Arijit Bhattacharyya

Accreditation- TRUTH BEHIND THE SCENES

Posted on May 14, 2013 by editor Posted in Education Leave a comment

The biggest threat to the education industry is the accreditation mills like IAO that not only tie up with diploma mills, but also dupe even the most sincere & prestigious institutes by their false accreditations. It is a relief that IAO has been busted. IAO’s accreditation does not add any value to your institute. However, lack of awareness is helping IAO & organizations alike to roam free.

WHY IAO IS FAKE?

Apart from being an accreditation mill, IAO has some serious allegations against it.

The USDE has listed it in the unrecognized higher education accreditation organization & has notified that any institution that “describes its couplings with IAO as a positive attribute are not to be taken seriously.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unrecognized_higher_education_accreditation_organizations).

This organization calls itself to be working from the USA but is NOT recognized by either USDE or CHEA or both as per the ABA rule.

As we are here to spill the beans of IAO who claims to be from the USA, let us look at the USA role of accreditation.

In the USA, the accreditation process is conducted by nonprofit organizations, which are validated by either USDE or CHEA or both. No organization can work on their own. ((http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/).

Neither USDA nor CHEA accredit individual institutes. There are national & regional accrediting agencies both of which are liable to the Dept. Off. Education. Then how does an organization give accreditation independently?

Well, you do not have to carry the fat rulebook to chase a thief. People always overdo the matters when they attempt deception. Proof? Read on.

Type this URL http://www.iao.org/

What do you see as soon as the window opens? Sliding screens followed by few contact processes, i.e. phone number, chat, email etc.

The phone number is 1866-276-426/ 1866-276-8426. Right? Now Google the numbers. For the first number there is no information. IAO has deleted the info & you get an error message here http://www.iao.org/iao/memberarea/school-certificate.asp?sc=09. Do not go back. Wait a few seconds & this very error message leads you automatically to the official page of IAO! Why? Just to divert your attention.

For the second number try these links- http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-276-8426 , http://www.whycall.me/866-276-8426.html . In reality, people call from these numbers claiming to call from USA & ask for money.

Then the colorful rich sliding screens catch your attention immediately. What do these screens have? Logos of almost all reputed companies! The first thing that clicks your mind is ‘IAO has given accreditation to them!’ & immediately IAO earns a trust level for you. However, study carefully. Scroll down. You will see a disclaimer regarding these logos used here. What IAO actually saying, is if they accredit your institute, you too can be like them! How can you be like them when IAO itself is not recognized?

You will find some news about some real institutes being accredited by IAO. There are real & convincing names listed on the website of IAO & I cannot but blame these so-called wise institutes to be too good to allow a fraud organization like IAO. IAO even accredited West Coast University, Panama & the University Of Antarctica which IAO has recently removed from the site. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_University_%E2%80%93_Panama)

Now there is a video showing how IAO accredit. Well, it says to be a video but in fact, it is an audio clip with irrelevant description & still graphic irrelevant images. It promises you to accredit your university, institute, or even school in just 30 days & that is too lifelong! IAO grants permanent & full accreditation! Not sure how they claim, it is for any standardization as one company has to go with yearly audit and renew any certificate.

Click ‘About us’. There is no mention of either being approved by the Dept. Neither of Education, nor of any governing body (http://www.iao.org/iao/about.asp). Only a list of members is there. How can an organization have members without a governing body? Also, look carefully. Most members are Asians. If an organization is in the USA & if it claims to be coming from the USA to visit, your institute do not you think there should be a reasonable number of Western members?

IAO Claims to be self-described ‘secondary’ accrediting body but does not mention who gave the permission. This in no way is possible as per USA rules of accreditation. Their accreditation does not have any value actually; it is just you open a company then start giving accreditation to others. Alternatively, you give an award to yourself. LOL.

According to CHEA, accreditation mills allow accreditation to be purchased - IAO allows their accreditation to be purchased in $ 499 that is in Indian currency Rs. 26954.48 only. However, this is not mentioned in any of their official pages. They even offer attractive discount! Not sure how any person from the USA will fly to India and do Audit (Not sure about the process as, if you pay they will give accreditation and you can be anyone.)

Once contacted by IAO, if you change your mind & do not want to proceed with the accreditation, they start forcing you!

IAO conducts a showy site visit. The visiting body DOES NOT come from the USA. Even the assessment process is meaningless. If you are in India, just ask them to send someone. You will see an Indian, or at best, an Anglo-Indian will come to visit your institute, his English is fine but the accent is very much Asian.

Not only IAO, there is a long list of accreditation mills to follow. Here’s more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unrecognized_higher_education_accreditation_organizations

Why talking only about IAO then? You got it right. I had a small encounter with it & have seen others suffering.

In 2011, I got a call from a Skype-like number congratulating me that my institute has been selected for the accreditation certificate of IAO. The person claimed to call from USA though the accents were very much Asian. However, the message was that to claim the accreditation I had to fill up a form.

I did so & received a mail on June 16, 2011 from rstephen@iao.org informing me that my application has been accepted & my institute has been rewarded with the IAO candidacy status though no proper reason was shown! “With Candidacy Status you can use the IAO logo on your website, official printed materials”, the mail also says, “It will also include the official IAO Candidacy Certificate and the Assessment Report” & provided me with a log in ID & a password.

What struck me is that they wanted $499 to claim the candidacy certificate! $499 in current Indian currency is Rupees 26954.48 only! Interesting. I complied.

That is when I started to smell something fishy. I was yet to use their logo & I asked them about their own recognition status. Certainly, this question was a bolt from the blue. “We are calling from the USA. Don’t you believe us?” this was the only reply!

As predictable, they started to avoid me. After 1 year or so, they contacted in the same way with another institute. The irony was that they had no idea that this institute too was mine & they were contacting the same person!

By this time, I did some research about IAO & got to know that they simply hire a USA based number & the address mentioned had no real existence at all! Being contacted for the second time, when I asked them that two years back I have already been through the, process, and I have paid to you for the recognition, but I have never used your name as I found it’s fishy , the person asked me who am I? I gave him a simple reply I am the owner of five different institutes offering different courses. One is into game development & animation, another one is in total IT, another one into medical solutions, another into skill development and the rest is into manufacturing. Also informed them I am the same person whom you have communicated earlier. Very I asked them to give me their address; I will ask my USA team to have a visit to their office as you are claiming you are calling from the USA. They just simply turned off the call. Funny huh? I tried to call back, but they never replied.

