Good Level Design Schools?

[Pat Howard]

Hello everyone,

I've been doing some college research lately. Sadly my family/friends/high school counselors don't know as much about the video game industry as they do the more traditional fields. I'm sure I could just ship myself off to any old school with a standard game design program but I'm very focused on level design and I'd love to find a program that would allow me to specialize and do a lot more of it.

I'll keep my questions general for now, here are just a few:

Professional level designers and current students, would you care to share which college you ended up choosing? A few words describing your experience there would be really, really helpful.

How much level design did you actually do? (It seems like a lot of game design programs are heavily programming based.)

What was your major? (I've seen a lot of different ways you can go with this.)

I'm also interested in hearing how many of you didn't go to college. What kind of experience did you have in your CV before you started applying for jobs?

Any feedback would be GREATLY appreciated . Thanks,
-pat

[Kaz]

The Guildhall at SMU supposedly has an extremely high placement rating, and has people like Aardappel (made cube and sauerbraten and hangs out in the q1 community), as well as some other member of Q3W from a long time ago, I forget his name, though (and this may not even be the case any longer).

[obsidian]

Q3W member QPsiren is a Professor at Guildhall. I think Paul Jaquays (formerly with id Software) is still there too having been one of the founders of the program.

There aren't many schools that have a good program specializing in game design, most are very rudimentary generalization classes which will not land you a job. They are popping up in pretty much every college here and I have the feeling that they exists as a cash cow from any students that think, "ooo... video games... cool!". Good programs like Guildhall are a very small minority.

Since there is a lack of good programs (and game companies know this) it's often times much better to get some kind of specialist degree or certificate in something like programming or 3D modeling, etc. Then work on your game developer portfolio on the side.

Repost lol:
viewtopic.php?t=36778

[fKd]

can the whole work in the community making maps on a regular bases still lead to work or has the industry gone very much pro degree/education vs skill in said tool sets?

[Hipshot]

I say stay away from learning game design and level design on a college level. Better to get something you can work with AFTER you worked with level design if that's something you aim for... if so, try to get a job based on your own work - even if that might be hard these days.

[obsidian]

Split this topic to here:
viewtopic.php?t=42518

And quoting the relevant portions of the reply:

Thanks for the quick responses!

I used to see a lot of Guild Hall ads on various game-related websites but never looked into it until I randomly saw in Scythe's profile that he is a student there. I've been to their site a number of times and it looks like a pretty cool school, though I was turned off by the distance from home (NY) and the fact that they've only graduated a couple hundred students. Still looking into this one.

You guys have definitely solidified my views on all these cookie-cutter tech school game design degrees (obsidian, that animation is the best thing ever - he got an A!!!). I always had this antipathy towards them instinctively thinking it would be high school all over again, but of course you can't really be sure until you've spoken to people who have actually been through the programs.

[scythe]

Hello everyone,

I've been doing some college research lately. Sadly my family/friends/high school counselors don't know as much about the video game industry as they do the more traditional fields. I'm sure I could just ship myself off to any old school with a standard game design program but I'm very focused on level design and I'd love to find a program that would allow me to specialize and do a lot more of it.

I'll keep my questions general for now, here are just a few:

Professional level designers and current students, would you care to share which college you ended up choosing? A few words describing your experience there would be really, really helpful.

How much level design did you actually do? (It seems like a lot of game design programs are heavily programming based.)

What was your major? (I've seen a lot of different ways you can go with this.)

I'm also interested in hearing how many of you didn't go to college. What kind of experience did you have in your CV before you started applying for jobs?

Any feedback would be GREATLY appreciated . Thanks,
-pat

Typed a reply before I realized the thread had been split.

I can't say "go to a game school" but I can say it worked for me. If nothing else it gives you the time, tools, and exposure to the sort of environment you'd be working in, so you can decide if it's right for you.

I graduated from the Guildhall in 2005. QPsiren is no longer a professor there (he's a producer at id now). Paul Jaquays was an adviser, might still be, but he was never a professor. He's at CCP in Atlanta now though, so I doubt he's involved closely anymore.

Guildhall was one of the best experienced of my life though, I made some really good friends, and learned a lot. It's *really* tough though, and very expensive.

We did a bit of art and programming, but the Guildhall is one of the few with a dedicated Level Design program. You *mostly* do level design.

I'm sure you could still get in with a solid portfolio and no dedicated schooling, but as modding becomes more and more difficult, I think gaming degrees will become more a common requirement.

[heysparky]

Former Ensemble Studios and iD designer, Sandy Petersen is at the Guild Hall. Not sure what handle he goes by these days. He's a hoot - an entomologist, board and video game designer and an engaging speaker.

A notable graduate of the Guild Hall is Drew Murray, who is now a lead designer at Insomniac. He was a lawyer before he went into game development, so an all around smart cookie.