If you want the masters degree because you want the focused education, then go for it.

If you want the masters degree because your career plans include roles where it looks good, then go for it.

If you want the masters degree because you think it will help you find a job easier, or you're trying to bump your wages by a significant amount, don't bother.  There will be a very slight benefit to those things, but probably not enough to justify the money, time, and effort involved in getting the degree.

A masters degree in a computer science department -- as opposed to a game school's trade degree program -- will include all the topics many people hate. Those usually revolve around the math-heavy theory classes like compiler theory, algorithm theory, complexity theory, and similar depending on the school's names. The courses are typically mandatory, and some schools require additional qualifying examinations taken a short time after having the course.

There are good reasons for requiring the rigorous courses. The nature of a masters degree is that it implies mastery. Upon earning their masters degree some students immediately begin teaching undergrad students. If the masters degree student does not fully understand those topics they will struggle to teach them, or be unable to explain the concepts well to others.

With the game industry trade school degree all bets are off. For example, CMU's Guildhall offers a "Master of Interactive Technology". They are not a CS degree. 

DigiPen offers both options, the traditional degree and the . You can get trade degrees in game design or a masters in digital arts, and you can also choose the more rigorous traditional degrees like a BS or MS in computer science.  They will let students transfer to the less-rigorous programs if they were already in a more advanced one, but if you're going through the other way students need to be prepared to show skills in mathematics and academics generally.

On 10/1/2017 at 5:56 AM, HunkofSteel said:

Digipen's Bachelor Degree in RTIS seems to fit my bill as it allows me to breakthrough to the industry while setting up my foundations properly. 

 

DigiPen's degree won't give you a magical stepping stone into the industry. It may help you, it may hurt you. There are plenty of people (including DigiPen alumni) out there who look back on their time at the school and believe it was helpful - and may be inclined to look on candidates from DigiPen favorably. There are also plenty of people (including DigiPen alumni, including myself) who look back on the program and believe it wasn't really that great -- and may be inclined to look on candidates from DigiPen unfavorably.

I generally recommend people go for more generalized computer science degrees than specialized stuff like what DigiPen offers. But it ultimately depends a lot on what you are looking for in your future, and what you can or cannot afford to do now.

On 10/1/2017 at 5:56 AM, HunkofSteel said:

While I am confident in my C++ (used it for around 4 years), I am not confident enough to say that I can create a Game Engine myself (given infinite time).

Being able to "create a game engine yourself" is not something you generally need to do in the games industry, for what it's worth. 

What are you career goals? What do you want to do immediately after finishing your education, and where do you want to be in five or ten years?