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Author Topic: Qantm College London
tHMatt
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Since: Sep 11, 2007
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Posted: Tuesday, May. 12, 2009 11:32 pm
http://www.qantm.co.uk/courses/game_design_development.php

Thinking of going there to do my Degree, however its very expensive, roughly £18,000, but they have industry links etc, what does anyone else think?

edited on May. 12, 2009 07:34 pm by saluden
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Welshy
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Posted: Wednesday, May. 13, 2009 01:07 am
Holy crap, That is expensive. I wanted to do game design and I looked at a few universities and colleges.

Judging from what i saw and from what people told me when I asked them questions, It seemed that game development in the UK is somewhat lacking.

I found that most of the lectures that would be teaching me either had never taught this kind of thing before or that they didn't really know what it was they were meant to be teaching. Also i noticed that some of the places that taught game design felt it was a second class subject or a joke subject, that was taught in some back room computer lab in the basement.

Something else that i found that when i was still at school and I was asked what I wanted to go into afterwards, As soon as i said game development, i would get "guidance" on it has if they were just humoring me. Not sure if that's a global UK thing or maybe just the fact that i live in a small town almost in the middle of nowhere.

To be honest that site looks a little dodgey to me. If you really are serious about going there then i would go up for a visit (if you can) and see what they do around there.

I think what foyleman said during a modsonair episode makes the most sense. "If you really want to get into game development, Get an Apprenticeship" In other words you will learn a lot more actually doing the job rather than sitting in badly taught classes.

I am not trying to put you off doing it, It's just that unfortunately at the moment game development in the UK is still seen as something of a second class subject to some universities. Basically the government tells them they have to teach but they don't put as much time, effort or money into it as the would other subjects.

I would recommend taking at look at some universities or colleges that teach it, although that might not be an option for you. Although saying that, If you are willing to be £18,000 for a course, I would look into some school in the US.

In the end you have what you want not what other people think or tell you to do.

Good luck
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tHMatt
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Posted: Wednesday, May. 13, 2009 03:53 am
Oh no, Qantm are a world known Game Design college, they have 8 campus's placed all around the world, they only just opened the London campus last year, thats why im thinking about going there, there is a video where 1 of the lecturers (Lead programming final fantasy) talks about how relevant Qantm courses are to the industry etc, and there also sponsered by some Game Studios, so i doubt its bad.
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SparkyMcSparks
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Posted: Wednesday, May. 13, 2009 04:24 am
12 months seems rather short. In America I don't think you could even get an Associates degree with just 12 months worth of school. >_<

You should probably talk to an advisor about Qantm's degree and job security; what you can actually get from the degree should you ever want to apply for a job outside of game developement in the future.

I had like 1-3 profs like Welshy where they weren't too sure of using the tools or explaining stuff, but the point of the courses aren't to learn how to use the tools or to create something using the tools, but the thought process behind making something fun, iterating on it to make it better, working with people you may or may not like, working with people who don't or do communicate well, working under tight schedules (school, work, midterms, finals, girlfriend, etc...), planning and executing...

One of the professors who taught my Intro Level Design courses fumbled through lectures trying to use/demonstarte Unreal Ed techniques quite a bit, but he had extensive expierence/degrees in Architecture and was able to teach us fundamentals behind lighting, shapes, room size relationships, ortographic prints, perspective prints, etc... and simultaneously apply it in the editor. Although not all profs are like that, some have more technical expierence and even currently work at studios teaching classes at night. >_<

You may even consider going for some other degree like Comp Science that may be useful if you get bored of game design? Game degree won't guarantee you a job in the market I think most people would say since it's only a recently new trend -- depends on if you've got something to bring to the table at places you apply for work.

