Game Design, SCAD or Ringling or something else?

College Majors Visual Arts and Film Majors
1

<p>I need your help! I've been going through different colleges and I've narrowed it down to these two (of course I still accept suggestions of other colleges as well) and I'd like to get YOUR opinions about these schools. If you had to choose one of them (or some other school), which one would it be and why?</p>

<p>I'm wanting to get a Bachelor's degree in Game Design for now, and then continue to learn modelling, rigging, etc. as no school actually offers BS degree in Game Art alone. I'm not really interested in animation so we can leave that out... (I know both school's animation program is top-notch).</p>

<p>I'm international so of course the possibility of getting a scholarship/financial aid counts too when choosing between schools (my financial situation isn't the best as I need to pay the schools fully myself). Unfortunately I can't go and visit these schools myself, which makes me feel a bit uncomfortable (not knowing if I'll actually like the school), so therefore I'm really needing your help.</p>

<p>High School wise my GPA was around 3.0 (I know, that won't bring me a scholarship).</p>

<p>Thank you in advance!</p>

<p>PS. I also checked SMU Guildhall, but I think it's even more expensive than SCAD or Ringling? Correct me if I'm wrong.</p>

2

<p>I'll repost my thoughts on SCAD here, even though I don't know anything about their game design program:</p>

<hr>

<p>My two cents on SCAD:</p>

<p>I'm a high school senior and this summer I attended the SCAD Rising Star Program. I spent five weeks there, lived in a dorm, and took 2 full foundation classes. I too thought SCAD looked absolutely amazing based on their own advertising, but then I started hearing bad things on here and other places about the crime, corruption, etc. By the time I arrived in Savannah in June I was very nervous and did not know what to expect.</p>

<p>HOWEVER, my five weeks in Savannah this summer were the best five weeks in my life. The whole experience was way beyond my expectations.</p>

<p>The facilities were very impressive, from the library to the student center and the classrooms. My only complaint here is that a lot of the SCAD buildings were not within easy walking distance, but the college operates lots of free shuttles. I stayed in Turner House, the newest dorm, and found it roomy enough with 3 people in a room. The food at Cafe Scad was very good, in my opinion. Some people complained but it was way better than the food at my high school.</p>

<p>I was also impressed with my classes. Both classes required a lot of work, and almost every day I spent between 4 and 8 hours on homework. I quickly discovered that I didn't mind working by butt off while under a deadline if the work is art (unlike math ). The professors were AMAZING, the most impressive part of the college for me. I'm sure I got lucky with the two classes I took, some of the other students were somewhat less impressed with their teachers. Both of my profs had long international backgrounds in art and were very knowledgeable, friendly, and talented.</p>

<p>I absolutely LOVED the city itself as well. Coming from a very small rural midwestern town, life in a city even as big as savannah was unbelievably exciting. The city is absolutely beautiful, I loved walking through the parks and down on River street. There seemed like so much to do and so many shops and places to explore. As for crime, there are definitely some shady areas fairly close to the dorm, but you can easily avoid them all together. I felt completely safe walking in the historic district by myself in the day, and also with a group of people at night. No incidents of mugging or anything like that happened to any of our group during the 5 weeks. There are also SCAD security patrols EVERYWHERE, even in areas away from college buildings. There seemed to be more SCAD security than city police, which is reassuring and somewhat frightening at the same time. The weather is hot and muggy but I got used to being sweaty most of the time. And being twenty minutes from the beach is a big plus too.</p>

<p>The icing on the cake for me was the other students. I was scared of not fitting in with 'art school kids' but after five weeks i feel like I made dozens of lifelong friends. We were diverse, from about 25 states and 2 other countries, but (almost) everyone was very normal, talented, friendly, and just awesome. EVERYONE cried on the last day as we said goodbye.</p>

<p>So overall, my short and limited SCAD experience was overwhelmingly positive and although I'm not 100% sure I'll be back next year (RISD still looks tempting) it made me sure that art college is right for me. I only experienced 2 classes and professors and didn't even see large parts of the college while I was there, but I got the impression that SCAD is constantly growing both in size and and in quality. I didn't have any problems dealing with the college during the application process or while I was there.</p>

