Freshman for a Future

ebon94 · 04-28-2010, 05:54 PM

So I'm a high school freshman and I want to be a game designer or producer. I read all of sloperamama and most of the articles on the site, and i know i need to get a 4 year degree. also I saw the Princeton Review article with the top 50 programs, and i saw some schools I like.

Here's where the story takes a tragic twist. My dad wants me to get a Bachelor's in Comp Sci and a Master's in Business if I'm going to do game design. So my question is, would getting Comp Sci give me enough experience to do Game Design, and if so, what 4 year accredited schools do u recommend?

tsloper · 04-28-2010, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebon94

My dad wants me to get a Bachelor's in Comp Sci and a Master's in Business if I'm going to do game design.

Your dad doesn't know what "game design" is. You can educate him, either show him a game design you wrote, or you can open up sites that describe what game design is, and show it to him.
But your dad's idea is partially right.
If you read my website, you know that you need a breaking-in path. Programming is good for that. HOWEVER, you have to be a technogeek kinda guy, who enjoys programming -- if you aren't, you'll flunk out of programming school or quit out of hating it. So you shouldn't do it just because it's a good breaking-in pathway, unless it's a pathway you're going to enjoy taking.
And an MBA would be good if you're planning to run your own company (and you're going to use producing as your pathway to that). But you have to be a business-oriented kinda guy to go that route, otherwise you'll quit because you hate it.
I guess your dad must be a Type A businessman himself. He's saying you have to be one, too. Well, that's a thing that you either are or you aren't.
Lastly: if you are relying on your dad to put you through college, my recommendation is that you negotiate with him to get a degree that you both can agree on. If you read my website, you know that it doesn't matter what degree you have, to be a game designer.

Aubs · 04-29-2010, 11:58 AM

ebon94,
Here is an article that your father should read:

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/oct...gamesschools20

It's been helpful as I try to find funding for game design school.

ebon94 · 04-29-2010, 04:32 PM

Thanks, Aubs, tsloper. I also just thought of two other questions:

1. Is the SMU @ Guildhall for a degree or just a summer program and

2. The main schools i were looking into were Rice, Baylor, DePaul, Drexel, USC, Columbia (for a minor), and Dartmouth. Are there any other schools that you think I should add and among those listed, which do you think are the best? Also, are there any schools that offer Comp Sci but with a Game Design focus?

dzeligman · 04-29-2010, 04:41 PM

1. its a graduate degree

2. Georgia Tech, Carnegie Melon

Isaak · 04-30-2010, 03:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebon94

and i know i need to get a 4 year degree.

No.
What you need to do is design games. I mean... right now.

tsloper · 04-30-2010, 06:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebon94
and i know i need to get a 4 year degree.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Isaak

No.
What you need to do is design games.

It's evil to advise people not to get a degree, Isaak. You can talk about how wondrously successful your life has been thanks to your not getting a degree, if you want, but to advise others not to get one is to do them a disservice.

Isaak · 04-30-2010, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsloper

It's evil to advise people not to get a degree, Isaak. You can talk about how wondrously successful your life has been thanks to your not getting a degree, if you want, but to advise others not to get one is to do them a disservice.

I'm not saying he shouldn't get a degree, I'm saying he should design games.
If in order to get a degree he needs to design games, then he should get that degree.

The goal should be 'designing games', not 'getting a degree'.

ebon94 · 04-30-2010, 08:16 AM

Would it be a good idea to get the Comp Sci at Baylor with the game design focus and get the Master's at SMU?

tsloper · 04-30-2010, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebon94

Would it be a good idea to get the Comp Sci at Baylor with the game design focus and get the Master's at SMU?

Why might it not be a good idea? Explain that for us. (Why do you have to ask us this exactly?)