Master or course in Games Development?

Hello everyone,

I was wonder if there is a master in the US for Games development or if it's not a master then long course maybe.

And if there is something like that. Do you advice me to get involved in something like this or just learn by myself?

Thanks in advance!

 

Do you mean a master's degree program at a University or just a really in depth single course or series of courses?

 

Yes a master's degree program at a university. Or if there is some Game companies give long courses.

Thanks

 

http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/academics/Pages/MSInGameDevelopment.aspx
http://www.fullsail.edu/degrees/campus/game-design-masters

Google search turns up many more. I take it you already have a bachelor's degree in a general computer science discipline? Obviously, if your approaching from the programming side of things and are going the formal education route that is the logical first step.

To be honest there are many ways to approach learning and the one that is best depends on the individual. For some internships in companies are the way to go, others are independent learners and entrepreneurs, and others require structure that a formal education gives.

 

Actually, i have a bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering. I've already searched before on Google and came up with many results. But i want something that it's trusted. I want a master or something long course that give teach Games development for newbies and turn them to good programmers (I know it all depends on the work i spend on working by myself) but maybe if there is a company or university that is well known in teaching game development then i would say it will be better to involve in something like that.

Thanks

 

Most of what I've read is that from a jobs perspective that the game degrees aren't that well regarded. The below article is a bit dated now but I found it pretty in depth. There are certainly many other articles that echo the same sentiments.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/04/02/is-it-worth-doing-a-degree-in-video-games

From the actual education perspective and since you mention "newbie" and I get the impression that you mean all around game development exposure, a dedicated games school like full sail probably aligns the most since its well known and specializes in games as a whole. However, the impression I get is this gives you a good overview but no depth, which is why the worth of this education alone in the industry from a jobs perspective is so poor. Likewise, the typical good schools like USC or MIT have high worth in what parts of gaming you specialize in but probably give you a poor "gamedev overview". The industry wants to to specialize and have a tangible portfolio in that specialty which is opposite from a degree that gives you an overview.

As far as turn into a good programmer goes only experience with complex projects will do that. Your bachelors degree has laid the foundation but only time in the industry will let you know what books cannot cover.

 

Actually i need an overview first. I have checked Full Sail programs Actually they give only a bachelor program for games development, i want a master degree instead

Thanks anyway. I got the point. I can tell that in software industry in general what matters is your portfolio not your degrees.

 

You need to decide on what your objective is. If you want to further your education, than a degree would definitely be the way to go. If you want to get a job in the industry, than you're better off spending your time differently.

This is doubly true if you already have a Bachelor of Science in computer engineering. If that's the case, you are frankly overqualified for most entry-level game jobs. Put together a few examples of your coding work and start applying to companies. They are always eager to hire capable programmers, you should be able to get your foot in the door somewhere.

Aside from that, start working on game/visualization projects on your own time. Having more examples of your work ready to shop around is the best way to convince companies to hire you.

 

If you want to know what you can trust, just check what the game program is under. I know of a school in NY that does master's degrees for game design... but it's an arts program. At NJIT in Newark, they plan on having a master's degree for game design under information technology like the rest of their game courses. Probably a better option. Keep an eye out for CS and IT programs.

 

I want to get a job in the industry over taking a degree. But i thought that the degree will give you the required overview about the game development in general. And later, you spend time on that!

I have already watched tutorials from Unity and learned some useful stuffs. However i need something deep that teach me the Game development including all the aspects of AI, Graphics, Game programming, and much more...

 

Hands on experience and a portfolio holds more weight than a degree.

 

Well. Of course i would prefer the program to be under computer engineering or computer science. But all what i need now a resource to learn Games development (I am not talking about Unity or another Engine). I want a book or a program that teaches you from scratch all what you need to be a game developer(Animation, Graphics, Game programming, Modeling, and game engines like Unity and/or Unreal engine.

 

We all know that Lane. Guide me to a complete and an organized resource for game development if you have (That teaches you everything related to game development from Animation and modelling to game programming. Or give me your story, how did you start learning game development at first?

