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[flame99]

So, I'm about to enter High School, and the district just kinda pulled a dick move: They decided to give us a brand new system in which we choose an "Endorsement Area", which they told us nothing about until today. Frankly, I have no idea what I would want to choose, and information about the new plan is scarce to say the least. They handed out a helpfully uninformative packet, and pretty much the only thing that helps even slightly is the following information about each endorsement area, and the career paths within them. Namely, they're:

• STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Math
• Business & Industry: Information Technology, Communication, Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Graphic Design, Architecture, Agriculture Science
• Public Service: Health Science, Education Training, Law Enforcement
• Arts & Humanities: Political Science, World Languages, Cultural Studies, English Literature, History, Fine Arts
• Multidisciplinary Studies: Various advanced courses from several endorsement areas

I've been wanting to go into game design, but I have no idea what endorsement area would be helpful for getting into the industry. On top of that, I only have until tomorrow night to decide, and as such don't really have time for any research other than surface level things. So, do any of you have the slightest idea of what I should take in order to aid a potential career in game design?

[David Holmes]

That system sounds pretty stupid... most people starting college don't even know what they want to do with their lives; never mind high school.

To be honest, what you learn in high school will likely be pretty irrelevant for your future career, assuming you plan on going to college (which you probably should be planning on).  So I would just pick whichever you think you'd enjoy or excel at based on your previous school experiences.  If you really have no preference, I'd pick STEM (unless you think you're terrible at those things) or "Multidisciplinary Studies" which probably leaves the door open for a lot of things.

[ed boy]

Without more information on what's in multidisciplinary studies, I'd say that the order of preference of the endorsement areas would be the same order you listed them in.

[Vector]

Do multidisciplinary coding focusing on Graphic Design, Programming/Mathematics, and the Arts/Humanities stuff if you want to do game design.

[nenjin]

FWIW, "Multidisciplinary studies" is the term used to describe many college athletes' degree. So definitely know more about it first.

[gimlet]

Yeah looks like "STEM" or multidisciplinary studies of mainly STEM but maybe some graphics design (are you any good at that?  If so, take a bit more.  If you don't know, try taking 1 to find out, or figure a way to find out on your own).  If you're gonna want to program you really need the math, so don't avoid it, take the most rigorous track you can.  Or you'll be paying bigger buclks and wasting college time to talke it then.   And history, but you should really be reading a lot of it on your own, because all you'll get from the typical HS class (or even most college "survey" classes) is superficial politically correct fluff.

And study the stuff you are really interested in on your own, because even if it's a pretty good school the classes will probably be disappointingly slow, shallow and vague :p

[Vector]

FWIW, "Multidisciplinary studies" is the term used to describe many college athletes' degree. So definitely know more about it first.

Yeah.  Ideally I'd say STEM for programming/learning systems/worldbuilding things/getting people later in life to respect you, but for the aesthetic part of game design you need an equally hefty amount of Theories of Interpretation stuff.  Don't ignore humanities just because our culture is insulting the fuck out of them right now.  It wasn't always like this, and you need them badly.

[Carp McDwarfEater]

My school has a similar system. In all honesty it doesn't matter much, but I chose STEM. At least in my high school, computer programming classes count as business ones, though. So I'd say consider going with Business and Industry, and if you don't do that, go STEM.

[Sensei]

At least in my high school, computer programming classes count as business ones, though.

What

Anyway, going by the normal-people uses of all those fields (which if you're just going into high school I don't blame for not having heard of, but they're a real thing) I'd say game design is definitely STEM as well as artistic. The actual code can only be described as an engineering problem and the actual matter of trying to make a piece of media which entertains people, not to mention actual visual design, is artistic. At the very least, it includes whatever field your school puts their film design class into.

Also, I wouldn't worry about it too much. This probably amounts to a survey anyway, and most people learn how they feel about these different schools of though DURING high school, not right when they enter it.

[acetech09]

I don't think it really matters except for your high school experience, honestly. It might have a slight bonus in college applications, but the benefit is negligible. But if it does affect your future classes in any way then it is definitely worth some thought.

First off, you mention game design, but code and art are two completely different things -- If you're interested in Code and Engineering, STEM should be the way to go. The Arts & Humanities route would be better for frontend design stuff*.

Best advice that I can give: Don't do something you hate. Don't do something you like but won't get you anywhere, either.

*Not just for the Art stuff but those History and Humanities courses are also quite helpful. Take DF, for instance. Zach (History Major) is constantly contributing to Dwarf Fortress, providing input into psychology and history into the DF fantasy world. At the game company I worked at, the graphic designers worked very closely with the writers, and often were one in the same. It led to a very well-designed cohesive unit. So, if you're interested in art, don't shrug off the humanities classes -- understanding your audience gives your art more impact.