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Geek Culture / DevRy degree in Game & Simulation Programming

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peorge
16
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Joined: 29th Mar 2008
Location: Brockport New York
Posted: 18th Apr 2008 05:46
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does anyone know if DevRy degree in Game & Simulation Programming is worth the time? i have my Navy GI bill to pay the tuition and am 41 year old guy who loves 3d design and games. i have a great career working as a signalman on a class 1 railroad so i am not looking for a career change just want to learn game programming and development. i spent 10 years as an aviation electrician and have a strong math and sci background, will that be helpful? anyone ever been through devry university? positive and negitive opions would help me out alot.

thanks, peorge
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monotonic
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Location: Nottinghamshire, England
Posted: 18th Apr 2008 14:39
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I live in the UK but, we have something similar called Open Uni'. Now, in my opinion any degree is worth it 100%. Plus, if you are doing this to pursue personal interests then you can't go wrong.

'We all have something to bring to this discussion but, I think the thing you should bring from now on is silence!' - A J Rimmer
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Osiris
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Location: Robbinsdale, MN
Posted: 18th Apr 2008 22:07
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Well you might even get a pay raise or something if you do get your degree. Even if it is just for a hobby haha!

RIP Max-Tuesday, November 2 2007
You will be dearly missed.
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Phaelax
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Location: Metropia
Posted: 19th Apr 2008 01:32
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I'm about to graduate DeVry in two months in CIS (game design didn't exist yet) and I say it's not worth it. They haven't taught what the program says I would ultimately learn, few materials are ever covered in detail and mostly only give introductions to a technology, and in my case I had to take more english classes than science classes......its a degree in computer science! And if you're thinking about online classes they are even worse. Same price, less quality of education, they do little more than give you topics to go study by yourself, which you can do for free with the Internet. (my current humanities class does nothing but link to ad-infested sites for reading material)

I'm all for getting a degree in game design, just not from DeVry, they're not worth the outrageous amount of money they'll take from you.


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Gil Galvanti
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Location: Texas, United States
Posted: 19th Apr 2008 01:39
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I've heard that it's better to get a degree in Computer Science than game specialization courses.


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Jess T
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21
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Location: Over There... Kablam!
Posted: 19th Apr 2008 13:10
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Quote: "I've heard that it's better to get a degree in Computer Science than game specialization courses."


Only if you don't want to specialize - You'll hear that all the time from people who "thought" it would be a good idea to games, but really, they only wanted/needed an IT degree - hence, all the game specific knowledge they learnt is completely useless to them in Application Design / Network Administration, etc.


As for degree's - Mate, if you have a steady career and only want to do this as a hobby, google for 'free ebook programming', and you'll get tonnes more resources than you'll know what to do with. Add 'Beginner' to that to start with, then eventually 'Advanced', and you're set

Personally, at the end of this year, I'll be graduating from Charles Sturt University (Australia) with a BCS(Games Technology) with Honours, and have loved every minute of it. However, that's because I started Uni when I was 17, and am doing this for my career

Nintendo DS & Dominos :: DS Dominos
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peorge
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Location: Brockport New York
Posted: 19th Apr 2008 16:28
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i want to thank all of you for the responces you have taken the time to write. i think i will do a little more research on this idea before jumping in to fast. i would hate to drop 30k, even if its from my GI bill, and come out not much farther ahead than if i just studied on my own. thanks again.

peorge
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peorge
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Posted: 19th Apr 2008 18:22
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devry is over $500 a credit hour and i am sure i can find a cheaper way to get-er-done.


peorge
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SunnyKatt
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Location: USA
Posted: 19th Apr 2008 18:38
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Everything is too expensive nowadays...

ZEKEGAMES FORUMS-GOOGLE "Zekegames"
http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=115938&b=20
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Gil Galvanti
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Location: Texas, United States
Posted: 19th Apr 2008 18:49
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Quote: "Personally, at the end of this year, I'll be graduating from Charles Sturt University (Australia) with a BCS(Games Technology) with Honours, and have loved every minute of it. However, that's because I started Uni when I was 17, and am doing this for my career "

That sounds a lot like what I'm doing (http://www.baylor.edu/ecs/computer_science/index.php?id=43233) starting next year, so hopefully I'll enjoy it as much as you have .


