[gameprogrammer] Re: Grumble gripe... my class was canceled.
- From: "Alan Wolfe" <alan.wolfe@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: gameprogrammer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 2 Sep 2006 05:28:34 -0700
Heya Bob,
You know it's wierd, it seems like the current generation of programmers in
school don't have the same level of knowledge as those before them.
I'm only 25 but i took a college level computer science class at my high
school and it was like boot camp, i learned so much about different ADTs and
algorithms and had to know them inside and out and code them at the drop of
a hat.
That was the last year they did that, after that they changed the official
AP (advanced placement) computer science curriculum state wide (here in
california) and instead of focusing on ADTs and algorithms it seemed to only
focus on OOP...it was a very odd move.
In any case, i have been talking with alot of folks about this over the
years and the consensus is that only in very advanced CS classes do you
learn how trees and quick sorts etc actually work, and then normally they
just tell you "use the STL" without actually teaching them how to code
anything REAL.
An oddity for sure...but it just makes my knowledge all the more valuable
and in demand so i don't mind too much from that perspective :P
It is sad though to see things going that direction. I of course blame
microsoft (heheh).
But, i have to say wer eyou to offer classes in game programming online, and
i found one that had content i didn't know or maybe didn't know to the level
of detial you were offering it at, I think i would probably pay a couple
hundred $'s for it. Probably 1-300$ depending on just what was being
offered. If it was things i have never done before like vertex shaders,
advanced techniques straight out of the industry etc, i would gladly pay
300$ for a course in such a thing.
Maybe something like this would be proffitable...
I mean if worse comes to worse would it be possible to make up a DVD about
you courses and maybe sell the package for a couple hundred bucks and have
forums where people could discuss things and ask questions specific to each
"class"?
On 9/1/06, Bob Pendleton <bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Fri, 2006-09-01 at 08:38 -0700, Alexa Pongracz wrote:
> I would love to be able to take a class like yours. Have you
> considered an on-line class...just because there is nothing like that
> where I am and if there were I still have to work...just a thought
Yes, I have considered it. If I thought I could make money at it I would
do it in a minute. What would it be worth to you? Lay out what you
expect to learn and then figure out what you would be willing to pay and
let me know.
Bob Pendleton
>
> On 9/1/06, Bob Pendleton <bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> As many of you know I teach a class on game programming at
> Austin
> Community College. There are even a few of you out their who
> have taken
> it. For the first time I can remember it was canceled because
> not one
> student signed up for the class. I have had classes canceled
> because
> their weren't enough students, but I have never had zero
> students sign
> up for a class. The next day I read a student game postmortem
> linked off
> of slashdot that said that one of the problems they had was
> that they
> couldn't get enough programmers to join the project. It seems
> there were
> very few programmers in that school and the programmers were
> all busy
> doing their own projects.
>
> I checked at ACC and I see that all the art, design, and
> production
> classes are full, or nearly full, and that the programming
> classes are
> all empty, or nearly empty.
>
> I asked Bob McGoldrick (my boss at ACC) about this and he says
> that yes,
> most of the students are in the design track. He has trouble
> getting
> students for the programming track and they don't stay around
> very long,
> they take one or a few programming classes and then they leave
> the
> program.
>
> Now it could be that my class sucks and the word of mouth
> about it has
> made people refuse to sign up for it. OTOH, my evaluations by
> the
> students who take my classes mark me as one of the most highly
> rated
> teacher in the program. Way above the ACC average.
>
> So we have a pattern where there are lots of students learning
> game
> design and production and very few who can write the code, or
> even the
> scripts, needed for a modern game engine. Sounds like this is
> creating a
> great opportunity for game programmers. It also support the
> pattern I
> have seen in the past; there are lots of programmers who can
> do art and
> 3D modeling but very few artists who can do programming.
>
> Oh well, I have two nights a week free that I wasn't expecting
> to have
> free.
>
> Any comments?
>
> Bob Pendleton
>
> P.S.
>
> Yeah, this is a person grumble about the state of the world. I
> really
> love teaching my classes at ACC and it disappoints me when
> they get
> canceled. Anyone in the Austin area interested in a game
> development
> study group?
>
> --
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> --
> A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a
> homesickness, a lovesickness.
> Robert Frost
--
+--------------------------------------+
+ Bob Pendleton: writer and programmer +
+ email: Bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx +
+ web: www.GameProgrammer.com +
+ www.Wise2Food.com +
+ nutrient info on 7,000+ common foods +
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