hi cirque and geeke. you've mentioned in the past that you guys are looking to work in the gaming industry and i was just wondering how you are going about that. i'd like to write storyboards for games but i'm unsure where to go. i mean, do you guys go to a video game specific school? what kind of courses did you take? i'd appreciate any advice you have! thanks and welcome back. :)
There are quite a few universities out there that offer game design programs, whether they are art schools specifically or not. Both Cirque and I attend Michigan State University, which is not an art school only, but does have an excellent game design program that for many years was among the top five ranked by The Princeton Review! Here’s another list and another of school rankings with a little more insight into what’s available from the schools too.
Those are both pretty good places to start (for non-North Americans, searching “top schools for video game design” with your location at the end should hopefully do the trick, unless you are capable of studying internationally!). I can’t imagine that programs vary too widely from school to school (other than art schools which would probably focus more on the art aspect of game design), so from there it’s totally up to you to research what school is the best option for you! Some important things to consider are how expensive the school is, the distance from home, of course whether the game design program offered is going to give you the education you need, etc. If you find a school you’re interested in, call them to ask questions about the school, and if possible actually schedule a tour to check it out in person. Here’s a list of some college resources for picking schools out, that might give you an idea of what to think about asking. The blog itself that those are from is pretty US-centric, but hopefully the resources themselves are helpful if you aren’t from the US!
-Geeke
I completely agree with Geeke. Also, when searching for schools, you may not see Game Design under a Major option, which in that case, check to see if the school offers a specialization in that area (like ours does!). Often times, you will have to major in something else, which will give you access to the specialization. Check out your options!
Also, remember that generally, just because you want to do one thing, such as storyboards, schools may have you learn a little of everything. At MSU, students can pick a primary focus, but they have to participate and learn all areas of designing a game. Also, don’t be alarmed if the option doesn’t open up right away. At our school, for example, you can’t enroll in specializations until your Junior year, even if those are going to be where your future job(s) will be focused.
There are a lot of options too and make sure you do as Geeke said, but try to just look for undergraduate programs first, since that will be what you are going for. Graduate programs come next and many employers may not even require that you get the extra schooling. For example, when Geeke and I were looking into schools, we thought about attending the Savannah College of Art and Design, a fantastic art school, but the thing was, SCAD rated much lower in undergraduate Video Game Design than MSU did. In graduate school rankings, SCAD ranks much higher for Video Game Design.
Just take your time and do a lot of research. Find all the options that work best for you. In fact, my step-cousin actually is a video game designer who didn’t attend college and simply learned everything he needed to on his own time. He later went on to help make Borderlands (though he has since moved onto another company).
What courses you end up taking will really depend on what is required by your school specifically. Ariel and I are taking art courses (plus we’ve taken the general education classes: math, science, and so on), because we have to to qualify for the video game program (well, that and we like art), but we did have another option to take math and computer programming courses.
There are tons of options for you out there and I highly recommend taking the time to research everything you can, like Geeke said. It’s well worth it and you may be surprised what schools can offer you. Don’t just go in thinking you only have one path because you have thousands and people will be there to help you choose what works best for you! Including us, if you ever need any advice. :)
Good luck!
- Cirque
