Game Design and Development

Hi
Here is the list of the top graduate schools for game design:
University of Utah(Salt Lake City, UT)
University of Central Florida(Orlando, FL)
Southern Methodist University(Plano, TX)
University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
DigiPen Institute of Technology (Redmond, WA)
Rochester Institute of Technology (Rochester, any)
To be considered for admission to the MS in game design and development, candidates must:
Have an undergraduate degree in a relevant field, such as information technology, computer Science, software engineering, or computer graphics. Students with undergraduate degrees in related disciplines such as computer animation or human computer interaction may be considered.Have a minimum GPA of 3.25 or a first-class international degree with distinction.Submit a portfolio that includes evidence of individual and group projects (clearly marked as such) relevant to the area that the individual wishes to study within the degree program.
TOEFL scores are also required and the fee structure varies so it may range between $45k to 60k.

Hi Praveen,
I'd be happy to understand your current stage of progress including academics, courses, hobbies and other interests to help you understand what in you can lead to game design and also what aspect of game design can suit you better. You may also like to read this about the kind of preparation the best students put into this http://bit.ly/1ddUSi8. Also, in most cases a broader learning like a combination of graphics, multimedia, web design, vfx, 2d and 3d animation, can lead to a better preparation towards launching oneself into a gaming career. A specialization in Game Design is a useful addon afterwards. And just to state the facts, none of the famous game designers in the world today have done anything remotely linked to game design. That said, do not take it as a bar to entry, but to elucidate the fact that a broad learning is always necessary to get into a challenging career such as game design. Now let's go into the nitty gritty on Game Design. To become a Game Designer, you must get a good knowledge of 3D software as well as preproduction. Usually in Games the environment is created in 3DSMax and Character animations in Maya, Only the models are made with less polygons and more textures. So choose a program that teaches you these software. It would not matter whether the programme is called game design programme or not. Rest, to become a level designer you must have a passion for game design. Also you must have passion for playing all kinds of games including card games, dice games, sports etc. The 3rd option is Game Design (it's different from Game Designer), where you design the game itself, i.e. what happens on each level, and how things go about as well as the base story of the game. It is a stage that you reach due to your vast knowledge and passion and even exceptional technical skills cannot help you reach. This is usually the story designer. May I ask, have you ever designed a game? Finally, to do game programming you would require knowledge of programming in which usually a BCA/ MCA would help. Typically game programmers usually would be knowing C, C+, Java, Android besides at least a Game Engine. Arena offers a very good Course in this regard namely AAIP where you can learn enough 3D Art and Effects for Gaming.
Hope this helps.
Wish you luck.