What kind of degree do you need for video game design?
May 12, 2010 by
Filed under video game design degree
I am interested in going to school for video game design and I need a couple of questions answered.
1) What kind of careers are available in the gaming industry. The only one that I really know is that there are artists but what else is there available.
2) What kind of degree is required for each individual career path available in the industry? (i.e. Do I need an Associates, a Bachelors, etc.)
3) What should my area of focus be for each career path? (i.e. Do I need a Bachelors in Art, a Masters in Graphic Design, etc.
Please please please cite all information because I need to know for a fact that it is accurate before I make any decisions on what I should do.
1. Other careers are Artist, Animator, Designer, Producer, Manager, and Programmer. There is also jobs for the storyline, but that doesn’t require a degree in programming.
2. You need at least a Bachelors for most companies.
3. Depends on what you want to be. If you want to be the artist, go for one in art or graphic design. If you’re going to be a programmer, go for a degree in programming.
I am in a trade school for Programming & Web Development, and they pretty much gave us all the info for a career in game design.
Hello, I study Game Design at the Games Academy in Berlin.
The main departments are:
Programming
Art
Design
Level Design
Sound
Management
Community Management
Marketing
All of the apartments mix to some extend, and all of them need leadership/management/communication.
Game development is very team based, it is one of the best industries for you if you love talking with people about people.
Game Design is a bit of a strange area. You have different kinds of designers. You have the technical guy who knows how to turn anything into a mathematical model, you got the guy who can talk for hours about pretty much anything..
The main skills for game design are arguable, but in my opinion are:
-Listening/Analysing
-Mixing ideas together
-Writing
-Logic
-Prototyping (scripting and basic art skills)
If you do not enjoy the things above, I doubt you will enjoy game design much.
Degrees:
There are well known developers who have no degrees whatsoever, so it is not necessary to have any degrees to enter the industry. The best thing to do is to work on mods, and on games in general and perform your job within a team. A game is the best proof of expertise.
So you say: should I take a few years “off” and work on projects?
I believe it is good to go to an educational place where you can meet people with the same goal as you. You can work together on a game. You will get support from teachers and workshops from professionals. The most important criterion: Project time, experienced teachers with different backgrounds, and a good atmosphere. Don’t listen to whining students, they are just lazy!
I can suggest:
Digipen in Washington
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digipen (official website seems down)
Gotland University in Sweden:
http://game.hgo.se/
Games Academy in Berlin:
http://www.games-academy.de/
Hope you find something!