By Nafisa Khatoon
The course modules include– core courses in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) with specialized courses such as Maths, Physics for gaming, game design thinking, gamification and game testing, computer graphics, UI-UX design, and more
Human-computer Interaction (HCI) is the study of the interaction of industrial design, and interaction algorithms through technology to accentuate user experience for products. The stream is based on a perfect combination of creative imagination and cutting-edge engineering work. The technology has applications in the gaming sector and with increasing digital connectivity and availability of smartphones, the demand for HCI professionals equipped to handle advanced tasks will also expand.
The demand-supply curve has to be balanced by producing graduates with BTech (CSE) with a specialisation in HCI and Gaming Technology. The freshers should be qualified to cater to the need of gamers more realistically by using their conceptual thinking as well as technological skills.
HCI vs Animation
“Understanding the course basically deals with three components, Human: understand people; Computer: understand computers; Interaction: make them work together effectively. As the course name is self-explanatory, the students will be trained to solve human problems through software for several sectors,” says Jitendra V Tembhurne, assistant professor, Computer Science and Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Nagpur.
“Face of the gaming industry is changing in terms of how people based on their choices are using digital platforms and drawing gratification from the services. The transformation requires students to be skilled to add or modify realism to games at any stage of the game product development process. Consequently, pursuing an academic degree at the undergraduate level is the best way to gain knowledge of computer science, design and behavioral sciences,” says Tembhurne.
Online gaming has also emerged as a destressing activity for the youngsters. Besides this, gamification is now been used in various fields including education, while gaming-based technologies are used in several industries. P Deivasundari, principal of KCG College of Technology, Chennai, says “The regular gaming and animation courses, deal with just creative ways of developing games. Whereas a BTech (CSE) with specialisation in Gaming Technology course teaches how to develop games and the logic behind the functioning of those games.”
While the course often overlaps with the animation programme, it has some significant differences. “HCI imparts training in how people use technology and how these can be modified to make them more user-friendly. Students understand the ways to enhance the design aspect, implementation, application, analysis, and assessment of interactive systems, from engineering, psychology, linguistics, and social science perspectives. Whereas, the standalone course in animation is just a minor subset of the former discipline and animators have limited skillsets,” says Tembhurne.
Entry option and course module
Several IITs and IIITs offer admission to this programme based on JEE Advanced score. Many state and private universities conduct their entrance examination for students having an Intermediate in Mathematics.
The course module has to be effective enough to enable students to convert their idea into technically viable and interactive apps. Sundari says, “A carefully designed course components will allow students to graduate with a portfolio for both creative and technical work. The key component of course should integrate core syllabus of CSE focussing on Maths, Physics are linked with interactions taking place during gameplay. Further, students understanding the implications of gaming technology resulting from game design thinking through holistic study of computer graphics, UI-UX design, AR-VR, 2/3D game development processes, will produce skilled HCI experts.”
Career prospects
In India, gaming is a multibillion-dollar industry that is set to grow by 50% over the next few years. The boom is set to thrive on the evolving nature of the industry as these find relevance in entertainment, educational, and medical segments also. “One can be hired for job roles such as factors engineer, accessibility engineer, cognitive systems engineer, creative game designer/tester, game animator, game audio engineer, game programmer, QA game tester, usability tester, game system designer, localization specialist and UI/UX designer. Salaries can range from Rs 3-8 lakh for freshers and upwards of Rs 25 lakh for experienced professionals,” says Jaideep Kewalramani, COO as well as head of employability, TeamLease Edtech.
The course modules include– core courses in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) with specialized courses such as Maths, Physics for gaming, game design thinking, gamification and game testing, computer graphics, UI-UX design, and more
Human-computer Interaction (HCI) is the study of the interaction of industrial design, and interaction algorithms through technology to accentuate user experience for products. The stream is based on a perfect combination of creative imagination and cutting-edge engineering work. The technology has applications in the gaming sector and with increasing digital connectivity and availability of smartphones, the demand for HCI professionals equipped to handle advanced tasks will also expand.
The demand-supply curve has to be balanced by producing graduates with BTech (CSE) with a specialisation in HCI and Gaming Technology. The freshers should be qualified to cater to the need of gamers more realistically by using their conceptual thinking as well as technological skills.
HCI vs Animation
“Understanding the course basically deals with three components, Human: understand people; Computer: understand computers; Interaction: make them work together effectively. As the course name is self-explanatory, the students will be trained to solve human problems through software for several sectors,” says Jitendra V Tembhurne, assistant professor, Computer Science and Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Nagpur.
“Face of the gaming industry is changing in terms of how people based on their choices are using digital platforms and drawing gratification from the services. The transformation requires students to be skilled to add or modify realism to games at any stage of the game product development process. Consequently, pursuing an academic degree at the undergraduate level is the best way to gain knowledge of computer science, design and behavioral sciences,” says Tembhurne.
Online gaming has also emerged as a destressing activity for the youngsters. Besides this, gamification is now been used in various fields including education, while gaming-based technologies are used in several industries. P Deivasundari, principal of KCG College of Technology, Chennai, says “The regular gaming and animation courses, deal with just creative ways of developing games. Whereas a BTech (CSE) with specialisation in Gaming Technology course teaches how to develop games and the logic behind the functioning of those games.”
While the course often overlaps with the animation programme, it has some significant differences. “HCI imparts training in how people use technology and how these can be modified to make them more user-friendly. Students understand the ways to enhance the design aspect, implementation, application, analysis, and assessment of interactive systems, from engineering, psychology, linguistics, and social science perspectives. Whereas, the standalone course in animation is just a minor subset of the former discipline and animators have limited skillsets,” says Tembhurne.
Entry option and course module
Several IITs and IIITs offer admission to this programme based on JEE Advanced score. Many state and private universities conduct their entrance examination for students having an Intermediate in Mathematics.
The course module has to be effective enough to enable students to convert their idea into technically viable and interactive apps. Sundari says, “A carefully designed course components will allow students to graduate with a portfolio for both creative and technical work. The key component of course should integrate core syllabus of CSE focussing on Maths, Physics are linked with interactions taking place during gameplay. Further, students understanding the implications of gaming technology resulting from game design thinking through holistic study of computer graphics, UI-UX design, AR-VR, 2/3D game development processes, will produce skilled HCI experts.”
Career prospects
In India, gaming is a multibillion-dollar industry that is set to grow by 50% over the next few years. The boom is set to thrive on the evolving nature of the industry as these find relevance in entertainment, educational, and medical segments also. “One can be hired for job roles such as factors engineer, accessibility engineer, cognitive systems engineer, creative game designer/tester, game animator, game audio engineer, game programmer, QA game tester, usability tester, game system designer, localization specialist and UI/UX designer. Salaries can range from Rs 3-8 lakh for freshers and upwards of Rs 25 lakh for experienced professionals,” says Jaideep Kewalramani, COO as well as head of employability, TeamLease Edtech.
