Know everything about Game Design and Development Careers

by admin · Published April 26, 2013 · Updated April 26, 2013

GAME DESIGN WORKSHOP

What is the field of Game design and Development all about? What are its applications/Uses?
Game Design and Development is a field for highly creative and passionate people. Those who enjoy the development of a dream without knowing how people will respond to it. It is quite like film making with the difference that the audience here (the player) is going to interact with this dream and the response would be more direct than a film goer. And since unlike films gaming is not a one time experience that one can forget about. It is about buying into your vision, so it takes much more involvement.
Applications are:
• Education/ Infotainment (elearning)
• Learning (e.g. scrabble)
• Entertainment (popular console and arcade games)
• Franchise module (big movie franchises include games)
• Training (on use of machines e.g. airplane pilot)
• Simulation (e.g. disaster response)
• Therapy (for psychiatry patients)
• Experience (4D/ 5D setups worldwide)
• Visualization (for expensive operations e.g. military response or space satellite)

Why should students opt for Game Design and Development as their career option?
The answer is same as above. Let me state very clearly, “All creative careers are about passion and involvement. It is just not about rewards.” So only those who are risk takers would opt for it. People who don’t care if they have to try 50 times to get it right, they would go ahead and wait for the 51st time to come. So, usually all creative people bloom late.

What are the growth prospects in this industry?
Gaming is a new industry in India, and the prospects are good in terms of being able to work on games being made elsewhere. About our own IPs we’re at the moment quite far from adequate. So barring a title here and there it’s going to be outsourced or collaborated games for the next few years.

How has the sector fared in the past one year?
The sector is growing at a rate of 30% (as per 2012). However, industryestimates show that this would grow by an average of 38% over the next 4 years. And funny is that these figure don’t even include internet gaming, which is the biggest growth driver.

	2011		2016
	INR	$	INR	$	Growth
Console	7.15b	142.5m	26b	517m	38%
Mobile	4.3b	86m	17b	340m	41%
PC	381m	8m	870m	17m	18%
Settop Box	350m	7m	1b	20m	25%
Total	13b	259m	46b	917m	38%

(chart prepared as per various sources including FICCI-KPMG report and NASSCOM report)

What is the pay-scale? (Bottom up) – initial stage, after 5 years, after 10 years etc
Ha! Payscale. It’s funny how the pay scale becomes important even before a sector takes shape. Well it’s fuzzy right now with starts ranging from 8-25K per month depending on the artists/ programmer’s background.

What are the skills/aptitude required for the job?
Best is if you’ve designed games before getting into learning gaming. If you’ve not tried to rewrite rules for every game you play (be it cricket or anything) then you’re not a game designer at heart. However, gaming does require good programmers and designers who may not be game level designers so then one can concentrate on these areas. Usually game designer are either good sportspersons or avid card player (or even both). They are competitive at every game they play.
If you have the analytical ability shrouded in your creative aptitude, you could be a ambi-brain person who can design games and other complex systems since your brain can process numbers and images with equal ease. Game Designing is one of the toughest tasks in the world. Marriage is one of the best games designed 🙂

How can one become a Game designer/developer ? (What to do after Class12 in order to become a Game designer/developer)
To become a Game Designer, you must get a good knowledge of 3D software as well as preproduction. Usually in Games the environment is created in 3DSMax and Character animations in Maya, Only the models are made with less polygons and more textures. So choose a program that teaches you these software. It would not matter whether the programme is called game design programme or not. Rest, to become a level designer you must have a passion for game design. Also you must have passion for playing all kinds of games including card games, dice games, sports etc. The 3rd option is Game Design (it’s different from Game Designer), where you design the game itself, i.e. what happens on each level, and how things go about as well as the base story of the game. It is a stage that you reach due to your vast knowledge and passion and even exceptional technical skills cannot help you reach. This is usually the story designer.

What are the pros and cons of the job?
High risk job where you can remain anonymous all your life, or get instant glory. Usually recommended only for those who are braveheart. Pro is that you get to be in the centre of action all your life. No 2 days in your life are ever going to be the same!

Can you name some of the best/good institutes in India/Abroad to study Game design from?
• Gobelins, France
• Vanarts, Canada
• DSK Superinfocomm
• Arena Animation Chandigarh (GAD)

How to enter the field (what courses to pursue at the UG,PG and Diploma level)
Check with the above institutes on what they offer and also look at where you want to go. Then depending on that choose a course in Design, Programming or Game Designing.

What are the job prospects?
Read all other answers and you’ll know.

What are the main entrance exams, if any, to prepare for?
Not yet. We’re not there yet, where we have a queue and we need a gate. Right now, the games are wide open for the first few Indian companies to take shape.