What major in college would include Video Game Programming?

I don't know about Arizona, but I know 2 schools that offer computer gaming degrees. Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL, who coincidentally send a lot of interns to Tiburon Games in Orlando (They do work on EA sports games). And then there's Devry College.

art institute perhaps

You would major in computer science as that would give you everything you need academic-wise. Take relevant internships during the summers so you can have real job-related experiences to put on your resume. Good programs will help place you into internships at respectable places. Overall, you need to enjoy programming to succeed. CS has one of the highest wash out rates out of all majors since a lot of students enter not realizing what the program is all about. Programming is seriously time consuming stuff and if you don't put the effort into it, you will fail, no matter how talented you are.

If you live in Arizona and you want to take courses in video game design, than your best bet by far is the University of Advanced Technology (UAT) which is one of the top schools for video game and 3D programming in the country. This is a fully credited university that offers Associate and Bachelor Degrees specifically in the field of video game development and programming. You can also get a Masters of Science in Technology degree with a video game emphasis. The UAT is located in Phoenix with the main campus on Baseline just west of I-10. However the UAT is not a public state-run university and so tutition and funding may be more expensive than a state university (although they do have a variety of financial aid options). Also, because it is a relatively new school and is not going to be as strong in the other non-technical fields (humanities, english, languages, etc) a degree from UAT probably will not carry as much weight outside of the video game industry as a state school. If you were to go to one of the state schools (ASU, NAU, UofA) than the degree that you would want is Computer Science (CompSci). Note however, that Comp Sci degrees generally focus on the basic fundamentals of programming (syntax, logic, design patterns) and generally don't offer a lot of classes that focus on specific application types (like video games). You will be lucky to find more than maybe a single undergraduate class on the subject at most state universities. As a poster above mentions, you should start learning up on programming in general and make sure that it is what you really want to do. Under the screen and animations, all programs come down to lines of code that don't look all that different - if you don't like math and logic, you will not like any type of programming. Also be warned that the video game industry is very very small and job openings are few and far between. Another option, depending on what aspects of video games interest you, is getting a degree in graphic design focusing on creating animations and 3D models - if you look at the credits of most video games, you will see as many artist and graphic artist types as programmers. Just one more thing to consider. Anyways... to figure out if it is what you want, start learning up on it now. The main language you will want to learn is C++ (HTML and Java are rarely used for main-stream video games - they are too slow). You will eventually want to learn some assembly language too. There are a number of good books on both general programming and video game programming in the bookstores and when you get into High School you could probably try taking an introductory evening or summer class from the UAT. Video game programming is a tough skill and a very difficult place to find work... but if you think it is your passion, go for it.

You need to take programming, and you'll need to learn the 'languages' used to do the game programming ... HTML, C++, Java, etc. Why don't you call the schools you are thinking about attending, and ask them to send you 'catalogues' so you can see what types of computer courses you can take there ... my husband took a one year course in Web Management and taught 'game programming' at the same school for the next five years ... so you should be able to get a 'really good education' if you 'major' in computer programming, and take 'computer design' courses as your 'minor.'

slight warning about the video game programming.. my friend started going through it and hated it due to it being very boring. Do some research on it because most people don't like it.