Originally Posted by Cygnus

True but starting off, most jobs will require you to pay your dues via the grunt work like programming... It is also the code side that has the most newer hires.





Education is always necessary. However most skools do not keep up with tech and the latest dev tools used in the industry. Education never ends, it is a neverending process...



I agree but a CIS may be too general, comp sci or comp engineering may be better. CIS is geared more towards biz whereas comp sci/eng is more technical. CIS normally does not thoroughly cover c/c++/c sharp, etc but comp sci and comp engr generally do or at least give a better intro to those langs.



Yes, animation is more of the "artsy" side of game dev. It does involve more creativity than technical ability... The brother of a friend of mine works at midway. He was one of the lead animators of MK games. He has no degree but he could draw his a$$ off. The person I mentioned earlierwho used to work at Bungie also has no degree, but is exceptional at story telling.



I think we agree. It is always preferable to have a strong education. But having knowledge and experience of industry tools like XNA, Maya, game engine level design, etc are also a huge plus. And being creative is always paramount.