 

I'm not sure why my story is related, but here you go if you're so curious.

Spoiler

Started making game levels in 95, then taught myself 3ds Max 3.0, taught myself to draw and paint, studied art on my own, taught myself music theory, learned from experts on polycount, sold stuff on turbosquid, freelanced doing music and art for a while, tutored some students, found out gamedev paid crap, got a job 3d modeling in the oil field, taught myself C#, still freelance on the side.

Use the internet.

 

That's great to hear.I guess self learning is always considered to be the best approach to go with.
Thanks

 

You won't find a single book that is capable of teaching you everything you need to know. What you will find are two basic types of books. Those that attempt to cover a wide selection but are very shallow and those that cover a specific subject but are in-depth.

My path towards game development started by picking up a programming language and attempting to apply it to the creation of simple games. I'm not positive I would necessarily follow the same path now though as the tools I had at the time were very limited.

My recommendation would be to start with the Unity learn section if you haven't already. Go through the tutorials and projects to learn the basics. Once you've done that you can decide what you're particularly interested in and start getting more in-depth from there. A game developer doesn't need to learn every single field though there are a few who do.

 

In the current game industry, the demand for capable programmers is much higher than the demand for artists, designers, and testers. And the supply of programmers is much smaller than those other disciplines. So the average employer has their pick of the litter for artists and designers, but the selection of programmers is always a bit leaner. As such, someone who already has an educational background in programming should find game employers much more receptive. Your degree in Computer Science will carry a lot more weight than a degree in game art or design would.

You can probably get a game coding job now. Game design and game-specific programming can all be picked up on-the-job.

 

Lesson 1 : It's very unlikely in a professional setting that you're going to do more than 1 or 2 of those things

Find out what you're good at and specialize. If you're really good at multiple of those things then seek out the need in the industry. If you want to be a 1 man operation then find out what game style you aspire to be like: Thomas was Alone (no graphics) or TellTale Games (no gameplay).

 

Thing to remember here is the industry is still new. It's only 20 years or so since games became an industry. Game development courses have only arisen during the last 10 years or so of that. So there is a lot of courses and programmes still in their infancy. A lot of these programmes got things wrong, hence the poor reputation of game development degrees in the industry.

Teaching methods are evolving and growing, and there are more and more industry veterans and standards around. Game development degrees are on the cusp of becoming a useful way to get into the industry. Give it another decade and degrees will be the standard way to enter the industry. Give it twenty years and degrees will be the only way to enter the industry.

But for now, cowboys have just as much of a shot in this industry as a graduate.

 

I know that SMU has a Masters program in Game Development. It was a few years ago but I heard good things about it.

Maybe someone else knows more about their programs and reputation.

 

Interesting.

 

I have already started with the Unity learn section and will stick with it for a while. Thanks

Well, i know that a computer engineering degree will carry much more weight. But as i mentioned above. The reason of getting a master degree in games development or long course is not to get the degree in itself, but to get an overview about the game development/industry. But from other comments i can see that it's better now to spend time by myself doing some projects and readying books.

I know that i won't handle all those fields of games development. But i meant that i want an overview about the games development in general, then I'll specialize in something specific. Do you have other resource that Unity section that gives an overview about game development?

Thanks for your comment BoredMormon. I got your point. Game development considered to be as a new industry. I don't need the game dev. degree to be hired with it, i am with you. But i just want to get an overview about Game development and conventions nothing more..

 

I know of no great "overview" resource whether its books, videos, etc. The learn tutorials or a couple of the popular youtube unity creators (ETeeskiTutorials, quill18creates, etc.) cover some of the gamedev topics but not all. If you want to get an overview to my knowledge it's going to have to be from many different sources. I would recommend looking at the below link to get a list of the high level topics in a gamedev engine and then looking for separate books or high level summaries online for each of those topics.

https://unity3d.com/unity/engine-features

 

Quill18Creates on youtube is probably the best resource available for learning how to get things done, if you're interested in in depth video tutorials.