Get a game art and design degree?

[DestroyMassMedia]

Hi, I'm a beginner level c++ programmer currently going to a community college. I found that the Art Institute of California - Los Angeles has a game and art design program:
http://www.aila.artinstitutes.edu/progr ... ay=program

Would it be better to get a degree in computer science from a traditional four year college, or get the game art & design degree from the institute?

Thanks for your input.

[Das Bruce]

Get a real degree like computer science, that way you can get a job in more industries.

[smoth]

sure, your tech degree is just as good as a four year degree.... what HUBRIS!

Ok, mate... think about it like this... in a 2-3 year tech degree you will learn a few years worth of very specialized knowledge. With a real degree you will have a more rounded education. Do not take the short route if you want a future. That peice of paper means something.

[AF]

mwha, I've got computer games tech and software development conditional offers from liverpool johnmoores, aswell as conditional offers from liverpool University on AI, Meng Computer science, computer engineering, and another 2 I cant remember off the top of my head

[Tim Blokdijk]

Or just drop out of school and start hacking the Spring code! :idea:

Hard choice..

[SinbadEV]

Personally, having dropped out of Computer Science because it was too boreing would recomend the following.

Finish what you've started, you will know enough to make a video game with the degree you get from a game design degree, but it's going to be "Harry Potter" and "Spongebob" games for the PS2 and GameCube... if you want to make the next "Unreal Tournament Engine" then take a CS degree and poke around with game coding on your own time... the one thing you'll get from a gaming school will be the artistic side of level design and such, so if you are rich and enjoy school, you might want to concider both... when I was looking into "Full Sail" they said they would allow my CS credits towards their degree, so you might be able to just do 3 additional semesters of just game/art/level design for that second diploma...

[DestroyMassMedia]

Thanks for replying. SinbadEV is right, computer science is boring but, TA Spring is written entirely in c++ so... do both seems like a good idea, except I'm poor. I'd love to create a game engine if I also get to design levels and characters. I want to do everything in a game.

[SinbadEV]

Just a hint, you might not be quite so poor after working a couple years at a job in the CS field you probably won't be very poor anymore and you might be able to go back to school at that point.

[hrmph]

Just a hint, you might not be quite so poor after working a couple years at a job in the CS field you probably won't be very poor anymore and you might be able to go back to school at that point.

This is a great point. The good thing about technical schools is that (atleast in my area) big companies hire people right after graduation. They even put in requests for X number of employees every semester. If you goto a tech school after 2/3 years you can have a decent job. And you can take more classes while you are earning a decent income.

[SwiftSpear]

Art institute degrees are pretty useless in the real world. It's the kind of thing you might be lucky to find employment with once you're finished your degree. However, if you get a CS degree then you will almost definately have employment when you're done, and then be able to afford to do the art institute stuff as well 2 years down the line.

Game design companies get to pick and choose through thier artists, but a guy with a CS background who can do good art is worth his weight in gold to them because he understands more then just the models and how they work.