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Subject: Bungie, what college did you go to? (advice needed lulz)

This is a thread directed towards any "big shot" game developers, I want advice as to what colleges you went to for your degrees and such, and also want advice as to what extra curriculars you took in High School.

I am fifteen years old and taking 2 years(Junior+Senior years) of video game programming next year(and the year after that) (my school offers it) and I'm going to become one, and I was wondering what colleges Bungie members went to, because I respect you as developers, and your games are fantastic.

Sincerely, a future Game Developer(any vid. game dev's can answer this)


[Edited on 03.06.2012 3:07 PM PST]

  • 03.06.2012 3:05 PM PDT

It'd be nice if I could get a experienced fellow to help me with my predicament.

  • 03.06.2012 3:09 PM PDT

This link may be of use to you.

  • 03.06.2012 3:10 PM PDT

Digipen is really good.

  • 03.06.2012 3:11 PM PDT


Posted by: Lobster Fish 2
This link may be of use to you.
I know what college I'm probably going to go to, it's Video Game Programming is ranked in the top 10(Number 3 on your list), but I was curious where bungie went, and what extra curriculars they had that helped them get into the college. My GPA is 4.0 (96.7) so my grades are fine.
Thanks for the input.

[Edited on 03.06.2012 3:13 PM PST]

  • 03.06.2012 3:13 PM PDT
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-     ~    .oO( about you )
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check out this post

by DeeJ

  • 03.06.2012 3:17 PM PDT

Anyone else have input?

  • 03.06.2012 3:19 PM PDT

Posted by: D1Mik
check out this post

by DeeJ
Alright, thanks.

[Edited on 03.06.2012 3:28 PM PST]

  • 03.06.2012 3:23 PM PDT
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Want to know more about me? Check out my Community Joes interview.

Trying something once will increace your chances of success, because you tried it. Try someting twice, and your chances increase yet again - seeing as you've done it. Try something a few thousand times, and your chances of success is exponentially increased; this increase would likely provide success every time

I'm not at my computer, otherwise I'd do my speil and link you to many useful resources - so I'll do the next best thing and link to one. Great luck to you! =)

  • 03.06.2012 3:53 PM PDT

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Penn State is a good choice. Our IST program is top notch.

  • 03.06.2012 4:04 PM PDT

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Posted by: Hylebos
Digipen is really good.
Very expensive for international students and isn't worth the price from what I hear.

I have gripes about Game Design courses. I don't think its a good way to approach a design philosophy.

  • 03.06.2012 4:24 PM PDT

Tom Achronos
Bungie.net Overlord
twitter: http://twitter.com/Achronos

"I have no words that would do justice to the atrocities you commit to the English language, as well as your continued assaults on the concepts of basic literacy and logical reasoning."

1. Be clear about what you want to do. Game Programming is not Game Design. And Game Programming could be many things: Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, Server, Networking, etc.

2. Getting a real job in the industry is less about where you go to school and more about what you do. If you're an artist, that's your demo reel. If you're a programmer, that's examples of your work. I'm not talking about your school assignments, either. I'm talking about your own stuff, the best examples of your work. A personal example - during college (I majored in Computer Science at Virginia Tech), I decided an excellent way (strange, but I tend to learn by doing better than reading about things) to learn both SQL and more advanced forms of Perl would be to reverse engineer Slashdot and make my own site with similar functionality... without looking at their source code. Eventually, it left me with a ZIP file of a working web site that made my resume stand out from other applicants despite not being a college kid (I got hired at Bungie right as I graduated college).

Everyone applying will have college degrees with decent grads from all kinds of schools. The ones that are interesting are the ones that have something extra.

Finally, understand that while a degree in a game-specific discipline can be a good thing, there is something to be said for a standard 4 year university degree. How do you decide? Visit your choices if at all possible. Again, another personal example: for the longest time I thought I wanted to go to Carnegie Mellon. Great program, top ratings, etc., etc. Then I visited both it and Virginia Tech's campus. I hated CMU - right in Pittsburgh, it was not the place for me. Ugh. VT was beautiful, and the professors and facilities impressed me a lot. Despite being accepted to attend CMU, I went to VT, and never regretted it.

  • 03.06.2012 4:52 PM PDT
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For career advice, you should probably primarily seek help from your councilor.

Although, there have been pretty good posts while I wrote this.

[Edited on 03.06.2012 5:06 PM PST]

  • 03.06.2012 5:00 PM PDT

"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit,
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it."
-Omar Khayyám-

I am currently at college for video game programming and I would recommend the following: Take as many classes as you can involving programming such as Java classes, C#, and C++ to name a few examples, then take IT style classes if available.