Then I started digging the whole thing. Then I found many Universities in India took their accreditation! Some of the institutes who stole our course contents and they too got the accreditation. Now they are so proud about the accreditation without knowing that it’s fake! Poor them! They have just wasted the money. Now I do not have a problem with that. They are free to spend of spoil their own money. But the fact is that student’s are the actual sufferers as they think the institute they are choosing is recognized by a USA based firm. But the truth is that the firm itself is not recognized. Well I am trying to make it simple. Let us say you are getting a diploma. But when that diploma will be valid? When it will be recognized from a University and that University must be accredited by the Govt. In India that may be UGC, AICTE, DEC any of them or all of them.

Well, this was my story. I could have been a victim if I were not conscious. What made me suspect them is their silence when questioned about their own recognition status.

WHY IAO GETS EASY ACCESS IN INDIA?

The primary thing is, accreditation & approval are not same. Approval is given by some universities who themselves have to be recognized by the state. License of approval is mandatory. The process does not end with a blink of the eye. It takes years. If a university or college is not approved, any degree issued by it will be regarded as illegal. We often get confused about Approval & Accreditation.

Accreditation is above & beyond the state level & it is exclusively a voluntary process. It is conducted by professional organizations & given based on certain standards set by those very organizations. Accreditation is a kind of granting the public recognition. But who can give accreditation? Neither you nor I. Nor Tom, Dick & Harry. The companies who can give accreditation must be recognized from a govt body itself and must follow the rules given by the govt. Of that country where it is established .Then that second party organization can give accreditation to others who are in the education industry.

Most institutes do not really care that much. Callously they are carried away by the sudden announcement of an accreditation. The ‘whites are the best’ syndrome still lures them to such an extent that they give up their common sense even.

‘The USA accreditation & that are too in such a cheap rate’ – this thing immediately clicks the bargain-loving & profit-smelling minds. They never crosscheck about the authenticity of the organization; that they are paying for; whom they are attending at their campus. They sincerely arrange for the whole process, gather fake strength, & end up being bullied when they finally get to know that all this was fake!

In India, lots of prestigious institutes & universities have already been their prey. Some of them I personally know & I regret their decision to go for IAO’s accreditation. You can easily find their names on the website of IAO it.

See, nothing can come out of nowhere. It is ridiculous & shameful. Institutes are responsible for the welfare of their students. Some decent looking, English speaking people can easily gully them with their tall talks. How can they be so callous about their reputation? How can they be so careless? So gullible? Is it not only their duty but also their moral responsibility to think twice before accepting any reward or award?

Of course, the students are the ultimate sufferers. They are doubly bullied. Firstly, about the quality education & secondly the degrees & the certificates. They churn out all their money & in some ceremonies; they are presented with the certificates of their labor having the seal of some good-looking logos, which in real life have no value at all. Finally, being rejected everywhere they crowd the population of educated unemployed youths & that too with no real education.

So what to do?

Do not just go by my words. Check the links I provided here. Just Google “IAO Fake” & you will get all the information.

Ask, know, implicate. As a responsible institute go to the root of a matter, know the truths. Know your rights. Easy there! With the RTI, you get easy access to the right knowledge. Why don’t you use it? If your ego hurts you to take help from a knowledgeable person or media, please use your common sense. Let your moral police ask questions. Let us not make common sense the most uncommon thing. Let us take the pledge not to make our students suffer.

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How to draw animated character

Posted on April 23, 2013 by admin Posted in Animation, Comics Characters, Drawing Leave a comment

Dear reader, today I am going to show you how to make an animated character with a very simple way.

how to create animated character part One

animated character, animatable object, animation, 2d animation, animated video

Final stage of creating animated character

Let me understand shall I show you how to draw different characters in my next post or shall I move into how to make a proper background for animation . happy reading.

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Swadeshe pujyate raja vidyan sarvatra pujyate

Posted on April 21, 2013 by admin Posted in Education Leave a comment

Drona asks Ekalavya to cut off his right thumb as a gift to the mentor. Ekalavya readily chops it off resulting into his significant degradation as a skilled warrior. A detailed & critical study of the incident demands separate attention. Then you must be thinking why mention this story here? Even taken literally, this story reminds me of the current education system & the syllabus structure where the students are asked mercilessly to forsake their imagination, creative thought-process & to pay a hefty amount for being taught certain stereotype topics. And the students blindly do so.

Why do the students agree? Because they trust the institutes. Is this the only reason? No. They do so because their views on study have been manipulated for decades to such a level that the common instinct is that education means scoring high marks & getting a high-paying job. This gut-feeling has gripped the society so tight that a huge pressure of getting A+ grades is accumulated on the student right from his early school days. He is squeezed & squashed continuously to be an all-rounder but hardly gets any time to love what he is learning. Even if he manages to love one subject or two, he is forbidden by the whole education system to explore the subjects, to do something creative. Any such step is tagged as ‘out of syllabus’.

So, does the syllabus itself cover everything that no advanced study is required? Not at all. See how the structure dupes the students-

Take a Computer Science student for example. If you ask him how many programming languages do you know? He will recite a long list of names- Java, C++, SQL, C etc. Impressive indeed. Okay. Now ask him how did you manage to learn all of them within 4 years? –“2-3 language on each semis.” Now ask some deeper questions on any programming language. I bet, the boy will give you a perplexed look. Why? Well, you know, too many cooks spoil the broth. The syllabus had so much of it that not even a single language had been taught properly. Even the logic – the mother of programming languages, is hardly clarified. Rarely they are taught what is Memory management. 4-5 programming languages are a far cry. The students don’t get any inkling of this horrible damage done to their career. They are made to get the feel of practical knowledge through some ‘projects works’ which actually work as tools of passing the exams for the students & tools for earning some more money for the teachers. But alas! they don’t offer any real-life problem solution at all.

Why only Computer Science students? Look at a simple sophomore with low marks at H.S. exam. Being ousted from the gorgeous world of doctors & engineers, he opts for a pvt. Engineering college. Why? Simply because of the placement trap. & some opt for the ‘Multimedia’ course. Reason? Quick jobs after a quick course.

