Emerging Courses: Want a career in gaming industry? here’s how to start

Game development requires commitment and perseverance just like any other field and if you are creative and passionate enough and possess the right skills, you might just be cut out for this industry.

— Written by Sandeep Kumar Singh

Indian society has long been focused on producing doctors, engineers, and lawyers. But with the dawn of e-sports and the rising popularity of mobile gaming in India, a plethora of new opportunities in the gaming sector are up for grabs. Before you choose a course or a career in this sector, remember that game development and gaming are two entirely different things. While the former takes a lot of hard work, the right skills, and persistence to deliver the latter is a mode of enjoyment.

Game development requires commitment and perseverance just like any other field and if you are creative and passionate enough and possess the right skills, you might just be cut out for this industry.

Who all can apply for such courses?

If you are someone who enjoys creating content for games, it might be worth taking note of the fact that the gaming industry is always in need of three core development disciplines — game level designers, programmers, and artists. The respective core competencies for these three positions are as follows:

— Game Level Designers- Interest in learning and understanding human psychology as well as basics of design

— Programmers- Interest in learning and understanding scripting/coding, science and maths.

— Artists- Interest in learning and understanding 2D/3D art and their production pipeline elements.

Apart from these three, there are a variety of other roles that are not exclusive to the gaming industry, yet are crucial for the functioning of gaming studios such as producers, lawyers, writers, composers, directors, testers, recruiters, etc.

Where can one apply for the courses in gaming and what one can expect to learn during the course?

Most courses exclusively designed around game development focus on skill development relating to the core competencies of game level design, programming, and art. To that extent, these courses teach game level design, UI/UX design, programming, 2D/3D art, and their production pipeline. Quite a few universities and colleges across India have started offering courses on game development including the Asian Institute of design, National Institute of Design, IIFA Multimedia, Bharti Vidyapeeth University, Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematic (MAAC), iPixio Animation College, Lovely Professional University, and many other design colleges. The courses range from a diploma, certificate level programmes to bachelor’s and master’s level courses.

Career prospects in India and Abroad

As far as career prospects in game development are concerned, there are opportunities available all over the world, most notably in North America, Western Europe, and Japan. India, as a young market, has an as-of-yet untapped potential waiting to be explored, given its rich culture and traditions.

Students starting as interns can expect a stipend ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 per month. For a full time, the pay package ranges from 2.4 lakh to 7.6 lakh LPA for candidates with 3-4 years of work experience and basis the quality they deliver. Furthermore, taking into account the industry trends, it is seen that experienced professionals can even make as much as a crore. This is the reason why more and more students are getting drawn towards gaming as a career choice.

Now, the timing is just right for India to explore this opportunity as it’s young population discovers the joys of gaming and e-sports. More than half of India’s current population is under the age of 25 and that underscores that market opportunity that exists today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too has called for the development of indigenous toys and online games.

Game development is in a nascent field. About 23,000 job opportunities are available across 200 start-ups in India today and the number is all set to grow rapidly over the next few years, according to specialist staffing firm Xpheno. The market value of India’s gaming industry was estimated at around Rs 62 billion in 2019 which is expected to go up to over 250 billion rupees by 2024, as per statista.com.

Additionally, various studies have indicated that gaming can lead to enhanced hand-eye coordination and instant decision-making skills. Games further equip young minds with cognitive understanding and simulate adaptations towards various consequences as well.

— The author is assistant professor and coordinator of the department (COD) – Multimedia Department, School of Design, Lovely Professional University (LPU)

? The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest Education News, download Indian Express App.

Source: Read Full Article