university courses for game creation

[KieranTHeBesT]

Which major should i take if i want to create games computer science, software engineer or another different one?

[Enderman]

Computer science.

Software engineering is more to do with low level firmware programming, robotics, biomed, etc. in addition to computer science.

[TheBean]

is game creation all you want to do? game creation seems fun (even to me as a computer engineering major), but your interests may change in the future. choose wisely. I had my eyes set on game creation too, but as I understood my interests more and more, while also understanding the extreme circumstances of game making/ design. 

 

 

if you dedicate to computer science, depending on the college, you may not be able to change to another related major. in some colleges, CS is part of the college of engineering, while in some, its part of the college of science.

 

its easy to change your major whithin each college in a university, but to change the college entirely can be difficult or sometimes impossible. they do this to prevent students from choosing a major thats easy to get accepted into, and then changing to a demanding on like engineering.

 

you should check university policies in regards to changing major.

 

I dont want to steer you away from game design. I just want to make sure you make an informed decision with all the information. 

 

 

PS: watch patriot act gaming industry episode. its very informative. 

[porina]

5 hours ago, VegetableStu said:

wait wait, making games or making game engines? those are two different areas of thought

Agreed. Coding the software is only one part. Creating games is a very wide area with assets like 2D/3D artwork, concepts, story, management.

 

In the UK I'm aware of one university that actually runs a games creation degree which focuses on the more creative side. I know many who have been through it. Gaining meaningful related employment afterwards seems to have a very low success rate though.

 

https://www.uclan.ac.uk/courses/bsc_hons_computer_games_development.php

https://www.uclan.ac.uk/courses/ba_hons_games_design.php

 

Actually in a quick look they also have a programming based course leaning towards game development. It is interesting how it might compare to a more general computer programming type course.

[LAwLz]

What do you mean by "create games"?

What work task do you want to perform?

 

Game creation is a major project which usually involves several different departments, and you have to pick one. Do you want to be a programmer, 3D artist, musician, storyteller, etc, etc, etc.

 

Your best bet at a job is to pick Computer Science because then you can get pretty much any programming job, not just in game development.

[Guest]

I have personal firsthand account experience going to a college in the top 10 worldwide game dev colleges.

Don't major in Game development. They can't say "This is a dumb major" but they explicitly stated that studying exactly what you want to do is a wiser use of your time.

If you want to be a programmer, study CS. If you want to do modelling & animation, go to a VFX/film/animation major. If you want to do art, go to an art school (And take up a second major whilst you're at it that isn't social science)  If you want to be a writer, study English, if you want to be a producer/businessperson study business.

 

If you're adamant about being a poor developer that makes games no one will play, go to game dev college & watch this video:

Spoiler

 

 

EDIT:
ONE... 1 person I know works on games after graduation at a company not entirely funded by the college. Everyone else is unemployed or working in not games.

[KieranTHeBesT]

22 hours ago, Saksham said:

is game creation all you want to do? game creation seems fun (even to me as a computer engineering major), but your interests may change in the future. choose wisely. I had my eyes set on game creation too, but as I understood my interests more and more, while also understanding the extreme circumstances of game making/ design. 

 

 

if you dedicate to computer science, depending on the college, you may not be able to change to another related major. in some colleges, CS is part of the college of engineering, while in some, its part of the college of science.

 

its easy to change your major whithin each college in a university, but to change the college entirely can be difficult or sometimes impossible. they do this to prevent students from choosing a major thats easy to get accepted into, and then changing to a demanding on like engineering.

 

you should check university policies in regards to changing major.

 

I dont want to steer you away from game design. I just want to make sure you make an informed decision with all the information. 

 

 

PS: watch patriot act gaming industry episode. its very informative. 

Bro your are like insane with this stuff. I watch alot of videos from majorprep on all of the topics about software and game dev. I thought i had alot of knowledge. Your very imformative with this stuff thank you.

[KieranTHeBesT]

im interested in dealing with computer components what should i major in? i really like being on computers and solving problems on them but also building them is fun.

[danomicar]

6 minutes ago, KieranTHeBesT said:

im interested in dealing with computer components what should i major in? i really like being on computers and solving problems on them but also building them is fun.

Start on a general computer science track and see where you go from there.

 

[Tamesh16]

15 minutes ago, danomicar said:

computer science track

i did the exact same thing, i liked computers so i started picking up computer science courses for A levels, 

i liked it but gave me the insight into what i was going to do at university

which wasnt computer science, but i am glad i did it, so i know i didnt regret majoring in computer science 

[legacytp]

Computer Engineering is best for you because you get to explore both hardware (electrical engineering) and software (software engineering/computer science). At most schools it's either called: "Computer Engineering" or "Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS)." If you have any other questions, please feel free to message me.

[SaviorSix]

Information Technology focuses on programming. (which I got)

Computer Science focuses on hardware/software

Networking focuses on how everything links together and programming switches

Cyber Security focuses on securing networks and how to do computer forensics. (Currently enrolled)

 

Now, all these things can go by other names and I probably didn't list all the tracks you can take. It's depended on the college. If you're in America, go to a community college first, then a 4 year. If you're in a different country, not sure how that process works. 

[Guest]

Electrical technology & electrical engineering are promising fields that could have you working with circuits, boards & programming.

[Bacon soup]

Your first year of uni you can pick a wide range of subjects. You want electronics engineering for hardware and software engineering for software. You can do both, there is a lot of cross over. A lot of people dont know the difference between Computer science and software engineering. Computer science is really a business degree with a bent on science and technology; they have similar papers in the fist and second years. Computer science will get you into the corporate world. Engineering will get you into the nerd realm you seek.

[cafe]

get experience that can be traced, especially as an intern and not go in debt.

[LogicalDrm]

*** Threads merged ***

 

Keep discussion about same subject in one threads, thank you.

[Cptn.Canuck]

I went to a school and took a game design course, and I've been working in the games industry for 7 years now, first as QA, then as a designer, and now as a product manager. It strongly depends on what you want to do in the games industry. There are a few main "tracks" that most games careers take. Typically you'll fall into one of these categories:

1. Engineering

2. Design

3. Art

4. Production (Management)

 

There can be crossovers between them. There are technical artists who do programming and work with complex editors to create particle systems. There are artistic designers who make beautiful, but usable UI designs. There are wiz-kids that do it all.

If you want to be in engineering... actually writing code and building stuff from scratch, you should take a computer science course. No game development course I've ever seen has had a programming course sufficient to get you ready for game development.

 

If you want to be in design... coming up with systems, rules and mechanics for games, game design programs can be good. They teach you how to analyze games, write coherent documentation, test your games, etc. They just don't do a lot for your technical skill, and breaking into design roles can be hard without those.

 

If you want to be an artist... making characters, 3D models, worlds, concept art, etc. Do an art or animation course. Develop those artistic skills first, and learn the software as you do so you're up to date with evolving industry standards as you go.

Production... I'm sure there are management courses, but almost every product / project manager I've ever met has come up through design, or QA. Most of them either joining the industry with limited skills, or with vague backgrounds in related digital fields like graphic design, programming, marketing, sales, etc.