View Full Version : Formal Game Designer courses
Kensei
24-07-2008, 02:25 PM
My question is simple,
In your opinion, is it worth someone doing a formal diploma in game design in an attempt to make themselves more appealing to game developer houses?
I am not asking specifically in South Africa, I am talking in the world.
Im not sure as to your question, but if its worth doing the degree there are courses (Games Programming) which go through a lot more, I saw one (that I cant find again) that went over game design, game programming, AI programming, computer user interaction, etc. Im sure if you get a decent degree under your belt it will help though. (Example (http://www.evl.uic.edu/spiff/class/cs426/))
Coolhand
24-07-2008, 03:12 PM
I don't think that game design courses are high up on the list of requirements for professional game development companies when they are looking to hire. They want people who have walked the walk, so the best way is to have gone through the process as many times as possible previously, designing and creating games either on your own or with another team (indie or professional).
Just because you can draft a 100 page game design document for UberGame 2 doesn't mean that you can actually follow through and drive a development team to complete the project to the satisfaction of your vision.
An alternative way of getting your foot in the door that has proved very popular over the years (not sure about the status of it nowadays...) is to join the QA testing team at one of the larger development companies. Once you've stuck it out in the trenches there for a while and can show the designers that you report to that you have a knack for design feedback, you can start inquiring about a potential move into the design team, perhaps at an entry level first, before being given the chance to prove your design skills.
FuzzYspo0N
24-07-2008, 04:44 PM
Ywa i actually have heard of a girl in Australia who has just done that now, joined as a QA and is moving up into the design side of the team at THQ.
I think studying can be helpful, but i think that part time studying/correspondence is difficult. Life has a way of being,life. And unless you can pull it off/have already pulled off studying from home or unless there is a university that has full time classes in game development i dont know how beneficial it would necessarily be.
To me, the consideration would come with a handful of things, not just design. I believe that knowing all processes of the game development process can far better your chances at getting further.I dont encessarily mean being a mean programmer who can do everything, i just mean getting involved in all the aspects on a project,be it in a team or alone will show yourself a number of things that influence how you see the design process. How things work TOGETHER is more important than how they work alone. Knowing this information when you decide what game to make, or what features to implement is in fact devestating, and most of the time a successful project rests on the knowledge a designer has behind the team, rather then the overall skill of each member.
See it all the time, on indie forums and game development groups. They always have the groups of MMORPG (inherently funny in the name,massively) and the inevitable large scale games, you get the spawn of guys making games that are really minimal 1 level type games as they learn, and you get the odd team of guys who do things realistically and those guys, are the ones that you see getting roped in by the companies,those are the guys with 2 - 3 projecets already on their name.
I agree with coolhand, better the one who has been there,and has done it already, than somone who is trained to, but hasnt done anything yet. Knowledge is powerful but its only useful in its application.
dislekcia
25-07-2008, 02:14 PM
Kensei, Coolhand's advice is good. The most important thing for a designer is their portfolio.
Some design courses understand this and actually help students build a good portfolio over the length of the course. Those are the ones you should be looking at, but only if you're prepared to work really hard to ensure that all your portfolio work is as good as you can make it.
Kensei
25-07-2008, 02:23 PM
Agreed :) Thanks for your words of wisdom, guys
I guess should actually get back into making game though (Damn you GH:On Tour!!1 Damn you!!!)
Once my folks are back in SA, I will return to making NAG:The Arcade Game
dislekcia
25-07-2008, 03:02 PM
I guess should actually get back into making game though (Damn you GH:On Tour!!1 Damn you!!!)
Once my folks are back in SA, I will return to making NAG:The Arcade Game
Good plan :)
Although tbh the forum game still sounds a bit big for you, which is probably why it's not something you wake up going "I'm going to totally work on this, woo!"
Thaumaturge
01-08-2008, 06:07 AM
I don't think that I have much to add at this point, but if you're considering a diploma in game design, why not look at a traditional CS (or other traditional-university) degree? The impression that I've gathered on GameDev.Net (and admittedly I may well be wrong in this) is that traditional courses tend to be better-looked upon.
Of course, I think that either does little more than get your foot in the door, of give you a bit of an edge on similar candidates who don't - as has been said by others, I think that a portfolio probably counts more heavily in your favour.
And finally, my disclaimer: most of my knowledge here is rather second-hand, so take with a grain of salt. A search on GameDev.Net (http://www.gamedev.net) might turn up some threads of interest, however. ^_^
(If you do perform such a search, I recommend appending it with "2008" (sans inverted commas, of course), and check the thread dates - their search function would seem to sort by relevance, not date (being, it appears, a Google search).)
[edit] It occurs to me that you may already have gone to a traditional university - I'm afraid that I forget, if indeed I had heard. If not, however, then I'll add that the potentially more-rounded education available at a traditional university is probably also valuable, albeit more to you than to your chances of getting a job in the games industry. However, it should also improve your chances of getting other jobs, should a job in the games industry not work out, even temporarily.
dislekcia
01-08-2008, 09:31 AM
Kensei already has a degree, AFAIK ;)
I think the interest in game design courses is probably a move to help bolster a portfolio. Which is always a good idea, provided that whatever you study gives you enough time and expertise to really produce cool stuff to fill your portfolio with... Often the motivation of having to do something for a course can get you to work on things you'd normally leave alone.
Thaumaturge
03-08-2008, 01:00 AM
Aah, fair enough. As I recall, sometime after posting the original message I developed the vague impression that I might have a memory of that having been the case, hence my edit. ^^;
Kensei
03-08-2008, 09:42 PM
Kensei already has a degree, AFAIK ;)
I think the interest in game design courses is probably a move to help bolster a portfolio. Which is always a good idea, provided that whatever you study gives you enough time and expertise to really produce cool stuff to fill your portfolio with... Often the motivation of having to do something for a course can get you to work on things you'd normally leave alone.
D, is correct :D I have an Honours degree in Computer Science ;) So my case is slightly less common than the other aspiring game designers. You have not likely heard because I generally do not flaunt my academics (The humbleness I get if from my dad who has a Masters from Cambridge University :D )
Gives me a great backing for using GML in Game Maker :)
But I am still a new person to game design which is generally a lot different to traditional stuff
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