<p>I would definitely go visit SCAD if it looks interesting to you. It may not be perfect (maybe if I would have gone to RISD's summer program i would have been even more impressed) I'm sure some current students hate it, but it is definitely possible to have an amazing time and get a wonderful art education at SCAD, and I know that myself and about 60 others had the time of our lives this summer and miss it terribly. </p>

<hr>

3

<p>Thank you so much for the reply :) Answers like these really help me in choosing which one would be better for me. Of course it isn't 100% sure that I will even get in, but it's good to know students opinions about the schools I'm considering. Thank you again! :)</p>

4

<p>Frankly, I think you would be better off attending schools like Ringling or Cal Arts for animation or University of Cincinnati for digital design and then going to Carnegie Mellon Grad school in game design. Yes, they do have a game design program in their school of design; however, it is graduate only.</p>

5

<p>I am a student at SCAD-Atlanta (there's more than 1 campus) and have friends studying Game Development. The program is really good, of course you have to take maybe an intro to animation course or related courses for the program, but it makes students more well rounded. The third floor is where they have all the sequential art, animation, interactive game design and related majors and it's great because students have access to not only great technological resources (macs and pcs, wacoms, digital programs, etc.) but the whole school is kind of situated where all students from all the majors can mingle and learn from each other. I think getting financial aid or some type of scholarship shouldn't be a problem if you have a 3.0, that's very good, in fact. You should really look into SCAD again and SCAD-Atlanta specifically.</p>

6

<p>I'll have to think about the animation programs even though they don't interest me as much as game development BUT I've always wanted to learn modeling, rigging, etc. well so... Why not I guess :) Have to look into them.</p>

<p>And pearljamgrl I was actually thinking about taking the program in Atlanta over Savannah. Just always been a city person :P</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

7

<p>My son , Sheamus, is a freshman at SCAD. We researched this thing to death. We visited Ringling and there is one misconceptiom that you should disregard. People will tell you that it is in a bad neighborhood. That is not true. There are some sleazy motels in direct proximaty to the campus but if you drive around you will realize that the overall neighborhood is okay. One thing we learned when we visited the campus was that the students complained that they didn't get enough computer time. That wouldn't happen at SCAD. My son loves SCAD but there is no question that you will have a better chance of getting a job with a degree from Ringling. Good Luck!</p>

8

<p>///My son loves SCAD but there is no question that you will have a better chance of getting a job with a degree from Ringling.///</p>

<p>Not true at all. The school from which you graduate is largely irrelevant. The first thing any art director wants to see is your portfolio. It will make or break you.</p>

9

<p>My son is going to attend Shawnee State University in Portsmouth Ohio and major in Digital Simulation and Video Game design. The university also has a 'sister' degree in Game Art through the fine arts department. It's relatively inexpensive, but one of the few colleges that seems to have an actual video game degree.</p>

10

<p>I just realized that you can get an undergraduate degree in game design from Rochester Institute of Technology.</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
My son is going to attend Shawnee State University in Portsmouth Ohio and major in Digital Simulation and Video Game design. The university also has a 'sister' degree in Game Art through the fine arts department. It's relatively inexpensive, but one of the few colleges that seems to have an actual video game degree.

[/quote]
Huh, really? I live in southern Ohio just 45 minutes from there and I had no idea.</p>

12

<p>I'm a high school senior right now, and i have been accepted to SCAD and am still pending on Ringling. I am SOO interested in getting into Game Design. I feel like the rep of these schools is so high that i mean, its a win/win situation.</p>

<p>i mean.. it beats going to an art institute, i bet.</p>

<p>:P</p>

13

<p>//I'm a high school senior right now, and i have been accepted to SCAD and am still pending on Ringling. I am SOO interested in getting into Game Design. I feel like the rep of these schools is so high that i mean, its a win/win situation//</p>

<p>Best of luck to you, but a school's reputation means only that it offers significant opportunities to students. Be sure to take advantage of them and apply yourself to your studies diligently.</p>

14

<p>It seems you are into the technical side, modeling and rigging. Be sure to find a program with balance on art/technical. Just remember a good game has both. I went to a school that had more of the technical side, but luckily early on I knew this and worked on my own artistic side. Most of our graduates have "robot" mundane technical jobs. On the other hand, I also have friends that went to Cal Arts (Disney school of animation) and focused too much on the traditional art side and can't get jobs.</p>

