Game Design universities.. - Developers

Hi all As a 12th grader im starting to look for game design universities, specifically the ones that specify in environment / level design. Did any of you got into a game design university? If so, which one and what was your experience there?

I probably got into the best one there is...got a job at ea as a games tester. Generally, if you have the raw talent and a detailed portfolio, companies will consider you, degree or not. Getting a qa job within the company allows you to get to know developers, and hear about any vacancies before they are publically posted. Worth looking into. Feel free to ask about qa, i'm out of that game now, though for obvious reasons i can't go into specifics.

It looks pretty cool, work on the textures though.

Be skeptical, there are a whole tonne of sham universities that make big talk about what you'll learn and end up just taking your money and leaving you with no useful skills [URL="http://www.evoccacollege.com.au/courses-main/diploma-of-digital-and-interactive-games-ica50211"]such as this.[/URL] In that one, they say almost straight up to give you an Alienware laptop and say you'll learn all kinds of [URL="http://www.evoccacollege.com.au/images/course_files/ddig_unit_outline.pdf"]skills[/URL] in a mere 12 months. [sp]you could get a four year course in medicine at just under half the cost[/sp][URL="https://www.uq.edu.au/study/program.html?acad_prog=2046"]*[/URL] If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

[QUOTE=ScottyWired;42828307]Be skeptical, there are a whole tonne of sham universities that make big talk about what you'll learn and end up just taking your money and leaving you with no useful skills [URL="http://www.evoccacollege.com.au/courses-main/diploma-of-digital-and-interactive-games-ica50211"]such as this.[/URL] In that one, they say almost straight up to give you an Alienware laptop and say you'll learn all kinds of [URL="http://www.evoccacollege.com.au/images/course_files/ddig_unit_outline.pdf"]skills[/URL] in a mere 12 months. [sp]you could get a four year course in medicine at just under half the cost[/sp][URL="https://www.uq.edu.au/study/program.html?acad_prog=2046"]*[/URL] If it sounds too good to be true, it is.[/QUOTE] Yeh, the train to game people wanted to charge me 5000 for a games design course. I bought unity pro for a 5th of that.

If Australian you can do what I'm doing and do a TAFE diploma. The course is really good, there's a lot to learn (the one at my campus at least)

My advice is to get an art degree at a typical 4 year uni and specialize into 3D design, that way you have something to fallback on if you realize it isn't the thing for you. There's even a good number now that offer game design as a certificate. Unless you are going to some place like Digipen I can't really recommend a game focused uni. Like IronPheonix said companies in the industry don't really care about a degree from their artists as long as you have the talent. And QA is definitely not the job you want to get after busting your ass for 4 years. Did it for a studio one summer up in Dallas and it sucked. Pay was just above minimum wage, work conditions were not very good, developers didn't exactly look favorably upon us (mainly because it was our job to tell them what they had done wrong over and over again) and on top of it all the entire time management made sure to let everyone know they were expendable and that one messup would mean a pink slip. I highly suggest anyone thinking of doing QA read some of the stories from [url=http://trenchescomic.com/tales] Tales from the trenches if they haven't yet[/url]. I'm not saying all QA jobs are bad but from my experience and from what I've learned from talking to others that did something similar it is not uncommon in the slightest. Also if you haven't yet start or join a mod team. Companies really like to see potential employees know how to work as a team and ship something. I know No More Room in Hell is always looking for more mappers.

