Monday, June 28, 2010
I've written dozens of emails over the last decade in response to: "What was your experience like at Full Sail and would you recommend it to others." More specifically, people ask if it's worth the cost. I can only speak to my own experience, but hopefully this gives some insight into how my Full Sail Education has helped get me where I am today.
I grew up, like most boys, playing video games and dreaming of making them one day but having ZERO idea where I could even start toward doing such a thing. So, I spent the early years of my life focusing on computer hardware and IT type work in an attempt to do something close. My cousin told me about a new program that was starting up at Full Sail for Game Development and told me to check it out. Once I got there...I was sold.
After some early classes in physics, document writing and game design, the program focused mainly on game programming. Though it was something that I did well at, it wasn't my passion in games...but that training still helps me to this day in two ways. 1. Being able to talk intelligently with programmers helps build respect and ensures that you're asking for things that are reasonable. 2. Most designers end up doing scripting in some kind of editor that is often similar to coding. Once you know the basics of coding, it's generally easy to pick up any other languages or tools.
When it came to classes at Full Sail, we generally had 4 hours of class and 4 hours of labs each day. Those could be any time during a 24 hour window because the school runs all the time. This kind of schedule was nice in preparing for the sometimes daunting hours that you'll face in our industry trying to finish up a project. The instructors were very knowledgeable and I learned so much that I would have never learned on my own.
The thing I tell people most about Full Sail is that the more effort and time you put into your experience there, the more you will get out of it. It's best if you can put the entire world aside for that time you spend there and really focus on achieving your goals and learning all that you can.
Now it seems there is a Game Design school on every corner and couldn't begin to speak to any of their programs. But one trend that I am seeing is that a Gaming Education is almost necessary now to get your foot in this industry.
If you have any other questions or want me to elaborate on any topics, just me know!
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