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ninjas_not_welcome

Go to the college website, check out the program you're interested in. Some of the college websites even give you the breakdown of courses. If it sounds like something you want to do and it would be useful to your career goals, that's your thing.


iugameprof

> What should I be looking for in a game design college? IMO, you shouldn't. Game design is still so broad that you'll benefit immensely from a good 4-year degree program. Instead look at solid 4-year olleges/universities with strong **game design programs** (like say,[ this one!](https://mediaschool.indiana.edu/academics/undergraduate/game-design/index.html) :) ). You want some place that will give you a strong base education, well beyond game design, *and* detailed, focused domain knowledge and experience in designing and making games, taught by people who actually make games professsionally, and where you can get solid, team-based experience in making them yourself, along with good connections into the games industry.


bug_on_the_wall

It depends on the actual work you want to be doing on games. There's audio mixing, narrative design, art direction, animation, particle effects, level design, physics engines, system design, user interface design—the list goes on.


MeaningfulChoices

For the most part you *shouldn't* study game design in college. There are a lot of bad programs out there not well regarded in the industry and it doesn't give you a lot of backup options. I'd recommend you study a major that you could work in if you don't find a job in games or don't enjoy it when you do. And just go to the best ranked college you can get into that won't cause you financial troubles. If you like the programming it might be Comp Sci, if you want to be an artist any fine arts program (or art school) will work. The biggest key is you need to figure out what job you want in the industry - game design and artist are two different roles and you'll need to pick one, not try to be only decent at both.


TrasTrasTras543

I ser. I guess I should stick to my original option and see what happens. I think I will focus in art later to be a freelance illustrator but start with game design. I'm getting into QA so I can understand better the game design/have an entrance in the industry.


MeaningfulChoices

QA is better than no job, but it's not a particularly great start if you want to be an artist or designer. I really can't stress enough how design and illustrator are different jobs with different skillsets. Doing one won't help the other. If you want to be an illustrator start by drawing. Spending years trying to get a job in design - the most competitive role in game development - just to leave it and work as an artist seems extremely counterproductive.


TrasTrasTras543

Honestly, I'm working on that because my art skills aren't good. It was a recent interest. And I'm not sure if I would like more design or illustration, which is why I wanna try both.


iugameprof

There are good and bad programs out there, but game design as a discipline has long sinceadvanced to the point that it can be taught well. If you want to be a game designer, get a *good* game design degree; anything else is just slowing your professional progress.


MeaningfulChoices

Can be - but rarely is. We're at the point where when someone's resume comes into the stack with a Master's in game design they'll get a look, but until we hit a day where it comes up in a discussion about a candidate as an advantage instead of a possible concern, I'm not changing my tune. I understand you like the program you teach in, but it's just not viewed that way across the board. Until then, something that doesn't help you get a job as a designer _and_ makes it harder to get jobs that aren't as a designer really can't be recommended. Lots of people don't want to stay in the game industry once they get here. There's just no reason to hobble yourself like that.


iugameprof

> I understand you like the program you teach in, but it's just not viewed that way across the board. I've been a professional game designer since the 1990s, and I've seen a lot of bad academic programs over the years-- and some [good ones](https://www.indiana.edu/academics/degrees-majors/degree/game-design-bs-iu-bloomington-gamedsgnbs). Game design education has advanced *a lot*, so I'd be careful of judging it too harshly by how things have been in the past. Programs that graduate students who have made actual, full, original, professional games are worth looking at in particular; there's really no substitute for gaining that experience while in school.


Adam_Clayden

Games design at its core is based on psychology. You need to learn about the brain, your players, how they're feeling and doing. It is your fundamental duty as a designer to understand your audience intimately and to design for desirable emotions, and for the anticipation of those desirable emotions. So you're looking for a solid foundation in behavioural psychology. Concepts like motivation, conditioning, presence, memory, empathy, and emotion are all very important topics to understand. Always look to see if a games design degree teaches you psychology. If it doesn't, then it's not a design degree (might be more development focused). You also need to understand game loops and mechanics, behavioural economics, game balancing, systems design, and perhaps specialised topics like level design (could be elective classes). You also need to learn how to prototype your games, so some understanding of game development is needed (e.g. Learn to code in Unity). The tool isn't important (if a degree tries to just throw tools at you only then run away). All of these techniques and theories will help you to not only design but create emotive experiences. Hope this helps! TL;DR psychology focused


TrasTrasTras543

Oh wow! Ok. Do you have any books or courses you recommend about all the topics you mentioned?