[QUOTE=wazanator;42829178]My advice is to get an art degree at a typical 4 year uni and specialize into 3D design, that way you have something to fallback on if you realize it isn't the thing for you. There's even a good number now that offer game design as a certificate. Unless you are going to some place like Digipen I can't really recommend a game focused uni. Like IronPheonix said companies in the industry don't really care about a degree from their artists as long as you have the talent. And QA is definitely not the job you want to get after busting your ass for 4 years. Did it for a studio one summer up in Dallas and it sucked. Pay was just above minimum wage, work conditions were not very good, developers didn't exactly look favorably upon us (mainly because it was our job to tell them what they had done wrong over and over again) and on top of it all the entire time management made sure to let everyone know they were expendable and that one messup would mean a pink slip. I highly suggest anyone thinking of doing QA read some of the stories from [url=http://trenchescomic.com/tales] Tales from the trenches if they haven't yet[/url]. I'm not saying all QA jobs are bad but from my experience and from what I've learned from talking to others that did something similar it is not uncommon in the slightest. Also if you haven't yet start or join a mod team. Companies really like to see potential employees know how to work as a team and ship something. I know No More Room in Hell is always looking for more mappers.[/QUOTE] Yeh, qa is pretty hellish, but it does give you a taste of what life in the games industry is like. Long hours, low wage, a very slim chance of free pizza, a very good chance you will end up on a project you hate for a long period of time. Working for a developer is better, but it really depends on the company. I was testing for 5 years, and those 5 years did help me see the other side of games development. Most people see the end result, so finding a way to see the beginning is good. I guess anyone can to a certain degree now with early access on steam, but even those builds are designed for the public, not for testers. There are the good sides of qa though. You get the opportunity to piss of devs by finding bugs in their "perfect" code, and you get to deal with other testers, none of which are normal. And on occasion you get to play (or destroy) on the next console months before release.

thanks for all the replies.. Ive been mapping since i was 10 so pretty sure video game design is what i want to do in life Not really looking to get involved into QA, unless it can help with future career. Im looking to learn more UDK. What do you think of this? - [url]http://www.unrealengine.com/en/academic_partners/[/url]

I just started studying Animation & Gamedesign here in Germany at a university of applied sciences. Since it's a state-run uni, it doesn't cost fees and they have great equipment and staff. We're a rather small group, ~40 People of 140 who applied (the application was tough), but we're still offered a lot of different subjects and electives for each direction people may want to take (or try). It's also very practical, we have rarely plain lectures and a lot of excercises. I short: It is f*cking awesome ;D

When I asked MacDGuy about it he originally intended full sail and hated it, now he goes to DigiPen. He couldn't transfer his credits from full sail because nobody takes them, which kinda sucks. I'm touring DigiPen next summer hopefully, it seems like the best option imo. [editline]11th November 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=IronPhoenix;42827696]I probably got into the best one there is...got a job at ea as a games tester.[/QUOTE] QA is probably the most abysmal "career" in existence.

[QUOTE=GameDev;42835727]When I asked MacDGuy about it he originally intended full sail and hated it, now he goes to DigiPen. He couldn't transfer his credits from full sail because nobody takes them, which kinda sucks. I'm touring DigiPen next summer hopefully, it seems like the best option imo. [editline]11th November 2013[/editline] QA is probably the most abysmal "career" in existence.[/QUOTE] I liked it. Well, until politics hit. That sucked.

