India had 120 million online gamers in 2016, according to a KPMG-Google report. But all that was before PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile swept the country last year. There are no clear estimates of how many has the mobile game turned into gamers, but the craze seems to have pushed youngsters towards taking up gaming courses.
According to the KPMG-Google report, the online gaming in India will become a $1 billion industry with 310 million gamers by 2021. This surge in demand has made many private and government universities to launch programmes on design, multimedia and graphics.
The Lovely Professional University (LPU), Punjab has witnessed a 10 per cent surge in applications this year for courses related to online gaming. “The varsity has received over 1000 queries for gaming and allied courses like B.Design multimedia, B.Design gaming, B.Sc design – gaming, B.Sc design – graphics, B.Sc design – multimedia, B.Design graphics. The number of female enquiries is almost equivalent to the number of male enquiries pertaining to gaming courses. A large number of applicants are choosing the field owing to their passion for gaming,” said Professor Sridhar Ravi, who is the head of Lovely Professional University’s School of Design.Another institute, iLead, has introduced courses on data science, gaming and mobile application this year.
Job-related, upcoming courses in online gaming
As there is an uptick in the online gaming industry, various universities are thinking to change their course module or to introduce new courses. Professor Ravi said the current courses in the varsity were started in 2008. But, the market is growing rapidly and demand for skilled people in a specific stream is increasing.
Professor Ravi said there is hardly any well-tailored course on animation in India except at some private institutes. “The varsities in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada have already provided masters’ programme with an opportunity of internship in specific fields of online gaming like designing, programming. Following this model, we are planning to start postgraduate programmes on animation, designing, programming with the current running courses,” said Professor Ravi.
Career perspective in online gaming in India
Since the online gaming industry is booming, the candidates with a Bachelor’s degree in gaming design and programming can easily land a job with a salary package of Rs 4 to 5 lakh per annum. According to payscale.com, the pay scale of aspirants can reach up to Rs 50 lakh per annum as per their experience.
Professor Ravi said, “The candidates with a design background earn above Rs 5 lakh, while with a programming background got a salary less than it, as per the Indian market.”
Ankita Arora, who joined Hooting Owl Studios, a web design company, as an intern five years back said, “The prospectus in this field shines with your work proficiency and experience. Five years back it was just Rs 15k when I joined the company, now I am earning Rs 60k to 70k per month as a designer.”
Rahul Arora, who owns the studio, said: “The salary may vary according to experience, in the current team, some people are getting remuneration close to Rs 1 lakh per month.”
“Apart from the designing background, we also hire people from journalism field. We prefer students from Jamia Milia Islamia, Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC),” Arora added.
Courses-wise academic qualification
Certificate course: The candidates need to possess a Class 10 pass certificates from a recognised education board
Diploma/ Graduate level courses: A class 12 pass certificates from a recognised education board required to apply for the courses
PG courses: The candidates need to possess a Bachelor’s degree in a specific stream or field.
[“source=indianexpress”]
