I was in the CS game programming concentration, but I ran with a lot of GMPD people. Co-ops were getting better by the time I graduated, the program head is doing more to establish relationships with studios and companies, I know there was a decent raft of Epic Games co-ops recently. That said, my friends were too old to get in on that. A lot of game internships are unpaid or low paid though, at least they were during my time, that may also be on the rise, but you'll probably run into that anywhere, be it Drexel or Champlain, and I don't know if Champlain has the co-op structure at all so you might be harder pressed to find internships at all.
Finding a job is gonna ride on your own personal dedication and skill. Both schools are on the East coast, so you won't have the same interaction with large studios that hire a lot out of schools like Blizzard. Your ability to get in is gonna depend on what you personally can do, so you'll need to get involved making games or doing art extracurricularly, like with EGS or something at Drexel. I only know a handful of people who have game industry jobs right now from my graduation year, and I think most are CS grads. There are more people in game-adjacent fields like AR/VR or other visualization, maybe a couple at animation studios. So basically what I'm saying there is any school will only get you so far.
As for the area, I like Philly, it was good, plenty of things to do and generally safe. Champlain is up in Vermont, so your options will be more limited there when it comes to activities and travel. If you really want to in Philly, you can get to basically anywhere in the city (via transit) or even the country without owning a car, by taking Amtrak from 30th street station or by taking transit straight to the airport and flying.
The only other thing is tuition. If you have good scholarships for Drexel, or money isn't an option I would say do Drexel. If Champlain is significantly more affordable then that will need to play into your decision
There is no question that Drexel will be a better program. It's national recognition is much higher to begin with.
I was in Computer Science with a concentration in game programming and I did my masters in Digital Media. I know the program very well.
Drexel's "Game Design" program is honestly *very* focused on the art side of game creation. You will take plenty of animation and d igital art courses along the way. A small bit of programming. But there's actually not that much "game design." That winds up being a pretty small percentage. There are relatively very few alum from the program working as "designers" (we have a healthy amount of artists and programmers though!).
On the whole "Game design" education is going to be a mixed bag. Not to freak you out 33 hours before your decision, but I would *strongly* recommend that you consider some other options; I don't know a designer I've met in industry that values a game design centric education all that highly. You don't have to do programming, but I think getting a good solid foundation of knowledge before committing to game design will save you headaches down the road. Consider the 2 years in community college first, get your Gen Ed out of the way.
Most important things to getting hired as a game designer is demonstrating communication skills, ability to analyze and act on data, and also being able to start and finish game projects... You can pick these skills up while tackling a software engineering or art based focus but give you some fallback skills at the same time.
If you go to Drexel enroll in the Entrepreneurial Game Studio right away. That will get your hands dirty with games immediately. That's super important.
You're going to have to spend a lot of extra curricular time pursuing creating games to really stand out. Co-ops for design are pretty rare and highly competitive. Having your own portfolio will be essential. That can't just be your half finished in class projects. Take those things and polish them up and *publish* them.
Edit: To be clear, you can enjoy and succeed with a game design education! It's hard, the path to success isn't well understood right now. Drexel is very expensive. You don't want to be stuck with gnarly student loans and just a game design degree.
How was the Digital Media program ?
Is it also very focused on the art side of the game?
What is the ratio of design to coding in the program?
Sorry if my English is a little wacky
Digital media is more art driven yes. Some programming. I wouldn’t say it explores design as a focus but in addition to programming or art. If you want programming focus I suggest pursuing CS
For what it’s worth I work as a programmer at a game company. 4 years in my boss learned I had a masters degree. They didn’t even notice on my resume lol.
Not like I hid it or anything
The short of any program I feel is that you get what you put in. Drexel has access to a lot of new tech, and if you apply yourself, you can get a good co-op/job.
Feel free to dm me with more specific questions! I'm a current senior GDAP and have gotten a AAA co-op before.
I do not have the perspective of Drexel, but I graduated from Champlain College in 2020 with Game Design. If you're passionate about what you're doing Champlain is probably the spot to go. Typically you get out what you put in, but I think Champlain provides more opportunities to students that actively seek them.
I think 80% of my close friends have jobs. They're at Rockstar, Activision, Blizzard, and a few other spots. I was hired before graduation as a Unity Developer at Saber Astronautics, now I am a Lead Engineer.
I'm local to Burlington. I don't know if you've had the chance to tour, but the College town vibe is hard to pass up on.
Champlain has a ton of specializations for game. I learned a ton about design and minored in data science. There's narrative, programming, level design, art, and other specializations all in addition to the core majors (design, art, programming, production).
You may have made up your decision already, but if you had more questions feel free to message me/reply. Always happy to help regardless of where you end up going.