Excuse me in advance for a long post, but this has been my experience, and i forever look back in regret. I got a degree in Games Design a few years back. I'm currently working for a chain of stores as what i refer to as 'The Office Monkey' (i'm an assistant to the buyer, the accountant, i do graphic design and product packaging design, i provide IT support and advice to the directors, install hardware and networking around their stores and generally do anything required of me). I started off as a friggin' manual labourer for the company, fitting out one of their new stores that opened near where i lived, and after a month they realised i was actually more capable than humping heavy shit around. My degree did not get me into the games industry. It was so broad and scattered in its approach (even though we picked our specialisations after the first year) that by the end of my degree i wasn't really qualified to do anything. They throw tiny parts of every aspect of games design at you and don't really let you get your teeth into something specific like your job role would be in the real world. What my degree did give me, was the ability to morph from one job to the next. I learned a little of a lot. My current job works for me precisely for this reason, one minute i'm designing packaging for our new range of reading glasses, the next i'm installing and networking servers and after that i'll be helping the accountant with payroll for hundreds of employees. What i'm trying to say i suppose is that if you're adamant that you will want to persue a career in games design after university i'd suggest like others have above - pick something related, but not game specific. Want to be a level designer? Get a degree in art, or architecture, 3D modelling or similar. Want to be a character artist? Get a degree in animation, 3D modelling or art. You are so, so much more likely to land a job in a games company if you have a skill with a solid direction and commitment, rather than a sackful of little abilities. If i had any serious chunks of advice though, it would be this: just do it in your spare time. The only people i know that actually ended up working for a games company (or indeed, starting up their own) never went to university to study it. They created levels as a hobby, they made animations as a hobby, or produced a mod, or an indie game all off their own backs. They all created something that proved without a shadow of a doubt they were good at what they do, they made evidence to their ability. Instead of holding out a piece of paper they held out a creation of their own, forged from passion and sleepless nights, drenched in toil and quiet pride; gently whispering [I]"Look what i can do"[/I]

[QUOTE=Linderella;42839011]Excuse me in advance for a long post, but this has been my experience, and i forever look back in regret. I got a degree in Games Design a few years back. I'm currently working for a chain of stores as what i refer to as 'The Office Monkey' (i'm an assistant to the buyer, the accountant, i do graphic design and product packaging design, i provide IT support and advice to the directors, install hardware and networking around their stores and generally do anything required of me). I started off as a friggin' manual labourer for the company, fitting out one of their new stores that opened near where i lived, and after a month they realised i was actually more capable than humping heavy shit around. My degree did not get me into the games industry. It was so broad and scattered in its approach (even though we picked our specialisations after the first year) that by the end of my degree i wasn't really qualified to do anything. They throw tiny parts of every aspect of games design at you and don't really let you get your teeth into something specific like your job role would be in the real world. What my degree did give me, was the ability to morph from one job to the next. I learned a little of a lot. My current job works for me precisely for this reason, one minute i'm designing packaging for our new range of reading glasses, the next i'm installing and networking servers and after that i'll be helping the accountant with payroll for hundreds of employees. What i'm trying to say i suppose is that if you're adamant that you will want to persue a career in games design after university i'd suggest like others have above - pick something related, but not game specific. Want to be a level designer? Get a degree in art, or architecture, 3D modelling or similar. Want to be a character artist? Get a degree in animation, 3D modelling or art. You are so, so much more likely to land a job in a games company if you have a skill with a solid direction and commitment, rather than a sackful of little abilities. If i had any serious chunks of advice though, it would be this: just do it in your spare time. The only people i know that actually ended up working for a games company (or indeed, starting up their own) never went to university to study it. They created levels as a hobby, they made animations as a hobby, or produced a mod, or an indie game all off their own backs. They all created something that proved without a shadow of a doubt they were good at what they do, they made evidence to their ability. Instead of holding out a piece of paper they held out a creation of their own, forged from passion and sleepless nights, drenched in toil and quiet pride; gently whispering [I]"Look what i can do"[/I][/QUOTE] thanks for the info! i guess the modeling is the way to go as its invloved in a lot of stuff, such as level design or commercials

[QUOTE=Linderella;42839011]Instead of holding out a piece of paper they held out a creation of their own, forged from passion and sleepless nights, drenched in toil and quiet pride; gently whispering [I]"Look what i can do"[/I][/QUOTE] That was beautiful. *sheds tear*

If anyone says Fullsail University I will steal your computer

I guess I'll just ask this here, not trying to hijack OP's thread. I'm super interested in getting a job in game testing, but after doing some Google searching on some job sites, the only things that come up seem to be like 3rd party companies. Is this normal? Or should I be going straight to the game company's website and apply through there?

