Should you go to video game school? Well, that depends on a number of factors. Those mainly being your current background and skills in the industry. Many people go to learn the skills. Some go to gain contacts in the industry. It us up to you to survey whether this is an option for you or not.
First of all, congrats for pursing your passion. A lot of people keep their dreams bottled up. Don’t be one of those people. If you have a desire to get into gaming, then you probably should. A lot of people glorify the industry. That is because you literally get to play games as your day job! It can’t get cooler than that!
There are many different jobs you can train for in a video game school such as sound composer, technical game designer, associate engineer, technical artist, and associate producer. Each job requires specialized training to a certain degree. Designers learn a lot of design in school but they are naturally creative. Some people will get to do different unique things, such as sound designers who literally get to break stuff and blow things up just to record it and put the sound in a game! That’s crazy!
Engineers are the more technical types of people and work with graphics and building the actual game. These people are more math and logic based. They also tend to work closely with all other members of a game development studio. The engineers also deal with all the math and coding behind the games. Technical artists solve problems for the programmers and designers. Their job is one that is always changing on an almost daily basis. If you like change, you should train for that career path.
Your producer is more business minded and keeps his mind on the money, and his money on his mind. He is behind making sure everything remains on budget, on schedule, and on time. He makes sure that a finished product goes out on time and out to the retailers so it can be sold. He sees over all the dollars and cents of a game development studio.
Still want to get in the gaming industry? Start off small and work your way up. So in the end, should you go to video game school? I would say that it is always a valuable experience to be around like minded people. Plus you gain a foot into the industry. That is always helpful no matter what!