Is Game Development College For You? - My Thoughts After Second Year

[@cesar10193]

This is super motivational for people like me who are looking forward to get into the game industry. huge thanks for this!

[@nicolaspope5599]

Please do an update now that you've completed the school! I'm active duty military getting out relatively soon considering this option, or computer science

[@PierrePutter]

This mans schedule is insane.

[@tiedie]

thanks for watching everyone! feel free to comment any questions you have and i'll try to get back to them when i can. have a great day ^_^

[@thanosunreal5848]

Tiedie what is that game at 6:00 ?

[@hamzariaz4690]

Darham College

[@hamzariaz4690]

Nier: Automata (Game)

[@DumpTruckOfH]

Do you need to be good in graphic designing to be a dev or being good in coding is ok

[@jairerichardson3590]

What college do you go to

[@RolandTechnicalDesigner]

Thank you this was a very awesome, inspirational and educational video!!!!!

[@blacklotus3177]

Your videos are awesome, Very Well explained and you say everything we need to know about it, I Planned on doing Game design but you Showed me what i actually wanted to do, And im grateful for that, I Hope to see alot more videos like these.

[@ludimoru]

Thank you so much for sharing this man. It's really encouraging to hear about the experiences of really passionate people like you. Keep up the great work!

[@calebwolfe4775]

Think u could post a montage of ur portfolio ???

[@tiedie]

search dylan abernethy on artstation for my portfolio :)

[@hamzariaz4690]

www.artstation.com/tiedie

[@tiedie]

dylan abernethy on artstation ;)

[@babastii6188]

Very interesting and inspirational video Bro! And really awesome that you even find some time to make this videos! Good look for the future and keep us up to date :)

[@raywilliamjohnson47]

I’m about to graduate from a traditional business college. It’s kinda the same for a lot of degrees as far as I could learn a lot this online. This sounds way harder. Full respect

[@Fantomyogurt]

Me trying to see if I could get into game dev: oh let’s watch this video! My notes for the two exams I have in the next three days:

[@genjineedheals352]

Can you do a video on how to make a complete game character,the hair,cloth and many other things pls..really like ur video btw😀

[@T-Revvington]

Hey gents, I'm a highschool lad going into a Game Dev Course this September at a local College - Algonquin College in Ottawa to be precise. I've taken a grand interest in the whole field itself but I really like the idea of being a Designer. Being able to make the GDD and supervising/watching over. I'm still however working on my Blender, C# and Unity skills as of right now, and reading tons of Kindle Books on Game Development/Design. I'm going to the Canadian Gaming Expo in June and what-not. I really enjoy 3-D modeling right now, and I'm trying to pick up on the coding aspects more now because chances are if I get good at the stuff I dislike I'll be a bit happier in a worst case scenario. Is there anything I can do to benefit myself for the following 3 years in College (and outside of 'learning' hours)? If being driven and dedicated is what it takes, I'm fully on-board.

[@tiedie]

T - Revvington you seem ahead of most people. It just all depends what you specifically want to accomplish. Focus in on what you want to do for a career and you should get there of the next 3 years

[@T-Revvington]

Thanks for telling me to focus on the main goals instead of spreading it very thin. Helps a bit to not be a Jack of All Trades, I suppose. Side note: For lack of a better phrasing - I fucking love your Artstation, especially the Messy Student Dorm Room (www.artstation.com/artwork/Nm0RD).

[@vegeta9501]

Yo! Im in the same position as you right now as you were a year ago any reccomendations you could give me pls bro? Im not as advanced as you but im decent at blender any advice about the course etc etc

[@T-Revvington]

