Gaming Industry On The Lookout For Quality Talent: Manvendra Shukul, CEO, Lakshya Digital
The global gaming industry is currently pegged at over $100 billion, and is the largest segment within the entertainment Industry, far exceeding movies, music & animation across the world.
BW Businessworld gets in touch with Manvendra Shukul, CEO of Lakshya Digital, a Gurugram- based game art development company and talks about the scope of gaming, potential for employment and competition outside India.
How big is the gaming outsourcing industry in Delhi/NCR and opportunities for employment?
Gaming is the largest segment in the entertainment industry globally, far exceeding movies, music and animation. Currently valued at $890 million, the Indian gaming industry is projected to grow at an annual growth rate in double digits. The industry has over 250 game developers today. The growth is driven by a growing youth population, higher disposable incomes, introduction of new gaming genres and the increasing number of smartphone and tablet users following on the back of improving connectivity across the country.
There is a huge employment potential for young aspirants within Delhi/NCR as it develops as an outsourcing hub for international gaming companies. We are seeing things change quite rapidly now, and it’s very exciting to see new organizations come up in this space in the last few years and the eco-system develop as a whole.
What has been the hiring numbers of artists, and what more do you plan in the coming years?
We have more than 450 employees in Pune and Gurugram, with Gurugram alone accounting for more than 350. Our company has been growing at a steady rate thanks to the high demand amongst international publishers and developers for high quality game art production capabilities outside of their own shores, which means that we are constantly on the look-out for quality talent. In fact, such is the gap between our demand and the supply available that we have a dedicated Academy (inGame) to train talent to meet our levels of requirement. We see our team growing 20 percent to 30 percent year-on-year over the next few years.
Apart from artists, are there any other roles you hire for?
Even amongst the artists, we hire for different specializations: 3D Art, 2D Art, VFX, Technical art and 3D Animation. Additionally, for these specializations, we also hire for senior positions such as Lead Artist and Directors. We hire at various levels for other key production roles such a Quality Control and Project Management, as well as for key functions such as HR, Finance and IT.
What skills do you require and what is the typical hiring process?
While artistic ability is a key pre-requisite for a career in Game Art creation, one also needs to be skilled in the use of digital tools like Maya, Max, Photoshop, ZBrush, Substance Designer and have a rudimentary understanding of how game engines such as Unreal or Unity work. Finally, one needs to have knowledge of the video game art creation pipeline, and the processes and techniques involved in the creation of digital assets for games. Needless to say, a passion for gaming helps greatly!
Where does India stand in terms of competition with China and where are we heading to?
India started slowly and got a foothold barely a decade ago, however India has pulled off a coup of sorts by inching very close to China and other leading countries in the business.
China’s game outsourcing industry owes much to the establishment of offices by western game developers due to the access to cheap labour. But as wages in China increase, developers are moving to India which offers competitive wages for a very high quality of work, easy availability of game developers with world-class quality and game development experience.
While India made the breakthrough originally due to a combination of talent, price and language accessibility, it is now on the threshold of providing high value services and if it continues on its trajectory of rendering quality services over next few years it can easily overtake Chine as the global leader in gaming.
What are the chances of expanding to other locations pan India where employment opportunities can come up? Also, do you plan to enter other segments for arts other than gaming?
We have a studio in Pune apart from Gurugram. Our current focus is on growing these two studios. We have been looking into the possibility of setting up a 3rd studio in a different city – but that will not be in the near future.
As for entering segments other than Art, there are huge opportunities in the gaming business still to be tapped. So it’s unlikely that we will look at other areas anytime soon.
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