Info. needed for Gaming Industry Career

[Francophile1]

Hello!

I know this is primarily for graduate studies advice, but I am reaching out today to potentially get some advice from graduate students about careers in interactive media and game design for undergraduates.

I have been scouring through the forums and have not gotten any useful information so hopefully someone can help here!

As I understand there are two pathways for someone who wants to work in gaming- the programming route or the more artistic.

Now,I am interested to find out the artistic one and what degree would be most well suited. If you can answer any of these questions please respond!

 

1. Is there a big difference, career wise if someone finishes a "game design" degree or is a more diverse path such as digital arts/media is better for the job market?

2. ANy major significance between a BA/BS and BFA? Is one better than the other?

3. Is there a preference between going to an Art school or regular university?

 

I am in search of these questions/answers for someone who is currently in community college and is looking for the best degree possible to get into the gaming profession.

All answers are appreciated!

[biisis]

From what I hear, the job market is really, really bad; perhaps to the extent that I'd question the value of getting a full on bachelor's degree to this end. It seems like a more industry-focused, accredited, but not necessarily 4-year program, could maximize your cost/benefits. Find a program with good placement rates, maybe at a trade school, that's teaching a very current curricula (knowing that the tech changes really rapidly and people are constantly retraining throughout their careers).

 

More important that your education, however, will be any experience you can muster within the industry. Finding a route that involves an internship, or making a concentrated plan to network and build contacts, could provide you an in that your degree/diploma won't.

 

Finally, I hear that a lot of folks get started by just having a go with Game Maker or Unity, learning to program on their own, and making some indie projects they can share. Even though you want to focus on the art side of things, coding knowledge is still very much to your advantage. Your art will always have to be constrained/dictated by the code.

[Francophile1]

Thanks,

I have also heard that many gamer companies actually prefer potential employees from a diverse background and training and they don't view trade degrees -2 year as serious.

Do you think this is true?

[Ariet]

It depends on where you go and how good you are. Having a awesome portfolio is always going to be the best option when trying to land a gig but out here(Seattle) companies hire from LWIT which is a 2 year program as much as they do from grad programs or undergrad. I personally don't think it matters to much as  where you go as long as you gain the skill sets you need to be good at what you do. When I switched gears, I went back to community college for a few animation/game design courses and found that most of what I learned could be picked up online.

 

biisis is right about Unity being a huge resource, also you may want to check out https://www.khanacademy.org/ or https://www.launchcode.org/resources to brush up on programming and http://www.lynda.com/ is also a huge resource for the animation side of things. YouTube is gold, I am currently working on my first interactive piece and YouTube basically acts as my personal help desk.

 

Another big thing is location though, you are gonna want to be in a good market. For example Seattle has paid game testing gigs that are pretty much are a foot in the door for anyone without a formal education. We also have tons of studios making it easier to find internships and meet people. Networking is important and will get you hired, and that is an understatement. Check out conventions(PAX,E3,SIC...) and go to mixers, both are great for meeting folks and making connections.

 

Good luck, hope that helps.