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It
could be the next exciting option for India’s vast pool of
talented professionals who dream of a lucrative career that offers
a unique combination of technology, creativity and sheer fun. Games
development might be a serious multi-billion dollar business, but
all those who seek to enter the industry are almost always gaming
buffs. With the gaming industry in India still at a nascent stage,
it is not surprising that there is a lack of manpower who are willing
to chalk out a career path in the field. The games software industry
in the country is expected to grow to $100 million in the next two
years, and those in trade are making all efforts to increase awareness
about gaming in India—the only means of bringing more enthusiasts
into the fold.
 Typically,
a games development team consists of programmers, game designers,
artists and the management. The skill sets required are: C &
C++, Direct X Open GL, computer graphics, data structures, etc (for
programmers); the designers should be creative with the ability
to understand interactive entertainment; and artists aware of 3D
packages like 3D Studio Max or Alias Wavefront, “Maya”,
Adobe Photoshop. “Each individual needs to have a certain specialisation
of skills to build a team with a combination of technical and creative
expertise. There is a lot of learning on the job,” says Jayant
Sharma, chairman and chief executive officer, Milestone Interactive
Software India. “We try and get people with basic interest
in games. There are people who love and “think” games.
Even for those members of the team who are from a creative background,
it makes things much easier if they play games. They can put themselves
in the seat of the customer and make a better game,” he adds.
While
the Milestone games development team is in the process of building
a product for the international market (including of course India),
they are also gearing up to take on third party projects. Sharma
points out that there is a lot of demand in the international market
for trained people with exposure and experience of projects, that
would mean generating a talent pool placing people on onsite or
offshore work. It would however take three to four years to reach
out to potential clients.
Internationally,
those people who want to build careers in gaming move into doing
a course. A typical entry level starting salary is $40,000, informs
Sachin Naik, general manager, software business group, Milestone
Interactive. He feels that the biggest issue in India is gaming
becoming a part of the mainstream entertainment. While in most western
countries the ratio between console and PC based games is 65:35,
in India the most popular so far have been “casual” PC
based games. For developing hard-core games, the country evidently
needs hard-core gaming buffs. “With the animation industry
on the decline, today mostly these houses are diversifying into
games. There are very few start-ups purely focussed on games,”
rues Naik.
Emphasising
on the immense potential this field has for programmers and content
creators, Raman Madan, business manager, animation, Discreet, reminds
that Indian programmers and artists (for content creation) are the
finest in the world. It is the programmers who create the game engine
(core of the game) and are concerned with its engineering aspect.
The content creators (designers/ animators), take care of the “art”
side and are responsible for designing the Level (scenes), the characters
and various UI (user interface) elements.
“We
just need organisations that can get these technology and creative
persons under one roof. Currently we are in a Catch 22 situation,
professionals do not want to venture into games development as they
do not see opportunities in the Indian market and most organisations
are afraid to venture into this field as there are no professionals
available in the market. ‘Education’ is the key to encourage
the games development market in India,” says Madan.
Discreet
has made several initiatives in this direction, which also includes
starting the first Discreet Education Training Partner (ETP) programme
for games development with Arena Animation Academy in Mumbai. Apart
from working closely as technology partners with organisations who
are into game development in the country, Discreet has also held
a number of game content creation workshops for hard-core enthusiasts.
The Arena course focuses on the animation (content creation) portion
of games development. The programme is both PC and console based.
According
to Sudhir Mathur, vice president & head, Arena Multimedia, a
semester on games development has been included in the Arena
Multimedia
Specialist Programme, with the new 2002 curriculum. It is a three-year
career course. Training is offered on 2D and 3D games design process,
image magic, Web animation, composing, digital effects, character
design, etc. “The course concentrates on making the student
a complete design professional. The learning outcome of the course
looks at content designing, scene design, character design and animation,
and of course a professional game engine that gives you the final
output,” says Mathur. Students who have enrolled for the course
are essentially those who are interested in playing games and are
enthused by the wonders of the animation world. They are curious
to learn how these characters are created and moved.
Claiming
the Arena has taken a lead in providing games development training
in the country, Mathur points out that the speedy emergence of few
games development companies has opened the opportunities for placements.
The industry requirements are for—artists (3-D, user interface),
lead artists, director of creative operations, animators, character
animators, level designers and project directors. Mathur predicts
a great demand for such courses in India in the near future. And
why? “Gaming is a logical progression that multimedia and animation
companies are getting into in the country. Globally the gaming industry
is big and like India has made a big progress in the animation business,
gaming is following suit,” comes the optimistic addition.
Most
developed markets like the US and UK have institutes and varsities
offering degrees and diplomas in games development, including majoring
in specific areas. Online games development courses are also popular.
Mark Schneider, one of the founders of the US based GameInstitute.com,
a well-known online games development training provider, reveals
that over 35 percent of their students are from outside the country.
They are mostly from English speaking nations like the UK, Australia
and India, and interestingly there are also a few students with
poor written English skills. Acknowledging that most of the students
are game enthusiasts, Schneider adds, “Judging from our enrollment
in C++, one third are beginner programmers. Half of our students
however are taking our advanced programmes as their first course
with us, indicating some proficiency.” Apparently pleased with
the international response to their courses, he believes that for
many game programming extends beyond making a career in the field.
“Many of our students programme business applications by day
and games for fun at night.”
Schneider
points out that career prospects in this field are good with the
game industry continuing to set record levels. This year the US
market alone is over $9 billion, outpacing the domestic movie box
office receipts. “As for employment prospects, finding good
programmers continues to be a challenge and many companies are willing
to hire remotely for some projects,” he reminds. A good enough
indicator for young professionals in India who want a fun-filled
creative career with attractive global prospects.
Career
options
Programmers:
Lead programmers, AI programmers, multiplayer/network and games
programmers
Designers:
Game designers
Artists:
3D artists, modelers, character animators, texture artists, art
leads
Management:
producers, art director, technical directors, development directors,
project managers, etc.
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