Game Design and Development

Relevant educational qualification in the fields of animation, graphic designing, game designing/ technology, etc. is necessary for obtaining an excellent career in gaming industry. Those interested in pursuing a career in gaming industry, should focus on gaining awareness with computer programming in an object-oriented language such as C+ or Java, from their high school level, so that they can build a bright future for themselves.
Several certificate and Diploma programmes in game designing are offered by various institutions. Advanced Diploma in Game Design; Diploma in Game Design and Gaming; Video Game Design and Development Certification; Video Game Design and Development, etc. are some among the courses. The minimum eligibility required for most of these courses is 10+2 or its equivalent. For becoming a Game programmer, one should have B.E/ B.Tech degree in computer engineering. Online programs are also available in game design and animation. Those with an inborn desire to learn gaming and excellent technical skills can excel in this field.
Good working knowledge of the game designing software's is a must for a career in game industry. Once you decide on the platform - I.e. 2D or 3D you want to pursue, you should get familiar with its applications - 2D designing software's such as or 3D applications like 3D Max/ Maya/ XSI, Light wave 3D, Cinema 4D etc. And computer graphics, data structures etc. They should also be exposed to art, literature, philosophy and history as it helps to create games with specific cultural touch to a particular region/country or people living in various parts of the world.
Personal Attributes - Strong interest and liking for the games is the first and foremost thing needed for an individual to become an expert professional in the gaming industry. Candidates who wish to make a career in game designing should be innovative, creative, systematic, dedicated and have a clear understanding of common game mechanics and game play theory. One should possess the art of sketching or drawing and have a sound understanding of anatomy of humans, animals or birds and body movements and lighting effects. Game designing is a field which requires a keen eye for detail, loads of patience, excellent communication and presentation skills. A game designer must have a good sense of colour, proportion, size, design, visualization, knowledge of background, art and layout.

People who pursue degrees in game design and development often have several of the following traits:
Detail-oriented
Goal-driven
Problem solving skills
Good communication skills
Troubleshooting ability
Works well in a team
Advanced math skills
Computer kills
High manual dexterity
Hand-eye coordination
Creative thinking
Writing skills
Drawing ability
Associate Degrees in Game Design
Most associate degree programs in game design and development take at least two years to complete. Some may take less time, depending on the nature of the school's curriculum. An associate degree in game design and development can prepare students for entry-level jobs in the game design industry, usually as entry-level programmers or other lower level positions.
Bachelor's Degrees in Game Design
Most Bachelor's degree programs in game design and development take at least four years to complete. Some may take less time, depending on the nature of the school's curriculum. A Bachelor's degree in game design and development can prepare students for entry-level jobs in the game design industry, usually as intermediate-level programmers, engineering staff, or beginning designers.
Those enrolled in either online or campus-based degree programs may also work on many group and individual projects, completing several games before graduation. This allows the student to follow the process of designing and developing a video game from start to finish several times through in a controlled environment.
Engrossing video game, be prepared to obsess similarly over completing a game's design. This often requires working overtime, staying late at the office, and coming in on weekends and holidays.

Game designers obviously focus on designing games. This is quite different in terms of the work vs. animators who usually work on movies or commercials. Whether it be game design or animation, there are many specific skills to learn and to concentrate in. You have the modeling of the characters (which is akin to digital sculpture), character animation, which requires good fine art skills and drawing of faces, environmental design, which is essentially designing the background for the characters, texturing (for skin and fur), lighting, rigging (to get the character to move correctly) and more.
I guess the bottom line is that:
1. You need to decide whether you want the programming side or the design side.
2. If design, majoring in either game design or animation would probably be just as good for developing the above-mentioned design skills. However, if you want character animation or environmental design, it is crucial that you develop your drawing and illustration skills particularly of characters. Other aspects of animation don't need this as much.
3Ds Max
3Ds Max offers better interoperability with other Autodesk products.
Many prefer 3Ds Max for materials and rendering due to the ease of materials setup.
Getting the most out of 3Ds Max can require some scripting using MaxScript.

India or anywhere else, the procedure to follow is the same. Remember contrary to other fields in IT this is one of the most challenging fields.
Best way is to start with computer science subjects with key courses in C++, Object Oriented programming and most importantly Algorithms and Data Structure.
Once done choose a full fledged game engine to work with and spent a few days learning the native API. This will be if you understand Object Oriented programming.
Once you have learned the API learn about the different pipelines in game design such as I)physics ii) gameplay and control ii) AI iv) User interface v.)particle effects etc.
Once done move to advanced topics of writing shaders, optimization, parallelism, texture baking etc. You will know basics each of these as you start learning.
This are content for the programming and technical side.
Second is the art pipeline and this requires you to be a native artist I.e. good in drawing. According to my experience in the art part if you can draw you can design anything without much efforts. Just following the steps in help menu of any 3D modelling and animation tool such as max maya or even photoshop and illustator for 2D art.
If you are not an artist you can take help or OpenGameArt.org can help you to get art assets for your game.
Build your ides and publish a few games to get known among the community. Now you will be good to go to work with a professional studios such as EA Ubisoft or you could start a indie game development studio of your own.
As you will dive to the deepest level of game design instead of designing games you will be designing tools on which games are built

You can either do animation or computer science engineering. For game development, Computer science will help you and for design, the animation is good to go.
Game design involves the entire process of making a video game. It involves various stages such as concept, documentation, prototype development, production, design, programming, level creation, art production, audio production, testing, and maintenance. It is not an individual work, but needs a team effort. Game design involves knowing many arts like graphics, industrial design, and architecture. It is part of the entertainment industry and needs concept, gameplay, feature list, setting and story, target audience, requirements and schedule, staff and budget estimates for producing a successful game.
Famous game expert Brian Sutton-Smith has some valuable tips, a game designer is a particular kind of designer, much like a graphic designer, industrial designer, or architect. A game designer is not necessarily a programmer, visual designer, or project manager, although sometimes he or she can also play these roles in the creation of a game. A game designer might work alone or as part of a larger team.