Times are exciting for the Indian gaming industry. It is fast becoming a stimulating career option for the country’s gifted professionals. Consider this: Nothing less than seven to eight million mobile games are downloaded every month. The size of the Indian gaming industry grew from Rs 7.9 billion in 2009 to Rs 9.8 billion in 2010 and is expected to grow to Rs 32 billion in 2014. The industry employed an estimated 1,800 employees in 2008 and is expected to have over 13,000 employees by 2012. Clearly, the industry, which extends across the mobile, PC, online and gaming categories, is headed to a place where it will create a different DNA of people and thus an ever-increasing career prospect.
There are two components to the opportunities available in this sector in India, points out Rohit Sharma, CEO, digital, Big Entertainment. “One is that there is a huge amount of outsourcing of work in terms of art and back-end work. This will increase exponentially as the industry grows globally. Numerous studios are opening up across the country to facilitate the creation of this work, giving rise to multiple opportunities for a lucrative job market.” “Secondly, many companies like Zynga, for example, are setting up development offices in India and see a resulting growth in this industry, as well as in the number of people who will become a part of it,” adds Sharma.
Vishal Gondal, CEO, UTV Indiagames, agrees that Zynga is a testament that everywhere around the world, from Europe to Japan to China and Korea and the US, gaming is bigger than movies. “In India, movies are a bigger business. But the writing is now on the wall. In a few years, games will overtake the movie business.”
Greater awareness through advertising campaigns, more Indian content on console games, improved broadband speed and infrastructure, along with higher disposable income have resulted in an unprecedented growth in the Indian gaming industry and the jobs available. Jayont R Sharma, CEO and chairman, Milestone Interactive Group, believes, “Naturally, there will be more jobs with this kind of growth. It can be seen from the fact that we now have twice the number of employees than we had a couple of years ago.”
The gaming industry is an invigorating occupation, recognises BIG’s Sharma. “Being a multi-billion dollar industry, the place is competitive and keeps on getting cut-throat.” Jayont Sharma deems that there is a new generation of professionals, fresh out of business schools and colleges, looking for careers they are passionate about. “Employees join simply because they love gaming and want to be a part of this industry. I don’t think young professionals today will settle for any job that comes their way. They know what they want.”
Estimated to grow at a CAGR of 49 per cent by 2012, the gaming industry requires a distinctive kind of employees. Gondal explains that unlike the movie industry or the software industry, the gaming sector coalesces technical people and storytellers. “They are a rare bunch and are worth a lot. Gaming is the new entertainment business. People want to join it for its diversity and trends.”
Today, hiring trends are increasingly social. A lot happens on the likes of LinkedIn and Facebook. “It’s the new place to be and is becoming a bigger place,” says Gondal. A Nasscom report states that by 2012, Indian gaming services will move up the value chain with more end-end and off-shoring work in terms of development services coming to India. The services side of this business is being propelled by captives of international publishers of mobile game development and BPO support for massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Also, PC/console game production and game art contributes to development revenues. “We have facilitated the opening of call centres in various cities, who teach people how to play their games. They give free trials to broadband customers. This is a whole new category of people in the gaming industry,” comments Gondal.
Technology is reinvented every few years and the Indian domestic market is now rightly poised for growth. “There has been an increase of about 25-30 per cent Y-o-Y in the gaming industry where jobs are concerned,” mentions BIG’s Sharma. “The huge proliferation of 3G and broadband will lead to a rise in the domestic gaming scene. Upcoming Indian gaming companies have a huge demand for professionals in the domestic market.” “One big bet is high-speed broadband coming to India, and thanks to 3G and 4G, this market is set to explode. With 3G and the subsequent boost, the two key applications being consumed —games and videos—will take a quantum leap,” enthuses Gondal.
According to Milestone’s Sharma, 3D will definitely take gaming to a whole new level, since it offers a stunning experience. “We anticipate games with 3D support but a lot depends on the penetration of 3D TVs in the Indian market. It would take time before we see any major impact of 3D on gaming.” Industry sources feel the Indian gaming industry should take a cue from China and Korea, whose gigantic gaming industry has created so many jobs. If we tap all our potential, we have the opportunity to boost the economy, as it moves towards the digital space, they say. The Indian gaming industry has the ability to become big, create skill sets, provide job opportunities and become a driving force in the global game.
Timir Rao (23): Manager, product marketing & regional category management, Milestone Interactive
Always wanting to be a part of the gaming industry, Timir believed that there were no options in India. Aside from being an avid gamer, his daily diet included reading up extensively on games to know more about the industry, game designers, their influences, etc. After an MBA at Symbiosis in Pune, he specialised in HR as he was also interested in training and recruitment. After a job opening at Milestone and his appointment, he has never looked back. “I’ve been at Milestone for a year and a half now and it’s been a lot of fun. I’ve been lucky to get my hands on some really exciting games well before their release. My specialisation in HR helps me a lot in this field, as my job also involves training people (like retailers) on new games.”
His job profile is wide and versatile. It involves marketing and general business planning for leading videogame publishers, promotions and launches for new gaming products, product training for retailers and employees and even gaming category management. Speaking about console gaming, Timir says earlier a gaming console was considered a luxury, but today it is heartening to see that families are investing in consoles, given that they can be used for more than just gaming. “The PS3, for instance, can be used to play Blu-Ray movies, DVDs and allows you to connect to the Internet as well. I see a gradual shift in gaming, to eventually it becoming a more mainstream form of entertainment, pretty much like movies and music.”
Gaurang Gheewala (26): Game designer, Zapak
Gaurang is living his childhood dream. When he started playing games at the age of eight and became a hardcore gamer as time went by, he took his dreams forward in college by participating in the National Gaming Championships. But this was just the beginning. “The real thing, which got me into the gaming industry is the thought that crossed my mind every time I played a game. ‘How are these games made?’ A little interest and initiative gave me the answer. A great passion for games, day dreaming of stories and plots, game worlds, characters and game play got me into this industry.”
It’s been eight years since his adventure in the gaming industry. He began his career as a hardcore gamer, and was later hired as a game tester and then added graphic designing for games to his talents. He then embarked on the process of thinking of gaming ideas, concepts, methodologies and mechanics and successfully designed himself as a game designer. Gaurang mentions that in the outsourcing sector, India will have to compete with South Korea and Taiwan, whose talent pool is greater than that of India with regards to game development. He pushes for the need to establish special training institutes to develop quality professionals.
Pradip Bhattacharya (27): Senior tech analyst, UTV Indiagames
Pradip has had a fascination for real time simulation since college. After graduation, while job hunting, a friend suggested Indiagames. And the rest was virtual history. Having been in this company for five years, everyday affirms why he is a part of this industry. “For me, creating this virtual world of strategy games and real world simulation for players is why I am here. Creating a game is like making a movie. It’s magic and a wonderful feeling.” Having previously done freelance projects for web development, he still maintains that developing a game is different.” When he first became a part of this industry, there were few companies in this sector. But the proliferation in gaming categories has led to a vast population of gamers. “The iPhone and iPad have revolutionised games. Busy people prefer web games, while one needs time for console gaming,” he explains, adding, “Mobile gaming is the best casual gaming platform, where you could be waiting at a bus stop and start, play and exit a game just as your bus arrives.”
Source: Indian Express
No comments:
Post a Comment