Game Design Collages

#1 I hear Full Sail has a decent game development course. It's in Florida, which isn't too far from Virginia. Digipen Institute of Technology is also a good college, and has connections with Nintendo of America, as well. Digipen is based in Washington.

#2 You might also give Brown College in Mendota Height, MN a look. So far we have learned, Photoshop CS2, 3ds Max 9, the Unreal engine, C++ programming, Torque game builder, and the torque game engine.

#3 What do these collages look for in their students? For applying I meant. B average or top notch A students?

#4 For Full Sail, you only need a GED or high school diploma....they might look at your math grades, but it's not likely. Also, you didn't state if you were looking for game design, game development, or game asset creation (3D modeling, etc).

Digipen is closer to a traditional college setting, as they have normal hours, classes longer than a month, and standard for admission. Full Sail is basically the exact opposite. Classes run 8 hours a day, 24/7, and usually last only a month or two. You will finish the program at Full Sail faster (if you don't fail a lot of classes), but you might miss out on the "college experience."

I'm a graduate of Full Sail, so let me know if you have specific questions about the place.

#5 Well Ill be wanting classes that teach programming, 3d modeling, character creation, animation for the game, weapon making, texture art, and thats about it. And I do have a question for you michael, what do you do now that you have graduated?

#6 Full Sail looks like a very nice school and I was going to go there myself but it was way too expensive. Not to mention they raise tuition every year, maybe even twice a year. I'm not knocking it, it looks like a really nice place, just don't believe the hype about landing that dream job the day after graduation working for EA.. or whoever. It still takes a lot of work to land those jobs and there's plenty of competition.

#7 @Jared

All that covers two different programs. Fullsail has the Game Design and Development program, which focuses on programming, design, building a game from the ground up, etc., and then there's the Modeling and Animation program which focuses on modeling, creating textures, etc for movies, videos, and games.

So its just a question of if you want to program, or make models and other art assets. Or if you feel like really getting in debt, doing both.

#8 @Scott - lol, love the last sentence =)

@Jared - I'm a software engineer for a company that provides training simulation for government and military. Before I went to Full Sail I had no knowledge of game design or programming. MB touched on something, but it is not specific to Full Sail.

You could teach yourself everything required to work for a company (EA, Blizzard, Zombie Shortbus), but you would still need to keep in mind the following:

[li]A Bach. Degree is pretty much a requirement now[li]You get what you put in. Remember that no matter what school you go to. Just learning the material isn't enough, you have to expand upon it and apply it daily[li]Sometimes it's more about who you know. This rang particularly true when I went to Full Sail. Because I took the time to network with a wide range of people, including other students, guest speakers from the industry, and visiting companies (like when GG visited for Synergy Summit), I was able to land my job.

#9 Thanks for the info. Its a good thing im only entering the 11th grade then cause this is gunna take so thinking time. But thanks.

#10 Also, to add to the Full Sail stuff, they have changed the admissions process so that you actually have to pass a series of tests to get accepted. I know they have a math test and I think they have a basic programming test. They are doing this now to avoid having alot of people drop out after a few months.

To reiterate what Mich said you get out of it what you put in. One of the guys I graduated with got a job with Sony doing hardware programming for the PS3 shortly after graduation and a guy who was hired to be a designer for Midway before we even graduated, and I know guys that are working at McDonalds a year after graduation. This applies to anywhere you go.

Other schools to look at:
Savanah College of Art and Design now has a desgin program
Guild Hall - does masters programs in everything from art to production but you have to go through a bachelors first.

#11 Holy crap! Entrance exams you say, Anne?

Think you can get your hands on these for me? =)

#12 Wha? Fullsail requires more than a pulse and a checkbook now? Shennanigans! Half the fun was taking bets on which classmates were going to drop during the first few months of programming. ;)

#13 Yup yup =)

When I started there was a math test they handed you so you would be prepared to go straight into Calc, but they never graded it or anything just a "Here you go, brush up on these things in order to make it." When I was in final project one of the guys in my class had a friend who actually couldn't get into the program cause he couldn't pass the tests. They have also started offering beginner's classes for math and programming so you aren't thrown straight to the sharks.

The one thing I will say about Full Sail is that they are constantly changing the program to follow what the current industry standards are. They have a panel of industry professionals that evaluate the cirriculum twice a year. They are always looking at ways to improve their classes.

#14 Ok, after that post I really want these tests now. I gotta see where I stand compared to FS standards and newbies.

#15 Wow. I get the whole put out what you put in thing. So I got to get calc before I can join full sail? damn. Bye bye Game design hello Mcdonnalds :( . I suck at math. Well I dont suck at it infact im pretty good in it but I fail cause its really really boring and during the school year I get like 3 hours a sleep a day so math = nap time. Thanks for the help so far.

#16 Not to sound like a prick, but if you sleep during classes, especially the important ones (like math), you are off to a bad start. You will not like/handle programming at all due to the required proficiency in math.

#17 Math Math Math....yeah....lots of math...

I'm one of those guys that didn't make it. 2 years wasted. K-State Computer Science Major; ended up quiting and going to a local collage to be a land surveyor.

If you suck at math like me Jared, you might as well not throw yourself into this. If you really want to be a game maker/designer/programmer/modeler.....all of the above. Do yourself a favor. Get the math first. Work at McD's and take a semester of math classes at a nearby college. Heck take a full year and get some of those minor classes out of the way too. You can get the "college experience" out of the way, have all your minor college crap taken care of. Then, when you are serious and ready for taking on the programming. You'll have the tools, the knowledge and the "living life on your own" responsiblities, to really stay dedicated, focused and make it in the video game area you desire. Don't go in half-cocked.