The Games Game

The Whole Game School Thing: Follow up (July 2009)

Hey Tom, I was reading your June 2009 column on game schools, and one detail struck me, as I am currently accepted in a second cycle university program in Game Design.

You mention the length of the degree as a (general) measure for its quality.

I just finished a 3 years bachelor's degree in communications (interactive media -- not really game related) and I'm starting a games design specialized certificate in september, a 1 year program, with internship after. Would you say that kind of program is not well recognized in the industry?

Etienne

Hi Etienne,

I could have expressed the thought a bit more clearly, I suppose. I didn't mean to convey the impression that a short degree is inherently bad when considered by itself without regard for any other information about the applicant. A degree has to be taken in context. Many masters' degrees are done in just one year, or two. That doesn't mean that I regard masters' degrees as worth less than bachelors' degrees - quite the opposite, in fact.

My comment was meant to address that desire on the part of many to get the quickest education possible--a two-year degree, for instance--so as to hurry up and get into the game industry sooner rather than later. I fully approve of game school as postgrad study. Too many kids think they should go to a two-year game school instead of a regular four-year school, and I don't approve of that. A two-year community college, and then a two-year game school? Great! Perfect! See, two plus two equals... four years. Or, as you did, a three-year program plus a one-year program. Four years. That's what I was talking about.

By the way, a "game school" that is also a regular school? That is to say, a school where you get a complete well-rounded four-year education. That's not what I'm talking about when I use the phrase "game school." Especially when I use the phrase in quotation marks. When I use the phrase "game school" in quote marks, I'm usually talking about one of those schools where they have a two-year degree. A regular school that offers, among regular degrees, a game program is not what I'm talking about when I say "game school."

I've written before about the criteria that someone should use when deciding whether or not to take a degree program. That you should use multiple criteria. As far as I'm concerned, the school's "reputation" or "recognition" shouldn't be your deciding criterion (see my November 2005 column). Don't worry so much about what other people might think of that school. You get out of it what you put into it, so you can come out a winner from a despised school, and you can come out a loser from a respected school. Cost and passion should be your two biggest criteria. If you can manage getting an education from a school that you really want to go to, then go for it.

If you want to get a game degree, if that's your passion, then go for it. If you later decide to leave the industry, or even if you never get into the industry, you won't have screwed yourself. A lot of people wind up pursuing careers in fields other than those they studied in college. A lot!

(c) 2009 Tom Sloper