Video Game College Advice

[Yarow12]

~Please Read All~

I am planning on going to Full Sail University after I graduate as a senior in 2012 for Game Art and perhaps Game Design before or after I finish the Game Art program.

What are your opinions on going to FSU, taking Game Art, taking Game Design, and paying those particular prices?
What other college would you recommend?
Will going to FSU make getting an immediate decent paying job easier than going to another? I don't want to sit around after I graduate from college or high school. I want to start my career after high school and get paid to do what I'm good at after college.
What are your individual experiences with video game colleges and jobs relating to them? I don't want to mess up in anyway.

Please check the FSU website before telling me to go for it or not to. Gather all the information you may require in order to develop a proper conclusion on the matter, if you'd please. Like the housing available. I mean, man-o'-man have they gotten everything figured out for students. However, the fact that I am going to have to be in a house or apartment is really going to eat out my wallet (time for a job) as well as my parents'.

Also, it would be very much appreciated if people would spread the word, in some way, of my need of advice. Especially if one knows someone who would be of great help.

Also, Also, are people paid to work for sites such as Gamespot, the Qhimm, and Blizzard as an administrator of their forums or something like that? If so, how does one make his/her way to that position? What are the steps that one must take in order to be illegible? Is there a name for it? Would doing such things as that help one through college? If not that, then what would be recommended for someone who is very talented at literally flooding forums with non-spamming posts?

Advice that I've already gotten...

(There is a tiny bit of controversy if game-specific colleges like Full Sail are worth their money, or if a traditional college is a better choice. I recommend speaking with a few graduates, and with game companies in your area what they think of a Full Sail degree.
And remember, working in the game industry is a bit like working in a candy factory: After a while you start to hate candy. Or, if you're a butcher and know how sausages are made you may stop liking hot dogs. AND if you hope that you'll work on "Your Favourite Game II (TM)", it is quite likely that you spend years on "Crappy Licensed Game On Tight Budget With Short Deadline (TM)". YMMV, of course.
My recommendation is to get a proper job and do a mod or independent game on your own time.)

"Don't go to Full Sail University." Now I'm not going there, it seems.

Full Sail will kill you money. My friend who went there will be paying off loans for years to come. Find a cheaper place

General rule is to go for a general degree that covers the same subject matter. A digital art degree has the exact same value as a game art degree to the games industry however it dosn't get you labeled as a 'games guy' so you could easily move into a different industry. If you want to do game programming look for a computer science or software engineering course that focusses on the C family, usually you can do a module in games or 3D environments if you choose to. Going the general route also makes it easier if you change your mind half way through, games design may sound like great fun but ofcourse all product design documents no matter what the industry require tons of pages of analysis and detail not just general ideas.

I advise against that college. It falls into the same for-profit school system as ITT Tech, University of Phoenix, and Devry. Most employers look down at those degrees. In fact discovery and CNBC did specials on those types of degrees. Don't remember what discovery's special was about but CNBC's was about the poor job placement and how nearly a quarter of those students default on the loans because they couldn't get jobs outside of entry level. Those colleges are referred to as degree mills that give false promises. Your best bet is to goto a university and get a software engineering degree with a digital imaging minor. If you want just the art aspect, go for graphic design with a focus on 3d imaging.

 

[obesebear]

As part of the staff here at Qhimm, I can tell you that we do indeed get compensated for our work/job.  For obvious reasons I can't/won't divulge how much or how said amount is figured, but it's enough to get by.

The one thing I think that sets this place apart from many other forums is that by contributing here, you also get compensated.  Depending on how impressive the mod / program, the author may get an even bigger cut.  Of course this is all voted on by the staff since there is no real way to rate which programs are better, but so far there really haven't been any complaints.   Anyways, good luck with your endeavors.

 

[Yarow12]

As part of the staff here at Qhimm, I can tell you that we do indeed get compensated for our work/job.  For obvious reasons I can't/won't divulge how much or how said amount is figured, but it's enough to get by.

The one thing I think that sets this place apart from many other forums is that by contributing here, you also get compensated.  Depending on how impressive the mod / program, the author may get an even bigger cut.  Of course this is all voted on by the staff since there is no real way to rate which programs are better, but so far there really haven't been any complaints.   Anyways, good luck with your endeavors.

Did you get an specific training for the position that you are currently in? Would I end up starting off with filing papers before I work with the forums?

