Are you game?

The development of infrastructure, increasing internet penetration, consumer awareness and availability of quality games are also helping in increasing the average time spent on these forms of entertainment.

The Indian gaming market is small, as compared to other developed markets such as the US. This is primarily due to the fact that online gaming in India is generally limited to Tier I and Tier II cities, where internet penetration is deeper. However, being in the nascent stage, the Indian market offers a lot of potential for growth. We have witnessed a rise in the acceptance of gaming in India, which is mainly attributed to the growth of the digital medium in the country. Usage of digital devices and applications has increased drastically over the last decade. NASSCOM has projected gaming in India to grow by 49 per cent to reach $830 million by 2012 with the online and PC gaming market constituting 24 per cent of the total gaming market in India. Broadband connections are growing at 66 per cent CAGR, so one can expect online gaming to grow exponentially over the next few years.

The gaming sector is poised to be one of the fastest growing segments in the entertainment market and an excellent field for career advancement.  The high growth potential provides opportunities for a variety of career roles to flourish in the gaming industry, such as game developers, game designers, game artists and game testers, all of which can co-exist. Game creation involves paying attention to detail, writing a good storyline, designing graphics according to the game and, more importantly, playing the game!

Many institutes in India offer courses in gaming, such as the International Institute of Gaming & Animation that offers both gaming and animation courses, the Image College of Arts, Animation & Technology in Chennai, and the Manipal Institute of Media and Entertainment (Manipal University) are some of the premier institutes offering various courses in gaming. Most of the big studios, including EA and Ubisoft, conduct campus placements in these institutes.

One needs to know the basics of gaming in order to excel in this chosen career path. Being a gaming enthusiast with a creative mind is one of the few attributes that can help in making it big in this industry. Developing games is unlike developing software, as he/she is associated with the entertainment and media industry and not the IT industry.

An individual can also pursue a career in related fields of game development, including programming, audio visual, graphics animation and sound.

Different companies use different gaming technologies to have an edge over others. There are a gamut of technologies being used to make every game not only a success, but more engaging and fun to play. These technologies have changed the definition of gaming in the present day. Right from Flex Technology to Gyro gaming, the gaming industry is evolving by the day, bringing in new technologies to change this dynamic industry. Cloud based gaming networks and parallel computing are some of the prominent technologies that are used by various companies.

So, if you are passionate about gaming and would love to take up your passion as your career, then go ahead and get yourself trained or join a gaming company as a trainee to learn the job. If you have the skills and passion, nothing can stop you from making your mark in the booming industry of gaming in India.