Well, is there a major for game programming?

It all depends on what you want to do. Personally I would go to school for a Bachelors in Computer Science. Take note that "Computer Science" is the whole shebang not just game development. However there are schools that offer Computer Science degrees but you do it in a game developers sense if you get what I mean. You could get an arts degree but I would NEVER recommend it over a computer science degree. This is of course assuming you want to be a programmer and not a graphic artists ect.

Hm.. What about Computer Information Systems? Light programming in that field as well..?

You honestly have to look at the class curriculum. You have to be really careful when picking a school for this because you can be screwed over if you don't look and make sure you're learning what you want/need to be. If you just want to do the programming you'll probably see classes on c++, c#, or even java. Stay away from any VB classes because this isn't going to be what you're looking for. Also you want to look and see if the degree has graphical programming classes in it too because a lot of schools mix graphic design with programming and you probably don't want that kind of degree.

If you want to look at others discussing a similar topic refer to here Schools

You honestly have to look at the class curriculum. You have to be really careful when picking a school for this because you can be screwed over if you don't look and make sure you're learning what you want/need to be. If you just want to do the programming you'll probably see classes on c++, c#, or even java. Stay away from any VB classes because this isn't going to be what you're looking for. Also you want to look and see if the degree has graphical programming classes in it too because a lot of schools mix graphic design with programming and you probably don't want that kind of degree.

If you want to look at others discussing a similar topic refer to here Schools

To clear up here:

graphical programming == good
graphic design == bad

I think?

Keep in mind when making these life choices that a backup plan is always a good idea. Example, you get a CS degree but cant get a game programming job, could you live with being an IT guy or a network administrator? My apologies to any CS people if that's uniformed in the details, but you get the idea. Example, I took a physics and engineering degree because I had NO IDEA (still dont) what I wanted to do, but this left a whole lot of doors open.

Well, I could live with an IT job, sure. I mean, CIS majors are open to business jobs which makes it a broader major than CS which is supposedly broad as well. However, I do not see many "open" doors for cs majors other than programming, IT, and academia. I know this by fact.. I have several family members who are in finance/accounting that graduated with a CIS degree. I was planning to do engineering as well since I enjoyed physics in highschool.. However I've heard that an engineering degree would take a little longer to complete due to the rigorous curriculum. My goal is to pretty much get employed right away and get some experience down. And for a hobby, develop games and such, maybe be able to apply to a gaming company and learn through the job how to program more.

I was planning to do engineering as well since I enjoyed physics in highschool.. However I've heard that an engineering degree would take a little longer to complete due to the rigorous curriculum.

Bah! A bachelor's degree in anything can be completed in 4 years (or eve less if you work through summer). That's not to say an engineering degree wouldn't be more difficult, but length should be comparable.

Besides, while you might see it as a negative, when you've completed it, you'll be glad you took the more difficult path because it makes you more attractive to companies, teaches you how to solve problems, teaches you how to handle stress, and makes you a better person.

[quote name='xaviarrob' timestamp='1323065174' post='4890616']
You honestly have to look at the class curriculum. You have to be really careful when picking a school for this because you can be screwed over if you don't look and make sure you're learning what you want/need to be. If you just want to do the programming you'll probably see classes on c++, c#, or even java. Stay away from any VB classes because this isn't going to be what you're looking for. Also you want to look and see if the degree has graphical programming classes in it too because a lot of schools mix graphic design with programming and you probably don't want that kind of degree.

If you want to look at others discussing a similar topic refer to here Schools

To clear up here:

graphical programming == good
graphic design == bad

I think?

Keep in mind when making these life choices that a backup plan is always a good idea. Example, you get a CS degree but cant get a game programming job, could you live with being an IT guy or a network administrator? My apologies to any CS people if that's uniformed in the details, but you get the idea. Example, I took a physics and engineering degree because I had NO IDEA (still dont) what I wanted to do, but this left a whole lot of doors open.
[/quote]

Precisely what you said here. If you want to be a programmer and it's truly what you want to do, go for a degree without graphic design. Graphical programming is just another way of how I would say is learning the specific graphic libraries you want to use. You can learn to use stuff like 3DS max and all the stuff you need to make temporary models or w/e on the internet if you wanna be a programmer, no need to pay for it.

For getting a job right away, either would be perfectly ok (depending on your location of course and the jobs available there). With becoming a game programmer it's always recommended even if you go to school to make your own games on the side to show that you can actually use the knowledge you've learned. You will usually take a test on the language specific to the company anyway (to show you know the language). The biggest thing to remember is if down the line you want to have that nice Game Programming job is for you to learn what you need to know, on your own or not, and work on your own projects whenever you can. Also remember that a lot of companies have advancement opportunity so say you're a QA guy at a video game company you could always work your way up (as hard as it is).

Overall, this thread has become a Breaking In discussion, so I'm moving it out of For Beginners (a technical forum).

How can you tell its for "graphical design" can you explain? i'm not familiar..

Like I said before, look at the class curriculam list. There will be classes on it that have "Graphic" and not programming in them. also they could be in the form of Photoshop/3ds max classes.