What did you go to college for?

News & General Discussion
1

I’ve been a hobby dev on unity for a few years now, and since I’ve persevered this long, I’m actually considering doing this as a career. I love what I’m doing, and there is still so much for me to learn.

The thing is, I’m finally getting ready to go to college next year, and I’m seriously thinking of studying computer science. But I’m also thinking of majoring in art since art is something I loved to do since I was a little kid.

This question goes to all of you game developers that handle more than one aspect of your game’s creation.
All of you guys who have a hand in the artistic and programming process.

What did you go to college for if at all? Did you get an education in art, and teach yourself coding, or vice versa?

I’m teaching myself programming but I’m also a self-taught, freelance graphic designer so I may be able to go either way.

I’m just curious about what field you guys went to school for.:slight_smile:

2

Which career path do you want to pursue? If you want to get a job in the industry, I’d specialise. If you want to start your own solo thing, you need to learn even more than programming and art.

Personally, I studied computer science, because I thought it would be a good career option to have if games failed. But nowadays, art and graphic design is just as valid, if not more so.

I think the best answer here is a question: Why do you want to make games and what would that look like for you ideally?

3

Thanks for the reply!

I was thinking the same thing. If I do major in comp.sci. there are a great deal of IT jobs out there in case game designing isn’t for me. But then again I the same about graphics design too.

BTW, do you handle any art even though you studied programming?

4

Yeah, I do a lot of web design and advertising. I only just got back into games. My path was university+part-time job → job at the same company+starting a business in my spare time->quitting job+running that business+starting in games. Not sure I would recommend that, though. :smile:

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5

I can’t imagine the amount coffee, and, or espresso consumed in that time frame.:wink:

6

Hello! I’m one of the people who does both art and code. I studied Maths at university. During those years I did a lot of freelance paintings for collectable card games and the like. I also taught myself some 3D.

Honestly, I think it’s very easy to learn both art and programming by yourself on the internet these days. There are so many resources available. Going to collage is great and all, but no one cares about a diploma in art, they’ll just want to see your portfolio. By contrast, a qualification in something technical can really help you get all sorts of jobs.

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7

Yeah, I do my own code and art as well. I went for a physics degree in 2008, and started programming as a result of a course in computational physics. After I graduated, I started my current postgraduate degree in software design; during the summer between the years, I had an internship with a company using Unity and 3DS Max. I’d also started teaching myself how to use GIMP.

Of course, since my undergrad was in physics, I am going to advise you to go for that. Everything else is stamp collecting :stuck_out_tongue:
(Obligatory XKCD)

8

I studied Software Engineering in College, I suppose I learned a lot of my skills in school but to be honest if I was interested and motivated I could have learned the same stuff on my own, it would have been harder but definitely very doable. Do keep in mind that College does not guarantee anything in life with the exception of future opportunities, beyond that it’s the individual’s effort and progress that matters.

As far as game development goes, you don’t need a degree to pull it off. Also do keep in mind that art is equally as important as programming when it comes to building games. I can tell you this from a programmer’s perspective, I came to appreciate art a lot since I started doing game development as a hobby, it’s a skill I truly lack and due to that, doing solo projects is very difficult.

9

lol i majored as Electronics Technician … my parents were paying I lost interest halfway thru lol… did (somewhat) learn to code assembly language on 8051 microcontroller… which helped me get a understanding of coding…

all day everyday all thru school as a kid(~6- 18), i would doodle games, level layouts, lists of weapons, lists of characters and their stats, all that, and i had my friends play my games on paper,

as, pretty much a toddler (~4, 5)… I remember some NES game, cant remember the name, its like gold mine? and you could make your own levels… THAT WAS THE BEST! lol

(~9 - 14?) Myth 2: soulblighter … that game is GOLDEN! it was soo ahead of its time … that game had a modding tool, i modded the CRAP outta that you could do soo much sweet stuff! make archers shoot a paratrooper dwarf lol, or i had a arrow shot that made a HUGE explosion and tons of cannonballs went up into the sky and rained down for like 10 minutes, eventually killing EVERYTHING on the level, turning it all black it was Insane!! LOL and making infinite loop that crashes computer, and lightning effect was awesome to play with… modding that was AWESOME!.. never released it on the internet… i think i had no internet…

i messed around with RPG maker, gamemaker,
i modded morrowind, oblivion, skyrim
i made maps for wolfenstein enemy territory, call of duty 2 , call of duty 4,
quake wars, HeroesM&M 2, 3, 4 …modded elemental war of magic,
if a game had an editor, and i was into the game, i modded/made maps for it, like 100x more hours than i played the game LOL… like skyrim i only got to level 18? but modded it like 300 hours? (hex edited it before the actual editor was out)

this is like the only thing ive ever done…
and what sucks is, i never thought it was possible to earn money from my skills, i never thought it was possible to make an actual game…

and when i was wondering what i should do with my life, what i should do for a career, i thought of game making, but i thought… egghhh i dont want to do that with my life, its kinda wussy or insignificant or something… i want to do science stuff or something… i was thinking i wanted to do something to fight against military robotics in some way? (cause i think its Incredibly evil and i fear for the future) … so I went into electronics… but then, i was thinking, Any innovation of any type in any relation to military robots only furthers military robotics… (like a countermeasure of sorts only creates a reason to make them better)

… but the thing is, now, because of crazy thoughts and psychedelics LOL
I believe that, through artwork, especially video games, being that soo many people may play them, and they have an addictive element… i believe, given i eventually come up with a genius enough implementation of the medium, i maybe able to influence the world for the better in some way :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

lol i just wanted to say all this i guess har har :stuck_out_tongue:

10

Thanks for all the replies!