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Jeku
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Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Posted: 19th Apr 2008 22:16
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Put it this way: I've met lots of game designers and producers, and as far as I know NONE of them went to school for a so-called "Game Design degree". Take that however you want.

I work with many programmers and almost all of them graduated from University. I went to a smalltown University that nobody has heard of, but it was still applicable because it's a real University. I know only two programmers out of all of my friends from work and from my last job who went to an art school to get a programming certificate. Very hard to get a good job with it. Maybe things are changing now?

And I've heard nothing but bad things about DeVry.


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bitJericho
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Posted: 20th Apr 2008 02:26
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Quote: "Put it this way: I've met lots of game designers and producers, and as far as I know NONE of them went to school for a so-called "Game Design degree". Take that however you want."


When you're getting to do it for effectively free, how could you pass it up


Hurray for teh logd!
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Jess T
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Posted: 20th Apr 2008 15:39
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Quote: "I've met lots of game designers and producers, and as far as I know NONE of them went to school for a so-called "Game Design degree". Take that however you want."


Fair enough, but the course I have taken was only started 4 (maybe 5) years before I took it up. It's only new in Australia (or at least, was...), and as such, I think I'm better for it. I have a proper degree in Games without anything to do with things like database management (leave that up to the networking and IT team), etc...

Nintendo DS & Dominos :: DS Dominos
http://jt0.org
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Jeku
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Posted: 21st Apr 2008 01:43
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Quote: "I have a proper degree in Games without anything to do with things like database management (leave that up to the networking and IT team), etc..."


But things like database management are still important in the game industry. Databases are used in games too. Lots of the theory learned in regular University is applicable in the games industry. And in the future if you get tired of working on games (because it's a very demanding and stressful sector), you can still use your skills for other programming positions. Can a Games Degree be applied at, say, a bank?


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Osiris
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Location: Robbinsdale, MN
Posted: 21st Apr 2008 03:32
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Quote: "Can a Games Degree be applied at, say, a bank?"


Depends on what the degree actually says haha. I'm going to guess it dosent say games or anything but it's a computer science degree.

RIP Max-Tuesday, November 2 2007
You will be dearly missed.
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Jeku
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Posted: 21st Apr 2008 05:50
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No, it's not a comp sci degree, which is why I'm asking. I'm fairly sure the degree has "game" in it.


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Jess T
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Posted: 21st Apr 2008 06:07 Edited at: 21st Apr 2008 06:43
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I don't see myself wanting out of games in the near or distant future...

As for utilizing other aspects of the degree in games, I know what you mean, and I agree, but in comparison to the IT/BCS degree's available here, ours is much more in depth with the programming, goes into the psychology / physical aspects of 'play' and 'learning', etc. None of which is seen elsewhere in the Uni.

But, this is all besides the point of the thread - the poster has a steady career, and for a hobby, I think getting a degree would be over-kill. Especially when most of the material is available online...

[EDIT]
Actually, my degree will be:
Bachelor of Computer Science (Games Technology) Honours.

So, in other words, it's a Comp Sci degree, but I major in Games (and graduate with Honours).

Nintendo DS & Dominos :: DS Dominos
http://jt0.org
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Phaelax
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Location: Metropia
Posted: 25th Apr 2008 09:31
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Quote: "Can a Games Degree be applied at, say, a bank?"

I work in IT for a national bank, and if you came in to apply and said you majored in game design they'll just stare at you. However, 95% of my department is DeVry graduates so actual knowledge in any field doesn't seem to be too imporant as long as you have a BS.


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Ric
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Posted: 26th Apr 2008 19:37
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If you want to do a degree so that you will have a qualification that will get you a particular job, then write to a few companies who you would like to work for and ask them what qualifications they look for. Don't guess, or go on what a few people on this forum might tell you - research it very carefully.

On the other hand, if it's not the qualification you are after, but the education/skills for your own personal fulfillment, then look into whether you really need a degree course to teach you those things. I personally think there are many subjects which an intelligent person can self learn these days with the help of the internet and books. There are definitely some subjects that can't be done like this - I wouldn't trust a heart surgeon that read how to do it on wikipedia - but making games? Most people in the games industry are probably self taught, as degrees in making games didn't exist before a few years ago.

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