If one wanted to design video games for a living...

[otherlander]

would going to a county college and getting an associate's degree in Computer Graphics be a good place to start? Then transferring to a four-year college, and spending two years there, and getting a bachelor's degree in Computer Graphics? How competitive is the field of video game design, anyway? I'm asking for my boyfriend. He wants to design video games and he's trying to decide where to go to college next year.

On edit: I'm going to get lunch now, so if you answer, I won't be around to reply until later on in the day. Thanks in advance!

[ScreamingMeemie]

1. That is what one of our best friends did.

He got his associates and designs games and websites in addition to working for General Dynamics.


edit: "in addiction?" Wake up Laura

[otherlander]

3. ok, cool.

:hi:

[DS1]

2. Game theory and graphic design are two entirely different things

It sounds like your boyfriend wants to be a Game Artist, in that sense of 2D design. In that case, yes it's a good path.

[otherlander]

4. Thanks.

Just wondering if computer graphics was the best major for someone who wanted to go into that field of work.

[DS1]

5. The point is, which is it?

Does he want to design the games in theory, protagonist/characters/plot/settings/goals/rewards

Or does he want to flesh out the interactive experience of the game, models/textures/backgrounds/interface

[DarkTirade]

7. You think the big companies actually care about content?

The people who become game designers nowadays are the ones who can make the games pretty. Almost every single game designer who's risen to that position in the last few years came from either a graphics or level design background. And you need at least a modicum of graphics training to be able to do level design.

[DS1]

8. There's more to game design than level design

that's my point. That's why I'm trying to figure out what this person wants to do.

[DarkTirade]

9. Try explaining that to all the big companies out there makin' the big bucks.

:P

[Mutley]

6. I think getting an AS would be good.

Then you can get a job, at least part time, while you're getting the bachelor's, and get the experience you'll need for a better job once you graduate.

[Chan790]

10. My brother wanted to go into this field...

and answer is unsimple, at best. We did a lot of the research that you're looking for answers to before he decided it wasn't what he wanted to do.

Any school can lead to a career in the field of video games if you learn/know the right skills and have the talent. However, this is one field where school choice can make it easier to get into the field (It's a notoriously difficult field to get into. Something like 500 qualified applicants for every opening.)...referencing a thread from last night, an alma mater can set you up with a alumni network and connections in the field. There are a number of schools which exist explicitly for this field and to teach the precise skills and knowledge needed to work in gaming and already have strong alumni networks in the field to garner internships. I have a very high opinion of University of Advancing Technologies. http://www.uat.edu/ So why I'd advise toward UAT...it's pretty much the only school specialized in the field that is anything other than a industry-specific trade school and one of a very few to go on to offer advanced degrees (MA, MFA, and Ph.D). None of the other programs my brother looked at really jumped out at me as a great school. To be frank, Lil' Chan wasn't exactly MIT material...or even UConn material though.

I'd like to know more about your boyfriend. Who is he? Does he frustrate or get bored or discouraged easily? Is he a codemonkey? (Someone who likes to look "behind the scenes" of his software and figure out how things work)

How is his imagination? (Seriously...the thing that sets the successful apart from the talented or good is imagination and drive. You've got to have both in spades.) Is he artistic? What part of the game making process does he see himself in? (This is the $1M question...there are as many sub-fields of game making as there are fleas on a coyote.) does he make mods of games or design new skins for characters? Does he write stories or make home cinema?

[otherlander]

11. Thanks for the replies, everyone.

My boyfriend writes science fiction stories sometimes. I'm not sure specifically what area of video game design he wants to go into; I'm not really a video game person. I'm already in college but I'm studying journalism and bio, nothing really related to computer graphics.

[carlyhippy]

12. I saw a tv commercial where Devry has a degree in video game design

http://www.devry.edu/programs/game_and_simulation_programming/about.jsp?WT.ac=gsp
my kid would love to get into that field, also.