It’a a strange irony: if you have a passion for computer and console gaming, then consider making a career of it. Once in, though, don’t expect to spend much time playing games, warns Peter Cole, head of the school of IT at Australia’s Murdoch University, “because you’ll be too busy producing the games.” If that doesn’t deter you, then now is a good time to get you career plans in order. With the gaming industry in India predicted to grow quickly and with foreign companies setting up shop here, game developers plan to double and in some cases even triple their workforce next year. With specially designed courses for both programming and design at the undergrad and grad levels serving as career navigators, placements and job opportunities are gaining ground. Since 1997 when the first courses in gaming were offered at the Abertay University in Dundee, hundreds of others have sprung up across the world to cater to student demand for a comprehensive introduction into the world of gaming. To begin with, one would require a sound understanding of maths, physics and computer programming on the technical front. If you are creativity-inclined, then your areas of competence should be animation, modelling and texturing, which require a knowledge of art, multimedia and computing.
Indian academia has come late to the party and courses in the area are still in a nascent stage. A reasonably well organised one-year diploma in interactive game design and development is offered by the Zee Institute of Creative Arts in association with design programme & media technology centre, IIT Kanpur.
The programme focuses on areas like logo animation, texturing and camera move, texturing fundamentals and advanced animation. This apart, the Image College of Arts, Animation and Technology, Chennai, offers a one-year PG diploma in game development and includes subjects like design foundation, 3D modelling and animation, mathematics for gaming and game development with engine, among others. While a comprehensive gaming education may be hard to come by, a number of courses in specific areas like animation, content development, graphic design and programming are readily available.
The UK and US, where the game industry is well-developed, offer a larger and more mature educational market where candidates can pick from many specialised courses. For example, it is estimated that there are currently over 165 computer games degree courses on offer in the UK. A number of universities in Australia and Canada have also launched gaming programmes. For a partial listing of institutes across the world that offer games-related courses visit www.igda.org or www.gamasutra.com.
Most acclaimed courses in the area prepare you to work as a game programmer, designer, tools developer, middleware designer/ developer and software engineer (see table for a longer list). The games technologies courses include game design and programming, software engineering, graphics programming, real-time animation, artificial intelligence, online gaming, mathematics for games and specialised languages to develop games like Opengl and DirectX. Digital entertainment systems courses emphasise game design, animation and new Java-based technology for handheld, mobile and internet gaming.
The industry reaction to gaming degrees has, however, been mixed at best. Professionals point out that degree programmes that focus only on game development lag in certain aspects and are unable to provide a full understanding of the demand.
“One of the most essential requirements for aspiring developers is an understanding of the basic mathematics’ theories — trigonometry, geometry, series and fourier transform (which is required for Digital Signal Processing),” says Pisal Setthawong, a professor in Thailand and member of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), a global association that advocates issues related to game creation and development.
Most game development degrees are not adequate as they lay emphasis on the software used to create games, but fail to lay out foundations for more complex undertakings, he explains. “One studies how to draw graphics and develop sound, but not how the computer works and this would be an issue when the developer moves to larger projects.”
Setthawong suggests that if a person is serious about game development s/he should opt for a course that offers a computer science degree. In fact, gaming companies often draw recruits not from specialised gaming courses, but from more traditional degrees like comp science, programming, art, design, psychology, maths and physics.
“Some universities offer really strong courses, but there are a lot of other vocational courses that are almost too specific. At EA we go more for people with a very solid basis in the core skills like maths, physics, computer programming or animation. It is actually much easier to learn specific skills rather than general, so get the general first,” Richard Leinfellner, executive VP at EA Games UK was recently quoted as saying.
Ben Nickson, who completed his MSc in computer games technology from the Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) in ’04, believes that a good route for students is to do a first degree in artificial intelligence, computer graphics, maths, physics or computer science “as these courses give students the skills they require in a specific area of games development, although one would have to study C++ on their own.”
After graduating, one can pursue an MSc in games technology as such courses are usually quite advanced and give students all the skills they require, he says.
Education though will only take you so far. For an industry that thrives on young blood, enthusiasm and fresh ideas, individual initiative is greatly appreciated. “A dedicated course will not guarantee a job even with excellent marks. It is essential to create a portfolio with demos of small games or artwork in order to be taken into consideration. From this point of view a specialised course will help in creating interesting demos during various course work,” says Stefano Zanetti, who works with Electronic Arts, Vancouver.
First jobs, say those in the industry, are hard to find. But just wait till you get one: the work is interesting and in many cases even cutting edge. Prof Cole points out that technology developed in the gaming arena is replacing methods commonly used in engineering simulation, medicine and military training. Job security in the industry, however, is an issue as are salary levels.
“Generally the pay is not as good as equivalent jobs outside of games. Artists, testers and designers get paid the least, while programmers get paid the most. Often you will start on a low salary but after a year or so it will go up greatly,” says Abdennour El Rhalibi, principal lecturer in computing at LJMU, organiser of the Game Design and Technology Conference and co-ordinator at IGDA.
Looking at recent figures, he estimates that in the UK starting salaries can be approximately £16,000 in north-east England and £24,000 in London and Cambridge; whereas in Paris it can be 17,000 euro; 20,000 euro in Munich and $54,000 in the US. In India, it is approximately Rs 15,000. “Though the starting salary is approximately £25,000 per annum in the UK, experienced programmers are paid £35,000,” says Nikhil Patel, who works with Technologies 2 at Liverpool. “The good news is that nowadays in the UK there are many game companies looking for game developers.”
“This definitely is NOT a field to get into if you are primarily interested in money. There are fewer stories of amateur game designers making it big than there are of Hollywood actors and actresses. Many of my classmates believed that completing their respective course was a one-way ticket to an industry job, and I haven’t personally found that to be true at all. These programmes will present you with a lot of the skills that working in the industry requires, but you really need to pick up where they leave off,” says Nick Baker, a graduate from LJMU and The University College for the Creative Arts.
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