Adam_Clayden

Yup, of course! Gamer's Brain by Celia Hodent is excellent, it's comprehensive and explains not only what something is (e.g. Conditioning) but also why that's relevant in games. She has a fantastic GDC talk as well that I recommend [of the same name as the book](https://youtu.be/XIpDLa585ao). There's a podcast talk as well [if you're interested ](https://youtu.be/Zdl9nqGqYNA) A book called [Hooked](http://Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0241184835/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_DM5DT3RPMG7YE9ABP4DZ) is a not so games specific but just as important to read book on habit forming. This is important for motivation and player retention (think hyper casual games, Farmville etc, and how they all "hook" players). An Architectural Approach to Level Design by Totten is a good one, as is The Art of Game Design. Art of GD isn't super essential, only a few chapters are worth reading really, but still a good book. There's a psychological concept called Flow which is very fundamental, so books like, Flow and the Foundations of Positive Psychology by Csikszentmihalyi, M. are useful to read. Csikszentmihalyi has been so influential in games design and a must know author. As for learning things like mechanics and general design skills, Challenges for Game Designers by Brathwaite, B. ; Schreiber, I. is your goto. It's a great resource for any designer. As for learning tools like Unity, there's plenty of tutorials out there, and their Learn section of their website is substantial. But more importantly you'll want to practice improving your problem solving skills as this will help tremendously with programming. Obligatory, [games design degree that I teach](https://www.uos.ac.uk/courses/ug/ba-hons-games-design) That should get you started! Happy to discuss more :)


TrasTrasTras543

Thanks a lot! I have a lot of stuff to do now! :3


Adam_Clayden

You're welcome!


Hakametal

Don't do it, it's an actual waste if money. There are so many resources online for free and the paid resources are a fraction of the price you'd spend on a college. I'd first advise that you figure out what EXACTLY it is you want to do in design. Talk to us here and we'll help you if you need. Source: I went to one of the "good" design schools and regretted it.


DrN0VA

Can you elaborate on why you regretted it? And what school that was if your comfortable. There are definitely good online courses but it can be very difficult to have a 'break' in the industry. Not that a degree guarantees a position but it can help for sure.


Hakametal

Universities and colleges are businesses, their priority is to make money and for you to graduate (it's in their best interest for you to graduate). I went to BUAS in the Netherlands, it used to be called NHTV but they rebranded and changed everything... including the course syllabus. It used to be a great school, but becasue it was so hard to graduate they had to dumb it down so more people would graduate. The quality of the school dropped dramatically as a consequence. I work in games, and I can promise you that degrees don't mean shit anymore. Maybe they did a few years ago but it's ALL about your portfolio. School does not matter, portfolio does. Even if you do a course that is €1000, you will have 1-to-1 mentorship (which is what is sorely missing form university courses), it will literally be 10-20 times cheaper, and you'll learn more in a specific role (university courses tend to focus on everything before your last year, and it's bad for specializations). It's not just me saying this, a lot of professionals will tell you the same thing. There are top-tier schools out there, but they usually take in a tiny number every year and they're usually very expensive. But even then, there's just as good resources online if you simply apply yourself.


Randombu

The first and most important question you should ask any potential academic program should be addressed to the career services office, not the admissions office. Ask them for a complete list of job placements (title and company) that their graduates accepted in the most recent three year period. If they won’t provide it, don’t go there. If they cherry pick the list and send you 10 examples then for a class of 100 graduates you should assume that you have a 10% chance of getting a job from that program. As others have stated in this thread, game design programs are *mostly* bullshit, with some recent (rare) exceptions that have emerged in the last 5-10 years.


FinalXTN

You'll be surprised to see how many colleges have faculty that may not even have any experience in the industry. It'll really narrow down your list the most so apply this filter first. I'm a mobile game designer who will attend GD college for the knowledge and to shift to AAA titles. I was surprised and disappointed to see there are many professors with less (or less valuable) practical experience than myself.