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Update: bad news, then better news


On 03/20/2014 at 04:45 PM by Michael117

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The plot thickens in the search for a game design school

Yesterday I went to the 2D Graphics Programming class at Westwood and sat-in on it from 9am till about noon. It was a ton of fun. There were about twenty students, five were girls, and there was a lot of energy and diversity in the class. We began the session by going up one-by-one and using the professor's computer and projector to play and examine 2D games that students had made in previous years. There were tons of laughs because most of the games had dramatic bugs. One guy loaded up a game where he started the level and received a "Victory!" screen almost instantly without knowing what happened. Most of the games were extremely difficult and had nasty collision detection issues but there were also a few truly interesting games that launched a lot of examination into what games had great potential and where the students went right.

One game I talked about and thought was great was one where you stood on-top of a stone tower in the middle of a field as skeleton monsters came to attack you. The player shot arrows to bring them down in a simple base-defense style system. You only had one attack, single arrows, and there were only two monster types: normal skeletons, and the Grim Reaper whom came by and resurrected any downed skeletons in the column or row he was patrolling. With more options to defend your tower, like an ability to shoot volleys and use an AOE attack, you could keep it interesting for longer. If you had more monster types, and obviously more refinement in general, that student's idea could be a perfect game for tablets. Maybe you could give players the option leave the tower to engage in melee combat and pick up power-ups from special dead monsters as well.. The rest of our time was filled with a lecture about DirectX and programming games for PC.

The three hours of class-time flew by and I left the room super high on the program and ready to enroll, ...then I went to the admissions representative. She gave me the awful news that the entire game programming and design degree had just been scrapped last week because apparently no new students were enrolled in the program for 2014, so they had to cut it. All those great people I just met in the 2D Graphics Programming class were the last batch and I missed the boat. Back to the drawing board.

I'm still planning to come into the industry from the programming side, so I've been comparing different degrees from a variety of schools that offer either a BS in Computer Science, or an actual BS program specific to game design. There's a lot of great universities across the country that offer solid computer science, and a surprising number of them offer minors, electives, or fleeting fancies in game design. But very few seem to actually have majors and a robust system for undergraduates on game programming. Out of the top 25 schools, the one that appeals to me most so far is DigiPen up in Washington.

I've known about DigiPen for several years, ever since a team of their students were hired into Valve and created Portal. DigiPen is at #3 in the top twenty-five, whereas Westwood didn't even make the list of best programs, so the differences between schools is probably self-explanatory.

Before I apply I'll need a lot of prep work in math, physics, and programming. This summer, fall, and probably even into the spring I need to take as many classes as I can afford at our community college. They have Calculus, Calc-based Physics, foundational programming courses, and even Computer Science classes in C++ and JAVA. Once I've seriously boned up on some skills, and I can prove it, I'll start putting together an application for DigiPen. I need to make the best case for myself that I can, and in the event that I might get admitted to the school I need to know all that stuff because their courses assume you do.

My goal after I got a degree (regardless of where I got it) was to move to the Seattle area. So the fact that DigiPen is nearby in Redmond means that, if I could get into the school, I'd already be living within the hub, close to the job opportunities, and strategically be where I want to be. For now, that's the long-term and short-term plan, we will see what happens with this one. I was pretty deflated after the plan at Westwood fell through yesterday, but after I slept it off I started to take all that determination and focus it on a new target instead of letting it lose steam. DigiPen would be more difficult, more expensive, and it's far from my home here in Colorado.

If you talked to me about it a couple years ago I would've told you that I was too poor and dumb to ever set my sights on such a good school, but 2014 is different. I'm going to make myself qualified, and just like last time, if it turns out that the school is a good fit for me, I'll do whatever it takes.


 

Comments

Matt Snee Staff Writer

03/20/2014 at 04:52 PM

that sucks man, but you seem quite determined to still make it work.  good luck!  Game design is where it's at. 

Michael117

03/20/2014 at 05:17 PM

Thanks Matt Smile

I get real excited about the material and around other people who like it and want to build things, so finding the right school is crucial and exhilirating at the same time. I didn't get excited like that about the other programs and fields I tried out in school, so it's been neat getting tastes of design classes and being hungry for a lot more.

