IAF checkmates hackers’ bid to clone its Android game ‘Guardians of the Skies’
Indian Air Force's popular Android game, 'Guardians of the Skies' (GOTS) came under a 'clone attack' some 10 days back.
Sources in the IAF said for about five days the traffic of the game got diverted to another app - Rise of Guardians of the Skies. The IAF's game modules, aircrafts and even its logo had been cloned to confuse downloaders.
Interestingly, while the IAF app is free, the Rise of GOTS was priced at US $6.9.
The IAF got into the act as soon as it found about the 'clone attack' by bringing the matter to the notice of game's Indian developer Threye. The clone was pulled out after Threye registered a complaint with Microsoft. Efforts are on to find out who was behind the mischief, IAF sources said.
GOTS is the IAF's first 3-D game and is available on android, windows and iOS platforms for mobile.
According to IAF officials, the game has been conceptualised to showcase the might of the air force in a virtual format and is aimed at attracting more youngsters into its fold. Users can have a feel of various air combat scenarios aided by realistic graphics.
The game that was launched early this month has become so popular that it crossed one lakh downloads in just 20 days. IAF officials feel the download number could have been higher had the cloning episode not happened. Close to 9,000 people have rated it out of which about 6,000 have given it five stars. Its average rating is 4.3 as on date.
It gives players the experience of virtually controlling an IAF's aircraft giving an experience close to real-life flying. It has a storyline and the terrain in the game is somewhat that of National Defence Academy Khadakwasla in Pune. Interestingly whatever information the game has is already available in public domain. The game has 10 levels of combat module and with success in each step, the player's uniform gets decorated like a real IAF fighter pilot.