[QUOTE=slayer20;42846512]I guess I'll just ask this here, not trying to hijack OP's thread. I'm super interested in getting a job in game testing, but after doing some Google searching on some job sites, the only things that come up seem to be like 3rd party companies. Is this normal? Or should I be going straight to the game company's website and apply through there?[/QUOTE] Yes, it is quite common for studios these days (especially bigger name ones) to use 3rd party companies. Doesn't hurt to apply through the companys site either though.

From my time doing work, and from whom I've talked to, you need working experience, no matter what degree you have; no one will take you in if you cannot create what is needed of you. Just DO what you want do go into, work on levels for games, release content for everyone else to use; find friends and peers who are working on similar things, and form teams to work on projects (Shoutout to LEAKTEK). If you are planning to go to some formal education, getting something in an older and more respected field might be better, maybe VFX/CGI, modelling, or animation. If you ARE insistent on going to a collage for gaming; I suggest watching this video. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmdGZk-fF98[/media]

The problem with games universities is that most of them are absolutely abysmal, there's about 4 decent ones in the world and 3 of them cost a phenomenal amount, I don't know what country you're in but look at the University of Hertfordshire. Also don't restrict yourself to 'level design' straight away, that's an incredibly narrow minded approach to an industry which requires flexibility.

Instead of wanting to do "level design", try looking into "environment art".

[QUOTE=slayer20;42849444]Instead of wanting to do "level design", try looking into "environment art".[/QUOTE] Instead of "environment art" look more towards 3d/games art because not only is it all encompassing but it gives you more options.

[QUOTE=wazanator;42847536]Yes, it is quite common for studios these days (especially bigger name ones) to use 3rd party companies. Doesn't hurt to apply through the companys site either though.[/QUOTE] I don't know how many do that in the us, but over in the uk, every dev has its own test team, as does every publisher. There are larger 3rd parties around, but not many of them.

I can't help but comment here, considering I'm writing this from a classroom at The Game Assembly in Malmö, Sweden where I study Level Design. With a rate of over 90% of students who went here currently working in the games industry I can't do much but humbly say that there is indeed such a thing as good game development universeties. we spend half the time working on projects, the other half on assignments over the coruse of 2.5 years, the last half-year being working an internship at a games company. [QUOTE=slayer20;42849444]Instead of wanting to do "level design", try looking into "environment art".[/QUOTE] Environment art and Level Design are two Completely different things. In one you examine flowcharts, study the ways of communicating ideas and do loads of playtesting. In the other you do 3D prop modeling, paintover art and level "prettifying" Both are however completely nessecary and good levels can't be made without one or the other. If you want to work at a big studio it's perfectly fine to completely specialize and get REALLY good at one single thing. but if you are going down the indie route you will be wearingmany hats (all of the hats). [QUOTE=glitchvid;42847581](Shoutout to LEAKTEK).[/QUOTE] Hi!

I know there is a lot of hate on so called game design schools. Some say the schools scam you, others that you don't need to go to school to acquire those skills. As a second year in a 3 year college course i'll give you my opinion, it's your choice to do whatever you want with it. The school will teach you the skills you need. Either 3D, Level design, Game Art or VFX, Drawing, Animation, Digital painting, ect... or Programming, Graphics programming, 3D. Depending on which major you choose, there are 3 in my school. 2 Are focused on art and one on programming. In the last semester of your 3rd year you'll have to do a 18 week internship a game company. Some go to smaller indie companies but others have gotten into Ubisoft, Dice, Guerrilla Games, Rockstar, ect... And were allowed to stay working there after the internship. However, the school will only teach you those skills and help you with problems if you have any. If you want to work somewhere you WILL have to work outside school assignment on your portfolio. And you wont have time to play games. That's why of the 300 people who enter only 30 remain at the end of the 3rd year. You have to be really sure that this is something for you and that you can make sacrifices. But if you work hard on your assignments for school you'll already have some stuff to put into your portfolio. Of course you can get your degree without doing anything outside those assignments and play games all year long, but you'll have a hard time finding a job. I assume it's those people who scream that game schools scam you. If your diploma is next to worthless, why even go to a game school at all? Well, if you have time to learn yourself the skills you need AND build a portfolio AND go to school or a job, you don't have to. But can you keep it up? You'll have to find all resources for learning yourself and it wont be as easy to get help from professionals. That all on top of going to your normal school or job. Personally i'm happy with my choice. I don't know if i'll be in 1-2 years when i'll have to look for a job. But the school has a good reputation and students before me have made it. It's not impossible. But it depends on me, not the school. If you're interested i can give you the name of my school, i wont say it here so just PM me. The school is located in Belgium. There is an international program (in which i'm enrolled, although i'm from Belgium) so you can choose between English or Dutch courses.