Matt Snee Staff Writer

03/20/2014 at 07:23 PM

yeah it's really nice to be around other people who want to build and create.  it's inspiring. 

Ranger1

03/20/2014 at 05:05 PM

Great attitude, Michael. In my experience, sometimes these things happen for a reason. As a pagan friend of mine often says: the Goddess isn't going to help you unless you help yourself first. Maybe it's just a test the universe is throwing at you to see just how determined you really are. For what it's worth, seems to me like you've got the determination, the drive, and the confidence to reach for those goals. I'm certain that you'll make them.

Michael117

03/20/2014 at 05:28 PM

That's really cool Tami. I actually have a friend from England named Evy that I email with and she just happens to also be pagan and says really wise and similar things, I always find her perspective to be really interesting. She talks a lot about energies, the weather and its effects on people, and I find that her sayings are quite calming.

Smile Your support and friendship means a lot. On a way other side note, I've been adding random pics of puppies to my blogs now, and I blog about once a month so it's like a pup-of-the-month type of situation. I love pics of Kaylee and kitty pics in general, but since there's a few people including yourself that occasionally post them I'll do the pup-of-the-month for now. I was going to do kitties with every blog but I'll try to do pups, maybe I'll give in and do both eventually though.

Ranger1

03/20/2014 at 05:44 PM

Yeah, I need to give Bandit more love in the blog, lol.

Alex-C25

03/20/2014 at 05:24 PM

Sad you couldn't enroll on the program, but i'm glad you have the determination to still continue. Keep it up!

Michael117

03/20/2014 at 05:30 PM

Thanks Alex Smile

How have things been going for you in Belgium lately?

Alex-C25

03/20/2014 at 05:48 PM

Very fine really. Dutch is very hard to learn, but i'm getting there and i'm already adapted to the lifestyle of Belgium.

TheMart22

03/20/2014 at 06:23 PM

Shit, terrible timing indeed. Keep the spirits up dude and best of luck with the classes you're about to take on. Once you settle in and get rolling, things will start to feel more in your control. In my opinion, it's uncertainly that tends to brings us down emotionally the most.

Michael117

03/20/2014 at 06:58 PM

Thanks Shane, I appreciate it! Uncertainty definitely played a big role in the past few years and it's why it took me so long to start looking into design schools, but this year I've been feeling hungry and ambitious so I'm trying to feed off that and get all of it started finally.

Homelessrook

03/20/2014 at 06:55 PM

Good luck with the school. One day I may finish my engineering degree.

Michael117

03/20/2014 at 07:02 PM

Smile Thanks Larry! I think it's cool that you started an engineering degree, was it software engineering or architectural? Was that all before you were in the military?

Homelessrook

03/20/2014 at 07:10 PM

Electronic/electrical. While I was in I had the GI bill and I stoped because I got deployed to Iraq in 2003, tried to go back but had a divorce in the works and others things, all I need are my core course now, but have no extra money to go back with.

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

03/20/2014 at 09:53 PM

That's too bad, Michael. Love your attitude, though! You can make it work!

Michael117

03/20/2014 at 10:09 PM

Thanks Travis! I was really excited and impressed by the program and facilities at Westwood, but I'm every bit as excited about trying to get into DigiPen. It's a lot of change, I'd be out of my family home for the first time, and living out of Colorado for the first time, but if I can get into the school I'd absolutely be ready to dive in and move out there into student housing. I've also never been a math whiz. I always test high in reading and writing, and comparatively math is my biggest weakness, so I'm going to try and make it a strength by taking classes, getting a tudor, and chipping away at the opportunities they have at our community college so I can get ready for applying to DigiPen.

Travis Hawks Senior Editor

03/21/2014 at 07:20 AM

That will be a lot of big changes, but I'm sure you can do it. I was always decent at math, but I never personally got algebra until I took college calculus. I basically sat there and thought through all the basics of algebra and made up my own problems over and over until I really understood it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had a shot at calculus, and this technique worked out well. Point is, I'm sure you can understand all the math you need with the work you're willing to put into it. 

KnightDriver

03/21/2014 at 02:44 AM

You got a great attitude. That'll help.

I remember thinking about computers in high school but deciding not to because I wasn't the best at math and science. 

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