​@@vegeta9501 As Tiedie said actually - focus on what interests you. Spread your wings, fan all interests and then shrink your scope onto what you want to do. I figured I'm better on the art side instead of programming - and I still am, so I'm focusing on the design/art side of things. But do not completely stop doing the other things. TRY to touch it every so often. At the LEAST - once a month. Preferably touch your most hated parts of game dev at least once a week - even for mere minutes to recollect your memories and thoughts about what you've learned. If you're leaning into design/art and doing UE4, use blueprints for prototyping - NOT foundations for your game. You will regret making it all BP's for the sole reason of some things might be defaulted to another value and ech, it won't end well. My miserable experience: I absolutely fell face first in programming but had help from my friends and classmates (it wasn't actually that bad, but by far my worst part), but our second year networking project was smooth sailing as I took the art lead, game lead and project manager position. Making GDD's and explaining your vision matters to your group members. As of now, I'm learning Blender from the ground up again due to 2.8's UI overhaul and my classes only teaching 3DS Max. I wish to focus on sculpting and character/monster creation, alongside my designer role and leader roles. As for the Game Dev course itself, it will be at it's hardest halfway through. The beginning and middle are tough, but the middle is the toughest. This is because learning the basics and fundamentals matter a lot, but if you fuck up, it won't screw you over in the beginning. If you failed to perfect what you learned first year, it won't help you when it comes to building on your programming foundations in the second year, when you may get into networking, spawning, AI and more. Year three is seemingly the easiest according to those directly ahead of me, but don't underestimate it. It's not a matter of "if I make it there I'm good!", it's a matter of "If I make it there, I need to be good". This is when it all matters the most, as your group members will rely on you and they are your connections to the industry. Drop me a PM or reply here if you need more info, especially if it's about the Algonquin Game Dev course.

[@guichabanaano27]

I have thought about game designing and modelling as a future career for a year now. I only have two years of school left and after that I'd have to start looking up some of that higher education in universities and start planning myself a career. I'm kinda lost and don't know do I want to do something that interests me, or something that just pays well in the future and as a career. There also isn't any support from my parents since they want me to have a more traditional career like a lawyer or a doctor. I guess I'm asking if its worth it to do something you want even if the career is really competitive when it comes to jobs?

[@tiedie]

if your still in highschool work on this stuff now. work realllly hard on it and see where your quality is at by the end of highschool. if it looks promising keep it up afterwards. you could always work at a stable job and do this on the side. eventually yout quality will get to a point where its good enough for a job. u dont need education to get a job doing art

[@steve00alt70]

you can always do modeling as a hobby side project in the mean time. Its not like you have to give up on it entirely. Iv switched from animation to visual effects and cgi but im doing animation still. A degree isnt entirely useful for art as most people look for experience more than anything.

[@johnyribber9197]

What should i focus on ?

[@devioustea]

Would you go to college for indie games? I want to be indie and make my own games and what not, I dont really want to join a company.

[@RexArtTv]

Idk who to talk to, but last past 4 months at my first year of game design uni I've been not enjoying as much. I mean its a great uni and great teachers from the game industry but I find it hard to feel happy when doing projects on my own and in groups. I felt like doing my own stuff at home improving my skills that way. Everything they show I can do at home, I find it slow and demotivated to go to my classes. That's when today I wasn't sure if I should drop out completely, if I did I wouldn't be sure of what to next.

[@InSTaDev]

this is so helpful!! when is the 3rd year video coming out?

[@tiedie]

thank you! I recorded it awhile ago but never posted it. I didnt think it got my thoughts across properly. If this is something you think would be really helpful I could sometime soon put aside some time and really think about it. Its a tough topic, but id be happy to share my thoughts before the years over

[@InSTaDev]

​@@tiedie Please do! I dont really care how the video is structured, I just want to hear your opinion and how you feel. You are a hardworking person that cares about your future :D

[@TheUberIdiot]

Tiedie I was also looking for it, these videos are incredibly helpful and I would love to hear your thoughts now that you finished your 3rd year

[@josephcentofanti1182]

agreed! please post it if you have time and it's still of interest to you!

[@steve00alt70]

where have you been Tiedie!?

[@shuhaoshang]

Man, you sound like a GOD...

[@tsgpk9184]

I want to go to college for game development. Im not great with computers, but i think i can make great ideas for games

[@bridgetnichols4255]

Hello, I’m only 13 years old but I have a huge passion for game development and have already taught myself so much about it to the point where I’m almost done making my first serious project that I’m going to be releasing soon. I probably don’t need to be worrying about this too much as I’m not even in high school yet, but would you say that it’d be possible for me to do cross country and get an education in game development in college at the same time. Game development and running are my two biggest passions in life, and I’d really like to pursue them both in college, but I’m afraid I might have to choose one over the other. Any insight you might have relating to this?

