The world of gaming is immersive, challenging, and interactive – we are the seer of unseen worlds, tasked with creating universes that bring together cutting-edge technology, artistic vision, and creative sensibilities. A video game provides the player with an ability to navigate through artistic realms, a range of challenges, victories, and a sense of belonging to a larger community that spans all corners of the world.
India has seen a burgeoning expansion of gaming as an industry over the past decade – and proven by the industry clocking $3.1 Bn in revenue for FY23, according to a study by Lumikai. It has been forecasted to hit the $7.5 Bn mark by FY28. Some highlights to note:
- 50% of gamers in India fall in the age bracket of 18-30 years
- Male-to-female ratio is approximately 60:40
- The top reasons to play games are to relax and to socialize with other games
- The average time spent in gaming was 10-20 hours per gamer per week
Over the past 15 years, Ubisoft India has been a stronghold in this flourishing, albeit nascent industry. Our focus has been to build a game development ecosystem that brings industry close to academia, while also curating programs/initiatives that give budding game builders/gamers a closer look at what the world of gaming has to offer. Our campus community initiatives have been built on the foundations of:
- Creating a Buzz
- Curated events and activities
- Building campus communities
- Focus on knowledge transfer
- Sustained engagement
This article explores some of these initiatives curated to build game development communities here in Indian colleges.
Campus Ambassador Program
In an effort to build targeted gaming communities in colleges that offer gaming allied courses – we launched the Ubisoft Campus Ambassador Program to equip young passionate students with the necessary tools/resources to build campus gaming communities that focus on skill building and mentorship.
Some of the campus surveys conducted by our ambassadors show the types of activities students are interested in, to pave their way in the gaming industry.
Knowledge transfer
A strong focus on knowledge transfer – bringing industry experts closer to academia via carefully curated skill building/mentorship programs that run in parallel to course curricula.
Recently Whistling Woods partnered with Ubisoft India to collaborate on and redefine gaming landscape, education with a view to offer aspiring game developers’ insights and opportunities to ace in the field.
Campus for Ubisoft
In an effort to bridge the gap between industry and academia, we have also built local partnerships with top schools/institutes that have been exceptional in co-creating opportunities for our employees to continue to learn and upskill themselves via special workshops like:
Storytelling & Creative Direction in Gaming was conducted for Ubisoft employees working in Art & Animation by Nicolas Branche, Art Direction, Ecole Intuit Lab, a leading design and visual communication French school.
Motion Capture organized by Whistling Wood International, attended by selected employees from Ubisoft Mumbai. This workshop delved into the concepts of Tracking systems and calibrations with a focus on Motion Capture for Films and Video Games. The participants also learnt about post processing pipelines and tools.
Women in gaming
Building avenues for Women in Gaming and fostering a safe space and community is vital. Ubisoft has driven multiple ‘Women in Gaming’ drives to ensure women get an equal opportunity to showcase their talent -from organizing special seminars in women only colleges, to creating a level playing field in terms of access to resources and information necessary for successful recruitment at Ubisoft, and to building ambassadorship in women in gaming communities. These efforts have helped us build large-spread awareness about careers in gaming and have also helped us build a strong pipeline for women in tech & art. Ubisoft India Studios is dedicated in its efforts to build an inclusive workplace that thrives in diversity and promotes safety and belonging for all underrepresented groups.
Ubisoft has been a driving force for creating synergies in the talent pool in India and the organization’s vision for future milestones. Given the diverse market we have, creating buzz around the aspects of gaming, new tech in gaming, game releases help to foster connections with the students in the gaming communities. Gaming communities help to create a hub for like-minded gamers, people who share similar interests and create a sense of belonging.
Being one of the industry pioneers, Ubisoft India Studios is working towards creating a gaming ecosystem that stems from the foundation of game development. Building this gaming community would foster a sustaining ecosystem which would be beneficial to identify and build future talent.