Degree In Game Design

Well in a utopian world you will be designing games that you are interested in.

If you had a degree in biology for instance you might have designed the game "Spore".

If you had a degree in economics maybe you'd have designed "sim city" or an RTS or an MMORPG in which games you were in charge of balancing the game economy (a big task!)

Although it seems if you get a degree in game design itself you should know how to properly design games better so it seems like each direction has it's pros and cons (:

Basically, to design a game you have to either know what you are talking about, or SEEM to know what you are talking about (either one is ok haha).

Having a degree in something you like let's you actually be able to know what you are talking about and make a realistic game (or just take the fun parts from reality and fill in the rest w/ whatever you want)

Thanks.

The reason I brought economics up is because I've read somewhere that Hideo Kojima got a degree in economics and not game design, and well... He made Metal Gear Solid XD

Anyhow, I'm probably going to major in Japanese Language/Culture and get a Bachelor's in that or higher (If I feel as if my knowledge in Japanese Language isn't efficient enough). Probably a good way to start plus I have an interest in Japanese Language.

At the end of the day a game design degree is a very specific course and one would be narrowing their occupational options significantly if they took one.

Game design degrees give very little room for a "plan B" if one doesn't break into the professional game industry. Considering that game designer employers don't look for game design degrees but rather experience in their potential employees, it just makes sense for one to choose a degree which they are interested in and can get a job outside the games industry if they: lose ambition in game design; find that they don't have what it takes; or simply can't break in.

Furthermore, there is only so much such a degree could teach one in the game design realm. If one wishes to know whether they possess the knack to design games, then one should get out some paper and design a board game, card game or a video game's game design document.

Pure creativity cannot be taught.

So then, my question is this. If I were to get a degree in Japanese Culture and Language, would I be able to enter the video game industry with that and hopefully, eventually, become a game designer?

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Original post by Siberianhusky89 So then, my question is this. If I were to get a degree in Japanese Culture and Language, would I be able to enter the video game industry with that and hopefully, eventually, become a game designer?

We're telling you it isn't an obvious barrier. Nobody can foretell your future. If you want to get that degree, you should.

Getting a degree in what you are interested in is good advice because, well, why would you want to spend all that time doing something not interesting?

Is a degree in some various subject going to help you get a job in the games industry? No, most likely not. However, it may come in handy if you happen to work on a game in a field related to your degree.
Just like in any other industry, showing that you have a degree on your resume gives you points over those who have no schooling, but owning a piece of paper isn't everything. ;)

Here's a problem though. I'm interested in Japanese Language and Culture, however, I'm more interested in Game Design than I am that. If I were to get a degree in Japanese Language and Culture and it wouldn't help me get into the game industry, that would conflict on my interests.

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Original post by Siberianhusky89 Here's a problem though. I'm interested in Japanese Language and Culture, however, I'm more interested in Game Design than I am that. If I were to get a degree in Japanese Language and Culture and it wouldn't help me get into the game industry, that would conflict on my interests.

While it won't necessarily help you get into the games industry, being able to speak fluent Japanese would definitely help if you wanted to get into localizing Japanese games or make games in Japan.

They brought in Ryan Payton on MGS4 to help 'Westernize' the controls, so Japanese would help getting an opportunity to do something like that too.

Of course if you are lucky enough to get a chance to work on a game that has something to do with Japanese culture, or course that degree would come in handy.

Fine. Make a decision grid. Lay out your options, then collect the pros and cons of each option, and make your decision.
If you go for a Game Design degree, what kind? One that's actually a game programming degree? Or one that's actually a game art degree? Or what? Can you minor in Japanese at the school where you get your "Game Design" degree? Collect facts, fill out your grid, make your decision.

The problem is, I don't want a Degree In Game Design either, I was mostly curious to finding out why the option exists. Most of the topics I'm interested are considered "Useless" as degrees. Philosophy and English "-_-

Someone mentioned I should probably take classes in Japanese Language and Culture, however, as of recently, I discovered that may not be the best option considering that translators for games are in a whole new department completely and have no real options of becoming a video game designer and possibly no way to benefit the video game industry. Another reason I considered the option is because if going into the video game industry worked out, I could have something to at least fall back on, however, if getting the degree means I don't have a chance to get into the industry in the first place, I'm not too sure I want the degree. I wish to find a degree I'd be interested in, however, my fields of interest are apparently "useless". I suck at making art and I'm not a programmer... Not to mention that getting any experience on where I live during College is very unlikely considering I live in Michigan (The closest major city being Detroit), which is in the worst economic state in America and has no job opportunity in the industry currently, (I, as sad as I am to do so, will have to leave the state and my family behind to find a job) let alone any job opportunities in the car industry or any other type of job available for that matter.

Currently, I'm continuing my education until I feel I must go.

>I wish to find a degree I'd be interested in, however, my fields of interest are apparently "useless".

Look, it's becoming tiresome telling you anything, because you keep coming up with arguments against everything anybody says. It doesn't matter how "useful" your interests are. If your passion is for digging up dinosaur bones, study that. If it's pottery, study that. Neither of those courses of study is necessarily going to prove "useful" in any foreseeable way, but your life will be better.

When you said before that you were interested in Japanese, I thought wow, that's great. I wish I'd learned Japanese better than I have. It would have helped a lot during those times I went to Japan.

Being a game translator/localizer is not the only "useful" application of the Japanese degree in games. It's a shame that that's the only application of it that anybody mentioned in this thread, or that you came away with from this thread. The problem is that you're trying to make a decision based on haphazard input from random strangers, rather than going about it in an organized scientific way.

Make a list of your options (what degrees you could pursue). Then come up with pros and cons of each option. This matter of "uselessness" is just one pro or con, and it has to be weighed against all the others while you make your decision grid.

Final parting thought.
If after you do the decision grid, your decision grid rejects the course of study outlined in my article 3 in favor of a game design degree, then take the game design degree.

As I stated before in my introduction, I suffer from Asperger's syndrome which is why I'm a bit of a hassle to deal with XD Anyhow, I do love Japanese Culture and Language, but I don't wish to become a translator is what I'm saying. Also, the random strangers I talked to were from this site, a few stating it was a useless degree and wouldn't help me get into the industry. *Sigh* Anyhow, the only pro I can think of for Japanese Language and Culture is that I'll mostly likely have a job opportunity for sure, the con? It might not benefit me well when attempting to work in a game industry "-_-

The Japanese culture degree might not benefit you (or it might, it really depends on the studio you apply to and what they're looking for at the time). But certainly it will not hurt you.

As I told you before in the IRC channel, the hiring process for a game designer tends to value formalized education specific to the domain ("game design") much less than art or programming positions, which generally assume you will have an art or CS/math degree.

So figure out what you want to study, and study that. There are very few choices that will actively harm your ability to get a job as a game designer.