Gaming has emerged as one of the best sources of entertainment in India . The gaming industry world wide is worth US $138 billion. The Indian gaming market is expected to touch $1.1 billion by 2010. Several international game developers are now setting up subsidiaries in India, ensuring exciting job opportunities for Indian gaming enthusiasts.

The process of game development generally involves three stages, which includes the creative process (conceptualization and visualization), followed by production (graphics, animation and programming) and finally testing of the game for different platforms and carriers.

Level 1

During the first stage, game concepts and ideas are evolved. This job requires a creative person who is very passionate about games, and has an excellent understanding of what the end user will get a kick out of. Visualisers are responsible for creating an appealing and suitable look for the game and are concerned with character designs and the like.

Level 2

The second stage involves graphic designing, modeling, animation and programming. This stage requires a seamless merging of the technical and the creative. During this stage graphic designers will implement the visualiser’s idea and optimize the designs for the medium; the programmers will write the code. Programming skills would include knowledge of languages like Java and C/C++.

Level 3

The third stage is concerned with porting and testing. After a game is developed it is ported across formats, platforms, carriers and handsets to determine compatibility of the game with the selected media.

Useful skills

Proficiency in animation software like Maya, 3D Studio Max and Light wave is a must. Graphic artists must be adept at Macromedia Fireworks, Freehand and Adobe Photoshop. Other software programs required specific to the platforms are:

PC: Shockwave, Flash, Visual Basic, Java, Visual C ++, Direct X, Open GL, Visual Studio, Assembla, Blender

Console: The respective software development kit, Visual C ++, Direct X, Open GL.

Mobile Phone: Visual C++, J2ME, VB, WAP, ASP, JSP.