A Career Creating worlds
When someone says, Video games, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
Happiness? Joy? A picture of a time when things were better and everything that mattered was to save the princess ?
Now imagine what your parents will think the second they hear someone say those very words.
Pain? Distraction? Reason why you will not become a Doctor?
Isn’t it amazing how two words can have such completely opposite effects on people. It is the view of everyone in the developing world that Video games are the reason for the low performances of students at school.
What if I told you can make a career of something you love so very much ?
[Before we go any more deeply into the article, one thing must be perfectly understood. The field of arts is one in which you have to have talent to shine in, with hard work and dedication it is only thus far one can travel in this field.]
Now that we have addressed the elephant in the room, we can move on to what really matters.
Video Games are a part of the counter culture movement, a way to stick it to the man. It was a haphazardly organized industry which only drew in the pious and the seriously brilliant. But now, in this age of the internet, where barriers are being dropped faster than they were build up, there is a huge interest in working in this industry.
There are a number of position that can be filled by a student if one be so inclined.
I will try to list out a few roles that are available to an interested party and their corresponding academic requirements.
Animators and Game designers : The people who build the game world. To enter one needs a degree in animation from any institute sprung across the country. The going is really difficult and the chances of success is really low. But if success does find you, you would\’ve hit the proverbial jackpot.
Story Board Development : The people who breathe in life to world Azeroth. Students who have a degree in thinking out of the box and conjuring stories from thin air will be perfect for this. As it is for any field in the sphere of the Arts, the going is difficult.
Programming : We have created a lush story and filled it in with characters that can be remembered after a couple of years. Now it is time to make the magic happen and make them move. An excellent grasp on the various languages that are present in the ecosystem is a must to succeed in this field.
Voice Actors : Just giving the voice to the characters. You would think that there isn’t a professional course to be taken up to get selected in this field and you couldn’t be more wrong. Everything from the pitch and timber of the voice to the scales of the screams have to be studied and understood and it is by far the most cut throat of all the departments.
Marketing : Finally, Something that can be explained to curious people [Read as relatives]. Most of the top universities in the world offer programs.
Game testers : An unforgiving job that pays only peanuts. Recommended only for those people who do not want to have a social life. Really stressful and will result in you hating video games for the rest of your life. But, once the finished product does come through you will feel the joy you felt when you first got your pet.
COMPETITIVE GAMING : One of those field that are on the fringes as far as successful careers go. It is a hit or miss career that depends on how much time you are willing to spend during your formative years, 14-19, on video games and nothing but video games. Because, finger movement is king here and the older you get, the slower you become. Average life expectancy of a professional gamer is only till he is 24 years old. Do you earn money? The team that won recently concluded DOTA 2 championships – Team Newbee, has made all its players rich by a million dollars, EACH. Plus, there is the money that comes in through sponsors from you video streaming.
Of course, it goes without saying that you need uninterrupted power supply and a strong internet connection to succeed. Relatively impossible in India.
What are you waiting for?
Go play some games.
