Anyone with an MA in games design / Art?

LouisClegg

Hi Guys, I'm looking for advice from anyone who's undertaken, or has any knowledge on having a masters in the games industry.

First things first, I currently have a full time job creating 3D models for bathroom and kitchen manufacturers. Its not games, but its a start. Problem is the pay is low and living here is quite expensive. Doing my masters I could live with my parents and get a part time job. Which means I'll earn about the same because I wont be paying rent (lucky me!) and I'll have the benefit of developing my folio while learning. The course will put me at least £6000 in debt, which I would be happy to do knowing its worth it. I guess that's what I'm really trying to figure out here. Is worth the cost?But at the end of the day the truth is my current job is really doing nothing to develop the skills required to get into the games industry.

The course I'm looking at is for games design, but is quite art focused. The whole course seems quite geared towards my interests, i.e environments and assets. But I know there are more things I should consider. My main concern is would having this on my CV be much of a benefit? I know portfolio is key. My current folio is pretty meh. Nothing jaw dropping (far from it really), but I am working to develop it, and its my hope this Masters will help me get to a professional standard. 

Here's a link to my portfolio, if it will affect advice in anyway - http://www.louisclegg.co.uk/
And here is the course I'm looking at taking - https://www.shu.ac.uk/study-here/find-a-course/ma-games-design

Thanks and hopefully someone out there can offer me their advice and / or experience!

p.s sorry if this is the wrong spot, I didn't see anywhere for careers advise! And I believe there are similar questions out there but the usually relate to bachelor degrees rather than masters.

Michael_Ingrassia

An MA won't get you a job. It's only needed if you want to teach at a University. Only a strong portfolio will get you an interview, the degree would be a bonus if you had an excellent portfolio. PM me for some advice.

Kwramm

I don't think it's worth it. First, a game related MA gets you pretty much nothing on the resume. It can be useful, skill-wise, if it's a highly specialized MA. For example VFX, or where you get access to things you don't have at home, like a Mo-cap studio. The second problem is that a mixed MA - game design and art - makes you a master of none. Lastly, if you're looking to further your art skills, any programme should offer more than just asset creation. There's no magic behind translating things into 3D other than a good workflow (which you can learn e.g. from fellow Polycounters, right here) and practice, practice, practice and more practice.

In general, the masters degrees which are useful in gaming are either technical or managerial. MFAs with a focus on traditional art, such as sculpture, might also have some worth (or maybe not).

LouisClegg

Thanks guys and sorry for the delayed response. 

This isn't the answer I was hoping for, but I have to face the truth, £6k just isn't worth it. As I think you both pointed out, you can learn it all here or on other sites. I cant't justify that cost knowing I can learn most if not all for free. I think the course just sounded fun and I was blinded by that. Time to get my head down and develop the portfolio!

Thanks again!