Before I figured I’d study computer science, I figured that most IT jobs will require a degree, as opposed to graphics design jobs which will mostly require a solid portfolio. I mean, I do freelance graphical designing from time to time with no college education.

But if I can get an IT job with experience alone that would be great!:smile:

@CaoMengde777 7 : I never modded a game but, I hear a lot of game programmers started that way! Congrats

11

I’m still attending college, I should be graduating in two semesters with two majors. One will be in Computer Information Systems and the second will be Business.

The market for Computer Science and Computer Information Systems is rapidly growing and there are not enough people to fill those positions. The only downside of such careers are: 1. Many are contract based. 2. Benefits may not be provided. The great side of such careers: 1. Traveling 2. Pay ranges from 50k - 100k+ 3. Opens doors to many different types of positions that may not be related to your degree but are valid.

What I’ve heard from the graphic designers in my area, the job market is slowing down for them; mainly due to the amount of graphic designers that are available. Now, I’m not sure if that’s only in my area or nation wide (US); but I would look into it, if that’s what you enjoy the most.

I’m new to game development, my artistic skill is very basic, and I’m very new to programming; this is mainly a hobby for me.

12

I first went to school and got a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations and Marketing because I figured it would open up more doors for me career wise as well as I could use it to help build any business I chose such as an indie studio. I later went back and got my Master’s Degree in Organizational Management with a focus in Project Management for the same reasons. In my area, there are few programming jobs and even less art related jobs so the choice was a little easier for me.

13

I went to college to avoid getting a job. I chose business studies, hated it - quit & got a job anyways.

14

Yes physics is a good one for games companies. It all helps with the 3D vector math etc.
Mathematics is good. (A lot of the older people at games companies would have done mathematics as computer science hadn’t been invented yet!)
For game design etc. you should do an art degree or something similar.
For game music engineers study music.

Basically I would say specialise in what area you want to do. But also make sure there is a computer component to it. For example a 3 year fine art degree without learning photoshop might be a bit of a waste.

You should watch the documentary about Pixar on Netflix, it shows how everyone came together from all disciplines, art, math and science to make Toy Story. (Yeah, not a game, but similar skills).

Here’s an example of computer graphics that you would actually learn in General Relativity.

Consider an animal with fur, the fur tangential the the body forming a vector field V(x). Now imagine that the animal is a soft body and has just been hit. Deform the animal under a local coordinate transformation x → x’(x). How would you transform the hair vectors?

(The answer is you would multiply the vectors by the matrix dx’(x)/dx - or it’s inverse I can’t remember)

The connection with General Relativity is that objects undergo non-uniform transformations under gravitational fields.

Yeah, you’d probably only need to know stuff like that if you were making a 3D game engine, but people who do that have PhDs in mathematics.

15

I did Web Development and Web designing both and little bit of self studies on art science.

16

Look at all you nerds.

Anthropology with a focus on archaeology.

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17

I took Anthropology, it is a fascinating field. It teaches you to understand different cultures and approach things in a “holistic” way. While many of my class mates thought it was boring, I saw it as a way to look into cultures and understand the differences among each other.

18

Because studying a social group from afar rather than joining in with social activities is the opposite of being a nerd??? “Hey Pointdexter would you like to come to our party?” “Erm no thanks, but is it OK if I rig the party with microphones and webcams and observe your sociological interactions and record them on my spreadsheet? Afterwards I may have a dig around your garden to look for fossilized dino droppings?”

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19

I am a designer, not a programmer, but my degrees are in Geology. This does not at all help me in programming, but I think a science degree does help when designing and creating a game. You learn to look at the broad picture first, to organize your ideas, and focus on problem solving. One of our programmers has degrees in Mechanical Engineering and another is attending college, majoring in IT with an emphasis in computer programming.

I agree with those that say get your degree in something you enjoy. If it is not in an art or programming field, then study on your own to learn those areas. I was helping a young artist the other day and while I am not an artist, I was amazed at how much I have learned over the past several years just by doing, reading, and talking to other game developers. Still advise you to get some sort of degree though! :slight_smile:

20

I started out going to school for Chemical Engineering. Once I saw the amount of organic chem I was going to have to learn, along with the ridiculousness of everything else, I realized I didn’t want to be a chemical engineer - everyone else wanted me to be one because there were jobs for it and they made money, blah blah.

So I started learning about something more interesting… the brain. I switched to psychology, and am about 3 courses shy of a degree in it. Never completed, never will, finished all my core classes, just need some fluff… but don’t really care about it anymore.

You could say I then got a degree in cutting flesh. I became a meat cutter - not a butcher. Butchers kill animals, I just cut them up after they were already dead. I managed to keep all my fingers for the most part, nearly losing a thumb once though. Let me tell you, there’s nothing like the sound of a bone saw cutting into your thumbnail… err… or holding a cow heart in your hand and just having blood pour all over your arm… err… I became the manager and to boost morale, I’d come out of the cooler riding a skinned lamb yelling yeehaw and whatnot. Good times. Good, cold, bloody, sometimes gross, stressful, annoying times. Ah well, I know all about beef/poultry/lamb/pork/etc. now. My wife loves going in the supermarket with me to have me explain/critique the meat section.

One day I realized that all this computer work I did for fun, I might like to do for a living. Got a CIS (computer information systems) degree. Less math/science that comp sci, but more business. Got a job. Am happy. No more blood and I’ll probably have all my fingers for a long time now. Everyone thinks I psychoanalyze them as soon as I talk about the psych degree. Nope, it was more for figuring out my own brain, not theirs.