I could use from advice (About schooling)

[Wrath-Chan19]

I'm really interested into being in the game design world when I grow up. I'm now in my Junior year of Highschool, and I've been thinking what I need to do to make my dream come true. Where should I try to go to school? Do I really need a diploma or is a GED just fine?

[TalaRedWolf33]

The job and collage world is now much more open to GEDs instead of a diploma in some cases. But, since youre a junior, i recomend seeing if your school offers a game devolopment class. I took it at my high school. But i decided to go into the medical field.

[Gryffinclaw Princess]

Many gaming industries would prefer at least an AA in related fields to prove you actually know what you are doing.
In fact, to take those kinds of classes most colleges don't require a Diploma or GED (unless they are a college specifically for that) so you can work on them while in HS or even if you dropped out.

[Wrath-Chan19]

My school sucks. I go to MLC and we have NOTHING!
I'll look into what's around though.

I as worried that I might be screwed. I'm behind on my credits and I doubt I'm graduating.
What would be a good school to try to go to?

[TalaRedWolf33]

Im assuming youre in the portland area, so id say portland art is a great place to start

[Wrath-Chan19]

I was thinking of that place. I have a friend who goes there so I'll talk o her
thanks!

[superjaz]

Okay I know some of your worries I had them too.

I moved a lot during school years, and moved right at the end of freshman year and they said since only a week left just go to sophomore the next year.
 (This really didn't help with either school recognizing my learning disability but that is another story)
When registering for my sophomore year which was hell, literally helped LAST out of ever student there, they looked over my classes and picked out the schedule for what I needed to graduate.  Only mid junior year when check about classes realized they NEVER had sent for my previous records at all. So I had taken classes I hadn't needed and now would have to take an extra year of high school for the credits.  
Also we were going to be moving AGAIN before senior year, and I did not trust either school to help me graduate at that point, so I decided to get a GED which was done thru the school.  

For $ reasons I went to MHCC for 2 years and got an associates arts degree, then transferred to Portland state university.  Nice thing is, is that with that degree you can automatically transfer as a junior to any 4 year collage.  Then finished my education there.

GEDs used to be seen as not as good, but with today's high school issues, or personal health issues people can have, whatever, there are many reasons it just out of peoples hands.

I don't know what the art institute requires but you can call their admissions office and request more info about it.

[DarkStar]

I'm really interested into being in the game design world when I grow up. I'm now in my Junior year of Highschool, and I've been thinking what I need to do to make my dream come true. Where should I try to go to school? Do I really need a diploma or is a GED just fine?

My Dos:

If you're in Oregon, I would recommend checking out Oregon State University's New Media Communications undergraduate program or maybe University of Oregon's Digital Arts undergraduate program.

If you're in another state, look at the state colleges and see if they have any "new media" or "digital arts" programs. Those will be the ones you should inquire more information about. Also, find out when the next campus tour for high school students is and do it! You'll get a lot of information you couldn't otherwise get this way.

Plan on a 4 year college degree. Video game (and other multimedia arts) design is extremely competitive and anything less is usually not considered unless you have 4+ years of experience (and you probably won't be able to get the experience since it's so competitive). A GED definitely won't cut it here, neither will a high school diploma alone.

Once you're involved in a program, get as much general video game design knowledge as you can, but try to find a "niche" for yourself (maybe you get really good at animating hair or talented with accurately simulating gravity). Save all your projects and work to use in your portfolio! Even if a project is small or "not very polished," if you save the project you can decide later on if it's worth polishing up (saving a bunch of time) or if creating a new work would be better.

My Don'ts:

Don't get hooked on going to a "specialty college," they'll gladly take your money, give you a 2 year degree, and employers will never hire you since they've never heard of the place. Stick with a well known, state college, employers know them all!

Don't worry about the money, worry about frivolous spending instead! Hopefully you can go home for the summer and live on-campus during the year (apply early and often). If you get a part-time job (don't work full-time, no matter how much they're paying you) save your pennies for campus holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Spring Break) because you'll want to hang out with friends and probably do some shopping and stuff. During the school year, worry about your degree, you'll have plenty of time to enjoy life once you've started your career after you get the diploma!
-=-=-=-=-=-

I hope this helps a bit. Community College is always an option as long as you focus on general education courses and then transfer them later to a 4 year school as a community college degree alone won't be enough.

Also, be prepared to move to where the jobs are located once you have a degree. Most video game studios are in Los Angeles and New York, however there are a couple in Seattle and other various places: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_developers

Good luck, stay focused, and apply for any and all scholarships (starting now in your junior year)!

[bunny_jean]

Not really answering your question, but related. You need to consider what part of game design you want to be doing. Do you want to be doing art? Animation? Programming? Because depending on which you want to do you might end up going to different colleges. There are some schools specifically for game development and design, such as DigiPen (a friend of my boyfriend's goes there), but those schools aren't the only way to go. A friend of mine went to the U of O and I think majored in art, then joined USC's grad program for animation, and now she and some friends are starting up a game company. So it really depends on what you want to be doing in the industry and where you're going to want to go.

[GregAtlas]

Well, I actually went to college for game studies. I have my associates degree in multimedia and my bachelor's degree in digital entertainment & game design, both of which are considered Science degrees.

My personal advise is to not go this route. Most companies I've been applying for only care about talent in where you specialize in. Go to the website of a company you ideally wish to work for and check out their job openings and they will list everything they require and recommend. Aim for a lower position that only requires a diploma or a GED and plan to work your way up the ladder. If you have the option, even if it takes an extra year, try for your diploma and take advantage of "free" schooling while you can as this will show the employer you are at least dedicated.

Instead of paying $70-80k (before interest kicks in) you can ask for advise online on what to study at home and look tutorials up for those programs. You could possibly just take specific classes for your specialization such as 3D modeling/animation or programming.

A little of my background: I went to ITT Technical Institute for their game design course for the purpose of being a level designer. From what I understand from what others have been telling me, art institute is just as bad with having unnecessary classes. Part of the reason ITT Tech does not do its game design course anymore is because the students got sick and tired of #1 too many unrelated classes #2 text books were way outdated and/or the teachers had little experience. Almost everything I learned was through online tutorials that are free or cheap and usually much more enjoyable to do.

All in all, the little diploma piece of paper saying you spent 4 years of school might get you a little more income when you finally get out in the field, but these companies will hire people straight out of high school If you have examples of your work that impress them. Oh, and be prepared to move assuming you're in the Portland area (plenty of work up in Seattle and Texas though).

If you have any questions, please feel free to message me.