Need advice on my education.

[AmberSword]

I am currently taking up Computer Science, I'm still a freshmen though, orientations are on-going and courses haven't started.

That's besides the point though, what I'm really interested in is the games industry, sometimes I have dreams of myself working at Valve Software (praise GabeN) or some other crazy company that I think will probably never happen, hasn't stopped me from taking some steps though.

I am aware that Game Design degrees exist, problem is that I live in South East Asia, such degrees are often of very low standard, not only that, the gaming scene here is barely growing, and getting a degree like that means certain financial and career death.

So I took the next best thing (or what I think is the next best thing) in Comp Sci. I am not a very creative or artistic person, so animation/graphics modelling would kill me. I heard a lot of the knowledge learned in Comp Sci applies to game design, but I'm not really sure what to focus on. Is there anyone experienced in this matter that can help? I need to know the gist of what I need to focus on and what is most relevant to gaming design in Comp Sci. Also, if I somehow manage to break into the games industry one day, what entry level job would I most likely be undertaking? What would it involve?

 

[AmberSword]

The games industry has so many jobs that it's probably not possible to list the job(s) that you're likely to get at an entry level. Your best bet is probably to take a look at the jobs that are available at particular gaming companies, and to get involved in the modding scene - seeing a portfolio of prior work proves that you can do the kind of thing you are applying for.

CompSci won't be a disadvantage, particularly if you have a portfolio, so don't worry aobut that.

Thanks. Wow modding... I still think people who mod are gods among men, guess I'll try my hand in it somehow.
Other than that I guess just sticking to studying will work out fine.

 

[Lilikins]

if I may also add something to modding, go for games that are 'highly' modded, for instance Skyrim or the Fallout series. They give an amazing amount of possibilities to mod. You also have various sites that will 'usually' gladly help you if you have questions about modding etc.

There was this one chap that fixed off a mod for Skyrim who is now working for Bungie. Henceforth from this point on, your dream isnt 'unrealistic' you just have to focus on your goal and give it your best shot.

I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavours and I really hope it all works out for you and that you can make your dream come true

 

[Terminal Blue]

As archiebawled pointed out, you need to think very hard about where precisely you would want to work in the games industry. "Game designer" often seems to be the career everyone is going for, which I guess is what game design degrees are meant to prepare you for, but making a modern game can involve many hundreds of people all with different roles and skillsets and only a handful of them will be 'designers',

With CompSci, it sounds like you might be looking at something more on the programming or technical end of the spectrum, and from my experience talking to people in that line of work I have to say - know what you're getting yourself into. You can work in the most awesome and dynamic place creating products you personally love, but it isn't going to hide the fact that your job is spending eight (or generally more) hours sat in front of a computer screen. It's a very mind numbing job which requires great attention to detail and you need to figure out if that's going to be rewarding to you or if it's just going to snap you like a twig, especially given how much pressure can be involved in working in development.

However, you could also look at your BSc as a platform to jump off of and try and develop some wider professional skills. Having that computer sciences knowledge will be useful to you whatever you want to do. In fact, one thing I wouldn't rule out is looking the more business end of the spectrum, stuff like marketing, communications and so forth. You would need to either have some experience or a relevant postgraduate degree, though, so that's something to start thinking about now.

 

[renegade7]

Well, I should warn you that it's an extremely competitive industry and that it doesn't pay well. But that doesn't stop numerous majors in music and art from finishing their degrees and ultimately being successful in their careers.

The video game industry is unique in that it has equal need of two kinds of talent: technical and artistic. The technical people should be able to communicate with artistic people, and vice versa. A computer science degree or any visual or fine arts degree (music, sound, and writing are also important) will make you able to compete. Ideally, I would recommend a dual degree in computer science and some kind of art.

 

[trikos]

hi, i wanna advice you but firstly you i have to say you will keep my advice. however as you confused deciding your education , so in my opinion you should take those path that is interesting to you and your aim in life . please don't fear whatever people say. you just go with your destination. such as if you wanna something great in computer science you must take this and if you wanna carry on your career developing games so you have to take this education , simple....