You can try applying for "Apprenticeships" too like Welshy said, the worst thing that can happen is they just say try again later. Seeing as you are here at Modsonline and play/mod Call of Duty, Treyarch has a lot apprenticeships/internships for this summer you might want to check out.
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tHMatt
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Posted: Wednesday, May. 13, 2009 05:18 pm
Yeah, i emailed them, Qantm degree is 2 years, and its short because it has almost no holidays, meaning it can be shorter then most courses, all lectures have been in a studio and developed a game that made AAA so they will have some good experiance, and the placement there is 6 months at a game design studio, so that would be amazing tbh.
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supersword
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Posted: Wednesday, May. 13, 2009 06:13 pm
I was also very interested in Quantm as they offered something I had never really seen before. I can hardly knock the college, it looks bespoke. The stuff they offer looks well taught and overall, it's going to be a good experience.

That was owever, until I started really looking at what employers want and not what I want. At the end of the day, unless you are going to take what you have learned and start your own company right away (which if you are, good on you), you are probably going to be working for someone else. It might be a big company where you work in a huge team doing small bits or it might be 10 guys working in an office building something amazing. If it's either one, you are much more of an asset to them if you arn't stuck on just area of speciality. What I mean is, if you get a degree in game development, you are limiting yourself to what job you can do and realisitcally, you might not get into a game development job right away.

If however, you choose to go down the route of say, software engineering, 3D design, graphic design, project management etc, you open your opportunities. That means that for the first 2 years out of uni, you might be working in a completely different industry but still be building up a bedrock of experience. I have heard the guys who go out to game expos and let people know about how to get in the industry say, they really want people with bigger options. I just don't think that a course at Quantm really opens up as many jobs.

However saying that, they do have a good name for themselves and the course does look pretty awesome. £18k worth of fun? I'll let you decide.

edited on May. 13, 2009 02:16 pm by supersword
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tHMatt
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Posted: Wednesday, May. 13, 2009 07:16 pm
Yes, i have done ALOT of research into the industry, and what they want, iv written to alot of companys in england etc. Obviously, they want a good portfolio and thats something Qantm do, while doing the degree, you build up a portfoilio, and because there lectures are all AAA standard developers, they can help you with what is and what isnt needed. Also on there global site www.qantm.com there is a testomnial by a developer who talks about extras Qantm teach you, for instance project managment and code tricks that the industry want and desire, this can be from special documentation and learning how to put together Design Documents etc. Yeah its very expensive, thats why i asked here, cause your all games enthusiasts and i like other opinions ;P
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techno2sl
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Posted: Wednesday, May. 13, 2009 08:09 pm
I'm resorting to the old school method of creating a whole pack of highly detailed and dynamic levels that people enjoy playing in order for someone in the industry to take me seriously. (fingers crossed eh?)

If you want to get that white piece of paper which says "I can do this.." then actually get testimonials from people who attended said universities/colleges.

I had a very bad experience, I went for an interview at a local university, which was basically a 'welcome day' where a tutor was explaining a brand new course, "Games Design".

That tutor only talked about modelling and Animation programs and then said specifically that the two year course would revolve mainly around Level Design... (which got my attention) so I asked what programs we'd be using .. and he didn't know, he'd never heard of Radiant or Hammer.. So I ACTUALLY wrote down "RADIANT" on a peice of paper with www.modsonline.com on it for him! Maybe he's reading this right now?

Anyway I feel sorry for anyone wasting there time doing that course, the UK is just starting in this field so make sure the college/uni has been active for some time and has results where it's students have gone on into game development.
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tHMatt
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Posted: Thursday, May. 14, 2009 12:29 am
well iv been using radiant for 4 years now and have made some nice stuff, just need to sort out my portfolio. But i think a that with a nice MSc in games Development will go down well in an interview
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Welshy
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Posted: Thursday, May. 14, 2009 10:36 am
supersword writes...
Quote:
if you get a degree in game development, you are limiting yourself to what job you can do and realisitcally, you might not get into a game development job right away.

That's one of the reasons why I decided to do a degree in computing and not something more specific. A "Jack of all trades, Master of none" type degree.

That way it keeps me open for a large range of jobs involving computing, rather than just one specific area.
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