CAGD Now
Welcome to #TeamCAGD!
Hello and welcome to the Computer Animation and Game Development Program!
Since 1999, the Computer Animation and Game Development (CAGD) Program has grown into what it is today and we want to share our story with you! Before exploring this page, we invite you to start your journey with The Origin of CAGD.
After that, feel free to come back to this page and learn about all the great things that our program has to offer. At the end of it all, we hope future students, such as yourself, feel inspired and excited about starting your career with us!
Topics To Explore
The following are all the topics that you can explore on this page. You are welcome to choose your own adventure and navigate at your own pace. Feel free to scroll down to any topic in particular or scroll through it all! All the following topics are listed in order of how they appear on the page.
Why did you choose CAGD?
"I started off as a music performance major and I decided to take "Intro to Computer Graphics" class as an elective. Painting in Photoshop and then eventually animating my first bouncing ball got me hooked. From there I changed my major to Game Development and joined the Computer Graphics Club where I eventually became an officer. Participating in game jams and charity livestreams with the major was an opportunity I wouldn't have had if I were anywhere else on campus. Although our major is challenging, I found that this is exactly what I needed to stay engaged and continue to test my knowledge through my projects."
-Isabella Gentile
Animation Production
Want to learn about Animation Production? You have come to the right place! The following video will give you a little bit of insight into the Animation Production Option of CAGD.
Why did you choose CAGD?
"I was drawn to the program because of how hands-on it was. We are getting real life experience by making our own games and different projects where we apply what we learn in lectures. Becoming a Game Developer has always been my dream as well as going to Chico State. When I first transferred, I couldn't believe that my dream came true. I knew again that CAGD was where I wanted to be when all of my instructors and peers didn't treat me differently just because I am deaf. They welcomed me, always tried to be inclusive, and made sure things were accessible. It's nice to know that others believe in you as much as you believe in yourself."
-Ryan Cabras
Game Development
Interested in Video Game Development? You have come to the right place! The following video will give you a little bit of insight into the Game Development Option of CAGD.
Why did you choose CAGD?
"I have always had a strong urge to create. If I wasn't doodling in my sketchbooks, then I was mostly likely editing my videos (I used to be a huge film nerd). When I came to Chico State, I didn't even start off in this program...I didn't even know it existed. As time went on, I just kept worrying that I wasn't following my creative drive. Once I saw the program, I just knew I had to switch. Now I like to consider myself as a 3D artist who has a strong urge to create beautiful game environments and assets. I've learned so much from this program and switching to it was the best decision I have ever made."
-Vanessa Villegas
Why did you choose CAGD?
"When I was in the 8th grade, I realized my dream of becoming someone that makes movies. I realized that I had so many stories in my brain and I wanted to share them with the world. Looking at colleges, I hadn't even considered Chico State until my dad encouraged me to give it a try. I instantly fell in love with the campus and after coming to Choose Chico Day and meeting all the faculty in the CAGD Program, I was pretty much sold. From that day forward, I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. CAGD has allowed me to make lifelong friends, develop my skills and be guided by a brilliant bank of professors, as well as travel down roads I would have never gone down without the right push."
-Olivia Yee
Motion Capture
One of the elements that makes the CAGD Program so unique is our in-house Motion Capture Studio! Our very own Frank Pereira is here to tell you a little bit about the Motion Capture portion of our major and show you some examples of things that our students create.
Why did you choose CAGD?
"I chose the CAGD Program for a multitude of reasons. First, it was the only school that I found with a program like it. It was a full major that was recognized by companies as 'doing it right'. Second, I have been around Chico my whole life and have always loved the feel of the school. The third reason that I chose this program was that I wanted to learn something new. I went into this major with zero knowledge of how to use any system to make a game. The only thing I knew was that it was hard work. Now, here I am in the program with the intention of programming for video games. Who would have known?"