[@NeelKheni]

What is name of college and which degree are you doing ?

[@brokenz4420]

Is game design itself not a degree?

[@magnuscritikaleak5045]

@@brokenz4420 Games Programming and Games design are separate degrees for common sense but for some odd reason the accredited logic is: Games Design is Games Programming degree.

[@queenthoria7483]

Oh gosh I had forgotten about the strike. It was so terrible and stressful :/

[@CathleenBowne]

What college did you go to? My son is looking for a 4 yr university and already has an associate's in simulation and game design. Open to colleges in US and canada

[@camilleburner5819]

Can you suggest some KZbin videos for a what game coding college is like and does it help to get a job?

[@dhruvdeshpande7141]

This video is just amazing, the way you explain things is really good and thorough!! I myself have been applying to Canada (I'm from India) for game art courses, can I know which college did you go to and which program did you do there? Thank you in advance this will help me a lot :)

[@evolul8389]

What is the college name?

[@JaimieX]

How much pre-knowledge did you have before starting the first year?

[@SliceTN]

tiedie i need help i wanna learn maya but all 3d model youtube videos is blender

[@wedwed6429]

Hello from 2021, in my country the tuition fees is roughly around 30 dollars each year in college and there is only one college who teach Game Development, i really love the field, i do a lot of art and i love programming and in terms of passion i can say that i passed the last 5 years of my life learning unity and C# just by watching KZbin videos about it because i didn't have a laptop nor a proper phone, i still have one chance to attend that college but there is no jobs in that field in my country, i want to pass my life doing the things that i love and loving the things that i do but i am still hesitant about it, do you have any advise about that please ?

[@hamzariaz4690]

hey Tiede.. i was thinking the same im also interested in art side of the game development like modelling , texturing , rigging stuff like these .... one can go to school for learning modeling , rigging and texturing only (the departments of game development in which he is interested in and leaving the stuff which he doesn't like ) do u recommend going to a school for only learning the stuff you really like ? or learning all the aspects of game development is more helpful ? thanks cheers :)

[@tiedie]

if you can focus in on something that may be better since the industry likes that kind of stuff. That being said knowing a variety topics has helped me out in quite a few situations

[@tannedbatman5597]

Kinda off topic for this video but what's the benefit to baking in xnormal or designer why not just do it in substance painter. Why do people use multiple.

[@philipp5548]

If I want to do game development, also with most of it being art what college should I go to?

[@kookiemonster9709]

Are there any channels, videos, websites ect u would recommend

[@kumargaurav2207]

Please reply, i know its after 2 yrs but do you thing VFS game design is worth it or i should go self taught, but then it will not be possible to get hired in canada being from India?

[@LadyGrace2]

Mentioning going to school. I would want to do it for the school setting which means you are in an environment to learn and complete things. Myself i have withdrawn from 2 courses because of health problems and course related content they had was not very good. Self learning is hard without that setting. Do you think it is worth trying the online CG courses to get the basics down properly? i am talking about CGsociety and similar 10 week courses.

[@tiedie]

LadyGrace2 I can't speak on the topic too much, but I've heard a lot of good things about those courses. I think the best way to see if they are good or not is to view the students work who have completed it

[@LadyGrace2]

Cheers for the fast reply :). I have talked to the tutors in some of the webinars they do and seems to be at least 100% better then the courses i have done as they do teach the fundamentals. And help out with people who have learning problems. It is just the money side that is the catch lol. Being given a goal too would help around 3D since motivation is hard to get to complete anything.

[@RolandTechnicalDesigner]

LadyGrace2 Yea motivation is an ass, been learning ue4 and blender for 3 years in spare time but only do it for a week once every 1 or 2 months. This is why I decided to go to university but an online course would probably do too.

[@SparrowValentine]

Do you go to either Seneca, Sault, Algonquin, Ontario, Toronto, or Niagara???

