Gaming space is the next frontier for Indian techies

Hyderabad: Games such as Fruit Ninja, Angry Birds may have initiated Indians to mobile games, but the demand for mobile games is likely to rocket forward as local developers jump in to create more localised games. However, the Indian gaming ecosystem, which is miniscule in comparison to the world, is witnessing the rise of a whole new sector — the game process outsourcing.

This sector, still in nascent stages, is soon going to challenge China’s hegemony at the top due to multiple numbers of factors, an industry expert said to this newspaper.

“Currently, developers outsource the work mostly to China, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. But thanks to multiple factors, India will soon be able to challenge China’s hegemony at the top. Factors such as availability of cheap and good talent (both in engineering and arts), data ethics and easier communication will play a major role in that,” said Lakshya Digital CEO and founding member of Nas-scom Game Developers Conference Manvendra Shukul.

While it’s entertaining to play a game, developing one is quite a complex task and requires both time and skill. Most big developers such as Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Activision have their own teams but the medium-sized developers search for help. Companies such as Gurugram-based Lakshya Digital help such developers create arts and animations for their respective games.

While the threats of automation and artificial intelligence is looming large on IT and ITes firms, both gaming and animation have the potential to become an option to create a huge number of jobs.

When asked about big IT firms acquiring or starting their own vertical Mr Shukul said, “The sector, currently, is way too small for them. In future, when it has becomes lucrative they may come forward.”

But the sector’s ambition to challenge China’s hegemony won’t be easy as quite a few challenges await them. Outdated syllabus and lack of awareness among students are the two major factors that are currently the biggest hindrance to the industry.

“There are multiple arts colleges in the country which teach designing and animation but their syllabuses are outdated. The industry undergoes changes quite frequently as newer technologies are discovered. So, the institutes need to update their curriculum according to the needs of the industry. Otherwise, the students despite knowing the basics will find it hard in real-world circumstances.

“Another challenge is the lack of awareness among students. They are unaware of game designers being a career option for them,” he said.

The company, which has two offices in India — Gurugram and Pune — and an international office in Seattle, United States, has plans to open another office in India within a year. Currently at planning stages, it is looking at Kolkata and Hyderabad as the prospective locations. The new office would help them nearly double their staff to 700.