Schooling
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So right now I am planning on going next fall to New England Institute of Technology for Game Development and Programming. Seems to be one of the more accredited schools for this major on the east coast, but to be safe I figured I would ask and see if anyone knew anything, from personal experience maybe, about the school. Or even if there is another school a long the east coast or maybe even west coast that you feel is a better school.
Well, I've never head of the school, so I can't really comment on it personally.
I can say, however, that I think you're probably better off going for a real Computer Science degree at an accredited school and working game development into some of your class projects and personal projects. I have yet to see a "Game Development" curriculum was was well rounded enough to provide a solid education beyond being a monkey driving the "current technologies that the professionals use!"
I can say, however, that I think you're probably better off going for a real Computer Science degree at an accredited school and working game development into some of your class projects and personal projects. I have yet to see a "Game Development" curriculum was was well rounded enough to provide a solid education beyond being a monkey driving the "current technologies that the professionals use!"
Hey Zer0wolf
Have you had a chance to talk with digipen graduates?
My first game job i worked along side fresh graduates from UCLA, USC and UCI in california as well as a few from digipen.
The guys from digipen were far superior.
Where i work now (my second game job) im in washington state so obviously there are a lot more digipen graduates, but they are all of high quality too.
The bar here at this company is pretty high so it could just be the hiring process but to me it seems that the digipen guys are among the best of the bunch and very knowledgeable in game development compared to people from other game schools or non game schools.
I'd go so far as to say they are 1 - 2 years ahead in game dev skills / knowledge than graduates from non game schools :P
and no, i dont own stock in digipen or anything LOL
Have you had a chance to talk with digipen graduates?
My first game job i worked along side fresh graduates from UCLA, USC and UCI in california as well as a few from digipen.
The guys from digipen were far superior.
Where i work now (my second game job) im in washington state so obviously there are a lot more digipen graduates, but they are all of high quality too.
The bar here at this company is pretty high so it could just be the hiring process but to me it seems that the digipen guys are among the best of the bunch and very knowledgeable in game development compared to people from other game schools or non game schools.
I'd go so far as to say they are 1 - 2 years ahead in game dev skills / knowledge than graduates from non game schools :P
and no, i dont own stock in digipen or anything LOL
It's a difference in broad knowledge that I'm talking about, not programming skills. I work with a bunch of Full Sail guys and they're all great programmers, no doubt about it. Where the road blocks come into play is the fact that we're a small team, where people need to where multiple hats. Even though I'm the lead designer here, I still peg everyone on the team for contributing on the design of the projects we work on. Things like economics, the arts, business and management, sciences outside of tech, etc. they all just seem to be missing this gap of knowledge that they would have gotten from going to a 4 year brick and mortar university with a more well rounded education.
I'm not doubting the technical skills that can arise from going to these game focused schools, it is the other knowledge that I think someone with a Bachelor Degree ought to have.
I'm not doubting the technical skills that can arise from going to these game focused schools, it is the other knowledge that I think someone with a Bachelor Degree ought to have.
zer0wolf: great point
and yeah, while very technically astute, it seems like digipen students are often specialists.
I myself am a self taught generalist that had to work in small business companies before going game dev so i grok what you are saying about small companies and multiple hats, and a need for general knowledge :P
and yeah, while very technically astute, it seems like digipen students are often specialists.
I myself am a self taught generalist that had to work in small business companies before going game dev so i grok what you are saying about small companies and multiple hats, and a need for general knowledge :P
Author
I understand what you mean zero, i forgot who, but someone told me that it is usually better to specialize in one are. But you make a good point too.
Specialize your personal projects, sure, but don't short change your education.
Edit: After receiving a PM from a Digipen student in response to this thread, I feel I should clarify things a bit. My point is that there is a trade-off with your education. Either option, going to a strong game development school or a more traditional school, is perfectly valid for the end result of getting a job as a game developer. Just don't expect either to give you an "advantage" in securing a job, and also realize that there will be differences in your curriculum.
The important thing is focusing on getting a strong education and doing what game developers do - making games [wink]
[Edited by - zer0wolf on November 12, 2009 1:26:07 PM]
Edit: After receiving a PM from a Digipen student in response to this thread, I feel I should clarify things a bit. My point is that there is a trade-off with your education. Either option, going to a strong game development school or a more traditional school, is perfectly valid for the end result of getting a job as a game developer. Just don't expect either to give you an "advantage" in securing a job, and also realize that there will be differences in your curriculum.
The important thing is focusing on getting a strong education and doing what game developers do - making games [wink]
[Edited by - zer0wolf on November 12, 2009 1:26:07 PM]
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