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CRYSIS CRYSIS In issue 278 MAY 2016 No Man’s Sky I Street Fighter V I Headsets Reviewed I World of Warcraft: Legion I Crysis revisited I www.pcgamer.com GreatYou Can Make Games

With big-name game engines like WE BELIEVE IN YOU! and Unreal opening up access to their incredible tools for free, it’s never been THE PRINCETON REVIEW RANKS easier to make your own games. But it’s not as easy as having a great idea THE BEST GAME DESIGN (although you’ll want one of those PROGRAMS IN NORTH AMERICA too). You need a wide range of design skills and experience, along with some TO HELP YOU DO IT. friendly artists and engineers. The best way to get that experience, meet the friends of the still-evolving game design field. that’ll work alongside you to make your project awesome, We’ve compiled their lists of the best undergraduate and connect with the mentors that can pass on their expe- and graduate game design schools over the next few rience and wisdom is to get a degree in game design from a pages, and included some stats and fun facts about university. But there are a ton of universities out there, and each. All of the stats are for graduates in 2015, and we’ll not all of them are taking game design seriously yet. break down why each of those stats are key to under - Thankfully, The Princeton Review has been care - standing the value of a game design program. fully monitoring and reviewing all of the game design Want to know more? Check out The Princeton programs in North America for years—applying their Review’s website for more info: www.princetonreview. famous analysis of universities to the unique intricacies com/college-rankings/game-design The Best TOP 50 GAME DESIGN UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS (CON'T) 5. BECKER COLLEGE 18. RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE Grads with Game Plan: 100% Game Design Game Courses: 189 Grads Salary: $75k 6. THE ART INSTITUTE Grads Hired: 35% OF VANCOUVER 19. COGSWELL COLLEGE Undergraduate Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 157 Grads Salary: $60k Game Courses: 185 Grads Hired: 50% 7. HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE 20. SHAWNEE STATE UNIVERSITY Programs Grads Salary: $60k Grads Hired: 80% Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 13 There are a lot of different ways to Fun Fact: Hampshire was a pioneer Game Courses: 41 of Game Design programs, offering 21. UNIVERSITY OF courses and degrees in the field of WISCONSIN-STOUT evaluate game design schools, so we’ll making awesome videogames in 1980—the earliest of any school on Grads With Shipped Game: 100% look at a couple key metrics for each. this list, and decades before most Grads with Game Plan: 100% others. 22. ABERTAY UNIVERSITY 8. MICHIGAN Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 125 STATE UNIVERSITY Game Courses: 83 Grads Hired: 75% 23. UNIVERSITY OF Grads With Shipped Game: 100% CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ 9. DREXEL UNIVERSITY Grads Salary: $75k Grads Salary: $55k Grads with Game Plan: 100% Grads With Shipped Game: 100% 24. SAVANNAH COLLEGE 1. UNIVERSITY OF 2. UNIVERSITY OF ART AND DESIGN UTAH OF SOUTHERN 10. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY Grads with Game Plan: 100% Grads Salary: $67k CALIFORNIA Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 31 Game Courses: 81 Game Courses: 177 Grads with Game Plan: 100% Grads Salary: N/A 25. MASSACHUSETTS Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 37 Grads with Game Plan: 100% 11. THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Faculty: Joe Barns (Epic Mickey, NFL Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 50 Blitz 2000, Mortal Kombat) Faculty: Richard Lemarchand Grads Salary: $65k Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 10 Cool Tech: Has tons of labs with (Uncharted 1, 2, and 3) Game Courses: 204 Game Courses: 71 Fun fact: Last year, more than 200 everything game designers need, from Cool Tech: Provides direct publishing 12. NORTHEASTERN motion capture to 3D printing to a game dev companies went to MIT for faculty and students to UNIVERSITY Treadport VR. commercially release their games to give lectures, collaborate on under the USC Publishing Games label Grads Salary: $82k projects, or recruit students for jobs. (the first of its kind). Grads With Shipped Game: 33% That's more than any other school 13. CHAMPLAIN COLLEGE on this list! Grads with Game Plan: 100% Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 198 14. VANCOUVER FILM SCHOOL Grads With Shipped Game: 66% Grads with Game Plan: 100% 15. BRADLEY UNIVERSITY 3. ROCHESTER 4. DIGIPEN INSTITUTE Grads Salary: $47k INSTITUTE OF OF TECHNOLOGY Grads With Shipped Game: 55% TECHNOLOGY Grads Salary: $63k 16. FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY Grads Salary: $66k Grads with Game Plan: 97% Grads Hired: 70% Grads with Game Plan: 100% Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 322 Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 45 Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 75 Faculty: Claude Comair (Mario vs. 17. LAWRENCE Faculty: Mark Henne (Pixar movies!) Donkey Kong, Ridge Racer DS) TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY Cool Tech: Launched a New Media Lab Cool Tech: Has arrangements with Grads Hired: 75% that has all the cutting edge tech for Microsoft and Nintendo to get special creating software and hardware, so dev equipment in all of their labs. Grads with Game Plan: 100% designers are never limited. hardware, so designers are never limited. TOP 50 GAME DESIGN UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS (CON'T)

36. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN- DEARBORN Grads Salary: $65k Grads Hired: 75% 37. KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY Grads Hired: 60% Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 20 26. FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY Grads Salary: $45k 38. TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY Grads Hired: 35% Grads Hired: 80% Fun Fact: Full Sail has more game Game Courses: 12 design alumni than any other 39. QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY school on this list. Over 1,800 game designers have graduated from Grads with Game Plan: 100% its program, including Rift Game Courses: 26 consultant Danny Bulla! Fun Fact: Quinnipiac is a leader HOMEWORK: 27. ABILENE CHRISTIAN in researching games for health UNIVERSITY and education. Bill Gates' charity awarded them a grant for their Grads Salary: $60k League of HIV-AIDs prevention app called Hot, Grads Hired: 100% Horny, and Healthy. 28. MARIST COLLEGE Legends Grads Salary: N/A Game Courses: 28 Learn the importance of 29. OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY “counterplay” in PvP design Grads Hired: 50% Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 5 The designers at Riot Games love to talk about how 30. MIAMI UNIVERSITY they make sure every champion has “counterplay” built Grads With Shipped Game: 100% into them. By that, they mean that the opponent has Grads with Game Plan: 38% an opportunity to see what their opponent is doing and 31. ACADEMY OF ART then take meaningful actions to react. UNIVERSITY 40. NEW ENGLAND INSTITUTE EXAMPLE: Nami’s ultimate Tidal Wave is a massive, Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 24 OF TECHNOLOGY Game Courses: 65 long-range AoE knock-up ability, but it travels Grads With Shipped Game: 5% 32. NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 24 extremely slow so that players can move out of the way TECHNOLOGY 41. UNIVERSITY OF if they’re paying attention. Grads With Shipped Game: 23% CALIFORNIA, IRVINE Grads with Game Plan: 23% READING MATERIAL: 42. SACRED HEART 33. NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY bit.ly/LoLCounterplay — UNIVERSITY 43. CORNELL UNIVERSITY Tom Cadwell’s slideshow Grads Salary: $68k from his GDC presentation Game Courses: 15 44. WESTERN UNIVERSITY “Counterplay and Teamplay.” 34. RINGLING COLLEGE OF ART 45. CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY & DESIGN HOMEWORK: Play a game of Grads Salary: $60k 46. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS LoL and look at how you’re Grads Hired: 92% UNIVERSITY - CARBONDALE able to counter opposing 35. DEPAUL UNIVERSITY 47. PURDUE UNIVERSITY champion’s abilities. Then Grads with Game Plan: 100% 48. THE UNIVERSITY OF TULSA Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 89 49. THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE play another game and look Fun Fact: DePaul has one of the UNIVERSITY for abilities that you can’t largest rosters of game design 50. EASTERN counter, and think about faculty, with 37 game design gurus KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY teaching their 36 courses. why those exceptions exist. What Makes a Game Design Program Good? THE PRINCETON REVIEW EXPLAINS THEIR JUDGING PROCESS PC Gamer has been reviewing games for decades, but reviewing college programs that teach devs how to make games is an entirely different beast. So we sat down with the brains behind The Princeton Review’s annual rankings list to find out what potential students should be looking for in schools. Academics Faculty 1 The Princeton Review 2 The Princeton Review also breaks up their analysis into 4 buckets: looks at how many faculty the game academics, faculty, technology, and design program has, what experi- career. The first thing they look at is ence they’ve had making successful academics. What sorts of courses do games, and how trained they are— they teach? What real-world skills even measuring PhD rates. Proven are students learning, and what developers with a track record of methods are used to teach them? making incredible games command The best schools are leading the the respect of students and help charge here with next-gen technol- guide the curriculum. ogy and hands-on development processes that mimic what game devs do in the real world. Career 4 The proof is in the pudding, as they say. (Which is a pretty weird Technology phrase when you think about it.) 3 The games industry is a But, in this case, the pudding is fast-moving place, and the best hiring rates. The Princeton Review game design programs stay on the takes very careful stock of what bleeding-edge of technology to happens to each school’s students make sure their students are learn- after they graduate. How many get ing the tools they’ll need to lead the hired? What’s their average salary? industry after graduating. VR, green Do many game studios want them, screens, motion capture, and 3D or just a few? printing labs are all common among the top schools.

