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A major change of major.


Alcom Isst

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I'm working towards switching my major to Game Design and Development.

I actually made this decision back in July, after finally deciding that I cannot enjoy my Mechanical Engineering major. My original intent with the ME major was to enter a non-art major that could complement my interest in LEGO, and while I have the skill sets for Mechanical Engineering, I cannot maintain an interest in it or be happy with it. Thus I have decided to switch my major to something else.

Despite the competition and capped enrollment, my primary interest is the Game Design and Development major at RIT, the same University I was perusing my ME major at. My fallback plan is the Game Development major at the nearby Finger Lakes Community College, and then maybe bounce back to RIT after I get some good credentials at Finger Lakes.

My interest in Game Design and development has been built on several scatted things: my previous practice with the FreeSpace Open engine, my interaction with Project BUILD, my increased attention and interest in the game industry, my competent yet still amateur 3D modeling abilities, and my experiences at RRU. As I have sampled various elements of game design, I find it to be easy on my brain. Unlike Mechanical Engineering work which took a great pile of mental effort to motivate myself, I find the programming, modeling, and design in Game Development to be almost addicting; it's the same feeling I get with LEGO projects and keeps me on them for hours.

As I work through the GD&D application process with the application being due on December 18th, I have also been taking two courses closer to home at Syracuse University. I'm taking Discrete Math as it is a required course under the major. Also, as the only programming courses I took for my ME major involved MATLAB and Visual Basic, I'm also taking Introduction to Computer Programming, which turned out to simply be a course for learning C.

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Fun. The Game Design program at RIT is one of the best (I think it's 3rd) in the nation.

 

That's my top choice, and I plan to apply there (in December), although I think they have both a more technical and more artistic course, and I plan to apply for the more technical one.

 

Renssalaer Polytech's close to RIT (about 3 and a half hours), and they have a similar program (Ranked 5th on one site, 10th on another). The GPA for acceptance is about the same as RIT, although the program's probably less competitive, so you could probably transfer there if you can't do it at RIT. WPI's also in the same area (it's an hour away from Boston) and they have game design as well. It's right behind RPI.

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Nice, I'm in Film school right now, and either going to continue in Film or switch to getting a doctorate in Geology, specifically Seismology.

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Unlike Mechanical Engineering work which took a great pile of mental effort to motivate myself, I find the programming, modeling, and design in Game Development to be almost addicting; it's the same feeling I get with LEGO projects and keeps me on them for hours.

Exactly why I love it, though I'm not sure if I want to make it my actual profession. I'd prefer to keep it as a hobby, and actually work on something involving video production, though I have yet to figure out exactly what...

Good luck!

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Really awesome to see you come to the decision to follow your interests, particularly because it's one you are happy with.  I'm sure you'll do just great!

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If you enjoy doing something, you should major in it. You will learn more and do better that way. Congrats on finding your groove, and I know you will succeed. :)

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