Probably, the drawing classes he attended in his school days or the cartoon programs on the TV motivated him to be an animator. Sadly, nobody is there to tell him that this is not enough to pursue the course. Moreover, he is convinced by the ‘Multimedia institutes’ that even without doing drawing, he can easily be established as an 3D animator! Where to know drawing correctly, you need to be adept at drawing human anatomy, need a clear understanding of the perspective view, they can make you an animator out of nothing! The course they are offering must be magical enough to turn the muggles into Hogwartians

Even the course structure is shabby, time-worn. Neither the traditional, nor the technological courses offer upgraded, industry-oriented edgy syllabi. Say, for example, Cross platform application. The subject is 20-25 years old as at that time computers didn’t support cross platform file transfer. Even now, a Android phone doesn’t support an iPhone file & vice versa. Now if the student reads only about the good old computers, how do you expect him to have a sound, practical knowledge on the subject?

The dearth of knowledge is so acute that the job-seekers even loss their common sense. A deep understanding of Maths & Physics is a must for doing Programming. We read these two subjects from childhood. Don’t we? But when I take interviews, I sadly discover that 8 out of 100 students can actually relate to the simple Maths tricks. All the questions asked appear so alien to them that they mistake those for questions on the Gaming Industry.

As the ill luck would have it, he bangs the door of every possible company with the hope of getting a decent job, but is turned down for the lack of his knowledge. Or even if he manages to get a placement during campassing, he becomes a target prey of the recession firing. The MNC trains him during the probationary period only to the extent the company needs him. Thus a candidate never gets 360 degree knowledge. Had he himself honed his skills during the probationary period, he would never be jobless.

Loads of marks with little or no dynamic knowledge- is this what you call education? education is delivering dynamic knowledge. The syllabi should be developed every now & then to keep abreast of the time. You may ask me, or as I have been asked numerous times, what’s your role here? How to study more? Where to get more info? Who will tell us? Look, if there is a will, there is a way. Also, I believe, if you can start your day in the morning, then you can do everything. Read books. Books are correctly said to be a man’s best friend. Why books only? There is Google the great, there are forums for every topic you want. Go. Join them. It’s so much easier now. Want to learn high-end technology? think before you try for that. Have you known everything about the basic technology yet?

“What do you see?” Drona asked Arjuna during an arrow shooting training. he had placed a clay bird on the top of a tree & asked his disciples to shoot the bird in its eye. Some said “I see the bird on the tree top.” Some answered, “I see the bird”. But Arjuna replied with rapt attention- “I see the eye of the bird”. Like Arjuna, be always focused to your goal. And the goal is not getting a job, neither getting high marks; it is getting real knowledge. And try to be like Ekalavya- who did self-upgradation as his mentor refused to make him his protege. These days you will get lots of professional courses, but the sole dependence on these may only make you an empty vessel that sounds much. You certainly don’t want that. Do you? Talent requires no language. If you are talented, the world will recognize your lingo. Swadeshe pujyate raja vidyan sarvatra pujyate- a king is respected in his own country, but a wise man is universally respected.

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Play Games-Overcome Depression

Posted on April 13, 2013 by editor Posted in Gamer Leave a comment

Hey all? How was your week? stressful? Depressive? Thinking of attending any counseling session this weekend? Wait Why not opt for a better cost-effective alternative? Why not try video-games? No. I am not kidding. You must be wondering, why video-games? Read on-

Depression- snatches your youth, energy, makes you feel older, dejected & what not. Even makes people suicidal. But here, I am not to discuss about depression. That’s the forte of Psychologists I think. I am to share something more special, perhaps more useful

This hardly avoidable modern-day dilemma forces you to take medication, even counselling. But sadly only 5% of the sufferers can actually afford this.

But how does video game-play can reduce depression? Let’s have a look-

Video game-play is a replacement for standard therapies including medication.
A study reports says that 57% of the patients in the game group of the study had a reduction in the symptoms of depression along with a slight reduction in anxiety.
Bejewelled, Peggle, Bookworm helps reduce depression & anxiety in patients.
Help combat depression in old age.
Exer-games reduce the Sub-syndromnal depression (SSD) in seniors.
Seniors who play video games report a better sense of emotional well-being.
Dopamine levels are elevated during game-play.
Cures hyperactivity.
Heart-rate, BP & skin health is maintained.
Sports game increases cardio-vascular benefits.
Fighting games induce positive thinking exercise.
We learn to trust our own instincts through the trigger-happy game-play.
Shooting games set yourself for success in the.
Online games are free to play & these employ micro transactions thus making the scope of VR wider.
Social games like Farmville pull you out of your lonesome life & include real life friends into the gaming experience.
Offers emotional boost.
Great as post trauma exercise.
And all these happen without the knowledge of the player.

Take a break from the hurry & bustle of your noisy life & try League of Legends, for example, & feel an uplifted mood.

This long list of tangible benefits surely proves my point. But the secret lies not in this list, rather in the game-play. Look, video games can’t cure your disease. But definitely can help you in coming out of the trauma. Proper video game offers you a positive distraction when life gets miserable.

Gone are those days when you needed to crowd a video-game parlor every now & then. These days, apart from the parlors, there are lots of other ways to access to a game- mobile, tab, PlayStation, Xbox etc. & most of us have easy access to these. So whenever you feel out of tune, just try any game, may it be a just mindless game-play, but if it is a quality game-play, will give you a lease of fresh breath.

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iPhone Application Development Training- Check Out Before You Check In

Posted on April 4, 2013 by editor Posted in iPhone Application Leave a comment

“Most students are happy with the show-off & they don’t get bothered about the quality education…& most colleges cater to the cheap taste. So why should we take that extra pain? ”!!!! (grins)!!!!

“Truth is stranger than fiction”- so true. You know, that day I chanced upon a faculty of an institute who teaches iPhone app development. He shocked me with the above quoted lines. Ready for some more shock? Here it is-

That day I was taking interview for Android & iOS developer. I was shocked to know that there are institutes who spend 6 months only in teaching how to do drag & drop on platforms and charge a 5 figure amount from the freshers, and they PAY !!! The Faculty itself doesn’t know how to work on touch-sensors!!! Do they know the difference between the tab and the phone, touch and sensors ? I am in serious doubt. Even one of their trained students- who was being sent to a college to teach iOS app development, came to me for the interview seeking for a post of iPhone Apps Developer. His supposed target-students are BCA and MCA freshers. OMG! He himself was saying “Sir, the institute didn’t teach us anything in the scheduled 6 months. The actual duration was only 3 and a half months! Now after talking to you I understand that I still need to learn a lot…” . This fellow was a good person at heart but really beaten up by this deceptive institute .