Needing to go to a school that teaches game design or a specific field of game design is a very situational thing. The biggest assumption a lot of people make is that going to game design school is going to help land you into the games design industry because you have a degree to back you up. Generally the industry tends to avoid degrees because it tells them that you only have a basic understanding or concept of what it takes to game design, and you don't really have any kind of specialized skills. This is extremely evident in student portfolios that are abundant on the internet and can be found in professional/indie design communities. Students spend a ton of money and three years at a school and their portfolio looks no better than a collection of amateur content that most people will scoff at. As harsh as that sounds, it's the reality of why the industry skips on hiring fresh graduates. There's the whole other factor of how the courses are ran, and how they teach you various aspects of game design. It's not an easy thing to teach because it's so broad and so unspecialized. Every engine is different, every workflow each engine utilizes is different. Once you think you have a workflow down next gen is around the corner and suddenly what you knew is somewhat obsolete. So as a result, schools just teach you a very generalized version of game design, one that tends to be very vague because it needs to reach all these demands of a changing industry. This is why most studios will just ignore student applicants. My advice is spend time at home learning on your own. All of the information that's given at schools can easily be found for free n the internet. Learning game design on your own also shows an employer that you have a serious passion or drive for game design, and that you're capable in many respects of handling jobs on your own, or capable of leadership qualities. It's also very important to learn game design on your own because you get the opportunity to test the field, solve which area of game design you get the most enjoyment from. A lot of people go into level design as a rudimentary entry to the industry, and end up switching into env art or technical art, or straight up gameplay scripting. It's somewhat rare to see someone who does all three of those things proficiently well because they all respectively require a lot of time to develop and are very different from one another in terms of the needed skill set. Once you have an idea of what part you enjoy the msot, you could either spend extra time learning other aspects, or go to a game design program that specializes in teaching that area of design. Schools like Futurepoly and Arenanet specialize in environment art and character modeling for example. There are other schools out there that are strictly programming, or sound engineering. Having a specialized degree in an area also tells the studio the area that you're applying for is a field you truly understand and comprehend, and that you have a greater concept of game design versus "I went to school to learn how to make gaems cuz I dun want to make gaeamz". [editline]15th November 2013[/editline] There was one topic I wanted to iterate on in my initial post and I totally forgot to do that, so here comes a juicy double post: Game Tester: don't do it. It is the the complete opposite of fun. I mean, obviously someone needs to do it, we need testers for every game but it's extremely boring and un-fun. The majority of that job requires that you play the area of a game over, and over, and over. This is the process throughout a game's lifetime, so often you're spending a lot of time playing a very unpolished, broken, rudimentary game that is far from fun at its initial stage. That in-itself can sound sort of cool, watching a game evolve over time into a game of the year, but it's a very boring job filled with tedium. You'll spend up to three weeks sometimes playing a specific area of a game over and over, and it will completely tire you from ever wanting to play games again. Ever. Rarely does a tester have much impact on the games direction either. You just report if stuff is broken. Even lead testers don't have much of a role or say in the design process of the game.