-Alex Olah
Student Community
Interested to know how your student can get involved in the CAGD Program and around Chico State? The following video will give you a little insight on how students can get involved throughout their time with us.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How rigorous is this program? Is my student just going to play games all day?
Definitely not. Upon graduation students will have a minimum of 3 published titles. Our program focuses on teaching students modern game development skills in a hands on project based environment. See the course catalog for the list of required courses.
- What programming language should I learn? Which engine should I learn?
Our program is software and tool agnostic. Rather than focus on teaching specific software or languages our instructors maintain a theoretical, and problem solving approach which encourages students to approach problems and challenges with a “best tool for the job” mentality.
- What tools do you commonly use in the program?
There will be variation as our view is that software is simply a tool, and usually you want the right tool for the job. Also the industry can change and evolve quickly so while we might list something here, what we use can rapidly change.
That being said, our most commonly used tools are: Maya, Substance Designer/Painter, Adobe Photoshop, Unity, Jira, and Trello.
To learn more about the hardware and software that we require, we invite you to visit our Hardware/Software Page(opens in new window) on our website to explore more on this topic.
- How much does all the required software cost?
Good news, we use as many free tools as possible. Maya and Substance are free for students. Unity and Trello are free for personal use. Adobe Photoshop and Jira are paid for by the program.
To learn more about the hardware and software that we require, we invite you to visit our Hardware/Software Page(opens in new window) on our website to explore more on this topic.
- Are there really jobs?
Yes. Jobs are always being posted and even put into banks from websites like Game Developer(opens in new window). However, there is a caveat. Competition for entry level positions is fierce. There are more and more people trying to break into the Game Industry every year.
- What is an average starting salary?
It really depends on the job that you are looking for, but you can find some starting salaries through a website called Glassdoor(opens in new window).
These numbers are extremely dependent on 2 factors:
1) Specialization - artists v. engineers v. producers
2) Location - salaries in major cities will be higher than in smaller cities/countries.
- What are the laptop requirements?
We would like to direct your attention to the Hardware and Software Requirements page(opens in new window) on our website to see specifications for CAGD Students on laptops and/or you can see the ECC's requirements for laptops in the college(opens in new window). Our page, however, will have more specific requirements for our students.
- Will I have to buy a bunch of textbooks?
No! Since we know that our students will have to purchase a better than average laptop, we do our best to keep textbook requirements to a minimum.
- I see there is an internship requirement, do you place students into internships?
While we would love to be able to do this, the reality of the state of the Game Industry is that competition for these positions is high. Students will need to do some work in hunting for an internship themselves. Networking with their friends/family, peer group, and the Computer Graphics Club alumni will go a long way here.
To see some of the resources that we have to help our students out with internships, feel free to visit our Internship Help(opens in new window) and Internship Requirements(opens in new window) pages on our website.
- What are jobs like in the industry?
Depending on what you are doing in the industry, you will have a different experience. We do have some insight into specific areas based off of alumni and our faculty that have experience. Jobs, we are finding, are a mix of a lot of different elements. Software Development is the first part, which is notoriously difficult. On top of that, it is Software Development combined with Art, all with a nebulously defined end goal of being "fun" and "entertaining".
At the end of the day, in the industry and within our classrooms, we manage to produce products. Part of our curriculum, in fact, is the production of at least 3 major projects when completing the degree. Though it is challenging, we continue to encourage our students to apply for these jobs and we have a good sum of our students that are out in the industry doing great things!
Thank you!
Thank you for going on this adventure with us!
We invite you to explore our page and look into particular areas that may be of interest. Our team of faculty and staff are proud of the amazing work our students are producing and hope future students like you feel inspired and excited about starting your career with us! We hope you feel inspired and excited about your career in the computer animation and game development industry! We're proud of the program we've developed and invite you to visit us and tour our beautiful campus.
Stay connected with us on social media. Find us on Facebook(opens in new window) @ChicoStateCAGD and Twitter (opens in new window)and Instagram(opens in new window) @ChicoState_CAGD.
