Choosing the Best Video Game Design School for You

What Should You Look for in a Video Game Design School?

When you're ready to choose a video game design school, it will all come down to your personal priorities. Do you value a convenient location and class schedule? Is cost a major factor? Are you looking for the school with the best reputation? You're the only person who can determine which elements make up your ideal game design college.

In order to help you define your search, here are a few important questions to ask about the video game design schools you're considering.

What are you interested in studying at a video game design school?

Are you most interested in computer science, or are you interested in the psychological aspects of game design? Perhaps you're most interested in graphics and animation or idea and story development. Video game design schools may emphasize different aspects of the game design process in their program. Discuss your interests with admissions representatives, and learn more about the curriculum at schools that interest you. Choose a video game design school with a program that will allow you to focus your studies in the area that most interests you.

Does the faculty have industry experience?

Knowing who you'll be learning from can be an important factor in your decision. Do the teachers at a school have industry experience? Have they produced work that you admire? Teachers with professional experience can be a great resource. Not only do they know the ins and outs of the game design industry, but they may be able to help you establish contacts and find jobs and internships.

What kind of facilities and technology will you use?

One of the biggest advantages of attending a video game design school is having access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. Find out what each school offers. Ask if you can tour the facilities. While teaching yourself to code and create graphics on your own might sound appealing, having the opportunity to learn video game design using industry standard equipment can be a great advantage and should definitely factor into your choice of a video game design school.

Are you willing to relocate to attend video game design school?

Do you want to stay close to home, or would you be willing to move to attend your dream school? If you'd rather not move, then you can restrict your school search to community colleges and universities in your area. On the other hand, if you are willing to move, you may want to consider schools that are well-known or close to game design companies where you'd like to find internships or jobs.

How quickly do you want to complete your degree?

Video game design schools offer several different types of degrees—from certificates and diplomas to graduate level programs. Depending on your career goals, you may decide that you want to focus only on essential game design skills and complete your studies as quickly as possible. If this is the case, then you should look into certificate, diploma and associate's programs. These programs are usually one or two years in length and will allow you to enter the workforce as quickly as possible.

For those who are looking for a liberal arts education that will include complementary disciplines to video game design, a 4-year bachelor's degree program is a good choice. You will not only get a broader education, but you will be more competitive in the job market. If you think you might want to advance into managerial positions in the game design field, you should consider pursuing a graduate degree.

What is the school's reputation?

Accreditation is an important consideration when you're comparing different video game design schools. Accredited schools have proven that they meet high educational standards. While non-accredited schools may also offer a high quality education, attending an accredited school gives you the flexibility to transfer your credits to other accredited schools or pursue a graduate degree at an accredited school, if you choose. Students who attend accredited schools may also have better access to financial aid programs.

However, accreditation is only one sign that you will be getting a quality education. Before you choose a video game design school, find out what its reputation is in the industry. Choose a school in your price range that has gained respect among industry employers.

Get Started in a Video Game Design School

Once you've identified what's most important to you in a school, the next step is finding the school that meets your criteria. Search video game design schools in our directory, and request information from schools that interest you.

Computer Game Designer Job Description

What's a Computer Game Design Job Like?

"Work isn't supposed to be all fun and games." Sound like something your parents told you about being a "responsible adult"? Well, times have changed, and one career that is looking for kids-at-heart is computer game design.

Of course, a computer game design job isn't exactly play-time. Legendary games like Grand Theft Auto and Halo would never see the light of day without video game designers putting in long hours and lots of hard work. You have to be commited to a game design job in order to succeed. It may not be a good career fit for casual gamers. If video games are your passion, however, you'll be happy to know that "being a responsible adult" and being a gamer aren't mutually exclusive.

