failed Uni application :/

out of curiosity - where did you apply? environment looks good for a first application but I'd try to push it further in the time that you are waiting for another gig.

Agreed, as an application to try and get in to a school... it seems silly they didn't want to take you.

They perhaps don't appreciate how difficult it actually is to do what you did in Spark, is my guess. It's not easy to do what you did, and most people never even get to that point.

Where you should go from here I'm not sure, but you're not helpless by any means.

Equally surprised they didn't take you.

Where did you apply? Maybe the Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin?

If your answer is yes and you are from germany (at least understand the german language) I might have a video for you.

That layout is better than 95% of university students graduating in game design

Yep, thats ridiculous. Assuming you have some further education qualifications any university in the UK would take you with that portfolio.

If you didn't get in after demonstrating that I'm really not sure I'd actually want to go to that University. They either have impossibly high expectations or they're fuckin' clueless.

Out of interest, I wonder how many of MapCore's pros went to Uni?

I went to Uni to study Games Design and it was a huge waste of time.

I'm Bachelor in Game Design (4 years).

I too feel like I've wasted some time in there, but at the same time I could point a few benefits...

Quote from ChA1NsAw

I advise you to check the website out: http://www.digitalartsandentertainment.be

my gosh, completely flash websites still do exists!

I have a Bachelors in game art. It was pointless, 3/22 from my year managed to get industry jobs. marks went to the same uni as me (year below) and left after one year and works at CA. Says it all.

whats uni?

I went to Digital Arts & Entertainment in Belgium as well. I think it's one of the best decisions I have made. Mind you, it's mostly a generalist education but I think that actually is its strong point. If you do jack shit in your spare time you won't be good enough in a certain branch to move to a professional carreer so you gotta work on that besides school work. But all the extra knowledge of different disciplines really helps in the end!

So yeah, I think getting a degree can be great because you get to meet like minded people, can collaborate on projects. Learning things on your own, with pressure to find a job, usually takes way more time in comparison to having it explained and having assignments that teach you workflows step by step.

Of course there's folks out there that can figure it out on their own but you need to have mad perseverance for that I'm not ashamed in saying I would never have ended up where I am now if I hadn't gone to uni, it's rough out there. Uni can help you land and internship... etc. I think it's great, just make sure you don't waste 3 years of your life by being passive during that time!

IMO the most important thing is to make good use of your time. A lot of people let years go by in their late teens and early twenties without really moving forward. I personally thought college was a good experience because I got to dip my toes into numerous disciplines and more importantly it developed me socially and helped me to become a functional, productive adult. But at the same time, I actually think that most of the skills I use in my successful career now I developed during my free time outside of college classes.

To put it another way, being in education gave me something to do for a few years while I worked on endless personal projects and taught myself everything I wanted to learn. Some of what I learnt at college fed into my long-term goals, some didn't. At the very least, having some kind of education looks better on a resume than none, and I had some great experiences that're nothing to do with work, met some great people.

So I wouldn't get too beat up over not getting onto the course you want. Getting onto an alternative course or going elsewhere isn't the end of the world, nor is taking on a shitty job in the meantime and spending a lot of your spare time working on your skills. Just do something — give yourself actual projects to work on, just like you would at Uni. Whether you release them or not can depend on the end quality, but keep doing so in mind.

As long as your heart is in the right place you'll succeed. Many people who go to Uni don't have that true heart and passion for making games, so it doesn't help them much professionally. The dudes that succeed would probably have done so anyway, but they'd also have probably gone bankrupt and ended up homeless if they didn't do either education or low-grade work to keep things ticking while they got themselves to the right level.

Quote from Thrik

If you didn't get in after demonstrating that I'm really not sure I'd actually want to go to that University. They either have impossibly high expectations or they're fuckin' clueless.

Out of interest, I wonder how many of MapCore's pros went to Uni?

studied computer scienceWhich is helpful because A. I can script in basically any language B. I know when programmers are bull shitting me. (not that I can necessarily do anything about it ) C. I had to do all my work on level design in my spare time and push all my uni projects towards games related stuff

I've taken a few classes at my local community college. There are some great classes there for learning 3D stuff. Since its in an area with a lot of film/game/TV industry most of the teachers are actively employed doing the things they teach, and just teach classes on the side. It's pretty great because it's ridiculously cheap and the teachers are extremely knowledgeable if you ask questions.

University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt. Same as penE, moc, Sector-Effector and a few more on here. Its okish - given that its free I wouldn't call it a mistake. Got me a few good contacts, a bachelor's degree and 2 years of toying around with a few different things.

BA Digital Media in Game and Animations.