And why blame them only? There’s actually a rife assumption that learning iPhone app development is quite easy & can be done away with even a slack, happy-go-lucky demeanour. Wrong! Just because some 9 years old kiddo can develop an attractive app, does it mean it’s a child’s play? Freshers want to call themselves iPhone app developers ASAP. So they enrol in a bad course with even worse contents. But sorry! Learning iPhone app development from some phony institute is just like trying to melt the whole cone of an ice-cream in your mouth at one go.

What they learn in these 6 months? I don’t know as I never been a faculty of such a dogma. But what I see is, after the completion of the course, the fresh ‘App developers’ can only call a webpage in an iPhone! Boo! In no way he can be called an App developer. The charisma of the institutes blinds the learners so much that they don’t even check on what it really takes to be an iPhone app developer. You know what is the main problem? All are in hurry of some settled jobs, but none is ready to learn the real things. My question is would you like to call yourself wise when you know nothing? Or just a small piece of information will make for the whole know-how? Isn’t it better to admit that you don’t know, but you are keen to learn?

Big fish eat small fish. The so-called popular institutes not only try in futile to do the magic in 6 months. They don’t (or can’t) even give you the proper idea of the standard screen size of an iPhone or iPad! Friends, if possible, just check out the name of the course they are offering. Some teach ‘iPhone Development’! Gosh! Where is the term ‘Application’? Teaching iPhone Development! Really. A great quality indeed! Probably the day is not that far when I’ll hear that they are teaching Apple to develop iPhone! A glittering classroom & glowing study materials- enough to make the society their scapegoat. In fact, these institutes don’t even have the proper infrastructure to give the real training.

The IDE which is used in an iPhone app consists of buttons, text boxes, combo boxes etc. You can use these by dragging & dropping for a basic practice only. But it can’t be called a proper app. Even running the Google map on the iPhone is not an app at all. Looking at layout? Do you know the difference between the absolute layout and the relative layout ? Okey, what are Delegates? What is the use of iOS managers ? Difference between viewDidLoad, viewWillAppear, viewDidAppear and viewLoad?What is Sandboxed Environment? While learning iOS app development don’t you feel you need to know each and every nook & corner of the objects that you are using ? If that institute is claiming to teach Objective C then at least you need to know Why Objective C is Called as Pure Object Oriented language?

We are taking a lot of efforts to make people aware of the actual process. We can’t do it alone because united we stand, divided we fall. I need your active & warm support to do this. For Heaven’s sake educate our youths. they trust YOU, and you guys act treacherous-snatch the hard earned money of their parents & in return what do you give? NOTHING.

Practical app development means developing business apps, funny apps, game making etc for which the knowledge of User Interaction Coding, like, ‘touch’, ‘gyro’ is a must. To develop iOS apps, a thorough knowledge of Objective C is necessary. Most importantly, there should be a crystal-clear conception about logic , SDK integration & Gesture. The output is much better in the iOS market than the Android market. So, if learned properly, any iPhone app, be it business app, funny app or games; can attract a large market.

Freshers need proper guidance. Fools are those who think that the students can easily be manipulated & they can be used eternally as money-making machines. this view always pulls one down & thus the whole nation. Do I sound big? Well, you too will support my cause if you are a responsible citizen of India. Won’t you?

Sailed off with iPhone app development. Did I drift? In that case, back to pavilion : so now the serious question that comes to a serious reader, is, if most of the institutes are doing wrong & most of the students are learning little or half-truths, then what am I trying to prove? ‘Is this man trying to promote his institute?’ well, if I had to do that, I wouldn’t sit to share these knowledge beans; rather I would go for a catchy advert. My only effort, as usual, is to spread the awareness among you. You are smart enough to understand what to look for from now on.

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Video Game Reduces Stress

Posted on March 30, 2013 by editor Posted in Game Design, Game Development, Gamer Leave a comment

Did you know that an awesome healing power had always been right at your comfort-zone? And that’s equally potent as any other antidote? Talking about video games! The joystick or the mouse, apart from offering a powerhouse of pleasure & entertainment, has a soothing effect on even the worst kind of mental fatigue- STRESS.

Your to-do-list is crowded with deadlines. The cubicle is loaded with files. Or your virtual office hardly lets you look around. Else the towering syllabi of the upcoming exam are baffling you. Pushed for the extreme, you are at your wit’s end. Or hey, may be your partner just ditched you or the other way round? Whatever it is, the result is at the end of the day, YOU ARE STRESSED OUT.

Thinking of attending a stress management workshop? But before you spend on that, why don’t you try some video game-play for some hundred bucks or even for free?

The good news is, video games reduce the stress-related hormone Cortisol by 17%. So next time you are done with your office for the day, go for at least a 30 minutes’ refreshing session of VR games. This will also increase your productivity level at work.

Of course not telling you to play at breaks in office-hours

Dear students & their worried parents- video games NEVER hinder study if played in a proper way. Rather relieve the students from the huge pressure & thus help learning to be an enjoyable experience. ‘Call of Duty’, for example, is a helping game in releasing stress for students.

Long-term young adult gamers handle stress better than non-gamer fellows & develop a more controlled response to a stressful work.

The ‘heartbreak kids’ can release the frustration through an action game, sports, fighting, social or adventure game. And some games are as if made for them! These train you how to fall in love & retain it. The intelligent games are almost like an enjoyable grooming session of how to dress makeup & cook thus boosting up your confidence. Though these are mainly tagged as girly games, as I’ve said earlier, games don’t follow a gander bias.
Angry? Try a shooting game. It will give you a vent to your anger. Indeed quite contradictory to the general studies that indicate the opposite.
Doesn’t an improved eye-sight definitely give a leash of life to your sensory organs? A game-play tests your vision to its limits thus improves the eye-sight 20 times better.
Video games are your friends of the sleepless lonely nights & days. Games like Bejewelled, Half-life etc. keep you intrigued in their mazes & will make you forget everything else.
Why you love action games? Ever wondered? In an action game the structured story & the happy ending upon winning the boss enemy offers a out of the world winning feeling. Finding hidden objects is one of the best de-stressing games.
Moreover, you can quit a game anytime you want. What can be more relieving than this?
Doesn’t the reward & punishment system pulls you again & again? Some games, like, Braid allows rewinding & correcting the mistakes, thus making the experience fun & light-hearted minus the pressure.
Reduce stress related medical disorders like cardiovascular disease, diabetes etc.

