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I do agree that the gaming schools are mostly scams, but we're also simultaneously witnessing a shift in purpose and incentives to enter the field. Hobby game
by chipsy 14y ago
I do agree that the gaming schools are mostly scams, but we're also simultaneously witnessing a shift in purpose and incentives to enter the field.
Hobby game dev is a Real Thing now and can be picked up by people without coding skills(via tools like Twine or Game Maker). Those tools are only going to get better, and the market for readymade assets is only going to grow. The cost of video game creation is likely to go down so sharply in years to come that we won't have anything resembling the industry status quo, which is tainted all over by cost and financing issues that drive all of the things we currently rail against(crunch, risk-aversion, socially detrimental profit-seeking, monocultural demographics).
As well, if we treat "gamification" as a core organizational goal, instead of a consultant's buzzword, then one can imagine a future in which new, forward-thinking organizations will find reasons to keep game designers on staff.
The transition towards low-budget indie efforts is a great immediate improvement. Although most who try won't be able to afford to do it full-time for very long, in that case crunch is self-enforced. We'll have a lot of passionate moonlighters instead of angry worker drones.
- AJ007 14y agoI am going to guess the unnamed gaming school here is Full Sail. Based on how much money they spend on online advertising they must be making a lot of money. The sad fact is that a lot of higher education is a scam right now at the price charged. The NYTimes would suggest if your high schooler is considering becoming a lawyer it may be just as bad http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/opinion/sunday/an-existential-crisis-for-law-schools.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/opinion/sunday/an-existent... This discussion shouldn't be limited to just video game "schools", it has a broad application to any high school student considering what the hell they want to do. I think we a doing a disservice for not pointing this out, because (gasp) your child, or you, could just as easily end up going pursuing (insert expensive degree that will take most of your 20s to complete) and end up worse than had you gotten a mediocre 2 year video game degree. My suggestion: spend as little as possible so you are able to make choices when you change your mind. (I went to school free and still dropped out.)