Be game for this
work
Gaming industry in India Industry estimates put the size of the gaming segment in India at Rs 40 crore in 2001 with a 35 per cent annual growth rate. An AC Nielsen study estimates that the Indian gaming market will touch Rs.500 crore by 2003. According to another IDC research report, by 2006, a combined 529 million people across the world will play mobile, interactive TV and online games. India has huge potential and opportunity in games development for international markets. With a strong, established IT reputation, it is attracting the attention of the world’s gaming companies, including those in the US and UK. Technical acumen combined with creativity and low cost of development combine to offer a strong USP for India. The explosion in computer graphics and animation industry has been the catalyst in the fast track growth of gaming industry, where there has been a great spurt in activities related to the same in the Indian scene as well. In a nutshell, games we are talking about can be played using a computer or a special console attached to your video/TV. Some of the names that immediately comes to one’s mind is the world renowned game boxes like Sony’s play stations, Microsoft X box and so on. Career profiles Since this being a very new dimension added to our technological scene, it is imperative to understand various roles and segments of games designing. In essence, there are five main departments at the average game company: Art, Design, Programming, Sound, and Support. Many companies divide each into sub-categories. Art departments, for example, are often divided into 2D and 3D art, and animation, while the programming team may be split up to focus on AI, technology, and gameplay. At this point, general department classifications give way to specific job functions. What follows is an overview of each department, the general job duties, tools of the trade, the skills and education required (and recommended) for anyone interested in acquiring such a position and a few Internet resources you can consult for more information. Game companies have more than enough ideas, more than they would ever have time to produce. Game development is a team effort that requires input from every developer on the project. Art department If you’re considering following the path of the artist (tortured soul that you are), you need to first pick a dimension. 2D Artists make tiles, textures and skins for 3D models. Depending on the type of game, they can also do painted backdrops, skyboxes (what you see when you look up in a 3D game set in the great outdoors), and any number of other things. They’re also often called upon to do concept sketches for games early in the development cycle. 3D artists make in-world models for 3D games. Models can range from humans to vehicles to inanimate objects, depending on the project. Animators bring humanoids, enemies and creatures to life in 3D games. They build models within the polygon limitations of the game engine, and then apply animation techniques. Many animators start out as 3D modelers or 2D artists and are trained on the job to animate with other programmes. The tools of the trade for 2D artists include programmes like Adobe Photoshop (the industry standard), Paint Shop Pro, Painter, and a number of other 2D art programmes. Many 3D Artists use 3D Studio Max, Softimage, and Maya to make and animate models. The 3D art programs tend to be very expensive, so self-taught modelers are hard to find. Skills required: Knowledge of both PCs and various art programmes is highly recommended. Having superb drawing skills is a must, and animators should have detailed knowledge of the human figure and its movement. Game developers generally look for artists first and computer gurus second. You can teach an artist to use a computer but you can’t teach a computer user to be an artist. The ability to work in groups and work under deadline pressure is essential. As for schooling, courses in computer art, figure drawing, landscapes and general art courses are useful, and many universities offer 3D art classes for computer modeling and animation. Real-world experience, with a stocked portfolio, is also critical. Design department Level and scenario designers create the game world and its architecture inside a 2D or 3D level editor. Most game engines are designed to include their own custom level editors, so design training doesn’t necessarily transfer from one game to another. Editors vary from game to game. Some 3D games use programs like 3D Studio Max or Lightwave as level editors. Skills required: A general art background is very useful when crafting levels for 3D games, as is some knowledge of architecture and design concepts. General programming knowledge is recommended for the scripting aspect of design. Knowledge of one or more sets of editing tools that have shipped with various PC games over the years is essential. Since the level designer is often a jack-of-all-trades and master of none, it’s difficult to specify course of education. General art courses, drafting courses, and programming courses would all be useful to a level designer, but there’s no substitute for downloading and using tools on the Internet for a good self-education. Programming department Programmers are a significant part—and some would say the backbone—of every gaming company. They work their magic in mystical lines of code (the list of instructions that the computer translates into machine language to make games work). No Programmers = No Game. Right now the most common game programming language is Visual C++. Programmers write their code in C++ and check it in and out of a code database. Programmers have their hands in every aspect of a game’s development so they end up using a variety of software packages. Skills required: Besides an extensive knowledge of game programming, various languages, and mathematics, here’s a list of other desirable traits in programming candidates: Planning: If you can’t plan a project properly, it really won’t get done on time or the way you intended. This is something taught in both a trade school/programming curriculum and a B.S./Computer Science type of programme. Working in a group: The industry is long past the days of the lone wolf programmer. Working on a section to better the whole of a project requires the disciplines of code modularity, as well as communications and leadership, something learned from any large project or in a theory-based/B.S. curriculum. Sound department Sound Designers compose and implement a game’s music and sound effects. If you hear anything while playing a game, odds are that a sound designer is responsible for it (unless it’s those voices in your head). They use tools like Sound Forge, Cakewalk, Vegas, Awave Studio, Protools and other sound library collections and software. For music composition and recording, many use a multi-track recording program called Cubase VST made by Steinberg. For sound effect recording and editing, there are Sound Forge 4.0 and Vegas, both made by Sonic Foundry, and of course you’ll need to use basic recording equipment. With a multi-billion dollar industry beckoning, the entrepreneurs as well as techno creative whiz kids can aim for a gold rush in this segment. Gaming is the name of the game! Training talk Some institutes that offer course in gaming : Arena Multimedia Matrix
NID — Ahmedabad Game EDU Workstation —Mumbai (The list is not exhaustive)
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EVER
wondered about the day when you will be paid to have fun? Well, the
time is not far away. In fact, with the emerging scenario in India
and the craze one would encounter in games design and development
industry, it could be as soon an the next hour. Gaming action in
India has been mostly in the field of online, non-interactive and
casual games.