However, a particular game may not be equally de-stressing for all. One person may find it agitating while the other may find it relaxing.

Certain games seem to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which can reduce the increased tension- a natural response to stress.
Train the brain to live in the moment.
Make you stop thinking so much.
The brand extensions of some games make game-play more interesting.

Did you know that heartbeats are linked with various emotional states? Did you know that even soldiers, military personals, surgeons need to play games to lift up their spirit & adeptness in work? Sounds awkward? Well, gaming, in fact, is perhaps the only tool that adds an edge to your personality & profession without your active knowledge.

Some games even keep a close tab on a player’s heartbeat to gain greater control over their emotional response to stressful situations.

Soldiers, who learn to control their emotions by playing games, are better able to perform under pressure & recover quickly from trauma.

Surgeons become 25% faster & 32% less erroneous.

Video game-play Vs Pain

Pain relief & video game? Possible? Let’s see-

Games distracts the attention from the pain & thus provide a kind of an Analgesic reaction.
Prepare the brain to respond more normally to painful stimuli.

Leela, for example, is a game that includes 43 interactive exercises to focus on the body’s 7 energy centres.

You may argue why you should opt for a couch tightening VR game if you can avail a playground? But where would you go & play? When will you play? The skyscrapers & the concrete roads are gulping down the green pastures.

You are always short of time. Aren’t you? In that case, a motion capture game or a VR is the best-possible solution. But don’t just play a game. Interact with it. I am not saying that you have to be a hardcore gamer. But to take out the most of the benefits, get better at the game by practicing whenever you get a chance. Most of us become aware of the stress level only when it reaches an extreme point. So nip it in the bud. At every game, a point comes when it becomes undefeatable. Avoid that for the time being if it stresses you. Enjoy a family game with the little ones. Avoid games with unclear instructions. Remember, each & every game-play, no matter what the duration is, leaves a positive impact on your mental & physical health. So enjoy every bit of your VR playtime.

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Myths about Gamers

Posted on March 26, 2013 by editor Posted in Game Design, Game Testing, Gamer Leave a comment

Meet the soul of the Gaming Industry- the Gamers. But sadly,when some mindless ‘mentors’ are absorbed in bullying the students in the name of teaching game-making, another group of nit-witted folks don’t fall short of breath in harassing the gamers by spreading rumors about them :

Most Popular Myths about Games & Gamers-

Games are toys.
Games make people violent.
Gamers are fat, lazy, mindless, jobless people, oops, teenagers.
These geeks sitting on the couch all day long, with their cheeks full of acne, are fed on the diet of chips & cold or energy drinks.
Gamers are unsocial.
They are losers.
It’s a guy-thing.

Horrible! Trust me, game-play doesn’t have a gender-bias. In fact, 48% of the gaming population is women. While men spend 22.3 per cent of their time online playing games, women trump them, whiling away 23.2 per cent of their time online playing games. They are real women. They aren’t men in disguise.
Game-play has NO relation with being a loser or a winner in real life. Can you describe why you watch and enjoy football in TV ? Now if some one feels he will play a football game does it mean he wants to be winner or loser ONLY ? It’s basically he needs a two way interaction with the characters.
The first generation of video game players are now mature & are leading a happy social life. The newer generation with the surge of online games, have access to a really wide virtual community. Nearly 57% of active gamer play online games, 27% play MMO. Still like to call them unsocial?
Well, for those who think gamers are always fat mindless people, let me remind you, game-play demands lots of brainstorming, concentration.Try to look at a proper gamer.You will see a healthy person with glowing skin
Game-play increases social competence, self challenge, creative thinking & please, blame the parental incompetence for the breakdown of morals & communication; not game-play.
Games are NOT toys. Games can be of different types depending on the nature, like FPS, RPG, Adventure, Action, Action-adventure, Casual, Simulated games etc.
well, I prefer to be even-handed. A casino game is a strict NO for the young ones which attracts real money for bidding .

By far, you have got that I am in strong support of games & gamers. Well, that’s not a blind love. There’ some solid reasons behind this

How Do Games Serve You?

Games actually improve a lot of brainstorming and increase the speed of the thought process. If you have a habit of forgetting phone numbers of your friends. Just try some memory game it will give you super result.
Video games are therapeutic for children with chronic illnesses; Video games improve preschoolers’ motor skills.
Video games reduce stress and depression & provide pain relief.
A well-defined strategy game improves your decision-making skills
Video games keep you happy in old age thus adding some more years to the life.
Game-play offers pain relief.
Motion-controlled games make the gamers groove & thus helps to make significant weight loss.
While playing, the gamers are given the chance to experiment. This increases self-esteem.
The book teaches a certain subject, but game play can teach in a multifarious way.
The virtual world makes the gamer ready for a fast response to the real life.
Improves hand-eye co-ordination.
Hones the decision making ability, sharpens team-spirit.
Increases language & math skills.
Improves info-processing.
The sense of balance develops.
Offers stress-relief.
Offers emotional freedom.

Censurers, attention please. If you are thinking that this much is the limit of the advantages of game-play, then please wait for more to come in some next article. Do you still think that gamers are busy for nothing? You enjoy a football match on TV, but if a gamer does the same enjoyment with game-play then why on earth it’s a sin? Just because someone’s androgenic hormone functions exceptionally does it mean that the person is abnormal? Even if you think that geeks play game all day, still, did you know that these lucky geeks can actually earn through game-play?

However,You yourself had wasted your time, money & youth in ill-calculated game-play doesn’t mean that everybody does so.If you hold back your little ones from game-play fearing some fictitious doubts, then you yourself are the first person who badly needs a game-play therapy to overcome your fear of the unknown.