[QUOTE=Horse Strangler;42874632] Game Tester: don't do it. It is the the complete opposite of fun. I mean, obviously someone needs to do it, we need testers for every game but it's extremely boring and un-fun. The majority of that job requires that you play the area of a game over, and over, and over. This is the process throughout a game's lifetime, so often you're spending a lot of time playing a very unpolished, broken, rudimentary game that is far from fun at its initial stage. That in-itself can sound sort of cool, watching a game evolve over time into a game of the year, but it's a very boring job filled with tedium. You'll spend up to three weeks sometimes playing a specific area of a game over and over, and it will completely tire you from ever wanting to play games again. Ever. Rarely does a tester have much impact on the games direction either. You just report if stuff is broken. Even lead testers don't have much of a role or say in the design process of the game.[/QUOTE] Up to three weeks? Where did you work? Spent 10 months on a football management simulator, which was about as unfun as it could get, but despite it all, the team was good, and those rare times i got to get off the project for a day on something else was well worth it. I got to get on some terrible games, but it was a fun job because of the people you meet and the impact you have on the games. When working with a publisher, you don't get that much input into the game, that comes when you finally have enough experience to jump the fence and get to a developer. You do however get to learn what it means to make games, you get to see them in their ruinious states, and you get to bug about them. You meet like minded fellows who are all as mad as one another, and it is always good to know a tester. Thing is, being a tester isn't for everyone. You have to have a certain love for trying to break code. Ever jumped a jeep into the rotors of a helicopter to find out how the code reacts? I did, and it didn't break. However, flipping through the 3d menu of a sports game caused serious artifacts and eventually a crash. Games testing is not as terrible as people like to make it sound. You get next to no pay, you are asked to work long or weird hours, and when you make a post about it, people give you a load of dumbs for speaking about it. On the other hand, you get to devour biscuits, annoy devs by bugging stuff, and get to mess around with games before they are out. Considering i'm now making my own game with that drive founded from working in the games industry, testing can't be all bad.

Yeah I am glad it worked out for you, and I guess my example was a super best case scenario then!

[QUOTE=IronPhoenix;42877984]Up to three weeks? Where did you work? Spent 10 months on a football management simulator, which was about as unfun as it could get, but despite it all, the team was good, and those rare times i got to get off the project for a day on something else was well worth it. I got to get on some terrible games, but it was a fun job because of the people you meet and the impact you have on the games. When working with a publisher, you don't get that much input into the game, that comes when you finally have enough experience to jump the fence and get to a developer. You do however get to learn what it means to make games, you get to see them in their ruinious states, and you get to bug about them. You meet like minded fellows who are all as mad as one another, and it is always good to know a tester. Thing is, being a tester isn't for everyone. You have to have a certain love for trying to break code. Ever jumped a jeep into the rotors of a helicopter to find out how the code reacts? I did, and it didn't break. However, flipping through the 3d menu of a sports game caused serious artifacts and eventually a crash. Games testing is not as terrible as people like to make it sound. You get next to no pay, you are asked to work long or weird hours, and when you make a post about it, people give you a load of dumbs for speaking about it. On the other hand, you get to devour biscuits, annoy devs by bugging stuff, and get to mess around with games before they are out. Considering i'm now making my own game with that drive founded from working in the games industry, testing can't be all bad.[/QUOTE] I think people forget about all the jobs out there that are a lot worse. I'd rather be testing games than cleaning toilets for minimum wage. I did a manual labour job last summer clearing out an old castle, and it was tough, I got home at night and was too physically exhausted to do anything other than eat, sleep and work. But every job has its silver lining, I learnt a few things and had a lot of fun with the people working there. But I still think I would have preferred sitting around testing games. Also, I study animation at one of the lowest rated universities in the UK, and I like it. The lecturer really cares, and that makes a difference.

been looking around for 3d modelling / character sculpting universities and surprisingly couldn't find any. The only ones i stumbled upon were schools that you can get after you graduate from universities, which is not what im looking for. If anyone has any universities /colleges in mind, your post can make a big difference!!