D-SIPL Moderator Posts: 1345 From: Maesteg, Wales Registered: 07-21-2001 |
I'm thinking of going to Full Sail around September time. Has anyone beed there? I think Ginger has, but haven't seen her about much. Does anyone know anything about what it's like. I've heard it's very very intense, and quite challenging. I'm too passionate to give up, but is there any advice that someone can give? --D-SIPL ------------------ |
GUMP Member Posts: 1335 From: Melbourne, FL USA Registered: 11-09-2002 |
I have a cousin who graduated from Full Sail in Orlando years ago. I could ask him what he thought of his experience there. If you're looking in to getting into the Game Industry you may want to first get a normal degree from a University and then go to Full Sail for their 2 years. That way, you can be more assured of of least getting a job "somewhere" if you can't break into the game industry. Plus, you may find that most developer's schedules and requirements don't fit what you want. The one thing that I remember from what my cousin said is that he thought he learned a lot there but unfortunately the Full Sail degree didn't help him get a job at all. Probably because it is still largely unknown to most companies. |
Flare Member Posts: 22 From: Boca Raton, FL, USA Registered: 12-23-2002 |
the guy from twelve32 went there. SaintA2J on icq and aim. ------------------ |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
Yes, Jerrod (twelve32 guy) and Ginger went there and spoked highly of it. Both have gotten jobs in industry (secular though). Try Ginger's hotmail account (I set up her GWI one way back when, that should redirect). As Gump suggested, a full degree may be more valuable overall. Check out DigiPen as they offer a full bachelor's degree (I believe in CS). Or come to Oregon State U. and we can work on games in your spare time while you get your comp sci degree!! ;-) Oh, on DigiPen, in the yahoo group, Glenn is currently going there. And we need to talk about your signature! ;-) He he. Is England so bad that you want to split? Talk to us! We'll be praying that God leads you down His appointed path. -Tim ------------------ |
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D-SIPL Moderator Posts: 1345 From: Maesteg, Wales Registered: 07-21-2001 |
England is a drag at times, and nothing changes, i need a change of scenery. I have my MCSE and MCp to fall back on. Plus 2 years experience working in London, currently as an IT manager. I'm using this course, not so much to get into the industry, but to further my skills and use them for the kingdom. But who knows, firstly and most importantly i need to pray about it. Any more advice? --D-SIPL ------------------ |
c h i e f y Member Posts: 415 From: Surrey, United Kingdom Registered: 03-07-2002 |
best of luck D-SIPL on your ambition to go Full Sail but won't you need to win the Lottery first ? Surely it will cost an arm and a leg ?  ------------------ |
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GUMP Member Posts: 1335 From: Melbourne, FL USA Registered: 11-09-2002 |
It is fairly expensive; supposedly around $22,000 a year if I remember correctly. |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
New Game Design Degree Offered Online From UAT The University of Advancing Technology (UAT), an ACICS-accredited private university located in Tempe, Arizona, has announced that it is launching an online game design degree program. Through its online division, UAT-Online, the school will offer an Associate of Art degree in game design which teaches skills in 3D modeling and animation, game documentation, Maya, 3D Studio Max, game balance, interactive story telling, interface development and more. The school is structured such that students take one course at a time, which lasts five weeks. Three courses are taken per semester, and with a tuition of $349 a credit (plus a $100 technology fee per course), a semester (three 3-credit courses) will cost $3,441. For more information, visit us at http://www.gamedegree.com. ------------------ |
CobraA1 Member Posts: 926 From: MN Registered: 02-19-2001 |
I've always wondered about these game design/programming colleges - they're extremely specialized, and while it's an interesting topic to explore, should we really be getting "degrees" in this stuff? |
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graceworks Member Posts: 455 From: Corvallis, Oregon, USA Registered: 03-03-2001 |
Good question Cobra. What do you folks think? There is also DigiPen ( digipen.com ). And a brand new one called GuildHall (guildhall.smu.edu ). The one I pasted is the only one that has something offered "virtually" (and only the design portion, for programming they want you on campus). As far as degrees, I already have two so something like this "MAY" be useful. But I probably won't consider it unless they let me skip a lot of the classes I already have had (and hopefully life experiences that cover different classes). My mate Richard, what is God saying to you? Let's be praying for him. -Tim ------------------ |
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D-SIPL Moderator Posts: 1345 From: Maesteg, Wales Registered: 07-21-2001 |
quote: Unfortuantely the days of the bedroom hacker getting a job due to some neat hacks he's done is over. In my opinion companies look for qualifications to back up your credentials. But thats just IMO.