Everyday Computer Game Design Tasks

Your daily work in a game design job will depend largely on the specific job path you take. You can choose to focus your work on any phase of the computer game design process, from the initial planning, to designing characters and environments, to programming. The following tasks are all part of producing an enjoyable video game:

• Designing elements such as characters, levels, puzzles, etc.
• Art and animation
• Coding and programming
• Project management (budgeting, time management, and communication with other departments)
• Testing

Skills Needed

Enthusiasm and Knowledge – The thousands of hours you've spent playing video games are about to pay off. Just by playing video games, you've probably arleady absorbed more than you think about good game design. You've experienced first-hand which things frustrate users and which excite them. You know how players think, because you are one. Experience and enthusiasm are definite assets for a game designer. You'll need both as you embark on a video game design career—which can require long hours and a commitment to staying on top of new developments in the game industry.

Computer Skills – Technology is an integral part of the computer game design industry. Whether you're writing code or creating graphics, you'll definitely need technical knowledge and an aptitude for learning new software.

Artistic Ability – Graphics and animation are a crucial component of computer game design. They can make or break a user experience. Video game characters and virtual environments are more complex than ever, which means that artistic people are in demand in the video game industry.

Teamwork – In a computer game design job, the odds that you'll work in isolation are extremely slim. There are a lot of moving parts in a game design project. You'll be cooperating with many people to meet goals and deadlines, and you'll need to communicate your ideas clearly and effectively, both verbally and in writing.

Is a Computer Game Design Job for You?

If you already spend a large portion of your waking hours playing video games, why not get paid for it? In a computer game design job, you'll definitely work hard, but having the opportunity to earn a living while working in an industry you love can make all the difference to your job satisfaction and overall enjoyment of life.

Interview with Video Game Designer: Paolo Malabuyo

Lead Design Program Manager, Xbox - Microsoft
5 years in field

How did you become a video game designer?

Like a lot of people in the game industry, I grew up playing video games, wasting my money on arcades, and playing Atari and the early game consoles. I studied art and design at Carnegie Mellon—a double major in painting with computer graphics and animation. That's where I was able to develop conceptual and visual design skills, and at the same time, I wasn't afraid of technology.

I sold my computer (an Amiga 500) and game system (Sega Genesis) my freshman year of college. I wanted to spend time on school work, hold down a job, and still have a social life and date. It wasn't until after I graduated that I fell back into playing games as a hobby.

Early in my career, I worked in database software as a user interface (UI) designer, making people productive. While I was working at Microsoft, an opening came up in the game division for someone who had art and design sensibilities, along with some technical acumen and experience doing user interfaces. I saw that as the opportunity to jump to designing software that made people unproductive.

What was your first job out of college?

I was a graphic designer for IBM, doing box designs, book illustrations and technical illustration. It was also the beginning of web design, which I got excited about and became involved in. It seemed like a good medium for the creatives in the company. This was where I got interested in UI design.

Later, I went to Oracle to pursue UI design further. It was interesting to put together visual design, ergonomics, psychology and technology. I had some great mentorship from the head of my group and really developed a passion for interface design. Now, I'm responsible for a lot of the UI design for the next generation Xbox.

What do you enjoy most about your work as a video game designer?

I love being able to create stuff—to come up with a cool idea and actually see it happen. In my current situation, I've got this great opportunity to affect the experience of every single person who plays with the next generation Xbox.

It's fun working in the games industry. The people I work with all love to do what they're doing, and when I go out, I see people enjoying the things I work on. People get excited when they talk about games. You don't hear that when people talk about productivity software.

What is most challenging about a video game designer job?

There are a lot of social and managerial dimensions to the job. Sitting down in your office alone, creating something, is one way to get things done. But in a large organization where you're building a platform and building a system, there are dozens—if not hundreds—of people involved. Getting an organization of that size all heading in the same direction presents a lot of challenges.

In the end, what you're responsible for as a game designer is whether a game is fun or not. Working on Crimson Skies for the Xbox, we had to define the multi-player experience, when two or more people play against each other. We wanted people to experience the game as if they were creating their own narrative, as compared to a single player when they're experiencing a story you created for them. When you listen to a group of people who just played a fun multiplayer game together, it sounds as if they are telling the story of something they just did in reality. Getting to that point in designing a game is challenging.

It's also hard to balance the difficulty level so that the game rewards people who gain expertise, but isn't so hard that people become frustrated and stop playing. The game should quickly become an extension of their own ego, so they're no longer fighting the controls, but just doing it: flying the plane, doing cool moves, trying to shoot down the guy in front of them, and feeling like they accomplished something.

