I am going to be transferring to Sac State in about a year. There are several degree programs I have considered before I attempt to enter into the game industry. The reason I am asking this is because all of these degree programs cover the very core of CS, I am just wondering which degree would be the most optimal for game design.

1. Traditional CS

This will be the obvious choice as it will cover a good deal of math (vector calc, diff eq, linear alg, discrete math combina, etc) as well as all of that fun algorithm stuff and so on. This also has a co-op.

2. Comp Eng

This goes into the hardware portion as well as the fundamentals of CS. It also has a co-op at Sac State, adding an additional year to the program.

3. Applied math/CS program

This program is what has caught my eye. I can focus on the maths that are relavant to my field and it includes all of the CS courses that would still seem to give me a great grounding in CS. In fact because I do not have to take a bunch of general science clases in this degree (bio, chem, physics) I can add even more CS and math classes to my course load. It basically alows me to tailor my degree more so than the other 2 options. It also has a blended program that will allow to get my masters in 5 years. No co-ops though.


I would really like to do the applied math/cs blended program, both for personal enjoyment and the flexibilty in making my program, but I am coming here to see what you think the industry wants to see and what would best help me obtain my first job in the biz. Please note, I am not going to be doing anything else with my life. I am either working for a game company actively making the games or I am flipping burgers while making games in my spare time. Either way, its gaming or bust!

Okay, so that knocks out Comp Eng. How do you feel about the applied math/cs program? Please keep in mind that particular degree can be tailored quite a bit to configure to my asperations for gaming. I do plan a solid well rounded education, with good focus on the fundamentals of CS. My only concern at this point is can I still get a prefectably acceptable education with applied math/cs or is am I best served with a full CS program?

Okay, so that knocks out Comp Eng. How do you feel about the applied math/cs program? Please keep in mind that particular degree can be tailored quite a bit to configure to my asperations for gaming. I do plan a solid well rounded education, with good focus on the fundamentals of CS. My only concern at this point is can I still get a prefectably acceptable education with applied math/cs or is am I best served with a full CS program?

I would vote AMCS. So much maths in most game programming. I would argue that not only is AMCS perfectly acceptable, but that it is more beneficial to a game programmer than a standard CS program.