There is this course by MAGES, teaching 3D game development in Unity, with a course fee of S$3550. I would like to hear from all, do you think it worth S$3550
Topics Covered
Introduction to Unity and Game Development
Creating the Game World and Virtual Environment
Using and Creating Prefabs to develop 3D Games
Creating 2D 3D Games
Creating multiplayer network game
Unity Game Development with C# Java Script Programming
Game Testing Implementation
Learning Outcome
Understand the different game genres
Game design concept their perspectives
Strong knowledge on Unity 3D Game Engine
Game objects positioning, rotation and parenting
Programming skill to control and create the game events
Scripting Artificial Intelligent logic for game characters
Activating the character animations base on characterâs actions
Creating , Modifying and reusing of prefabs
Applying Texture, Light, Shader and Effects for Game Objects
Camera controls and GUI implantation
Creating the simulation game with realistic game physics
Creating the RPG game with storyline
Creating the mobile games using Unity3D
Understanding the network game concept and creating the multiplayer game
Skill for building, deployment presentation for the project
My honest opinion would be, unless youâre just sitting on money to be thrown around, then it wouldnât be worth it to me. (Then again, this is coming from a âbroke college student,â so everyoneâs entitled to different opinions.) It sounds like a wonderful course, but at the same time I feel like itâs something that --with enough searching and practice- could be accomplished for free (or very small costs) just here on the forums, YouTube, or a couple sites.
So thatâs roughly 3000 USD right? Short answer, no.
Hereâs my take: Any kind of education is a total crapshoot, because it completely depends on how good the teacher is. I took a 3 year Game Development program, and a 1 year 3d Modelling and Visual Effects program, from two different colleges, both reputable places, and for the most part, it was a waste of time.
One thing we always liked to say is: âSo weâre paying to come to class and listen to what a 12 year old on Youtube could have told us?â The internet is so full of resources for learning this kind of stuff, I just donât think itâs worth it.
Unity was only briefly covered in my courses, I did all my learning on my own, using the tutorials from the Asset Store, official documentation and Youtube. Take the money you would have spent on the course and use it to buy food while you learn on your own, youâll get much better value.
I got your point ,AlexLeighton. Thanks for the advice. I have been thinking whether to take up a course. I tried Digital Tutor videos, but I am not discipline enough to keep on learning.
I can support what Nick and Alex already wrote. Especially since this course is only 48 hours long (which means the course costs 74 $ per hour ⌠pretty steep) and only gives you a generic certificate of participation.
I never booked a Unity course and was still able to build up Unity knowledge by using the following:
1 book (âBeginning 3D Game Development with Unityâ)
a Digital Tutors subscription (which I already had; but luckily they offer Unity trainings as well)
YouTube vids
Q&A on Unity Answers
Trial and error
That didnât cost a fraction of $ 3â550 but proved to be more than sufficient for my needs. All it takes is some discipline.
Iâd call that a âget rich quickâ scheme, except that youâre aiming to be a gamedev instead. While they might provide a structured course with everything someone would need, youâd be better off spending the time to find what you need and focusing your learning better. They canât provide you the motivation to get there.
And itâs not like there arenât plenty of free tutorials out there, either. Theyâre endlessly recommended here and elsewhere.
Surely not: best shot is to start creating your own portfolio from scratch (Asset Store is a facilitator but not a good friend of absolute beginners, who need to learn fundamentals and do practice⌠tutorials are better) with small, well working and polished games. Discipline will come if you work daily (2hrs, 6hrs, full time), enjoy the process, improve your skills and master the tools.
Agreed with everyone else, that course sounds like a waste of money.
I can understand where youâre coming from though, I find it difficult to do more than a few basic tutorials. Some people do well with tutorials, but I found it far easier to learn once I figured out a small prototype I wanted to make, then learning what was required to make that instead. That way, you have your own end goal of making a game mechanic that you yourself would enjoy playing, which I personally found was infinitely more motivating, and it means everything you learn has context that you can understand. Keep prototyping different game types, and you can learn a lot about many different areas of the engine
Iâve never taken a course on game development (just studied as a programmer)
I did 99% of learning on my own through the resources described above
Also, making your own first unity3d game - A very simple one like pong - NOT AN MMORPG is the ultimate teacher. Make games - start simple, and then make more and more complicated/better ones. The good courses force you to do just that.
Its 48hrs, so lets say 8hrs per day, 6 days course, 2800usd⌠not bad, if the learning outcome is what they promise.