[@Stephon_Junior]

What college do u go too

[@thekid7831]

So like can I go to normal college then video game college?

[@devioustea]

I tried. Normal college you gotta deal with a bunch of classes that have nothing to do with video games. I'm just an indie dev working on time off at work.

[@gabisir]

I am about to start gamedev school in September and your videos makes me even more exited and motivated to start but I would like to ask how do you make your homework and personal projects do you have a desktop or a laptop and of what kind ? ,I’m asking as I’m still looking for the right workstation for me. Great video and I will be looking forward for next year video

[@tiedie]

custom desktop. if your doing similar work to me do not get a laptop, it wont run anything you need

[@gabisir]

Tiedie thanks for the quick reply, i have never done 3d modeling but i want to get started, i mostly do illustration and i don't have a computer sadly i can't do with a desktop as I'm moving a country for university. I was looking for something for just the beginning to get started with university

[@femz4952]

Hey man i could really use a reply, what do you recommend for laptop specs for game design/development and computer science. Is i7 8750h 16gb of ram and a 1050ti acceptable. Is an i7 8550u with mx150 and 16 gb of ram too low? Help me out, thanks!

[@tiedie]

hey Joey, so if your doing serious 3D modeling and art a desktop is 100% needed. What you have there is good and could get you a decent way through things, but you'll hit a wall once you go to zbrush and high poly modeling. for coding and what not its fine though

[@femz4952]

Tiedie I’m planning on getting both. Just need one to take to class. I have also seen that people are saying you need a Mac or something can run linux.

[@guymen8]

This is inspiring! What school do you go to?

[@tiedie]

thanks! and the school doesnt matter, in fact id never indorse them

[@rRT_1]

did you have high grades/gpa in grade 12 ?

[@tiedie]

82 average i think?

[@rRT_1]

Tiedie enough to get in computer science in general?

[@ishans7250]

Can I do ms game design and development after be in cs in india

[@addisonagamer1867]

I know this comment is 2 years later, but as a younger teen, should I go to school for game development, or should I start own my own?

[@tiedie]

10000% start on your own. If you want more details as to why, I made a podcast and go over exactly this. I think it's the second episode that talks about going to school or not

[@addisonagamer1867]

@@tiedie Thank you! I've been wanting to go into gaming development, and I didn't know if I should wait for like college to learn things or to just start on my own. After watching this video though, I feel like I would need to start now, and then if it goes well, then go towards college maybe to enhance the skill.

[@SliceTN]

Hey tiedie i want to make a person and start making marvel characters and my own characters now but i have no idea how

[@genshi9241]

What college do u go to cause im thinking of going to George brown or humber

[@everburningpheonix_1284]

Maybe a dumb question but what's internet about ? So is game development the same thing as game designM

[@sevengames9112]

What is the best way to learn maya and ue4 and the substance programs? I never find anything useful and i have a tight schedule, any tips or website would be super useful. Because im super serious about this and i want to try to master every game dev related software and i have 4 years before i go into gaming dev college

[@Stevenverx]

For Substance Painter I would recommend you to check out the tutorials about a lantern of Allegoritmic on KZbin. I personally struggle with learning myself UE4 as well, I learned most stuff with just messing around with it. But that is not an ideal situation to learn I think

[@sevengames9112]

Steven Verx i see thanks for taking your time to help, i also try to learn substance designer because i dont want to rely on the internet too much with the textures but what about learning maya and unreal engine

[@Stevenverx]

I think substance designer is hard to learn because it's easy to understand what other people are doing, but it's hard to come up with your own approach on how to make materials. I followed a bunch of tutorials on KZbin, like: Allegorithmics Wood and Brick tutorials and I watched videos of Sharpstance. When I felt I was starting to underestand them, I tried to make my own materials and failed a lot in the beginning. After a while I started to understand it. The key in my opinion to make your own materials with designer is having good reference about what you are going to make. For Maya: TieDie has a walkthrough video about a maya where he explains everything from modeling to unwrapping. The best way to learn Maya is watch his video and practise a lot. Start with easier props like a firehydrant or a gun or something, don't start with organic models.