I honestly don't know what I want to do as a career. I am, however interested in nature and survival. I mean, I don't think I would mind working on a farm (NOT THE CROPS!) in order to earn my living. I'm not interested in what society commonly demands now-a-days. I don't want a bank account, tie, expensive house accompanied by an expensive wife, and a car that costs more than the house. Any particular recommendations in that field?

 

[Kudistos Megistos]

OP, the people you quoted are giving you good advice. You're much better off doing a degree in a recognised subject at a recognised university. This is true both because employers will give you more respect and because you may find yourself wanting to change career when you get older. If you find yourself wanting to be anything other than a game designer one day (don't dismiss this possibility; it's more likely than you think), you'll be much better off with something less specialised.

As for the website, you're forgetting that it's basically an advertisement. Ignore every word of it.

Listen instead to the views of real people. The impression I've got from searching the internet is extremely negative and most of the positive comments come from people who are obviously shills being paid to make it look good (they don't talk like normal people and use a lot of advertising speak). It's particularly notable that the university has deleted criticism from its wikipedia page and sued people who have criticised it online. That's a massive warning sign.

However, the way you talk about it makes me think you've been won over by the advertising campaign and, despite what your thread title suggests, will disregard any criticism. Just don't come crying to us in five years time when you're $80,000 in debt and work in gamestop (which counts as having a job in the industry).

As part of the staff here at Qhimm, I can tell you that we do indeed get compensated for our work/job.  For obvious reasons I can't/won't divulge how much or how said amount is figured, but it's enough to get by.

The one thing I think that sets this place apart from many other forums is that by contributing here, you also get compensated.  Depending on how impressive the mod / program, the author may get an even bigger cut.  Of course this is all voted on by the staff since there is no real way to rate which programs are better, but so far there really haven't been any complaints.   Anyways, good luck with your endeavors.

That post will cause a lot of controversy. ;D

 

[pyrozen]

i agree with everyone that you are better off going to a community college, or a state university if you can afford it. Major in multimedia if modeling/graphics are your goal, and some type of programming if raw coding is what you're after. You still have flexibility if jobs are not available in the industry(or close to you), and you may find that you enjoy working with computers regardless of if your coding a game or a database.

Importantly, figure out what part of the design  process you want to be involved in. That will give you the direction you need to choose a major. If you can't choose now, enroll in a community college anyway and start taking your general education classes. You can get these out of the way, so when you do figure out what you want to do, you can jump right into your "real" classes and not be bothered with english/social studies/science. This can save you considerable amounts of time if you cannot decided on your major right now(maybe 1-2 years even!). I am currently working on my second degree, and i wish i hadn't wasted so much time in between them.

In closing, don't go to that school, find a brick and mortar college near you. You will learn more, and it is an invaluable networking tool. You will meet people who are already employed at place you may want to work, and nothing helps you get a job more than knowing someone who already works there. Online colleges are more restrictive in this aspect.

lee

 

[guitar_dudester91]

Well you sure got your future covered ha. And I feel like a moron for not knowing people get paid around here. Now I just feel like a loser.

 

[Yarow12]

What about Ex'Pression? What do you all think about that college?
I'm very likely to go to a community college, even though I don't want to. Also, I'm thinking about careers in the following: Agriculture, Horticulture, Biology, and Anthropology. Any thoughts?

 

[sl1982]

Well you sure got your future covered ha. And I feel like a moron for not knowing people get paid around here. Now I just feel like a loser.

 

[Yarow12]

Speak your mind. An image doesn't help much. 

 

[sl1982]

Sorry, edited my post to clarify.

 

[Yarow12]

ROFLMAO! I have so long and so little time to decide what I will be doing for a living. It's so stressing.

 

[Bosola]

As part of the staff here at Qhimm, I can tell you that we do indeed get compensated for our work/job.  For obvious reasons I can't/won't divulge how much or how said amount is figured, but it's enough to get by.

The one thing I think that sets this place apart from many other forums is that by contributing here, you also get compensated.  Depending on how impressive the mod / program, the author may get an even bigger cut.  Of course this is all voted on by the staff since there is no real way to rate which programs are better, but so far there really haven't been any complaints.   Anyways, good luck with your endeavors.

can i have $2000 cash???

No.

 

[Kudistos Megistos]

What about Ex'Pression? What do you all think about that college?