Dear gamer’s, there are Lucifers in guise who churn out money at the cost of a layman’s ignorance. Jeer at those. Spread the info. Tell them that throwing swear-words at you doesn’t make them heroes. Game-play minus the misconceptions can actually make the world a better place; a peaceful place.Playing video games makes you smarter, sharper & faster. Isn’t it better than being a fake sage & doing tall talks? You know, there’s a strange similarity between psychos & idle folks.”Psychos will always be psychos; they don’t need video games to help them” & an idle brain is a devil’s workshop. So leave them to their own fate but keep your own brains occupied with fast-paced mind boggling games.

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Are you cut out to be a game designer?

Posted on March 20, 2013 by editor Posted in Game Design, Game Development, Game Programmer, Game Testing Leave a comment

All the aspirant freshers, keen to join the Gaming Industry? Even already joined a reputed institution & you are being taught MAYA in the name of Game Design? Wait ! If you are one of these guys, This one is a must-read for you. Beware of some ‘funny myths’ about the Game Industry. Rather, I would say, every segment of the industry is infected with this myth-virus, game –play, game development, game design, game programming, game testing-what not? Today I am sticking to game design only. These completely fabricated stories are not only downright wrong, also these are spoiling the huge talent-pool in India. let’s have a look :

Most Popular Myths about Game Designers-

× Game designers play games all day long! That’s what they are paid for!

× A Game designer is same as a Game Artist.

× A game engine is a multimedia software; and

× Animation & Gaming are same.

Funny, huh? Well, dear, to put it plainly, Animation is one-way while Gaming is always Two-way.

A game engine is a software system used for developing the games. A game can be made 2D or 3D depending on the use of the game engine. These game engines basically move the creative arts through programming.

A Game Artist deals with the interactive graphic development that includes character creation, scene design etc. But a Game Designer designs the rules of the game,setting of the game, story and characters, props such as weapons and vehicles, different ways the game may be played.

Game development is NOT a child’s play. Rather it’s a well-planned system with a set of rules created by highly skilled people. You have met the Avatars already.

Myth-busters about Game Designing

A Game designer certainly plays games but not for game-play; rather to know the look & feel of the game when presented to the audience.

Game designers define the concept of the game & communicates the whole idea to the development team. He is responsible for incorporating any new art creation & programming in the GDD. The design process undergoes many stages. After the initial research, the Game Designer puts together the ‘Concept Document’ for the team members to convince them that the game is worth taking forward. In the next phase, a playable prototype of the game is prepared by a small team of artists & programmers who work with the Game Designer in close collaboration. A Game Designer decides what will happen in the game, when, why & how. they also may be responsible for creating the story of the game including characters, setting & plot. He also trains the Game-Tester to play the game for the quality assurance.

Anyone who comes up with an idea CAN’T be a Game Designer. They need to know logic as well. He is someone who is aware of the user’s need & flexibility.

People think that Game Design means Designing the game using MAYA or by simply animating some characters with background. NO. A Game Designer is NOT a Graphic Designer or Animator. He feels for the target audience & communicates the best possible idea to the rest of the team.

Some 3D modelling artists with their odd concept of the Industry, apply for Game Designer’s job to me. Some apply for game development jobs. “Have you the relevant experience in Game Developing or Game Art?”- I ask. The immediate reply is “yes”. But to my dismay, while interviewing, I get to know that they went through some ‘crash course’ from some ABC institutes and only knows how to do modelling or they are “specialized in texturing and lighting using a 3D software”.

There are some popped-up institutions who teach ‘multimedia’ (Who don’t know the difference between Multimedia application and ‘MULTIMEDIA’), started a course called ‘Gaming’ soon after the gaming industry started to flourish! Funny indeed. I really can’t understand what these wise men refer to by the word Gaming. Game design? Game development? Game art? Or Game testing?? & the surprise doesn’t end here. Their dazzling course structure pokes me to know more. I ask them ‘what do you teach in Gaming?’ ‘Game-design’ is the usual reply I get. The next shock comes when I ask them what engine they teach & the answer is ‘Maya’!

For God’s sake, Maya is NOT a game engine! It is used in 3D animation technology for modelling, rigging, skinning, animation. However, you can make objects/characters using Maya for the game engines, which may be called GAME MODELLING, or GAME ANIMATION but never ever GAME DESIGN.

Oh yeah! MAYA reminded me of something more, or else, ‘SOMEONE’ more… Once in 2001, I was popularly thought to have a girlfriend whose name was MAYA! Don’t panic. Someone asked me what I had been doing. I replied that I had been taking an online course of ‘Maya ’…& you can guess the rest of the story. LOL.

Jokes apart, these institutes claim to make a brand-new game designer within 6 months while they themselves know absolutely nothing! Back in 1998, when we sailed off with teaching game art, game design, game programming & game development, some ‘wise men’ took or rather snatched contents from our websites & started parallel courses namely Game Designing where they teach Flash. After 2008, many institute started teaching game designing with the same concept of flash design; which in no way is Game Designing not Game Art. I would have no complain if it could serve you guys. But sadly, since then they are befooling students with a wrong concept, a wrong course & an alluring classroom ambiance and you are not enough lucky to escape.

One of my students had already been the victim of their show-off. After doing one year’s course from our institute ,he went to Bangalore & joined some reputed institute to do an advanced course on Game Art. Within twenty days he came back & told us that no institute offered a such detailed course as we did. In fact, we taught him 3 game engines on game art & logic. But what he found there, was an eye-opener for all of us. He found that those institute only give training on 2D graphic design or 3D modelling .. there are no concept of game art no use of low poly , nothing using a simple Blender (which is so simple to train up with) or game development pipelines . Thats it ! No details, no practical work ! He himself joined our advanced course & proudly told ‘You people are the best, Sir’.

‘Nothing like stealing if it goes undetected’. But sadly, they get caught. Still they act shameless. They make a false enquiry to our institute & branches to know the course content! I wish that could help them. Poor guys! I request you not to nip the students in the bud for money.

No blame-game is going on here. I am just trying to show you the truth. And believe it or not, the students have their fair share in the lack of awareness. They get tempted by the dazzling beauty of the butcher institutes, pay a hefty amount,waste time, come out with valueless certificates & finds no place for themselves in the industry. Dear students, if all these make sense to you then why don’t you do your study online itself? Next time, please don’t go by the looks. At least you can always cross-check the info on the internet. I am sure you all know how to find the useful links.