quote: I'm not quite sure yet, i'm just praying and waiting on God for direction. I beleive he is calling me to do this, maybe not a Full Sail. Maybe it will lead to openings in the US, maybe thats where God wants me to be? I'm just praying and see where God wants me to go. At the end of the day, as long as i'm in God's perfect plan, and perfect will for my life, then i'm happy... happy because im safe. So what does everyone else think... i've given my 2p! --D-SIPL ------------------ |
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CobraA1 Member Posts: 926 From: MN Registered: 02-19-2001 |
quote: I agree (partially - smaller games are still fun, even if not as successful |
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D-SIPL Moderator Posts: 1345 From: Maesteg, Wales Registered: 07-21-2001 |
quote: I totally agree, they claim to teach you C++ from a games perspective, so you miss out some of the foundation stuff that you learn in application programming.
quote: Sorry me ol' china seemed to have missed this one... anyways it costs $36000 around £20000 which isn't too bad, you can get student loans quite easily for that. Oh yeh, the English government won't pay a penny towards because im studying outside the EU quote: Are you making an offer? :P --D-SIPL ------------------ |
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EsotericMoniker Junior Member Posts: 2 From: Phoenix, AZ Registered: 03-31-2003 |
I am currently attending UAT here in Tempe, AZ. Graceworks mentioned the online AA degree but UAT offers full blown BS degrees in everything from straight computer programming to game design (with game programming falling somewhere inbetween). The school is small but very up to date with lots of motivated students. Tuition is a bit less than DigiPen but UAT doesn't have the reputation of DigiPen either. I'd suggest you check out UAT's web site www.uat.edu and if you have any questions feel free to email me koontz at atsecure dot net or EsotericMoniker via AIM. |
Klumsy Administrator Posts: 1061 From: Port Angeles, WA, USA Registered: 10-25-2001 |
quote: actually in the game industry i would beg to disagree, maybe in the bussiness world , but even then the best managers - the ones you would want to work for - will take experience over degrees anyday.. in the game industry the best thing is an impressive portfolio... do some really awesome projects... polish them, present them professionally and yippe. in the demoscene game companies always scour the big parties looking for the best talent of the scene to pluck to their companies without university degrees.. Karl ------------------ |
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EsotericMoniker Junior Member Posts: 2 From: Phoenix, AZ Registered: 03-31-2003 |
Yes, an impressive portfolio is a good resume booster but a lot of companies I've talked to or heard from want people who have good coding skills too. If you're a coding prodigy but no one can read your code you don't contribute much to the team. To some degree I think that's why companies are looking a bit more to degree holders as they have a bit more of a safety-net'ishness to them due to their programming courses (that we'd assume teach good coding practice). |
Torial Member Posts: 73 From: Cedar Rapids, Ia, USA Registered: 07-23-2002 |
And for good coding skills, I can't recommend Steve McConnell's "Code Complete" enough! The first 100 pages of the book are worth the price, let alone the additional 700+ pages! ------------------ |
ArchAngel Member Posts: 3450 From: SV, CA, USA Registered: 01-29-2002 |
So, which one of the colleges mentioned is the best, and how good is it? Would certain a software company be like, "oh you graduated from _________, wow. You're Hired!!!" Okay, a little exaggeration, but you get the point. Something kinda like the Stanford of computer colleges. ------------------ |
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Torial Member Posts: 73 From: Cedar Rapids, Ia, USA Registered: 07-23-2002 |
I can't say for sure if there is a definitively best school.. I'd say that companies tend to be happy to find people w/ CS degrees. On the same token, for practicality sake (e.g. vs. theory) I'd look for a college that has a software engineering curriculum (distinct from computer engineering -- which tends to be more hardware related). CS is great for a lot of theory stuff, but my experience at a public university was that it left me a little wanting for good software engineering techniques (hence my recommendation of Code Complete... good SE and all around good programming practices). However, having a CS degree more than qualifies you for most tasks that a corporation throws your way (I have a real boredom problem w/ the stuff I am working on). As people say, your mileage may vary... Also.. I'd recommend avoiding an MIS degree (if you can at all avoid it) .. unless your heart leans toward that. HTH.. ------------------ |
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Torial Member Posts: 73 From: Cedar Rapids, Ia, USA Registered: 07-23-2002 |
Well.. I sort of take that back.. if you can go to MIT.. by all means do so :-D. Not sure about universities in England but I'm pretty confident that they have some solid programs as well. ------------------ |
), but I sometimes wonder if this needs to be seperate from a regular computer science/engineering degrees that are already offered. I'm open on this subject, though. There are a few classes that you can't get at an ordinary college. IMO, this would be a good degree to get after somebody's already got a regular computer degree.