora, known for his work on films like URI: The Surgical Strike, RRR, TANAAV, and the upcoming Ramayan Part 1, has joined Shortgun Games to lead the action design for its upcoming third-person shooter (TPS) game.
The move marks a collaboration between film and interactive entertainment, with Arora applying his experience in cinematic combat to a new gaming environment. Shortgun Games, founded by the team behind Rogue Heist, is currently working on a narrative-driven shooter for PC and console platforms.
At Shortgun, Arora is overseeing the game's action sequences from pre-visualisation and motion capture to final implementation. His focus is on combining technical precision with storytelling, drawing on over a decade of experience in choreographing action scenes in film.'What stood out was Shortgun's commitment to narrative. Games have always fascinated me as a medium that blends immersion with interactivity,' said Vicky Arora. 'The idea of using action to advance character arcs rather than relying on spectacle alone aligns closely with how I approach cinema. Applying that same lens to a TPS, where every gameplay decision carries emotional weight, felt like a natural fit. This is a progression for action design where players don't just witness the fight, they step into it.'The upcoming title explores themes such as identity, instinct, and control, with Arora's role focused on aligning these ideas with the game's combat systems. Drawing inspiration from games like The Last of Us, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Ghost of Tsushima, Arora aims to bring similar narrative depth and realism to Shortgun's project.
'Vicky Arora's background in grounded, close-quarters choreography and his ability to think from a narrative perspective made him the right choice for this role,' said Vidhit Mehta, Founder at Shortgun. 'His collaboration with our creative team helped bring weight and logic to the way our characters move and fight.'Shortgun says that bringing someone from a film background into game development reflects a broader shift in India's digital entertainment sector.'This collaboration reflects a larger shift happening across India's digital entertainment. We're seeing the lines between film and games blur, and that opens up a whole new design language for developers. Bringing someone like Vicky Arora on board, someone with deep roots in cinematic storytelling and physical action, allows us to tap into that momentum," said Jeet Chandan, Managing Director at Shortgun."Indian gamers today expect quality, immersion, and originality, not just localisation of global trends. For us, elevating production value from the development stage is a strategic choice. It's about showing that Indian studios can create globally competitive, story-driven titles from the ground up. And in doing so, we're also building a model for cross-industry collaboration that can redefine how games are made in India," he added.Arora also serves as General Secretary of the Screen Action Association of India (SAAI), where he supports professional training and safety standards for stunt performers. His familiarity with motion capture work, particularly on Ramayan Part 1, is informing his approach to game development at Shortgun.
The studio's project is still in development, but the team believes that combining cinematic expertise with interactive storytelling can help raise the bar for Indian-made games.