Game development industry booming in PHL, says GDAP

Gaming is a quite serious business in the Philippines: just ask those who have made successful careers out of developing games for various platforms.

 

Some 3,000 professionals are now working in this industry representing about 60 companies, the Game Developers Association of the Philippines (GDAP) said.

 

"We’ve had the best two years of work. Before, we’ve had gaps between projects. Now what happens is when you end a project, you receive two, which is a good sign," said GDAP president and Secret6 head of operations Alvin Juban.

 

GDAP said the Philippine game development sector earned some $70 million from late 2011 to early 2012, with five percent of its talent pool working on console game services.

 

Another 15 percent focused on quality assurance (QA), game design consulting, and game community support, while the rest specialize in mobile and social games.

 

The Philippines’ top competitor in this industry is China, followed by Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, which Juban considers the dark horse.

 

Juban recalled a discussion he had with an executive from Vietnam, who said they had 10,000 game developers.

 

“We keep saying by 2015, we want 10,000 people. But now, we find that we’re aiming too low. A lot has changed,” he said.

 

Available careers

 

Potential careers in game development include Java developers, iOS, Android, and C++ developers, PHP and MySQL developers, and Actionscript developers.

 

Juban said these are relatively difficult to find, since they require an educational background in computer science, information technology, science or mathematics.

 

While De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde currently offers a four-year course on game design and development, Juban hopes other schools will follow suit.

 

Physics and math a plus “In my company, a simple programmer won’t cut it. We need a developer who is very knowledgeable in physics and math. Sadly, most programmers don’t listen to physics or math even in high school. In gaming, it’s everything,” he said.

 

Promising developers will need training on the effects of velocity, gravity, and collision, but the most important thing may be to have the initiative to learn.

 

“That’s the biggest challenge. We usually get people who have the initiative to study things on their own. They usually Google it or go to a seminar. They will have to go the extra mile,” Juban said.

 

Game designers

 

Those who want to work in game development but have no background in computer science or information technology can work to become a game designer.

 

"He or she is someone who knows video games very well, gameplay, and can write very well,” Juban said, adding sound engineers and producers perform vital roles in the sector.

 

Low attrition

 

Juban said there is a low attrition rate in the video game developer industry.

 

"(W)hen you get into a gaming company and you love playing games, why would you want to leave? It’s not a boring job.” Juban said.

 

But he added, “You have to be very team oriented.”

 

“The entire video game industry is barely 30 years old, so it’s still new. I am pretty new to the gaming industry and I’m willing to bet the rest of my life in this industry,” he added. — TJD, GMA News