<p>Title says it all.</p>
<p>BA or BS for CompSci?</p>
<p>I'm not that great at math, I wanna be a game DESIGNER not programmer, which means level design, story design, etc, not the nitty-gritty programming. Would BA be a good match?</p>
<p>A BA would be enough, yes, while you would need a BS to do the actual programming.</p>
<p>This is my opinion, but I don’t know how employers think.</p>
<p>I would think a B.S. would look better than a B.A. since it takes more work and brain power to get the degree. I look at jobs on dice.com and most of them require a BS while it’s hard to find jobs on there where they explicitly say BA. You can still probably be a designer with a BS, and it might even look better.</p>
<p>But if you know you absolutely can’t get a BS because of the workload, then a BA in Computer Science would be just fine.</p>
<p>You do not need a technical degree at all if you want to help write the story…</p>
<p>@entropy2009
True but do video game companies hire people who JUST write stories without technical knowledge?</p>
<p>Moritsuna, if you are not proficient in math and you do not want to do programming, but you do want to be a game designer, then maybe you don’t want a degree in CS. I suggest you focus all of your efforts on learning game and level design, something you don’t need an ounce of programming or math to do. Design your own levels and mods for existing games, lots of level designers get hired for their amateur work. You already have the tools you need if you have a gaming-quality PC and an internet connection.</p>
<p>Actual level design is more akin to CAD/CAM, so maybe some courses in 3D modelling and animation are in order.</p>
<p>It really depends on what kind of job security you want. A programmer who is a whiz at 3D graphics must study a certain amount of math. In fact, the math involved can get pretty advanced. To say nothing of software engineering skills and project development skills. An ordinary programmer, who doesn’t really do 3D graphics themselves but uses pre-existing 3D engines and so forth, needs less training and less math, but is also easier for an employer to replace. So does programming sound like what you want to do? If not, skip the CompSci.</p>
<p>I strongly suggest you to go gamasutra or something or if possible talk to some actual game designers WHO ARE DOING WHAT YOU WANT TO DO (i.e. not the sound programmers or the artists) and ask them about the necessary background. More than anything, the ability to demonstrate that you can actually design games and levels of professional quality speak louder than a degree.</p>
<p>I think the area you would want to major is something in visual arts, where you would get to use software like photoshop, 3-D studio max, usanimation, and etc.</p>
<p>Oh you don’t necessarily need a CS degree to get into the gaming industry. I’ve talked to a few recruiters from gaming companies and many them had degrees in mathematics. Also I’ve had a few math professors that used to work in the gaming industry as well.</p>
<p>You don’t design until you’re an executive IMO. So it really does not matter. Go with the one easier for you.</p>