The more programming languages you know the better, and take as much math as you can, it will help you when you have to do 3D math on polygons so your character won't flail wildly in death animations and the like.

Once you get to college immeadiately take your basic courses and get those pesky courses out of the way and take as many computer programming courses as possible(It doesn't really matter what college you go to as long as it has a very good computer science/computer engineering program).

After that, you will most likely have to take an internship/co-op and I would recommend any video game company that is currently hiring interns(It doesn't matter which company since this is for experience purposes only and to get your name in the industry)

and once you graduate either find a company currently hiring(not BUNGiE, not enough experience yet) and get a job there and get as much experience as you can(a good 2-3 years should do or at least one AAA game shipped, AAA game is a big time game which is advertised, like a Sonic game, Mario, or Gears of War to name a few)

once you got your experience or games then apply at BUNGiE and if they have need of your services...you are in.

Another thing...program as many games and applications as you can during this time, because it gives you experience and helps when you need to have product to get a job, even if its a pong clone or a mario bros clone(I am currently making a tetris clone).

This will also help your versatility and programming skills immensly and help with your "dev eye" (being able to SEE a game in your head like a author sees characters and scenes in their head and program what you see)

Hope this huge block of text helps XD

EDIT: Achronos' advice is better, follow his ;D

[Edited on 03.06.2012 5:05 PM PST]

  • 03.06.2012 5:02 PM PDT

The NEIGHBOR of God.

Follow me on Twitter: @Godzneighbor

Xbox Ambassador: Feel free to ask any questions you might have about a Xbox issue in a PM to me. I may be able to help!

Looks like this thread I could definitely get some tips on good colleges to attend, as I'm looking into being a "Server Programmer" with a Bachelor Degree.

-Saves Thread-

[Edited on 03.06.2012 5:14 PM PST]

  • 03.06.2012 5:13 PM PDT

@Achronos

Hmmmm, looks like my mind was looking in the right direction, VT it is. I wanted to go there in the first place because:
1: I live in Virginia, so I won't be out if state.
2: I want to major in some kind of engineering, preferably something to help me get a job at Bungie.

Achronos, I shall find all about you when you were in VT in 3 years, soon you will get mail from me

  • 03.06.2012 5:47 PM PDT

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Achronos, while you are giving stellar advice, I have a quick question. I really hope to get into the video game industry once I graduate college. I went into this year intending to major in Computer Science, but just after a semester and a half, I have decided that the path of coding is not right for me. But I still really want to find a way into the industry. Are there other fields that could lead me to a gaming career without getting into the land of coding or ridiculously talented art?

  • 03.06.2012 5:53 PM PDT

Old School Gamer and Proud Member of the Seventh Column

What other developer would step into the forums to offer higher learning advice to a fan. This is why I respect Bungie.
Posted by: Achronos
1. Be clear about what you want to do. Game Programming is not Game Design. And Game Programming could be many things: Graphics, Sound, Gameplay, Server, Networking, etc.

2. Getting a real job in the industry is less about where you go to school and more about what you do. If you're an artist, that's your demo reel. If you're a programmer, that's examples of your work. I'm not talking about your school assignments, either. I'm talking about your own stuff, the best examples of your work. A personal example - during college (I majored in Computer Science at Virginia Tech), I decided an excellent way (strange, but I tend to learn by doing better than reading about things) to learn both SQL and more advanced forms of Perl would be to reverse engineer Slashdot and make my own site with similar functionality... without looking at their source code. Eventually, it left me with a ZIP file of a working web site that made my resume stand out from other applicants despite not being a college kid (I got hired at Bungie right as I graduated college).

Everyone applying will have college degrees with decent grads from all kinds of schools. The ones that are interesting are the ones that have something extra.

Finally, understand that while a degree in a game-specific discipline can be a good thing, there is something to be said for a standard 4 year university degree. How do you decide? Visit your choices if at all possible. Again, another personal example: for the longest time I thought I wanted to go to Carnegie Mellon. Great program, top ratings, etc., etc. Then I visited both it and Virginia Tech's campus. I hated CMU - right in Pittsburgh, it was not the place for me. Ugh. VT was beautiful, and the professors and facilities impressed me a lot. Despite being accepted to attend CMU, I went to VT, and never regretted it.

  • 03.06.2012 5:57 PM PDT
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Posted by: DEATHPIMP72
Anyone but Foman. He smells like cheese.