Perhaps even more relevant, The Princeton Review also looks at how many students have already shipped a game by the time they graduate. A high percentage shows that the school is helping students build portfolios and gain meaningful experience for their resumes. For more info on The Princeton Review’s methods, visit www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings/game-design Top 25 Game Design Graduate Programs Some of the schools listed here might surprise you. The Princeton Review has analyzed every aspect of these schools' programs to identify where you have the best chance of succeeding.

1. UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL 2. S OUTHERN METHODIST FLORIDA UNIVERSITY Grads Salary: $63k Grads Salary: $61k Grads Hired: 93% Grads Hired: 87% Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 130 Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 250 Faculty: Ben Noel (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Star Wars: The Force Faculty: Dr. Matthew Streit (Halo: Reach, Saints Row The Third, South Park: The Unleashed) Stick of Truth) Cool Tech: An epic studio houses many different stages that are also used for Cool Tech: Every student gets an Alienware laptop and backpack loaded with movies and commercials, which offer students paid internships. every piece of professional software needed to make games—and they keep it after graduating!

3. UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 4. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Grads Salary: $87k Grads Salary: N/A Grads Hired: 96% Grads Hired: 90% Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 37 Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 50 Faculty: Joe Barns (Epic Mickey, NFL Blitz 2000, Mortal Kombat) Faculty: Richard Lemarchand (Uncharted 1, 2, and 3) Cool Tech: Has an industry-leading scanning lab that lets devs capture full 3D CGI models and textures of real people and objects. Cool Tech: Successful student teams are given financial, legal, and office support to start their own companies through USC Games Bridge. TOP 25 GAME DESIGN GRADUATE PROGRAMS (CON'T)

HOMEWORK: Darkest Dungeon Learn how harsh punish-

5. DIGIPEN INSTITUTE OF 14. TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY ments can increase fun TECHNOLOGY Grads Salary: $78k Grads Hired: 100% Grads Salary: $75k There are good and bad ways to make a game Grads With Shipped Game: 93% 15. DEPAUL UNIVERSITY challenging. The recent Kickstarter hit, Darkest 6. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY Grads with Game Plan: 100% Dungeon, is a great example of how to do it right. Like Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 29 Grads Hired: 73% , DD uses and crippling ailments Game Courses: 128 16. UNIVERSITY OF to make individual units disposable. That lets you to 7. ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF WISCONSIN-STOUT progress your permanent camp and facilities, even TECHNOLOGY Grads Hired: N/A when you fail during an individual mission. Game Courses: 10 Grads Salary: $75k EXAMPLE: Early on, the most efficient way to play is to Grads Hired: 80% 17. FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY simply grind through willing adventurers to earn money 8. DREXEL UNIVERSITY Grads With Shipped Game: 29% and callously discard them after they’re injured, instead Grads Hired: 38% Grads With Shipped Game: 100% of upgrading and healing them. Grads Hired: 82% 18. MASSACHUSETTS 9. THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY READING MATERIAL: bit.ly/DDCorpse — Look at how the AT DALLAS Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 10 devs respond to players’ outcry when they introduce Game Courses: 71 Grads Salary: $65k mechanics deemed too Game Courses: 49 19. UNIVERSITY OF punishing. PENNSYLVANIA 10. MICHIGAN STATE HOMEWORK: Play a one- UNIVERSITY Grads Salary: $75k Grads Hired: 35% hour session of Darkest Grads With Shipped Game: 100% Dungeon and keep Grads Hired: 70% 20. THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY - COLUMBUS track of everything 11. UNIVERSITY OF you do that would CALIFORNIA, SANTA CRUZ Grads Salary: $90k Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 20 be considered a Grads Salary: $85k “failure” in other Grads With Shipped Game: 70% 21. SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY games. Note 12. ABERTAY UNIVERSITY whether 22. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 125 or not you Game Courses: 83 23. UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI feel bad 13. SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF 24. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS about that ART AND DESIGN AT CHICAGO moment, like you Studios That’ve Hired Grads: 12 25. ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY would in another Game Courses: 75 genre, and why you feel that way.