The thin line between artistic homage and cultural appropriation

When it comes to exercising creative freedom on digital platforms, what are the limitations—particularly when it comes to cultural references?

In May, Utsav Dev Manandhar, a computer engineering student, currently studying at Southern Illinois University in the US, started a project. He decided to create a game that would pay homage to Kathmandu’s culture and heritage. And as Yenya:, more commonly known as Indra Jatra, is one of the grandest festivals of the Newa people of Kathmandu and was just around the corner, he decided to use two of the festival’s most iconic motifs—Majipa Lakhey and Pulukisi—to make an endless runner game, similar to the popular Temple Run.