A Week In Comments

Kotaku rallied behind Fahey for making a difficult but honest assessment of his life and his problems and how he overcame them. Was it all just because he’s “one of our own,” and we’re totally unwilling to cut this guy any slack just because he has a high-paid and glamorous job?

I agree that many times, the story of “gaming addiction” is blown out of proportion by the media. But this guy is saying that he had depression and used games as an outlet, not that WoW came into his house and turned him into a troll. He is not vilifying the gaming industry or community. We should treat him with the same respect. Go ahead and piss all over Kotick and Jack Thompson, they’re asking for it. But acting like this, you only contribute to the same image that you’re protesting Pitcock for supposedly making—gamers as a bunch of whiny shut-ins taking petty potshots at jocks.

I went through a game design course and like any school, what you learn and are able to put into practicum is half dependent on what they teach, half dependent on the student.

My advice (for what it’s worth) to any potential student of one of these is figure out what you want to “DO” in the industry first. For lots of students they have no clue how the industry works before they enroll, and unfortunately don’t get the most out of their school. Take as long as it takes to learn about the industry before hand and all the roles within it (Level designer, Programmer, 3D Modeller, Audio designer, Mission designer, Mechanics designer, etc, etc, etc).

Lots of schools try and teach you a mishmash of everything, which has its value but is ultimately a waste of your time. Most students end up being a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none. The way you get a job is with a hard-skill. And yes -design- is a hard-skill. So while learning about photoshop, aftereffects, protools, maya, 3dsmax, etc helps diversify you, the bottom line is how well you show off a single hard-skill.

So if you do your research and you decide you want to be a Level designer, make sure your potential school provides the necessary opportunities to hone it (3ds max classes, level design theory, 2+ portfolio pieces, final project where you have the opportunity to make a level) and showcase it. For the hard-skill of Design (Analog Theory Classes, Analog Design Project, Design Documents Class, Microsoft Excel, Final project to implement your design). Bottom line, pick the school that best suits your trade.

On the topic of showcasing your skill, it’s always an added benefit if your potential school has deep ties with the industry (teachers actually work in industry) and it treats its alumni well. In the end, having a solid network is a great way to get in. If you show your teachers you are a good worker than it only makes sense that they might recommend you. Some schools also take the extra effort to show your work to industry professionals, which can also help.

If your school provides the necessary opportunities then it’s up to you to approach your classes with focus, hardwork, and determination.

And leave your ego at the door.

YMMV 🙂 Reply