MS Application Process Research - Information on Game Design and Development Programs
This is some of the info that I had gathered during my ‘initial pre-apping’ phase, so to say the pre-apping was mostly geared towards AI, to which I finally applied. I thought of sharing this and I hope that game design and development future applicants would find this useful.
I would start off with some words of advice. First, decide whether you want to get into
1.) Game design / Development - For this, I would suggest an MSCS with a focus on Games (like USCs course).
2.) Game Art / Animation - Something like DigiPen, go for a Master of Arts rather than MSCS.
3.) Research into Games / AI / Immersion, etc. - MS CS with a focus on AI, For eg., Stanford has courses on gaming (best by far).
Finally, my perspective is that you can always get to 1 after you done with 3, but I can’t think of any other possible permutation. And 2 is a totally different track. Following is a list of institutes offering courses relevant to games (atleast when I researched, they were). I would add to this list later: -
1. Digipen: -
http://www.digipen.edu/main/MSCS_Sequence
Affiliated with Nintendo of America. Cost is reasonable and it is located in Seattle, Washington.
2. Entertainment Technology Center @ Carnegie Mellon University
3. Georgia Insitiute of Technology,Atlanta, GA
The Computer Science college of Georgia Tech offers classes at the GVU center (Graphics, Visualization, and Usability) about animation, virtual reality, etc. The college also has classes for game programming and development.
4. Michagan State University
East Lansing, MI Offer a Game Design and Development specialization for undergrad students majoring in Computer Science, Art, or Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media.
5. Rochester Institute of Technology
Masters in Game Design & Development (http://games.rit.edu)
Rochester, NY First degree in Software Engineering. Other game-related majors: Computer Science, Animation.
6. The Art Institute,USA
With locations in more than 20 US cities as well as online offerings, their program in Game Art & Design is well worth checking out.
7. University of Advancing Technology,Tempe, AZ
UAT is an accredited, private, four year university. Focused around technology, their unique college degree programs include: Game Design, Network Security, Digital Animation, Computer Programming, Multimedia
Design, E-commerce, and more. Courses available on campus (Arizona) or obtain your degree on line.
8. University of Michigan,Ann Arbor, MI
Offers a course in Computer Game Design and Development.
9. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
http://www.cs.usc.edu/admissions/graduate/msgames.htm
Besides having an excellent CS program in general, USC also offers a minor in Multimedia, which includes several courses directly related to game development. Game dev at USC is one of the best and customizable course that I could find. You can focus on many different aspects of game design and development. It could be an industry-oriented course or research-based. But, USC is costly as usual and again, this is a very subjective issue.
10. University of North Texas,Denton, TX
Offers a game programming course taught by Ian Parberry. Students work together to create a game in the Laboratory of Recreational Computing.
Check this out :-
http://larc.csci.unt.edu/
11. GuildHall at SMU: -
http://guildhall.smu.edu/admissions
Offers a Master of Interactive Technology in Digital Game Development
Quite costly and very Microsoft centric. Cost ~ $ 57k. 21 month course as far as I rem. Check the placements thr before applying.
12. UPenn: -
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/grad/cggt/cggt-overview.shtml
13. WPI: -
http://www.wpi.edu/Academics/Majors/IMGD/
http://poe.gdc.wpi.edu/contact
Offers a major in Interactive Media and Game Development, which is only for undergrads.
14. Fullsail: -
http://www.fullsail.com/
15. For what its worth: -
http://www.nid.edu/
Toy & Game Design (PGDPD) - http://www.nid.edu/study_pg_tdd.htm
This program is multidisciplinary in nature. It encompasses elements
from industrial design, animation and graphic design, human psychology
and interaction, sociology and management domains. The program
commences with courses in Play Theory, Cognitive Ergonomics, Color &
Composition, Material/ Media Technology, Study of Forms, Aesthetics,
and Design Management etc., which provide the basic design foundation.
Specialized inputs are also given to develop skills in forms and movement,
character design, strategy building, multisensory design etc.
This is a comprehensive list of game schools - Reference List
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Useful info regarding game design and development programs (Contd.)
Game Industry Salary surveys for year 2007: -
[Source - Game Career Guide]
Basically divided into following genres in line with the earlier categorization: -
1.) Programming - Average salary for three or fewer years experience: $65,833 or $57,913.
Average salary Across all experience levels: $80,886
2.) Art & Animation - Average salary for three or fewer years experience: $42,672.
Average salary Across all experience levels: $65,107
3.) Game Design - Average salary for three or fewer years experience: $44,574.
Avgerage salary across all experience levels: $61,538
4.) Production - Average salary for three or fewer years experience: $52,885 or $44,167.
Average salary across all experience levels: $77,131
5.) Quality Assurance, Testers - Average salary for three or fewer years experience: $26,410.
Average salary across all experience levels: $37,861
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