You can learn all of those from free tutorials, but if you are new to unity and want âjump startâ, iâd take the course, it is faster that way.
(other option is hiring someone over skype to give you lessons for a lesser price and specific topicsâŚ)
I donât think there is any longer course that focus on Unity only in Singapore. Longer course = more expensive. After looking at all the replies, I really does think that 3000plus could be too much for this short course.
What yuiythebest said is true, I do want a quick start in Unity.
I will try to build up knowledge with the resources Parallaxe suggests. Thanks.
I think this is a market opportunity for Unity themselves to be honest. With the growth of Unity as a mainstream game development tool why not a series of training classes offered by Unity(or a certified partner) and a âUnity Certified Game Developerâ cert you can take at the end.
Certs are a huge moneymaker for the company and the people taking them would feel better knowing it is sponsored by the company itself rather than some random company claiming to be Unity experts.
you can probably learn that all by yourself online in less time.
but if the professor has game dev experience that could be very valuable on its own. it also depends on how self motivated you are, do you need someone else to tell you how to learn?
For something like this for it all to be accomplished in 48 hours, is inaccurate. Itâs not worth the $3,000. Especially seeing as itâs not an accredited institute. For an educational site that offers game development courses for sole education like this, it should be semester based and ran more properly. For 3,000 you should be getting more than just a 40 hour course, especially because itâs not a real institute. There are programs like this, where you do pay in the thousands and they hand yo a certificate that employers will accept as it proves youâve passed certifications, but I donât think thatâs the case with this site. Iâd reccomend checking out some other educational sites that offer drip feeding of some sort, or offer an enrollment and the course is like 6 weeks. Then youâll know that youâll be getting your monies worth. Based on the description of the course, Idk how he can accomplish all that in 48 hours. And for you to understand itâŚno way.
EDIT: Scratch everything i just said. I just now checked out the site. Iâd say thatâs a safe bet. They are an accredited institution. Not in America, but in singapore for what itâs worth. Look at it like this⌠the average gaming school that teaches mostly unreal and unity will go for about 80k over the course of your time there. For you to learn that in just however long it takes, thatâs definitely cheaper, and the reviews look good for them. They certainly arenât a scam, because in order to obtain an edu address, you have to prove you have a curriculum, a staff, a dean, and a board of admissions. If you have the money, itâs deff. a safe alternative to the traditional college route. Iâm in a game programming school and I can tell you from personal experience, at this point, iâm just doing it for the degree. Game development is a lot of self discipline. Itâs not uncommon for instructors to have you learn on your own in these type of programs.
Well, it 's up to you actually. Something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
Also, it depends on what are you going to do with gained knowledge.
If youâre undisciplined and canât stand regular learning then you very likely wonât do anything with what youâve learned after you finish the course. But if youâve got 3 grand to throw away and want to start your journey with Unity, you could sign in for that course, but anyway, nothing can compare to a strong determination and ambition. The fact that youâve finished your course does not mean that youâre ready to release a new hit. And remember, this course will not teach you how to make games. It will teach you how to use software. Itâs just like with a bicycle. The fact that you have learned how to cycle does not make you a professional bike rider. There is a lot more to learn outside of Unity. I hope I did not discourage you.
But if you ask me whether that price is worth the course, I say no. Iâd never pay that money for something that is available online for free. But I repeat, itâs up to you.
Spend 1/10th of that on a couple books and get to work. Trial and error, and practice, is what is needed to learn programming. Iâd take a few selected classes like 3d modeling, level design, etc whatever interests you at a local community college as a supplement to your own development. (As a programmer those are 2 classes Iâd like to take but havenât)
It takes years of practice to master the tools and concepts involvedâŚand isnât something you can cram for or learn from lectures. Not saying you canât make stuff from day 1, just that to comprehensively know tools inside and out and be an âexpertâ takes a long time.
Maybe try this course Dead Earth Game Development - Course Description for fraction of the price. Think first heard about it here and they have extended the Christmas sale unti end of January so currently half price. Had favourable reviews. I did start watching the first part that is freely available and liked the approach.
Honestly, I donât think Iâd pay any institution to teach me how to develop a game. Most of the knowledge that you would require to develop a game can be found for free online. Sure it may take a little more time but could save you easily thousands of dollars in the short and long run. Probably the best thing a college can offer you would be business classes which can show you how to better handle your finances as well as give you an introduction into marketing concepts.