Game Development: Explore the opportunities in Gaming Industry 

Have you ever raced through the streets at midnight, or been hunted by the police, shot down multiple villains, saved your maiden in distress, and got yourself killed time and again in the process? If yes, you know how fascinating the world of gaming is. But you know what makes it more electrifying? When you have battle night with your friends.

Since you are at your gaming solace, why not go for a career in the game development industry? If you are planning to step into this industry, then you are in the right place.

Today it has established itself as a fast-evolving industry with over 2.8 billion gamers worldwide. With the advent of cloud gaming services and big tech firms joining the fray with their gaming platforms like Google Stadia, Microsoft xCloud, Apple Arcade, and more. There is a demand for professionals in this domain. Do you know what is the best part? It beats the typical 9-5 work. Moreover,  multiple exciting roles are available with more than 100 game development organisations in the country. 

7 job opportunities in the Game Development 

Every year the Indian gaming industry does nearly $890 million worth of business. It requires an interesting blend of technical and creative skills to produce interactive video games for individuals and groups. Therefore, the moral of the story is there are vast opportunities in this field. Come let us dig into 7 job opportunities that can put a young person’s gaming streak to great use:

1. Game Designer

2. Game Developer/ Programmer

3. Game Play Tester

4. Game Animator and Visual Artist

5. Audio Engineer

6. Interpreter and Translators

7. Market Research Analyst

1. Game Designer

A Game Artist or Designer is a suitable role for someone who is full of new gaming concepts and can come up with innovative ideas that can become the face of a video game. However, a Game Designer creates the game’s basic concept and bands on storylines and characters along with different teams like the Game development, animation, and audio engineering.

Their KRAs also conduct initial market research to decide which idea is truly unique. Most importantly, it should be kept in mind to attract the appropriate and desired attention from the audience. For this profession, a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or Game Designing is preferred. 

2.Game Developer/ Programmer

The Game Designer produces the game’s vision, but the Game Developer or Programmer is accountable for laying the groundwork and transforming it into a playable format. They write code aligned with the features and functionality of games and design software as part of the entire team to offer a seamless and realistic gaming experience. Therefore this profession demands qualification of a bachelor’s degree in Game Development or programming. On the other hand, a B.Tech in Computer Science would be an excellent choice.

A game always works out when it is on an app format, and to learn app development course, there are multiple platforms.

3. Game Play Tester

Although many people have a notion about the Game Tester’s job that they play games all day. But their main tasks comprise ensuring game quality, identifying bugs, and suggesting changes to programmers. Moreover, their job involves enhancing the product’s quality and gameplay experience before it enters the market. Here B.Tech/BE in Computer Science with a professional certificate from the Indian Testing Board or an equivalent recognized organisation is preferred.

4. Game Animator and Visual Artist

The capability to visually bring game characters to life can lead to a thriving career as a Game Artist or Animator in the gaming industry. It includes developing realistic 2D and 3D images of the product’s characters, scenery, and items, which are then employed to develop game graphics. Especially, the artists make the characters in their raw form, and subsequently, animators utilise computer graphics to shape the moulds and create lifelike characters with realistic visuals. Thus, a bachelor’s degree in computer graphics, art, animation, or illustration is preferred to pursue a career as Game Animator and Visual Artist.

5. Audio Engineer

Audio Engineers, also known as Sound Designers, make everything from screechy siren noises to ambient sounds like car vrooming. They use soundtracks and effects to give the in-game experience a more real experience.

While this may appear to be a lucrative job, it demands extensive research and development on the part of the candidate. The main reason is each game has its plot and genre while the duty of Audio Engineers is to discover that precise essence and encapsulate it through the game’s soundtracks. Hence a bachelor’s degree in sound engineering or audiography is preferred rather than B.Tech in Computer Science. 

6. Interpreter and Translators

Curating a game for global audiences is vital to its success in the global market. In a nutshell, the game should be localised. The primary role of interpreters and translators is to extend the reach of a game product by making it unrestricted in several languages.

