About DigiPen

What is DigiPen?

Though you've probably already navigated a bit of DigiPen's site to get here, you may still be wondering what DigiPen is about.  It's a pretty big question, but I'll do my best to tackle it from my point of view.  DigiPen is a college, but it's not your typical one.  It specializes in game programming, which is pretty focused when you get down to it.  While most of the classes focus on the core studies of game programming, the curriculum also includes relatively few general education classes, focused toward game design or art.  As I said, such classes are not the focus of the education.  We spend most of our time in classes such as math, physics, computer graphics, and programming.  If you want to see what each of these classes is about, check out DigiPen's site or check out the red book in the DigiPen Information Packet.

What's DigiPen like?

This question is a little bit harder.  DigiPen is not for everyone.  Each year, it has been tough to see more than 100 Freshmen dwindle to 50 Sophomores, then to 30 Juniors, and finally less than 20 Seniors.  Many people simply see the title "Game Programmer" and think it is as easy as can be.  Unfortunately, this is not the case.  My first semester was relatively easy - I was at school a maximum of 8 hours a day, and due to my strong math skills, I was able to pass the classes with ease.  The second semester was a bit more of a surprise, requiring more than 10 hours at DigiPen each day.  Finally, by third semester, I was in the habit of being at school within half an hour of the doors opening, and getting reluctantly kicked out at 10:00 at night.  Often I would even find myself working an additional 3-4 hours at home.  The neat thing is that it doesn't feel like work.  Sure, I may have no life outside school, but school is where I put my life and my future.

So, you may be wondering why so much time is necessary.  First of all, it is by choice, not by requirement.  I am sure that I could pass my classes with 8 hours each day.  Unfortunately, that's now how I work.  Each semester, we have a game course, where we learn how the "real world" of game programming works.  We design, prepare, implement, market, and 'sell' our games.  Though I can sum it up in a sentence, it is one of the biggest aspects of our education.  The project courses give us the experience of working on a team, and actually implementing our ideas into a product that we can show.  Since most of us are at DigiPen to be game programmers, this is the focus of much of our energies.  I usually spend upwards of 25 hours each week on the game, reaching higher in crunch time.  This is actually very much above average, since we do have other classes and homework as well.  As my classmate, Anthony, said on his site, "We eat live and breathe DigiPen."

As for the teachers, they definitely know their stuff.  DigiPen is very interested in providing the best education possible, and it really shows in their teachers.  Our game teachers are game industry professionals, taking their time to teach their experience.  Our math teachers definitely know their stuff, and are amazing at helping with new ideas for in-game math.  We have an incredible CS department, led by an excellent mathematician gone CS.  All in all, each semester the new teachers get better and better.  The best thing about them is that they all believe in what DigiPen is doing.

What is a DigiPen graduate good for?

This is the hardest question I've tried to answer so far.  Though I may come across as biased, since this may directly affect my future, this is my true opinion.  I obviously came to DigiPen for a reason - to become a game programmer.  I must admit that the location was a major factor in my choice of a school, since I am from the area.  The other main reason was my love for programming and programming games.  As a project in High School, I worked on a small scale game with a friend.  Though it was a new area of programming for me, I fell in love with game programming.  After High School, I was planning on enrolling at the local community college, but finally determined to apply to DigiPen.  I was surprised to be accepted, but quickly made my choice to attend DigiPen.

So now, what will my degree be good for?  My hope is that it will show potential employers that I am dedicated to becoming a game programmer.  Though I could learn programming in C/C++ at any college, DigiPen gives a more accelerated and focused curriculum.  I could certainly take similar math courses at any university, but the focus toward uses in graphics and games would be missing.  The advantage of hiring a DigiPen graduate is that they know what they're doing.  We make games every semester, working on teams.  We share our knowledge with each other, and help to develop our skills as a group.  This helps us to learn how to learn from others, building on other people's strengths.  I like to think that a DigiPen graduate should be able to join a company and instantly become a key player in the development of a product.

This past Summer break, I also had a nice insight to the world of commercial software.  While games are my forte, I worked at a company called VitalLink in software development.  Though I hadn't programmed in Linux or Java previously, I was quickly able to adapt and develop key parts of VitalLink's multimedia interface.  This has helped me to understand that DigiPen isn't just about games, but it's about experience in product development, as well as the knowledge useful to programmers in general.

So, now it's up to you to determine what you think of DigiPen.  Please evaluate the course guides, see what other students have to say, and check out some of the projects.  They are well worth the download time, and are the most accurate gauge of the abilities and developments of a DigiPen student.