I was in one of the first classes graduating way back in 2006. My role was game designer. I was very happy with it, even if a lot of stuff was more unorganized back then and we were kind of the "guinea pigs" of the whole thing
. I will definitely recommend! It was an invaluable experience with doing actual game development, both when things were fun and worked great, and when everything sucked (which it definitely will at times...)
.
That being said, I wouldn't look at an education being "the goal" of studying games
. I would look at an education as a means to become a better game developer, and in the case of Dadiu - getting experience with a big scale, practical project, working with other team members.
I of course don't know which rumours you've heard. I guess people's experience will always differ. I'm pretty sure the people arranging the dadiu courses are always interested in hearing critique and feedback, so hopefully the "rumour monger(s)" has been giving the feedback to the right people
I should probably mention that I have taught level design classes at dadiu the past couple of years, so I'm somewhat affiliated with the whole thing.
Hope you find out what's best for you to pursue
. Dadiu is definitely not the only way to learning game development or becoming a game developer, but to me it was an important part of my education and I can only recommend it.