[@tiedie]

Substance painter supplies great tutorial on their KZbin channel. For Maya you can find some great intro tutorials on pluralsight and cubebrush. Everything else you should be able to find in KZbin or polycount

[@sevengames9112]

Tiedie what about animation? I couldn't find much about it

[@Choombruh]

Im also from Ontario Canada. Just wanted to ask which college u went to? Is the cost worth it? I mean most of the gaming companies doesn’t need degrees to apply for them, and the skillset u learn from college you can learn by yourself. You could just join gaming communities and ask for others opinions, and you can just use ur tuition for college to buy resources. The only advantage of college i can think of is the professors.

[@yee5163]

Main advantage of Game Design College: Connections and Breaking into the Industry (in other words getting your first job). Making connections will be the best part of college since those will be the friends you will have for a longgg time, maybe even the rest of your life. Also, the people going to these schools will be the same ones who in the future will create their own studios, games, and opportunities. You will potentially miss out on a lot of opportunities and a lot of great friends. Also, 90 percent of jobs are taken before they are even listed. When looking for someone to fill a role, most studios hire from within. Having a friend who works at a studio will make it much easier for you to get hired by that studio. They may ask if anyone has a friend who might be qualified. Getting your first job without any prior experience or a degree to prove your worth will be a challenge.

[@yee5163]

You are right though. You can absolutely self teach. Finding an online friend who can give good critiques will be hard but not impossible. You go to college for everything BUT learning the skills.

[@yee5163]

Still, game development courses are very new and I’d wager that most people who are well established in the games industry did not get their start from college. You may have heard of people who created an awesome mod for a game getting picked up by that studio for their great work. At the end of the day, you have to make good stuff to get hired. If you post your work on social media and it gets enough attention, you could get hired that way.

[@amvhate]

Any tutorial you recommend for modeling and texturing to looks good for portfolios? or just tutorial you find useful in the industry? I don't have accuse to Z-bush. I can use most other software

[@MrTheNintroller]

I have 6 years of college.......(I live in the United States and I'm going for a bachelor's and a master's in computer science)

[@senlol7225]

I love this content

[@PuppeteerXD]

I have been woundering for a while now, but do you make your materials when making a scene or a character or do you go online and use other peoples materials ?

[@9000halNASA]

Tiedie, nice video but can you create tutorial for bevel complex hard surface model in maya? Im piss of and stuck....

[@tiedie]

i've been looking into this a lot recently. could you send me a pic on twitter of what your working with

[@9000halNASA]

Just comlex hard surface object, i need some rule how to bevel any kind of these models.

[@9000halNASA]

prntscr.com/je98zv

[@tiedie]

you want to bevel it all at once? it be as accuret as possible id do part by part but if you want a good way to do it all it once theres a plug in for maya called crease plus. it has some amazing bevel options, its $8 i think but the tools it comes with are amazing. look it up, maybe it wil help

[@9000halNASA]

yes i need bevel in one part, ok tnx for information, you are great man!

[@myelectricbutternife2945]

Any tips for highschool students getting good critiques on art

[@tiedie]

MyelecTric butternife post on artstation, send people your work, tweet it to me

[@myelectricbutternife2945]

Tiedie Thanks

[@darthangel310]

Do you know anything about GameMaker? I’m thinking of trying to make a game, and I hear that GameMaker is a good place to start if you know nothing.

[@aniketaggarwal5775]

Heyy i am looking to study game art at centennial college. Hows college? They have 2 year program and includes internship too.

[@luizazzini1997]

Hey Tiedie what's the name of your college?

[@FrobieENT]

Which college are you taking this program in? I'm in the GTA and currently applying

[@hydra8687]

Do you suggest taking a year off after highschool to do self study before going into a program and does one need Some prior knowledge of games development to get into such a school?

[@tiedie]

you dont need prior knowledge for this stuff, but it certainly wouldnt hurt. I guess it could be helpful to see if this is really for you, but not needed.