It seems you're missing the point here. Your education is srs bsns; do not choose a college by googling the words "game" "design" and "college" and choosing the one with the nicest looking website. You'll go there, study for four years, get yourself in tend of thousands of dollars' worth of debt and find out that the website was lying and your degree isn't worth the paper it's written on.

Go to a college that you've heard of and that offers a wide choice of common degrees. Specialised colleges that offer very unusual degree programs can find a niche and get away with being shitty. A more traditional college is far more likely to have high academic standards.

I'm very likely to go to a community college, even though I don't want to. Also, I'm thinking about careers in the following: Agriculture, Horticulture, Biology, and Anthropology. Any thoughts?

Take biology. It's the subject with the most cachet out of the ones you're considering and it's something that's pretty hard to do without instruction. You can learn practical and creative things like game design to a high standard on your own, so you're much better off taking a degree in biology and learning to design games in your spare time.

 

[Opine]

Just weighing in on the online schooling thing.
While I don't know about full sail, I do know it's easy enough to throw your money away on an online education.

I currently work at a university (not doing anything interesting), but I know that it's tough to get credits accepted from online schools, should you want to transfer. And I also agree with that many employers scoff at an online degree, regardless of the time money and effort you put into attaining it.

 

[RPGillespie]

Well you sure got your future covered ha. And I feel like a moron for not knowing people get paid around here. Now I just feel like a loser.

Obesebear was being sarcastic (at least, I would hope). Qhimm posted a while ago that he was having a hard enough time just covering bandwidth costs of the website (let alone paying a bunch of moderators "enough to get by" on).

 

[Micky]

So, to compare: I've got Abitur (= German thing, similar to A-Levels), and an apprenticeship as a machinist. Then I went to university to study robotics.
I learned programming, game programming and specifically Game Boy programming (the old B+W Game Boy at the time) on my own time, which earned me an offer to go to the UK to make Game Boy Colour games for a well known big developer at the time.
Since then I worked on Game Boy Advance, Xbox, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, mostly picking up new things on the go.
We used to recruit new designers from the QA/Testing team, but I'd advice anyone against planning that as your career path: For every tester going into design there are many who spend years testing games at low pay only to be laid off the moment a project is finished.
If you're interested in art it is possibly safest to go through a traditional course to give you "proper" training, so you can branch into TV, movie, advertising or games work. You can pick up many of the game specific techniques as you go, there are lots of forums like polycount to exchange knowledge. It is hard to actually teach things like that in a course, because many things have changed significantly over the last decade. Just compare playstation and N64 games, where you didn't have the fill or transform rates for complex scenes, to the latest PS3 and X360 games where you not only have highly detailed models, but cloth simulations and complex lighting and shading to consider.
For design it is a bit harder. Nobody needs just someone with an idea: Everyone I work with has many, many more ideas than we can ever use. Nowadays you need basic art skills to rough out ideas and levels (like the orange-maps in HL2), and a bit of programming to script game events and control AI characters. You need to be able to work in a team, and most importantly be able to design within the limitations of the budget and engine.
Our industry is still to young too really formally train game design (as opposed to thousands of years where people drew or painted things), but just playing isn't a good training. You've got to understand why and how a game works, and even understand and be able to design games you don't like.
There are many free or cheap ways to get started. I think Autodesk has 30 day trial programs for Max and Maya, there is Blender and GIMP for graphics.
You can play around with Unity, Unreal, Game Maker, Multimedia Fusion or pygame. And AFAIK if you own one of the Source games (HL2, Counter Strike, Team Fortress...) you can download the Source SDK from steam. If you want to make an RPG then RPG Maker XP is a good starting point.
Before you start with your epic game it is a good idea to start just with a single level for another game. If you fail there you haven't spent a fortune you'll never see again.

 

[Bosola]

Have you thought about maths or computer science? Both of these are very flexible degrees that open up doors in any numerate or technical industry. Mathematicians often go into programming, and ComScis into number crunching, so the specific choice is up to you (I'd guess you're more interested in technology, though).

Computer Science, naturally, involves programming, which is quite obviously relevant to video game development.

That said, if your interest is more in the *assets* side, you might find something vocational, related to graphic design (or design-in-general)prepares you for the industry without tying you to a specific choice. It's important to choose something non-committal because it's very difficult to predict what you'll enjoy in advance, and being bound to a specific industry can make jobfinding harder.