gaming has also managed to expand drastically and make its way into handheld devices such as our mobile phones and PSPs (PlayStation portable).

The gaming industry will reach new heights by this year as Deloitte estimates that the gaming industry will grow to an estimated worth of 1.3 billion. Therefore, a career in this industry does not seem to be such a bad idea. An institute that helps in preparing individuals to enter this form of industry is the Asian Institute of Gaming and Animation (AIGA) situated in Bangalore. Established in 2007, AIGA is the initiative of Edulink India Pvt Ltd in academic partnership with the University of Wolverhampton, UK. AIGA offers courses in Game Art, Game Programming and other specialized courses.

This industry has various platforms, most of which are very popular with today’s youth. The key segments of gaming are online games, mobile games, PC and console games and India develops games for all three of these segments.  As stated by Art Director (AIGA)-Joshi Mark Premnath, “A genuine passion for games and game development is an important factor. Game development is creative application of art and technology.” So if you’re planning on taking up game development as a career the above mentioned factor is an important pre - requisite.

The educational qualifications required for taking up a gaming course is also not set in stone, as any student coming from a creative background with exposure to creative subjects and fine arts is eligible. However, students showing genuine interest in the subject who have just finished their 12th examination can also apply. The main characteristic that AIGA looks for in a student is a good understanding of game development. However, the intensity and nature of the program may require students or graduates of a relevant stream. It must also be noted that growth in this field entirely depends on hard work, creativity and the quality of work that an individual brings to the table. Game development is not a one-man job, its a team effort, so in order to grow in the field, an individual needs to surpass the others and assert himself/herself as a core member of the team.

A fresher in this field can look to start off as a trainee artist, programmer or designer in a game studio. He can climb up the ranks as he starts to understand and is capable enough to face the various obstacles that lay present in developing a game in the game studios. The average remuneration of a trainee starts at around 1.2-1.8 lakhs per annum, however, depending on the quality of work and effort put in by the trainee, he/she can quickly move up to about 3.6-4.8 lakhs per annum within a span of three years.

The youth of today, faced with the uncertainties of tomorrow and the ever present doubts of landing good, well paying jobs have now, through the emergence of institutes such as AIGA been given a lucrative and undoubtedly promising career in an emerging segment which is all but poised to take India by storm.