Looking for some info [game design schools]

[Phelzaron]

I am looking to get into game design. Have looked around at some schools, and just wondering what some people's views are on the schools. Like whats the good ones, which ones to stay away from, and are the online ones any count. Anyone with some helpful information would be greatly appericated.


Thanks,
Phelz

[soniCron]

My best friend's brother went to Full Sail and said it was the hugest joke. Way overpriced with no industry advantage, he said. Your mileage may vary.

[Bmc]

hey

go here

http://www.lostgarden.com

and

http://www.onlyagame.typepad.com

both are blogs, and have many good articles on game design, that's all you need

of special interest to you should be the article "A Grammar of Game Design" on onlyagame

[soniCron]

well we live in ky so.... but have thought if we had to move then so we will ,but have heard alot against tech schools but at same time dont want to spend yrs in college to finally get to what i want to do Frankly, this is a forum for professionals who have already made the leap into serious game development and are interested in the in's and out's of the business. I suspect GameDev.net (http://www.gamedev.net) would offer a more appropriate audience for your queries.

[Phelzaron]

Well Thank you for taking time out of whatever you was doing and giving me advice. Have a nice day

[cliffski]

Game design is seriously hard. I don't think anyone really appreciates how hard it is until you sit down and do it. And unfortunately, you can't look at someones CV and tell they can design games or even find out from an interview. The only real way to know, is to look at games they have designed.
Getting a job as a game designer is like getting a job as a film director. The best possible advantage you can have is proof that you have something creative to offer.
So in short, you need to design games. Not write a game design document, but actually get the game made. Anyone can write a design document. The problem is, you can't play it.
Now you may not have much in the way of coding skills, but you can use a game creation package to overcome some of that, and in any case, learning some code (even if its visual basic) is well worth doing. While your at it, learn some art too. get a freeware paint program or modelling tool and have a go.
Even if you are really restricted in what you can do on your own, just do it. When I started out, all I could draw was asteroids, so I made 'Asteroid Miner' and then 'Rocky Racers'. There is nobody that can't learn enough VB and basic MS Paint skills to enable them to make 'some' kind of game. Even if it's just a simple 2D puzzle game. If you get really good at it, you can keep on this path forever. Nothing is as cool as making the games you design and you choose, rather than doing what someone else thinks is cool, for low pay and long hours.
If I was employing people, I wouldn't care what school they went to. I'd want to download the demos of their best two games.
Just my 2 pennies of course.

[Hiro_Antagonist]

If you're serious and hard-core, check out Digipen. I gave a presentation there a while pack, and got a tour of the school while I was there. I couldn't believe how hard-core they were there. I was under the impression that most of the video game schools were a joke, but Digipen is most certainly the real deal.

The hard part is getting in. They're very small and very picky about who they let in...

-Hiro_Antagonist

[Vorax]

I have also heard good things about Digipen.

[TimS]

Your mileage may vary.

Mine did. I went to Full Sail for game development back when it was an associate's degree program... 14 months. The last programming I had done prior to leaving for Orlando was when I was about 8 years old -- in BASIC, on the Commodore 64. Not only did they teach me enough about C++, C, and game development to land a full time job coding games, but they also taught me enough to have confidence in my indie pursuits.

My "class" started with 60 people, and graduated less than 20. Of those, I've kept track of about 15 -- 9 code games for a living (as an actual day job), 2 are working on military simulations / applications (disclaimer: one of these already had a CS degree), and 1 is a full-time "designer" at another game company. The others (of those I've been tracking) never even tried to get a related job because they either went back for more schooling or went into a completely different field.

The thing about F.S. is that you've got to know what you're getting... and what you're getting is game coding boot camp. I highly recommend it (especially now that it's a B.S. program) for anyone who needs forced focus (i.e. those who cannot separate themselves from reality for long enough periods of time to teach themselves C++). I do NOT recommend it for anyone who wants to be a "game designer" or for anyone who is squeamish about long hours or calculus. As for industry "advantage" -- the school won't give you much of an advantage, but being there for two years will. I've got a decent basketful of contacts in the industry that I wouldn't've had if I didn't attend. Those F.S. provided me directly? Not so many...

I am looking to get into game design
If what you really want to do is design games, I heartily recommend a degree in either (depending on your favorite game genre) Classical Studies, Mathematics, Physics, English, Sociology, Philosophy, or anything else you find interesting. Then get a job as a tester to learn the ropes. The designer of the game itself (the mechanic) often needs to know a bit about what everyone else does on the team (programming, art, sound, etc.) -- but what you would really want to be an expert in is how interactivity entertains.

I've probably italicized enough for one evening... Good luck with the schooling!

[TimS]

oh -- another note: Digipen is probably also an excellent place to go as a game-coding boot camp. (might be better than F.S. -- can't really say) Also not a place to go if you want to get into "design", specifically. They'll eat you alive! :D