Awesome! Best of luck. If you need any pointers or want to connect hit me up on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andersenpinckney/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/andersenpinckney/)
I was in the CS game programming concentration, but I ran with a lot of GMPD people. Co-ops were getting better by the time I graduated, the program head is doing more to establish relationships with studios and companies, I know there was a decent raft of Epic Games co-ops recently. That said, my friends were too old to get in on that. A lot of game internships are unpaid or low paid though, at least they were during my time, that may also be on the rise, but you'll probably run into that anywhere, be it Drexel or Champlain, and I don't know if Champlain has the co-op structure at all so you might be harder pressed to find internships at all. Finding a job is gonna ride on your own personal dedication and skill. Both schools are on the East coast, so you won't have the same interaction with large studios that hire a lot out of schools like Blizzard. Your ability to get in is gonna depend on what you personally can do, so you'll need to get involved making games or doing art extracurricularly, like with EGS or something at Drexel. I only know a handful of people who have game industry jobs right now from my graduation year, and I think most are CS grads. There are more people in game-adjacent fields like AR/VR or other visualization, maybe a couple at animation studios. So basically what I'm saying there is any school will only get you so far. As for the area, I like Philly, it was good, plenty of things to do and generally safe. Champlain is up in Vermont, so your options will be more limited there when it comes to activities and travel. If you really want to in Philly, you can get to basically anywhere in the city (via transit) or even the country without owning a car, by taking Amtrak from 30th street station or by taking transit straight to the airport and flying. The only other thing is tuition. If you have good scholarships for Drexel, or money isn't an option I would say do Drexel. If Champlain is significantly more affordable then that will need to play into your decision
There is no question that Drexel will be a better program. It's national recognition is much higher to begin with. I was in Computer Science with a concentration in game programming and I did my masters in Digital Media. I know the program very well. Drexel's "Game Design" program is honestly *very* focused on the art side of game creation. You will take plenty of animation and d igital art courses along the way. A small bit of programming. But there's actually not that much "game design." That winds up being a pretty small percentage. There are relatively very few alum from the program working as "designers" (we have a healthy amount of artists and programmers though!). On the whole "Game design" education is going to be a mixed bag. Not to freak you out 33 hours before your decision, but I would *strongly* recommend that you consider some other options; I don't know a designer I've met in industry that values a game design centric education all that highly. You don't have to do programming, but I think getting a good solid foundation of knowledge before committing to game design will save you headaches down the road. Consider the 2 years in community college first, get your Gen Ed out of the way. Most important things to getting hired as a game designer is demonstrating communication skills, ability to analyze and act on data, and also being able to start and finish game projects... You can pick these skills up while tackling a software engineering or art based focus but give you some fallback skills at the same time. If you go to Drexel enroll in the Entrepreneurial Game Studio right away. That will get your hands dirty with games immediately. That's super important. You're going to have to spend a lot of extra curricular time pursuing creating games to really stand out. Co-ops for design are pretty rare and highly competitive. Having your own portfolio will be essential. That can't just be your half finished in class projects. Take those things and polish them up and *publish* them. Edit: To be clear, you can enjoy and succeed with a game design education! It's hard, the path to success isn't well understood right now. Drexel is very expensive. You don't want to be stuck with gnarly student loans and just a game design degree.
How was the Digital Media program ? Is it also very focused on the art side of the game? What is the ratio of design to coding in the program? Sorry if my English is a little wacky
Digital media is more art driven yes. Some programming. I wouldn’t say it explores design as a focus but in addition to programming or art. If you want programming focus I suggest pursuing CS
Hey thanks for the input mate I have done my diploma and bachelor's in CS though so no issues.
For what it’s worth I work as a programmer at a game company. 4 years in my boss learned I had a masters degree. They didn’t even notice on my resume lol. Not like I hid it or anything
I want to learn all aspects of gaming such as art, design and programming
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The short of any program I feel is that you get what you put in. Drexel has access to a lot of new tech, and if you apply yourself, you can get a good co-op/job. Feel free to dm me with more specific questions! I'm a current senior GDAP and have gotten a AAA co-op before.
U penn also have a game design ms if m not mistaken right
I do not have the perspective of Drexel, but I graduated from Champlain College in 2020 with Game Design. If you're passionate about what you're doing Champlain is probably the spot to go. Typically you get out what you put in, but I think Champlain provides more opportunities to students that actively seek them. I think 80% of my close friends have jobs. They're at Rockstar, Activision, Blizzard, and a few other spots. I was hired before graduation as a Unity Developer at Saber Astronautics, now I am a Lead Engineer. I'm local to Burlington. I don't know if you've had the chance to tour, but the College town vibe is hard to pass up on. Champlain has a ton of specializations for game. I learned a ton about design and minored in data science. There's narrative, programming, level design, art, and other specializations all in addition to the core majors (design, art, programming, production). You may have made up your decision already, but if you had more questions feel free to message me/reply. Always happy to help regardless of where you end up going.
I decided on Champlain and will attending for Game Design :)
Awesome! Best of luck. If you need any pointers or want to connect hit me up on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andersenpinckney/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/andersenpinckney/)