There is no shortcut to success. There is no crash course for Game Design. You can’t do game design if you don’t know the difference between Art and Logic , FPS & RPG. You can’t do characterisation if you are not acquainted with the character details. Can you tell me why can’t Hulk fly? How does Thor fly? Why Green Lantern is Green ? How many lanterns are there and what’s the meaning of their colors ? How you can think of an Indian character which will look like a science fiction character? How to optimise the memory of a game? What will be the target audience for a game before you design it ? If your institute didn’t teach you to think on this then sadly, you are not yet ready to be a game designer. Sorry, a fresher can’t suddenly be a game designer.

That MAYA defined my relationship status didn’t make me as sad as the lack of the awareness did. What could be more painful than to see the supposed wise men suffering from the syndrome of ‘a little learning is a dangerous thing’? what can be more disappointing than to see the parents preventing their children from choosing the Gaming Industry as their mainstream career fearing that the careers will be doomed? Believe me, I had to & still have to bear with such stupid questions from the parents. Even if some ‘good boy or girl’ dares to pick up this career option, s/he is taken as the odd man out! Blame it on the virus of the misconceptions.

It takes a lot of hard work by the skilled people to create the ‘wow-moment’ for the gamer. You may be the next savvy Game Designer. You never know! The skill may be latent in you. But I shall not say ‘Give it a try’ , because it’s not a matter of joke. That you will go to a wrong institute, will pay a ransom & then will come out with nothing-is certainly I don’t want. Rather I shall say READ, KNOW & then GO FOR LEARNING.

The arena of the Gaming Industry is vast & all segments are closely inter-linked. All the things can’t be explored at one go. But the widespread myths need immediate attention. Shall be back soon with some other dangerous myths,about some other segment or with the game development process (If you want ). Till then, keep yourselves well-informed & stay at gay.

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The Hidden Potentials of the Game Industry & the Future Scope

Posted on March 14, 2013 by editor Posted in Created Games, Game Design, Game Development, Game Programmer, Game Testing Leave a comment

All the gamers, non-gamers & game-lovers! Today let’s do something more than mere game-playing. Let’s delve deep into the gaming world. Let’s meet the real heroes behind the virtual heroes; Come; let’s see if the Gaming Industry has anything to offer you more than game-play & also what is the future of this industry?

I know that you love to play those games. But if I ask you what does ‘Game’ mean, chances are there that you’ll laugh at me. But this casual laugh will defuse the glory of the bunch of creative people who make the games for you. A Game is a bunch of specialized applications designed to play on computers, consoles, cell phones, devices & these days, on the internet known as Online Gaming. And there’s somebody who make these super-exciting fantasy world. Of course, it’s not a one-man army. The team consists of Game Developers, Game designers, Programmers, Animators, Graphic designers….and so many of them. The number of people involved, however may vary. Small studios may have multi-tasking employees while big studios may employ many workers for a single task. But no hurry. We will meet all of them. You must be thinking how do these people get there? Well, that is the Gaming Industry.

OMG! Even games have an industry! Yeah. They do. Games are not only for playing, dear. They also provide job. But not to all & sundry; to creative & highly skilled people only. Wait. You don’t need to be a geek for that. You are welcome if you are a regular guy with passion, devotion, creativity & not to mention high technical skills along with strong sense of Maths, Physics & Statistics.

Well, now you definitely know that making Games is not a child’s play. It’s a serious job & certainly a big business. Creating these games is really, really complex & believe me or not, quite time consuming too. A standard game may take 1-3 years to complete!

Now you must be thinking what job-profile(s) you may be offered with? Not to worry. A plethora of opportunities are there waiting for you. A quick look is here. Let’s start with the big fishes of this industry-

Game Developer-The games developer job title covers a broad area of work and there are many specialisms within the industry. These include:
- quality assurance tester
- programmer, with various specialisms such as network, engine, tool-chain and artificial intelligence
- audio engineer
- artist, including concept artist, animator and 3D modeller
- producer
- editor
- designer and
- special effects technician.
Game Designer- . A Game Designer actually understands the logic behind the game, game play, the rules and structure of a game and the creative part. Like a director of a movie, the Game designer controls the artistic & technical elements of the final output. The Designers are the dreamers of the game.
Writer-creates the fat or slim rulebook for you-the gamers.
Programmer- to him, a game is a series of codes & coding languages so he is the grey matter in the brain.
Network Programmer- writes the codes for online gaming.Certainly these are the people who does the talking part/ communication part with other systems.
Art Director- works upon the art-section of a game be it 2D or 3D. The lead-artist decides the overall look of the game. He also works as the creative manager.So he is like the fashion designer who takes are of the charm of the game.
Modeller- builds 3D/2D characters & environment.
Animator-digitally controls the models.
Game tester-ensures the quality of the game.

NO. This is not the end. In fact, these are just a few of the many. There are Lead Designers, Content Designers, Game mechanic Designers, Level Designers, Lead Programmers, Artificial Intelligence Programmers, Graphic Programmers, Physics Programmers, Tools Programmers, User-interface Programmers, Lead Artists, Concept Artists, Sound engineers, Musicians, Executives, Producers, Publishers…..PHEW.

The ability to articulate new & fresh ideas is a must in this industry. Apart from that, educational qualifications matter too. (Remember I told, game is not a child’s play)…

To be a Game Designer, there is no set route , a college degree on Game Design or Graduation with reasonably high level of industry experience and knowledge. Will be helpful. Also you need expertise in a bit of scripting language., creative skill and MUST be able to understand the user point of view on how a user will feel the game.
For the role of a programmer, a Science Graduate with adequate knowledge of physics , mathematics/statistics & a deep understanding of the programming language ( I am not saying only Python or C++, LUA or C# , I am talking about logical programming also ) as well as of Operating System is needed.
Wanna be an artist? Expertise at & talent of forms, lines, colour, theory, drawing, anatomy and the ability to visualize -MUST.
A specific technical training will do for an Audio artist, who will be doing background score or VO or normal music . It requires hard understanding on what type of composition is required for the game .

But whatever you choose let your CV speak on behalf of you. Experience really counts.

Working in the Gaming Industry is both rewarding & fun. Fun because, you join here as you love it & rewarding because the salary is hefty. But certainly you have to show that you’ve got talent. DON’T join this industry ONLY for MONEY .. join only if you have the passion.

