Quote: Original post by Soap360
...I've been programming for 4 years now. I like it.

This statement is at odds with the following statement:

Quote: Original post by Soap360
BUT Im scared I'll drop out because it'll be to boring for me...

You're going to find some things boring in your education. You're also going to find some things boring in your job too, even if that job is game programming.

Quote: Original post by Soap360
I love computers, but just 'computer science' sounds so hard, and challenging. I took 2 courses on computers, hardware and software. I liked them both, but... Computer Science, I dont know, will I get bored to death :P

Computer Science is more rigorous and theoretical than strictly learning the trade of programming. You should not shy away from things simply because they are challenging, otherwise you will stagnate. Whether you will like it or not is hard to say, but you won't know until you try, and if you are going to be a software developer then it is an excellent venue of study. Going into a Game Development degree in hope that skips over the Computer Science because its "hard" or "boring" is only going to stunt your growth.

Also remember that you're not married to your college or degree. People can, and do, transfer between degrees and university.

Edit: I'm surprised that no-one has linked jpetrie's article on game schools. Give that a read too.

There is no such thing as just "game dev" programming. To program a game you need mostly every aspect of a computer science degree. One you will be managing your own resources (at least in a large AAA game setting), you will be writing assembly, and you may even be writing a compiler / interpreter for a scripting language in an engine.

The problem with game-dev graduates is they have some knowledge of everything but no real knowledge of anything. This is based on the courses that are offered not on what the student did outside of the classroom. This becomes a problem because as a programmer you will be lacking compared to computer science graduates. As a junior programmer many places basically have you goto a in house schooling to teach you what they want you to do. With a deeper understanding of programming and what is occuring you won't need to play as much catch-up to the current devs at that company.

If you want to become a designer it is very very difficult to get an entry level position unless its for a smaller company (or you know someone). I've known several people to get jobs as designers at small upstart web game companies, the one even wasn't able to get paid for a few months after starting because the company had very little upstart money. Another was laid off almost as soon as they got the job because the company started working on projects it thought it could finish in a short time but realized that software design is a very hard thing to predict. Thus causing quite a few of their projects to die and them to get rid of non-essential staff.

I was in a game dev program and switched to computer science, it wasn't because of the professors, they were great, it was because the scope of most game dev programs is too narrow yet too broad (not enough programming, too much fluff, all about "game dev" and design). A programmer is a programmer, they don't need to know how to create 3D models, and they won't have the time to master both in the short time that most game dev schools advertise (most are 21 months or so and you go all year round). It won't happen.

I'd like to give you a little more advice. The fact that you're unsure about whether you'd enjoy a certain major, and are unsure about making the leap to studying it in college makes you just like every other college student ever. It always seems like everyone else knows what they're going to do, but a good majority of those people are going to be changing their major or swapping colleges. Don't worry so much about not being 100% certain, because you're never going to be until after the fact. No-one really knows what they want to do with their lives at your age. They just think that they do.

I am 40 years old and taught myself how to program computers in high school. I have been making web sites, animations, games, simulations, etc. for desktop, mobile, and more. I am currently going back to school to finally get my degree, and am studying Computer Science. Even if you solely want to focus on games, I highly recommend Comp Sci as others have, because the educations do not compare. If you want to excel at programming, even games, you will need to learn, at a minimum, algebra, trigonometry and geometry. Math is used way more in games than web sites, by the way. Good luck in whatever you decide, and don't look for the light at the end of the tunnel, because there is no end--always learn new things!

Sorry if I've seemed ignorant, which I am. It seems like CS will be the right choice. I thought that a Game Dev school would teach you everything you'd need out of CS and a little bit more. Guess I was wrong.

One last thing, do you guys have any advice while going into a CS course? Like anything to look out for, what to expect, you know.. a heads up? Thanks for your time guys, I really appreciate it.

Quote: Original post by Soap360
One last thing, do you guys have any advice while going into a CS course? Like anything to look out for, what to expect, you know.. a heads up? Thanks for your time guys, I really appreciate it.

Work on your own personal projects. Join groups and work on group projects. Save anything you do. Employers greatly prefer people who do personal and group projects beyond classwork to those who do not. I've seen people with mediocre grades get chosen over the 4.0 student because they're very active outside of coursework.

I think you probably have that covered though.