The gaming industry offers a plethora of career choices; those with a creative bent of mind could hit the jackpot in this growing industry
The Indian gaming industry is growing by leaps and bounds. According to FICCI-EY study, the sector is expected to grow from Rs. 65 billion in 2019 to Rs. 187 billion in 2022. And Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdowns and work-from-home gave the segment an extra push. Being cooped up at home and the resultant free time on hand have seen new players beginning to play mobile games. It is estimated that 45 percent of India’s population plays games on their smartphones1.
So, the sector can even be termed a ‘sunrise sector’. Mobile gaming is the fastest-growing segment in the $24-billion Media and Entertainment industry, and India is one of the top 5 mobile gaming markets in the world. Venture capital (VC) funding for India’s gaming start-ups stood at $350 million between 2014-2020, and is growing at a CAGR of 22 percent2.
Burgeoning requirements
Mobile gaming has certain fundamental requirements. Reliable telecom infrastructure, inexpensive data, smartphone penetration, and new games are some of these requirements. While the first three requirements have been put in place thanks to the consistent growth of the telecom sector in India in the last couple of decades, the fourth requirement entails a strong games development environment. One of the prerequisites to create such an environment is the right workforce.
Despite its phenomenal growth in India, gaming is still a new industry. Therefore, the various facets related to the industry are still evolving. Career path in this industry too, is one such, which is still evolving, unlike in a banking, pharma, or information technology (IT) services sector, which has been in existence for many decades and the parameters of work and growth are more-or-less known to everyone.
Types of careers
There is a slew of core jobs specific to the gaming industry. These range from the person(s) conceptualizing the game, to the Game Designer, those giving it a look-and-feel that will attract gamers, those sorting out bugs in the games, marketers, and those getting feedback and sharing it with the game developers in order to ultimately give an unparalleled experience to the players.
A career in gaming can be both financially rewarding and personally satisfying. For starters, one gets to work in an industry that is Covid-proof & evolving. Thanks to this, the chances of slowing demand and losing jobs are remote. The industry offers a wide range of career opportunities. One can work in a casual environment. On top of that, you get to do what you love – make games! The career roles available in the sector include Product Manager, Game Producer, Game Designer, UX Designer, Game Developer, Game Artist, Game Animator, Game Testers, Marketing, Customer Experience, and Support.
Game designer: They are the mastermind behind the game, responsible for planning, conceptualizing, and designing every element of the game, including the concept, environment, stories, and characters.
Game Developer: They breathe life into the game designer’s vision into a game that can actually be played. They write the codes & use ‘game engines’ to translate the creative vision of the game concept into a reality.
Game artist: They are the people who are artistically inclined. They provide the game with a realistic look or even a standalone specialized look.They are responsible for creating high quality artwork for the game such as textures, characters, environments and other visual elements.
Product Manager: They are responsible for managing and driving the performance of the games. They own the entire product/game lifecycle to develop and launch core features in games. They also develop product strategies that help studios reach their business goals.
Game animator: These artists use special software to create a series of pictures that provide a visual representation of the movement and behavior of the characters in the game.
QA Engineer: Like in the IT sector, the game testers have a keen eye for detail and are responsible to test the game’s performance, look out for bugs, and suggest how to improve the experience for players.
Gaming companies in India are beset by certain teething problems. These include online gaming being clubbed with gambling which puts it in a rather bad light, and legislative antipathy (read, unfriendly laws, which is seeing gaming companies being driven out from one state to another), among others. The result of this is that young engineers coming out of premier institutes do not have a career in the gaming industry as a top priority. Parental impact on the career choices of young graduates (a reality in India) in engineering and related fields, is not entirely conducive to the gaming industry.
Having said that, there is a dearth of good game designers, developers, game artists, and animation artists, among others, in the country. To make the best of this opportunity, those with a creative bent of mind and a natural liking for games can start early in life to tap the potential of the sector. For those with a liking for drawing, sketching and the use of lights on images, the potential for a career in the gaming industry is huge. Courses in game designing are available from a slew of institutes across the country for students who have passed out of Class X, Class XII, and beyond.
Creativity requires no degrees to make itself manifest. Some of the biggest creative minds like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg didn’t wait for their formal degrees to come by before designing great products and great companies. And they went on to make history!
Source: Business World