Posted by: Fiesta Zombie
Achronos, while you are giving stellar advice, I have a quick question. I really hope to get into the video game industry once I graduate college. I went into this year intending to major in Computer Science, but just after a semester and a half, I have decided that the path of coding is not right for me. But I still really want to find a way into the industry. Are there other fields that could lead me to a gaming career without getting into the land of coding or ridiculously talented art?
Check out the Breaking In series and the current job listings. There are a variety of careers that could eventually lead you to breaking into the gaming industry.

Personally, I'm waiting for Bungie to become a massive, industry-dominating monopoly so that they need to hire an antitrust lawyer :-)

  • 03.06.2012 5:59 PM PDT

Posted by: Tookurdignity
Another thing...program as many games and applications as you can during this time, because it gives you experience and helps when you need to have product to get a job, even if its a pong clone or a mario bros clone(I am currently making a tetris clone).
I disagree with this.

IMO, you shouldn't aim to just make as many things as possible, it should be to perfect your programming skills. Iterate over your projects. Revisit them. Ask yourself, "Can I do this better?". And so on. I find myself doing that all of the time after learning a new way of approaching a task.

I think your aim as a programmer should be to consistently write solid, manageable, documented, readable/understandable, modular, and bug-free code.

Also, for anyone interested in networking, I HIGHLY recommend taking Cisco units if your institution offers them. You'll learn a lot of the theory behind how they work, but more importantly, how to PROPERLY configure them with those wonderful things at the ends of your wrists. If you do end up taking them, please don't rely on Packet Tracer.

  • 03.06.2012 6:04 PM PDT

Posted by: Enormous Corgi
Posted by: Unanimate Objec
There's no way Nate Hawbaker's favorite hero is Alan Stuart


ALAN IS A BEAUTIFUL MAN!

Personally, I'd love to major in Comp Art and/ or Animation. Me and my friend are planning on making a very basic flash game at the moment.

Thanks for the advice Achronos.

  • 03.06.2012 6:09 PM PDT

Check out this video.

And here's part 2.

  • 03.06.2012 6:44 PM PDT

"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit,
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it."
-Omar Khayyám-


Posted by: dazarobbo
Posted by: Tookurdignity
Another thing...program as many games and applications as you can during this time, because it gives you experience and helps when you need to have product to get a job, even if its a pong clone or a mario bros clone(I am currently making a tetris clone).
I disagree with this.

IMO, you shouldn't aim to just make as many things as possible, it should be to perfect your programming skills. Iterate over your projects. Revisit them. Ask yourself, "Can I do this better?". And so on. I find myself doing that all of the time after learning a new way of approaching a task.

I think your aim as a programmer should be to consistently write solid, manageable, documented, readable/understandable, modular, and bug-free code.

Also, for anyone interested in networking, I HIGHLY recommend taking Cisco units if your institution offers them. You'll learn a lot of the theory behind how they work, but more importantly, how to PROPERLY configure them with those wonderful things at the ends of your wrists. If you do end up taking them, please don't rely on Packet Tracer.


I agree Dazarobbo that one should have great, seamless programs to have on a resume, but I was trying to get the point "Practice makes perfect" That, while it's all well and good to have a couple masterpiece programs, you won't get there by JUST making those...you have a lot of little small projects as well to perfect different areas of game programming. For instance if you have a great game made but your level crafting sucks then make a lot of mini-games with great levels so as to perfect what was a flaw in an other wise great game. I am making my tetris clone not to make a clone but to make a game where it takes boring tetris and turns it into something great, improving and making it my own.

  • 03.06.2012 6:50 PM PDT

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Posted by: x Foman123 x

Posted by: Fiesta Zombie
Achronos, while you are giving stellar advice, I have a quick question. I really hope to get into the video game industry once I graduate college. I went into this year intending to major in Computer Science, but just after a semester and a half, I have decided that the path of coding is not right for me. But I still really want to find a way into the industry. Are there other fields that could lead me to a gaming career without getting into the land of coding or ridiculously talented art?
Check out the Breaking In series and the current job listings. There are a variety of careers that could eventually lead you to breaking into the gaming industry.

Personally, I'm waiting for Bungie to become a massive, industry-dominating monopoly so that they need to hire an antitrust lawyer :-)


Thanks Foman,

I think part of my problem is my desire to get into the industry without having any knowledge of what I'd like to do. But it leans on the side of animation and modeling more than anything else. I love that stuff.

  • 03.06.2012 8:14 PM PDT

The world is not beautiful: And that, in a way, lends it a sort of beauty.

~Kino's Journey


Posted by: Achronos
(I got hired at Bungie right as I graduated college).


So you don't need years of work experience to get hired?

  • 03.06.2012 9:13 PM PDT

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