Schools for video game development in TX?

Question

My boyfriend was asking me if there are any good schools here for that kind of degree and the only ones i know of are in Miami and another one in Indiana or something.

Answer 1

Typically any college or degree with the word “game” in it should be avoided, as most are rip-offs, and at best they won’t prepare you any better than a “normal” college will.  He needs a regular four year degree to get into the game industry, and his best bet is going to college near an industry hub.  Austin is one of the larger areas for game development, so schools in that area would probably be a good choice.

As far as what to major in (since he’ll be avoiding everything with the word “game” in it), that depends on what area of game dev he wants to get into.  There are four basic areas of the development team: design, programming, art, and level building, which are supported by production, Quality Assurance, customer service, sound design, marketing, business development, etc.  Designers write up the details of every tiny aspect of the game and come up with the math to support it.  Programmers take the written details from the designers and implement it using programming languages like C++ and/or in-house tools.  Artists create the 3D art, animations, textures, etc for everything in the game.  And level builders take assets created by the artists and create the physical layout of the world.  Producers manage the entire project and keep everyone on schedule and on budget.  Quality Assurance tests the game for bugs, and reports those back to development.

If he’s interested in programming, he can go to any good 4 year college and get a degree in Computer Science.  He should also take some essay and tech writing classes, and at least one art class (even if he’s no good at it).  For art, he can go to any 4 year college that offers classes in 3D/computer art and animation, or a specialty program like those at the Art Institutes.  For level building, schools like the Art Institutes and Full Sail have good reputations.  Level builders can also benefit from creating their own levels using editors like those that come with Unreal and Neverwinter Nights.

If he’s interested in design, he should go to any good 4 year college and major in whatever he wants.  Along with your major he should take math up through Calculus 1, and at least two courses in Statistics, two courses in writing, one Computer Science course, and one art course.  Math and writing are the main tools of a designer, and the CS and art courses will help him work with his programmer and artist colleagues later on.  He should fill up the rest of his course requirement with a wide liberal arts education -- history, literature, mythology, sociology, psychology, etc, are all useful in game design.