The Indian Game Development Perspective

I have always loved playing games. There’s hardly any console that I haven’t tried out. So when I became somewhat familiar with computers, the first thing I wanted to do was create a game.

People don’t know and understand what is required for developing a game. It’s still considered a thing for kids by many. Keeping both point of view, an enthusiast and a developer, I can tell you it is one of the most difficult and interesting forms of programming you will ever do.

The game development market has grown like anything. A survey found out that the gaming industry earns almost 10% more than the Hollywood industry. That’s a lot. So one thing we can be sure about is that it’s not going to fall in the near future. Gaming is taking its step in India as well. A few firms have done well by producing quality AAA game titles and a few MNC’s have opted to set their base here. Few of the famous name include Indiagames, Jump Games, Paradox Studios and of course the sister concern of Ubisoft, Gameloft. Although major of the games developed by them is either online or for mobiles, the future looks bright. And with the release of XNA (XNA Not a Acronym) from Microsoft, the possibilities are endless.

But there are things to be aware of as well. Apart from dealing with the difficulty of developing, selling games and creating a niche in the market is no easy task. Every two in three games is not taken well by the gamers. Add to this the amount of time and money required for publishing one game and you really start living on the edge. Game development is not only about knowing how to work with DirectX or code in multiple languages. There are many ingredients that go in for the making of a great game. Amongst them the three most important as per me are :

1. Gameplay : Remember Contra, Mario and Ninja Gaiden? Anyone who has played a bit of video games surely knows these names. They were a big hit not because there was no other option available but because they were successful in capturing the imagination of the player, at times even beyond. I still feel like playing them instead of a few mindless 3D titles that has loads of gore, violence or extreme graphics.
   
   Gameplay is important because it is the story of your game. If you can tell a good story to the player and make him feel that he is the character then surely you are on your way to stardom. Even if the objective is interesting, people get time to play your game again and again. Even in today’s world where games like Call of Duty 4 and Crysis are ruling the roost, small games can become a hit. A classic example would be PopCap games. Most of their games are board games like Bejewled, Astro Pop, Dynomite etc. but the way they develop it, they definitely know what they are up to. I am still to meet someone who will say that they are bored playing Bejeweled. They know the ingredients of making a game addictive, and that is Gameplay.
   
   Rule of thumb for me is, if your game has extraordinary graphics and mind blowing sound effects without concentrating too much on gameplay, chances are that it will fail miserably. On the other hand the gameplay element can single handedly win you audience.
   
   
2. Graphics : The second point is graphics. Seriously, all the elements of a game has to be superb to create waves in the market. New games are continuously touching and surpassing the limit. Crysis is still to get a graphics card which will do full justice to its potential. F.E.A.R was another game that churned the hell out of your graphics card.
   
   Knowledge of the latest Graphics package like 3DS Max, Maya, Character Studio, Gmax, Poser etc helps in creating characters and give them life with movements and lip sync. Photoshop and likewise programs can be used for creating a few textures and patterns. Professional artists and painters are required for realizing the characters from a concept to an art and finally to a game model.
   
   
3. Sound : What if you shoot 3 rounds from your shotgun and they sound like stocked firecrackers? No good. To get the feel of the game, sound plays an equally important role. Games like F.E.A.R. and Doom 3 have used their sounds so brilliantly that it adds to the overall creepiness of the game. They ask you to play it midnight with light off just like that, they know what they are saying.
   
   Creating sounds for a game may not be as simple as it sounds. Professional voice actors are hired for different characters and recording studios are given the task of creating the in game music. Music Directors, Guitarists, Saxophone players, Keyboard players and a host of other instrument players are required to produce them.

We can estimate the amount the company has to pay for all these and more for creating a game. The average cost for developing a game can be anywhere between 4-6 millions.

The most interesting aspect of game development is the research that goes into the making. Game development touches every topic possible. Maths, Physics, History, Civics, Geography etc.

Maths and Physics are the basic ingredients of any game programmer. Ever gave a thought what it takes to make the computer models behave like real human beings?

The amount of research is truly magnificent in some games. For example a the publishers of a world war based game Brothers in Arms, took the pains of finding out the each and every minute description about the landscape where the war had taken place. It looks a lot different now but they found out exactly where hills were located, its height, any cave, its width, height etc.

Apart from these fun parts, there is hardly any form of programming that gives you so much fun and a sense of accomplishment at the same time. Seeing your code do something on the screen is always better than being told by a message box that the data has been updated in the database.

This primer has given you a small insight into what goes towards making a game. Although it is not possible for a single person to develop a big console game, Mobile and Online game development is very much within the scope.

There are languages like Python and Lua that helps in creating full-fledged games for multiple platforms using their Game library, which is developed in such a way that it becomes easier or possible for people like me and you to develop games in a matter of days.

XNA is the next best thing that has happened to us. Courtesy Microsoft. Right now the console war is going on mainly between 3 players. Sony’s PS3, Microsoft’s XBOX 360 and Nintendo’s WII. The main battle here is between Sony and Microsoft as Nintendo caters the need of players of different genre. Microsoft’s XNA strategy is real great. Apart from creating another Microsoft developer camp, it will also get to see a few good titles by independent game developers.

XNA allows creation of PC and XBOX games in a simpler manner with managed DirectX. It very well might be the future of game development if Microsoft wants to do away with unmanaged code. Its still some distance to go but you never know. I personally like it and waiting for the professional version to come out in some time. Also the knowledge that my game will run on both PC and XBOX 360 without much fuss is as exciting as it gets.

There are many other paths to explore like C, C++, Lua, Python, Java, Flash. I will try and cover them in forthcoming articles.

This was a short primer to gaming. If you were impressed or always wanted to develop games like me, the next article’s for you. You can develop it as a hobby, take it as a career or for some other purpose but I feel you should try your hands on it and make our country a strong gaming nation to reckon with.