15

<p>Check out DePaul CDM, very strong program in Game Design, Digital Cinema, Comp. Sci and more. We went to the presentation and were very impressed.</p>

16

<p>First I’d like to say ART CENTER, ENTERTAINMENT DESIGN. It is a 3 year intense program at a world renown school that has major connections with the entertainment world. They learn to do concept art for gaming, film, animation, etc. </p>

<p>If you don’t want to go there though I think Ringling is the better choice out of the 2. Even if you do get SCAD scholarship they tend to have tight like restrictions and requirements and if you break even one your scholarship goes away. The school I heard is great but the location isn’t that awesome. Do you really want to spend 4 years in Savannah Georgia or in beachy Sarasota Florida? Also Ringling is known as one of the best for computer animation which is something you will probably have to do for gaming.</p>

17

<p>///Frankly, I think you would be better off attending schools like Ringling or Cal Arts for animation or University of Cincinnati for digital design and then going to Carnegie Mellon Grad school in game design. Yes, they do have a game design program in their school of design; however, it is graduate only.///</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The OP expressed an interest in game design, not animation specifically nor “digital design.”</p></li>
<li><p>The OP is seeking an undergraduate degree.</p></li>
</ol>

18

<p>Ok…the best way to determine what school to attend:</p>

<p>What companies do you want to work for?—numero uno
Who do they hire?-----numero duo
How much can you afford?</p>

<p>Ringling is known to have exceptionally skilled students, with content driven work. They were always SCAD’s competition. Both Schools offer exceptional training. SCAD has state of the art hardware and 24 hr access with exceptional faculty.</p>

<p>However, I know personally, Many many students who get hired by the ‘big guns’ on a consistant basis, from SCAD. One quarter, there were 30 students working for one of the big name companies—I won’t mention who, as it’s private information.
So that should say something about SCAD’s credibility. </p>

<p>The schools that have students hired the most are:</p>

<p>SCAD
Ringling
Cal Arts
Gnomon—although not a degree granting program</p>

<p>Location is important…companies prefer you to be in their area when you apply. So you must be prepared to move to the area the jobs are located in to apply, for best consideration.</p>

<p>Hope this helps
Good luck</p>

19

<p>rainingagain notes,//Frankly, I think you would be better off attending schools like Ringling or Cal Arts for animation or University of Cincinnati for digital design and then going to Carnegie Mellon Grad school in game design. Yes, they do have a game design program in their school of design; however, it is graduate only.///</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The OP expressed an interest in game design, not animation specifically nor “digital design.”</p></li>
<li><p>The OP is seeking an undergraduate degree.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Reponse; Yes, the OP is looking for an UNDERGRADUATE degree in game design,which CMU doesn’t have. I don’t see what is wrong with developing an animation and special effects background and then going into game design in grad school.So what’s the point that you are making?</p>

20

<p>/// Reponse; Yes, the OP is looking for an UNDERGRADUATE degree in game design,which CMU doesn’t have. I don’t see what is wrong with developing an animation and special effects background and then going into game design in grad school.So what’s the point that you are making? ///</p>

<p>My points are:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>The OP was looking for advice on an undergraduate program.</p></li>
<li><p>The OP specifically stated that he/she is not interested in animation. Nor did Digital Design have anything to do with his interests.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>And…</p>

<ol>
<li>Game design is a lot more than just animation. Animation is, in fact, a very small part of putting a game together. Often the animation is very simplistic and doesn’t require a four-year degree. Nor is a four-year degree in special effects required. You might educate yourself by reviewing SCAD’s game design course list:</li>
</ol>

<p>[SCAD</a> > Programs > Interactive Design and Game Development > Courses](<a href=“http://scad.edu/interactive-design-and-game-development/courses.cfm#programButtons]SCAD”>http://scad.edu/interactive-design-and-game-development/courses.cfm#programButtons)</p>

<ol>
<li>As another poster stated, SCAD had 30 students working for one of the “big companies”. Apparently the undergraduate program is sufficient. It gratifies me to know that my work defending SCAD against unscrupulous and uneducated accusations is done.</li>
</ol>