[quote name='mdwh' timestamp='1333030825' post='4926347']
Writing games in your spare time such as Windows or Symbian is a good way to practice your skills, as well as something to talk about in your interviews. On the flip side, in my interviews they seemed more concerned about good academic qualifications than actually looking at any portfolio I'd made...

That's my worry.... Did they look long and hard at where you got educated first before even touching your portfolio?
[/quote]

Bear in mind they'll do that if you have no prior experience other than hobbyist. Hence why coming in from a sidestep route, or by a self-improver/foot in the door route such as QA can be a good one for design.

Semiz, if you don't mind me asking how old are you and where are you at with regard to choosing/starting/completing your degree? It sounds like you are still deciding what degree to take, but from your posts I’m not too sure.

Either way, bear in mind there is no defined degree for game design. There’s no defined degree for game programming or game art either, only more generally accepted routes. But there really is even no generally accepted route for design, so don’t be too worried about your past choices just yet.

Generally, most designers I know of took one the following routes:

Computer Science Degree -> Game Programming - > sidestep to Game Design
Art Degree –> Game Art -> sidestep to Game Design
Game Degree -> Game Design
Seemingly Random Degree -> Game Design
Seemingly Random Degree -> QA -> Game Design
Off the street -> QA -> Game Design

You can mix these up a bit. Most would have got into some sort of hobbyist game design at some point (such as modding for example) and would have had something to show for it. Make sure you do that.

The seemingly random degrees…I’ve known people who’ve taken English, History, Film and Media types of degrees, all of which might be held up to have had some relevance to the eventual career path. An English degree for example, where the person has plenty of talent for creative writing is entirely relevant and useful...if you can show it as such.

Without knowing your exact position, but knowing you don’t want to program or do art…have you considered going through the ‘foot in the door’ routes such as QA? There’s a lot of competition down those routes, but those who are good at QA, demonstrate a knack for game design and are keen gamers do generally make it through to either junior production or design jobs, even if it takes quite a few years.

I'm 18 currently, However I have been studying a range of skills under Game Development since I was 16.

This course is the same as the last 2 years of high school you would get, and an equivalent to the UK's A level qualification. So I have been educated formally in a most aspects of it before I have even touched a degree. Some of the things we've looked at is Story writing, Modeling, the GDD, We've made a 2d and 3d game, We've worked in group projects, Worked to a brief and then pitched it to a guy in the industry and currently I'm doing my final year group project which will feature a 5 minute demo of a game. This year however i'm looking to do a university degree, because I've only scratched slightly above the basics, and I want to get into the advanced stuff.

So pretty much now I only have a qualification in Game Development, I can only get into game specialized degrees, So the only route for me to go is the Game Design degree route.

The more and more I read about QA, It would be something I would consider doing after I get all my qualifications. I would learn a lot from it either way.

Thank you for your time

If you are 18, bear in mind there's plenty of scope for backtracking a little bit if you feel you've made the wrong decision (thread subject mentions a fatal decision) and your only option is a game design degree.

You could easily study for the same 'other degree' qualifications that everyone else does, A-levels. You may even find places which accept your A-level equivalent qualification. Is it a BTEC diploma? You mention that in the title thread, but unless I've missed it I see in the thread it doesn't mention BTEC. Plenty of people I know went from BTEC to Computer Science degree and although I know that's not what you are looking for, I point it out to suggest you may not be limited to doing just a games degree if that concerns you.

If you are 18, bear in mind there's plenty of scope for backtracking a little bit if you feel you've made the wrong decision (thread subject mentions a fatal decision) and your only option is a game design degree.

You could easily study for the same 'other degree' qualifications that everyone else does, A-levels. You may even find places which accept your A-level equivalent qualification. Is it a BTEC diploma? You mention that in the title thread, but unless I've missed it I see in the thread it doesn't mention BTEC. Plenty of people I know went from BTEC to Computer Science degree and although I know that's not what you are looking for, I point it out to suggest you may not be limited to doing just a games degree if that concerns you.

It's not a fatal decision about my career choice, It's more about what my qualifications will look like to potential employees, I've read in posts that it seems a specialized games degree may not look the best, and because my a levels are pretty much, Game Development, so i'm going to have game dev a-levels, and a game design degree. I mentioned what my BTEC was in the very first post, (Sorry if it's unclear, bad wording on my behalf then)

I love what i'm doing currently, I'm just trying to figure out if what I've done so far is a bad choice for future jobs in terms of first appearance.

And I'm totally fine with learning scripting, I find kismet actually quite fun when figuring out stuff. It's just hard lines of code, I can't really function too well with it, as for visually based things such as Gamemaker, I find a lot more easier to handle. I guess that's just the way my brain works.