[@imnothikaru_]

Hey! I have some questions I’m currently 16 years old and I want to become a game developer for my future career., i’ve been looking online but to little sucsess.If you could answer my questions that would be great. #1 what game design college did you go to? #2 is it worth going to a big college for game design #3 what skills would I need to get a good job in the industry I just subscribed today after watching your video where you finished your first year. Thanks!

[@tiedie]

水POSEID3N it depends on what you mean by game designer. Are you reference to the person who makes the games mechanics? If so you don't need college. It could be nice but not a necessity. I went to Durham college, it wouldn't help with that tbh. I'd say make as many games as you can now, that's what employers would want to see. Check out extra credits on KZbin, they should help u out a ton. Good luck

[@imnothikaru_]

Tiedie Thanks alot!

[@zooomey]

How were your computer/design skills before college?

[@michaelglenn5671]

How were your skills as a high schooler? I’m a sophomore in high school that wants to start game development, but I know almost nothing at the moment.

[@Silent.]

Consider computer science first as it has many more options for jobs, and if your serious about game development you could code for games

[@RolandTechnicalDesigner]

Try out Unreal Engine 4 and maybe blender in your spare time, its free and fun, also this will let you know if you like that sort of stuff and if you would be up to. The skills required would depend on the course/school but some skill will always help get into the school or help you during school.

[@tiedie]

i was average, about an 80% student. you dont need to be good at that stuff though. Try and do well of course, but practice with tools like Maya, UE4 and substance painter when your home. that is the best way to prepare and see if you like it

[@IIXCoLDKiLlaXII]

What college do you think is a good college for this program? Also what is the program called?

[@brokenz4420]

What school do u go to?

[@jairerichardson3590]

What college do you go to

[@d.g.1315]

Is game programming the same?

[@goofyduder2604]

Damn u removed ur cod vide

[@bradenrobins4964]

Do you also take general ed classes like english and math or is it all game development?

[@tiedie]

Braden Robins I didn't have to take any of those, the only thing I had to take was a basic communications class for getting jobs

[@khalilafzal5819]

Hey can anyone please advice college focused at coding

[@lonewolfdesign6489]

Hi I just wanted to ask do you do anything about unity and is it a good start as I am a teenager

[@tiedie]

we dont use unity but its a great tool. if your looking for something to better show off your art id recommended unreal, but unity is great for coding and design people

[@lonewolfdesign6489]

Thank you for your reply do you have a discord or something for me to contact you on?

[@tiedie]

lonewolfdesign yea, send me a tweet and I'll give you my info for it

[@gemfigueroa7084]

For how long have you been 3D modeling?

[@tiedie]

Capt'n Duckman I'd say for about five years but really seriously for the past 3

[@PuppeteerXD]

This might sound like a personal question but how much did it cost for you to study in your collage ?

[@tiedie]

RobotyBoy I believe each year is about 9500 Canadian plus living expenses

[@PuppeteerXD]

Tiedie damn dude, thx for anwsering

[@gemfigueroa7084]

By the end of highschool, how good were you at modelling, texturing, etc?

[@tiedie]

heres a prop I was pretty proud of going into my first year kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2fLfaejh7Nrldk also on my portfolio there is a submarine scene that i did with knowledge i only knew prior to college

[@thewoodentree4069]

good video

[@NightFall1155]

What's the name of the College ?

[@rae6261]

durham collage oshawa, Canada

[@rae6261]

game design program in that collage

[@NightFall1155]

@@rae6261 Oh thank you so much ! . one thing do you know any game devlopement/ design college on deutschland and thank you

[@rae6261]

@@NightFall1155 I'm not familiar with any collages offering Game dev courses in Germany or EU, but my recommendation would be to do game design/programming in either USA or Canada as most leading company's or game startups are located here. Ubisoft, EA, and Bigfish all have branches in the USA and Canada. In my opinion, Canada is the safest option as the USA doesn't look like a good place for foreigners anymore (longterm). But Canada is quite expensive, so you have to put all the factors and choose. Good Luck! :)

[@NightFall1155]

@@rae6261 Yeah that's kinda the main issue here But i'll see what i can do Really apriciate your help man ! Have a nice day