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Video Game Schools

A guide to understanding what video game school is all about with information about some of the best schools.

There are two very important things to consider when you think about video game schools.

  1. Overall Knowledge of the Process The first to consider is that you will need to gain an overall knowledge of what video game making is all about. What is the process? What are the steps that are taken from start to finish? This means from concept to shipping and support. What software tools are used?
  2. Specialized expertise you are going to focus on Video game design is no longer in the world of a couple of guys working long hours in the garage and coming out with a full-fledged blockbuster game. The industry is mature now and it takes a whole host of specialties to create a modern video game. While it is possible for you to do everything it is impractical. You will need to decide what aspect of game design you will focus on. Note: If the whole process is what you really like then a good option for you might be to consider project management where you handle the team and the project as a whole.

 

Overall Knowledge - This is referred to as " Game Design" It gives you the whole process from concept to completion of the game. You get a good understanding of how a game making company runs their projects and what is entailed all the way through the various stages of paper and software development.

Specialized Knowledge - This is a very broad category with a lot of choices. Here are thumbnail sketches of some of the common specialized skills in the game industry

Programmer - This is something that is a little more traditional when we think of video game making "Programming" and it is a very wide field that can find you doing almost anything in the video game making arena. Here are some possibilites:

  • Database manager A game has to store and manipulate a lot of information and somebody has to maintain this
  • Artificial Intelligence Designer - Todays games are very heavy into artificial intelligence and a lot of thought and work goes into making characters and objects intelligent in their behavior.
  • Tools Designer - You don't actually work on the game. You create software tools for the game designers. This makes their job easier
  • Engine Programmer - A video game runs on what is called an engine.
  • Wire Framer - You build all the empty shells in the game
  • Texture manager - Manage and place the textures in the game
  • I have a more in depth tutorial on programming for video games

Artist - An artist can specialize in any one of several areas of art for the video game industry

  • Concept artist -works with traditional tools like paint, pencil and acrylics
  • 2d Artist works with Photoshop and can manage and create textures and environments
  • 3d artists create models and objects placed in a world
  • Animation artists create the animated motion effects of objects and characters in the game world

 

Video game design Colleges

Here are some colleges that Offer a Game design, game art, and game animation Curriculum. There are plenty of schools both online and on campus that offer great curriculum in game design and programming. Take a look at some of these to get a sense of what a curriculum is all about and what it entails.

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