So you can guess the future is bright for the deserving candidate. The scope in the Gaming Industry is wide. The gaming technology is widely used from the medical to the marketing sector, not to mention Defense, Legal, Airline, Railways, Mines, Education & last but not the least Entertainment sectors.

Especially in recent times, the Gaming Industry in India is growing at first rate. The segment of iPhone & Android is booming fast. A stupendous increase of high-end mobile phone users, availability of DTH connections & significant growth of the urban income has pulled out Gaming from the mere fun-zone to a much serious & profitable industry. The Gaming Industry in India is expected to reach 38 billion by 2015. In the outsourcing, India offers significant cost advantage. so this is another sector where Indian Game Industry has the potential to shine. In India, women hold a strong position in the target audience as among the players, 45% are women. Gaming will certainly continue to become much more mainstream & accepted. After all, it has come a long way from the black& white 2D games like Pong to the life-like shooters of Battlefield 3.

The rapid progress of this industry compels me to think that one day we will all have our very own virtual identities, as the rapid growth of the simulation system oriented solution. For that, the huge talent-pool needs to be properly channelized. But sadly, some widespread weird misconceptions are keeping many talented people ignorant about the possibility of this segment.This needs immediate attention . Till then, take care and don’t forget to ask me what exactly you want to listen from me .. VR system ?iOS apps? Android apps ? FPS ? Action games ? Casual games? Or about how to make money( I know nothing is sweet than this .. but for me knowledge is the key to open the box )… let me know .

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Animation & Multimedia-Part2

Posted on March 8, 2013 by editor Posted in Animation Leave a comment

Hey all ! How are you doing? I am overwhelmed to receive such a huge response to the previous part. Its really pleasing to know that the article served so many of you with the correct info. Would be more helpful for others too if all of you share your knowledge with them. Your earnest desire to know the truth behind the scenes is encouraging me to share some info I often come across.

So now you know that Animation & Multimedia Applications aren’t same. You also got the idea that the Multimedia application is a bunch of software that helps the Animation process to be faster, easier & more attractive. Now the question that obviously comes to your mind is how can we do Animation using software? Come, let’s see.

For 2D Animation, you’ll need pencils, paper, scanner or simply a digital pad/tablet; & software (I love open source and I usually use GIMP for this ). And the process is as simple (or difficult depending on your expertise) as that- drawing with pencil, paper/digital pad > scanning > taking the drawing to an animation software > new file > storyboard > insert series of the images in apt order > add background & sound/ music> Render

To do animation using software we require a skill-set of ‘animateble’ drawing. 2D software can help to create the desired effect in a faster way. If the animator creates the key frames, multimedia software can help to create the In between, e.g., in a walk-cycle 8 frame drawings can have IBs/ morphing using multimedia software. Some effects which can face many difficulties if created manually/classically,can also be managed using the multimedia software.

I am trying to define the process step by step:

2D walk process

But that does not mean at all that an animator can depend on multimedia software to fill up the IBs. Because, the liveliness of the animated character depends on the artist’s own inputs of emotionally involving moments. How it is going to be conveyed, however, depends on how you are using the software.

A lack of the basic knowledge of drawing & animation will definitely make the animator to depend on the software for the IBs which, in turn, will make the characters look robotic, lifeless. Remember the old Superman series? Oh, definitely you do. Now compare that with the new Superman series and you’ll realize how multimedia application has added the effects in it, earlier animation series like Thunder Cats or He-Man had thesmoothness of classical animation, but after the integration of software these animations became more effective.

To do 3D animation you’ll certainly need a computer with a good processor, GPU & lots of free space, and multimedia software. Here, in 3D, only the character design is done manually, like, front, back & side view. After that the characters are scanned & imported to 3D software where creative people do the modelling using high/low poly techniques which (box modelling/cube method).You have the option to choose NURBS modelling also. Its like a sculpture creation. The steps that follow are Texturing (like colouring a clay model) > Rigging (adding a skeleton like setup to the character) > Skinning (attaching the Rigging to the model) > layout & animation > lighting & shedding > composition >rendering .

I am trying to show you a glimpse of the same:

How to create 3D Models including the rigging part

Animation and effects in movies are in short called VFX (visual effects) which is used widely in everything from big-budget films to video games, TV & even in ads. The use of VFX needs a flawless planning, a big budget. VFX has added a new height to the 3D animation industry. An amazing example out of the many of VFX movies would be Makhhi, Lord of the Rings etc

Before 3D technology, the world of animation was a little commonplace. Masked actors were needed for monsters & Spiderman had to take the pains of climbing wires. These days, a bunch of talented, creative group of 3D modellers, animators, render artists etc. & few superfast computers do most of the magic.

WHAT YOU ARE PRESENTED WITH IN THE NAME OF ANIMATION COURSE?

Sadly, maximum institutions promote that there’s no job in 2D. But in West Bengal the fact is instead of big 3D animation studios, there are big 2D animation studio & they don’t get experienced animators. The bigger problem is in the animation course itself. In most institutes, only particular software are taught in the name of 2D animation…to do 2D animation, we need technologies like pure 2D classical methods, Animo, GIMP etc along with 3D integration like Blender or other marketable software. The biggest problem the freshers in this industry face is, their limitation of knowledge about the subject itself.

You need to improve your skill-set more than your knowledge of the tools & the software.

And your woes don’t end here. Have you ever thought about the games you play on your phone, PC or on any social networking site? You love to play those. Don’t you? But have you ever thought how these games are made? Who make these? And heck! what’s the relation between Animation & Gaming? Yes. There DOES exist a relation which you need to be aware of for your own good. Shall talk about this in the next part.

So what do you feel? Listen to the counsellors of those institutes who don’t know or rather don’t want you to know the technical aspects and can’t guide you in a proper way so that you can fly on your wings? Do you know, one fine morning they change their names from Multimedia to Animation to get students and snatch money from them? Or will you dig into the matter & have a second thought on what is the practical need of the market?

Animation is now widely used in all strata of life. A multidisciplinary approach is most suitable for animators as they must be able to grow with the ever evolving art form. But how can you expect that if you go to a run-out of the mill institute & come out with little knowledge?

As an animator, your skill of drawing & a clear understanding of the use of the Multimedia software will keep your creative prowess alive & kicking which is the key factor of the art of animation. Keep reading .. until then

Ohh yes .. let me know if I should write about game development, iOS apps,Android,Windows apps or on game design or anything you are looking for .

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