What are common misconceptions that new video game designers might have?

People have a misconception that when you become a video game designer you play games all day. It's a very demanding industry. People often buy productivity software because they have to, or an organization buys it for their employees. With games, you make or break your sale with every single person who comes to the store, picks up your box and tries to decide if it's a game worth playing. We spend three years working on it, to come up with cool innovative ideas that will compel people to fork over the money and go on a ride. It's harder than it sounds!

It also changes how you enjoy games. My own standards are significantly increased. You almost have to turn off the part of your brain that is studying the game, rather than just enjoying it.

What skills are most important for a video game designer?

Creativity, communication, dedication. You need the creativity to have a vision, see what will make a game fun and create a great experience. You need the communication to articulate that vision to 30 or 40 or 50 other people and get them to do what you think needs to be done. And you need dedication to see your vision through—to work your way through the disappointments and failures. When you're three months from shipping, working until 2 a.m., you need to be pretty darn dedicated.

Video Game Designer

How to become a video game designer, and what it takes to do well in video game design.

Have you dreamt about working with the game developers on the next version of Gears of War or Uncharted? Would you like to become a video game designer working on the Playstation 3, XBox 360 or Nintendo Wii? Well, you're not alone. Read a bit further, and we'll show you that you might not be that far away from your dream career. Learn how to become a video game designer.

What is the outlook for the video game designer in 2011?

Video games have become big business. We're talking about a multi-billion dollar industry that has now outgrown many other industries in a very short period of time. Video games are no longer looked upon as kids only entertainment. Walk into any video games outlet, and you will see 20-30 year olds checking out the latest versions of Mass Effect, God of War, or Madden NFL. With the releases of the Xbox 360, the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii, producing games will be harder and a lot more involved. Video game designer teams producing these games have ballooned in size to meet the demand of a next gen experience.

On the other end of the spectrum, devices like the iPad, iPhone and Android smart phones have created a huge market for smaller video games.

So what does this mean for you? Basically, there are a load of opportunities to get into the video game industry. Video game popularity and complexity is exploding, and so are the opportunities at game companies and studios.

What qualities do I need for game design?

There are some qualities that game companies will be looking for when hiring someone into their fold.

First off, you really should have a love for video games. You should be the kind of person that hears the theme song to a game in your sleep. These companies want to hire someone who knows what makes a game good, and what makes a game bad. They want someone who knows good level design vs poor level design. The only way to do this is by playing, and playing AND playing video games over and over again. There are a load of people who spend all their time playing these games. Why should they hire someone then that hasn't put their time into gaming, and doesn't have the same passion for games as others?

Secondly, they are looking for someone with good problem solving skills. There are so many bugs and potential problems when designing a game. This ranges from collision detection to making things look convincing. You need to be the type who is willing to solve a problem even if it kills you. Hopefully this will not happen. ; )

Finally, they are looking for someone who can do things in a crunch. The gaming industry works at a torrid pace. Yes, you need to be patient, but you need to be awfully efficient in what you do.

Get some training

So you've got what it takes to become a video game designer? You can't just walk into a game studio and get a job though. You need very specific training offered at video game design schools. Check out some of these top rated video game design schools listed below that offer gaming degrees.

DeVry University offers something aimed towards the programming end of things with their hot Game and Simulation Programming program. This should really get your feet nice and wet. Take it Online or check out the numerous campus locations.

Full Sail University offers various game related degrees including Game Art, Game Design, and Game Development. With the possiblity of going on campus or just online, there are many great options to choose from. Graduates have worked on games like Call of Duty: Wolrd at War, and Guitar Hero.

Another cool program worth checking out is the Game Art & Design degree at the The Art Institute. With several campus locations offered across the US and Canada.

Want to see more? Check out all of our video game design schools listings.

Regardless, get some information & educate yourself. Learning about these programs is one of the best ways of seeing if this industry is right for you.

Are you ready to take your career by the horns and ride? Perhaps video game design is the career for you. There really has never been a better time to get on board. Maybe you'll become the next hot video game designer.