Interpreters are in charge of converting the dialogues of game characters into languages that are widely understood. On the other hand, translators translate the game’s documentation and instructions into other languages so that it can be sold worldwide. This is a new profession in the gaming industry, therefore there are no hard and fast regulations.

7. Market Research Analyst

To get a job in the game industry, you do not need to stick to a technical background only. Even people from the marketing domain can find work in the gaming sector in multiple ways. A market research analyst employs their research talents to examine the core sector and its major trends, then uses that data to launch numerous campaigns that are essential to the gaming product’s reach and success. This profession requires a bachelor’s degree in marketing or statistics as a preferred qualification.

Salary in the Game Development  industry in India 

99Games, Apar Games, CreatioSoft, Dhruva Interactive, GSN Games, and 2Pi Interactive are some major recruiters in the game industry. In addition, education resource suppliers, broadcasting companies, event organisers, advertising agencies, and marketing firms also hire gaming professionals for various roles.

Now let’s jump into the details of how a game developer can earn in a year. The average salary for game developers in India is estimated at Rs. 5,00,000 per annum. Other related job titles like video game programmers and game designers also fall in the same pay grades. While the average gaming programmer’s salary is 4.5 lakh per annum and 6 lakh per annum for the game designer. 

The compensation package differs depending on the job location but hovers around the same range. Below is the city-wise salary in lakhs per annum (LPA) for game developers in India:

• Bangalore: Rs. 6 LPA
• Pune: Rs. 6 LPA
• Gurgaon: Rs. 5 LPA
• Noida: Rs. 5LPA
• Mumbai: Rs. 4 LPA
• Hyderabad: Rs. 4 LPA
• Chennai: Rs. 3.6 LPA
• Kolkata: Rs. 3.3 LPA

Skills Required to Become a Game Developer

” The right man in the wrong can make all the difference in the world”.

Red Dead Redemption 2, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Grand Theft Auto V- what do these games have in common? Not only were these the best-selling games in 2018, but the result incorporated thousands of hours of hard work, imagination, and coding intellect. Seeking to be a part of a team that can create one of the best games ever, then you require some set of skills.

• Robust IT skills

To become a successful game developer, you need to anchor your learning in software programming and design. You also need a knack for design beyond your coding skills. Animation and graphics play a key role in video games. As a developer, if you educate yourself with user interface design, scenery design, character design, and other related subjects, it’s a huge bonus point.

• Problem-solving aptitude

Game developers have to swamp challenges and fix technical glitches nearly every single day. Patience will lead you to success when you approach problems or debug code. Sometimes thinking out of the box and examining things differently can also prove to be useful skills too.

• Time management skills

Video games are complex with many facets and layers to them. Often, to assemble every piece of a game, you require more than two heads and multiple artistic and technical teams to come together. Besides, games don’t get built overnight. It takes many years to produce an award-winning game. To flourish in such an environment, you should be able to band with others, work well under pressure, and cling to deadlines.

• Creativity and culture

Creativity makes games what they are and creativity should be your strength. In a market flooded with creative ideas, you need concepts that are authentic and great for the virtual world. Along with creativity, you need to comprehend cultural preferences and tastes. Although people play online games with people miles away, games are a cultural product and a human activity. To grasp and maintain the interest and attention of players swiftly, game designers and developers need to learn human culture and psychology.  

• Communication skills

It is quite easy for technical folks and programmers to ignore soft skills. But communication belongs in that category. To be successful, your communication skills need to be flawless so that you can actually communicate your vision, ideas, and thoughts to other team fellows.

Final thoughts

Finally, the Game development industry is always whizzing. A joint study by Google and KPMG estimates that online gaming is a billion-dollar opportunity for India. In addition, experts state that neither the players nor the designers are intending to abandon this promised land anytime soon. Today, gaming is no longer just a hobby. It’s a booming industry with scope for steady innovation. With every passing year, the ecosystem of gaming is ripening and growing, and there’s a bright future for gaming in India.

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