If you have in-depth knowledge of your city's progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), here’s your chance to be recognized on a national stage. World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025 offers a unique opportunity for individuals who understand their city’s sustainability efforts, challenges, and achievements.

'City Quest: Shades of Bharat',  an innovative educational game, is a key component of the ongoing Create in India Challenge under WAVES 2025. This engaging game is designed to educate and inspire the youth by gamifying the metrics of urban development through the lens of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It explores the strengths and challenges of 56 cities across the country while reliving the joy of the childhood trump card game.

This platform will provide a space to highlight cities making significant strides toward a sustainable future. Stand out as a champion of urban sustainability and get the opportunity to showcase your knowledge about the city’s SDG journey, with winners to be felicitated at WAVES 2025 in Mumbai from May 1-4, 2025.

About the Game

City Quest game engages in a single-player format where players compete against a computer opponent using a deck of city cards. Each card features six parameters, allowing players to compare cities based on various statistics, such as the Hunger Index, Good Health and Well-being, and Gender Equality. It tracks 15 SDGs and uses the top 6 SDGs across 56 cities using NITI Aayog’s Urban Index (2021).

Through interactive gameplay, it educates players on the developmental challenges and achievements of 56 Indian cities, emphasizing the impact of sustainable practices.

As players explore each city's attributes through City Quest, they also gain insights into how individual and collective actions can significantly impact India's overall sustainability performance on a global scale

CityQuest game is open to participation by all individuals across all age groups offering a dive into a nostalgic card game experience with a fresh twist and an opportunity to learn more about Bharat’s vibrant cities. The game features both national and city-specific leaderboards, fostering healthy competition among players and encouraging participation from various regions. Players can sign up for their home city, creating a sense of community and local pride.

City Quest: Igniting Minds at IIT Bombay's E-Summit 2025

‘City Quest: Shades of Bharat’, an Edu-game that compares 56 Indian cities on Sustainable Development Goals was showcased at the recently concluded E-Summit 2025, the annual flagship event of E-Cell IIT Bombay last week. The event had unmatched energy, enthusiastic minds, endless excitement, and a buzzing crowd of over 30,000 students over two days.

At IIT Bombay's E-Summit 2025, E Gaming Federation (EGF), which is driving City Quest in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, steered key discussions on gaming, startups, and emerging tech. Their sessions illuminated the significant role that the gaming industry and innovative technologies play in modern entrepreneurship.

Key headliners at the Summit included Nandan Nilekani, Anupam Mittal, and Sonam Wangchuk. City Quest caught the attention of IITB students and visitors, generating buzz around the upcoming World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit 2025, as well as the Create in India Season 1 Challenges.

SDG engagement through Interactive Storytelling at IIT Bombay

City Quest offered an immersive experience to students via interactive storytelling about Indian cities and the importance of active participation by Indian citizens through daily actions in significantly boosting India’s performance on SDG global rankings.

Exciting competitions were also organized amongst students as brand ambassadors of their hometowns competing with each other through City Quest trump cards. Select winners were awarded a special edition of City Quest decks every hour of the day.

Highlights of City Quest: Shades of Bharat:

• Innovative Gameplay: Players participate in friendly competitions, using strategic thinking to assess how cities contribute to achieving the SDGs, fostering a sense of community and civic pride.
• Bridging Gaps: City Quest exemplifies how gamification can effectively bridge policy and public participation, offering an engaging method to educate and motivate India’s youth towards sustainable development.

WAVES 2025

Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Railways, Electronics and IT, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, has announced the dates and venue for the upcoming World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES 2025). This landmark event, set to position India as a global leader in the creative industries, will be held in Mumbai from 1st May 2025 to 4th May 2025.

The announcement follows a fruitful meeting of the Advisory Board of WAVES with Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi, reflecting the nation's ambition to become the creative powerhouse of the world. This summit will bring together the world’s top media CEOs, biggest entertainment icons, and creative minds from across the globe—unifying entertainment, creativity, and culture like never before.

The game is currently available for free on Android devices via Google Play, providing an accessible platform for players nationwide to engage with important social issues while contributing to a collective understanding of urban growth and sustainability.

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Dharmendra Tewari/Kshitij Singha