If you are ok with working complex things in kismet all you should need to learn about coding is language differences. If you switch to a CS degree you'd probably be able to handle it once you have a professor guiding you through the nuances of the languages.

A good thing about a CS degree is that you can actually make your own games too. I think the easiest way to break into game design is to have a hefty amount of games under your belt. To my knowledge there's no better/simpler way to get involved in making games at your age than to make games yourself.

That said, I'd take a liberal arts degree over a game design degree. There are only really 2 programs atm that I think are really solid game degrees; those being Digipen and Guildhall (only masters programs I believe). Even then, I can't say that those will make you a well rounded individual; just that those two programs meet my standards for quality of coursework. I definitely found Digipen to be lackluster in developing the social skills that will most benefit you long term, which is part of the reason I left.

A note on switching directions. I went to Digipen for a bit for animation and felt it wasn't a great fit and switched to a standard applied math and computer science degree in my home state and did very well. Dedication to your studies will overcome a lot of shortcomings you might have switching focuses. You may also want to look into schools that offer standard degrees with concentrations in game development; that way you get an accredited program with a handful of classes focused on game design and development; you don't have to worry quite so much about the quality of what you are being taught as the programs have probably been around for years.

It's not a fatal decision about my career choice, It's more about what my qualifications will look like to potential employees, I've read in posts that it seems a specialized games degree may not look the best,

I don't think I can really say much here without repeating what you seem to already understand...but just for the sake of it (and because I can follow it with something a little more useful)...yes, a game degree can seem a little more like a ‘not so serious degree’ next to something more traditional, which also provides more fallback options if you don't like games. Plenty of people talk about this around here, so you’ve been paying attention.

I will add that BTEC’s also have kind of a stigma with them, so you sort of have a double whammy. It’s not that they are bad, it’s more the case that people don’t understand what they are and they are generally thought of as a weaker stepping stone to a degree as a regular bunch of A-levels.

The important thing is that BTEC’s can still work. They are maybe not as strong, but they still work. As I mentioned before…I know plenty of people who obtained a BTEC as the stepping stone to their degree or career. For some people, this was simply the idea they didn’t want to stay on at school but wanted to go elsewhere. For others, it was just a matter of the local polytechnic being more convenient.

If you were looking for a programming career and/or degree, I would say try and find a Uni which is happy with BTEC and resume normal study. But you’re not looking to do programming as a career and correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to want to avoid programming at that level, even as a path to design.

As you’re looking to be a designer, I would say you should just worry about this a whole lot less. With there being no recognized degree, having one at all matters less but it’s better to have something than nothing and further education either way is still very important to show. Going for an alternative degree (if that were/is an option) would be fine and certainly it is something you should consider, but I would also say you are okay with what you are planning.

To be clear, I’m usually the first to say consider getting a regular degree before going to a game school but usually I am talking to programmers when I say that. With no standard education path for designers, generally I think the game degree options are not so bad for that path and actually make more sense. Plus, as much as we say ‘don’t get a game degree’…it’s certainly not the case that game degrees disqualify you from employment. Plenty of people succeed via this route, as will you if you work at it.

Probably what’s more important is what you are doing as you take that degree. Make sure you do design work and mod things, not just as part of the course. Build up a portfolio of ideas. Analyze other games and write/blog about them in a constructive manner. If you can find people you can trust, work remotely amongst a group and have the group develop and publish a small game. All this is meaningful anyway and when the time comes, you’ll have something to show.

See if you can find summer or intern type work that might involve something related to design, QA or games in general. When you complete the degree, focus on the ‘foot in the door’ method – do QA, do very junior design roles and consider temp/contract work – consider whatever you need to consider, even if it involves making tea. The most important thing for you will be to back your game degree up with some game related work experience, even if it is not directly in design.

The bottom line…game related BTEC + game degree + other activities is valid qualification for designer.

I mentioned what my BTEC was in the very first post,

Just to clarify, I saw BTEC in the subject and then 'diploma' in the body. I just wanted to be sure I was adding these two things together...to be sure you had a BTEC and your diploma wasn’t something else.

Finally,

Do focus on learning more about scripting and level layout though. I've tried to bear in mind what you said about code being an issue something you struggle with) in everything I've mentioned above, but there is some grunt work in junior design and it often involves either of these things. You do not need to be a programmer to script, but you will need to have some grasp of programming at a scripting level. Being able to get your hands dirty in that sense is too valuable of a skill to not have and it will be difficult for employers to take you seriously without it.

I assume your games course will cover some level of scripting and level construction, but you might want to tackle it a little more head on outside of academia.