# I pit my Games Engine Design professor **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 24, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589 "2013-09-24T17:08:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/1 "2013-09-24T17:08:25Z")
Here’s to you, you stupid, overdemanding fuckwit. Here’s to you giving us approximately one lecture and five days to get comfortable with C++ and Visual Studio 2012. Here’s to you saying that the homework is optional, making the homework _incredibly_ difficult and time-consuming (to the point where even the fastest pairs were spending 10+ hours a week, and some weeks some spent 30+ hours) and then making the material from the homework count almost 50% on the test. Here’s to you skimming over most of the “unimportant” topics in class and not offering any practical application exercises or indeed much of any hints on how to apply them at all, then placing practical applications of barely-addressed concepts in the test in very complex exercises. Here’s to you uniquely screwing us over on the test. It’s nothing new that tests have a practical half and a theory half - this is standard operating procedure in most programming subjects thus far. But normally all that means is that you need a total of 50% to pass. Not 50% _on each half_, meaning that most of those who failed (over half the course) failed on the absolutely unreasonable theory half. Here’s to you applying first-come, first-serve to tutor lessons for your class, but then deciding that the “fairness principle” means that you can’t apply that for the course in 3D modelling, which, for some bizarre reason, is limited to 30 participants, of which half should come from architecture rather than games design. And here’s to you making it clear that there’s no guarantee that any given student will _ever_ get to participate in that class. And this is why I made the thread - because I was reminded that I’m going to have to deal with this guy over the next few years in my subject. This guy. I thought I was done with him when I passed his unreasonable course (and I’m not just bitching here - as said, half the class failed _after_ they reduced the hurdle to pass the endterm from 40% to 30%). But it never ends. He runs quite a few of the Games Engineering courses. They weren’t kidding when they said I was in for a rough time, but this guy… Ugh. He drives me fucking crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/2 "2013-09-24T17:13:58Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Here’s to you giving us approximately one lecture and five days to get comfortable with C++ and Visual Studio 2012. Wouldn’t that be a prerequisite for the class? Why would a games engine design class have to teach you a programming environment? ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/3 "2013-09-24T17:20:38Z")
Welcome to Earth. It only gets worse. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/4 "2013-09-24T17:37:40Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Wouldn’t that be a prerequisite for the class? Why would a games engine design class have to teach you a programming environment? You’d think, right? No, they give us about a week to get used to C++, and then we have to program a diamond-square terrain generation algorithm. I must have spent _hours_ trying to figure out what “unallocated memory error” meant, because I was used to Java, Python, PHP, and every other programming language I’ve worked with telling me what it meant: “array index out of bound error”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/5 "2013-09-24T17:46:24Z")
And the best part, of course, is that I signed up for this class thinking I was going to get in, and then opted not to sign up for the other extracurricular I could have signed up for. So now I’m out of this one, and the other one is _full_. Urge to kill rising. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/6 "2013-09-24T17:55:28Z")
This is the problem with certain university programs, particularly technical ones; They are not all that interested in actually teaching the subject matter. They are interested in seeing which students already know the material, and/or are naturally gifted in this area. I think that some departments don’t actually want to teach undergrads. They just want to do research and work with graduate students that learned the topic “somewhere” ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/7 "2013-09-24T17:58:11Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > This is the problem with certain university programs, particularly technical ones; > > They are not all that interested in actually teaching the subject matter. They are interested in seeing which students already know the material, and/or are naturally gifted in this area. > > I think that some departments don’t actually want to teach undergrads. They just want to do research and work with graduate students that learned the topic “somewhere” I got this impression quite distinctly in the Discreet Structures math course. [QUOTE=me] And the best part, of course, is that I signed up for this class thinking I was going to get in, and then opted not to sign up for the other extracurricular I could have signed up for. So now I’m out of this one, and the other one is full. Urge to kill rising. [/QUOTE] IT GETS EVEN BETTER! Due to “fairness reasons”, once we attend one class from the assortment in Games Design, we can’t attend the others! Which means I either don’t take any extracurricular and just pile on more and more for my 5th and 6th semester, or I permanently lose out on the opportunity to take the ones I want! FUCK THIS SHIT. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/8 "2013-09-24T18:10:12Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > You’d think, right? No, they give us about a week to get used to C++, and then we have to program a diamond-square terrain generation algorithm. I must have spent _hours_ trying to figure out what “unallocated memory error” meant, because I was used to Java, Python, PHP, and every other programming language I’ve worked with telling me what it meant: “array index out of bound error”. :smack: Yes, but this is in no way your professor’s fault. It’s not unreasonable to expect students entering an advanced programming course to know a commonly used programming language like C++. And, if they don’t, they should have sufficient background in similar languages to be able to catch up. Yes, it sucks, but that’s why they have programming manuals and Google. Simply put – it’s not a C++ programming class. Spending more than one lecture on it is one less lecture on building game engines. ---
**Author:** ![PacifistPorcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PacifistPorcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PacifistPorcupine)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/9 "2013-09-24T18:21:08Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Simply put – it’s not a C++ programming class. Spending more than one lecture on it is one less lecture on building game engines. I had the same experience in college… a long time ago. In my first networking class the professor asked us to code an agent that would simulate a token ring over ethernet. I didn’t even know what a socket was. Data structures? Turing machine simulator. And on and on for each class. What professors kept telling us is “this is not a technical college, you are not here to learn programming.” Message is: you need to learn on your own. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/10 "2013-09-24T18:26:01Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Yes, but this is in no way your professor’s fault. It’s not unreasonable to expect students entering an advanced programming course to know a commonly used programming language like C++. And, if they don’t, they should have sufficient background in similar languages to be able to catch up. Yes, it sucks, but that’s why they have programming manuals and Google. > > Simply put – it’s not a C++ programming class. Spending more than one lecture on it is one less lecture on building game engines. The solution is to either have C++ proficiency as a prerequisite (either a class or a competency exam) or to have it clearly stated in the course description that students are expected to be proficient in C++. The academic advisors should be alerting he students to this as well. If the professor has any control (and he may not) over the course description or prereqs, he really should make it clear. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/11 "2013-09-24T18:43:49Z")
> [@Finagle](#): > > Yes, but this is in no way your professor’s fault. It’s not unreasonable to expect students entering an advanced programming course to know a commonly used programming language like C++. And, if they don’t, they should have sufficient background in similar languages to be able to catch up. Yes, it sucks, but that’s why they have programming manuals and Google. > > Simply put – it’s not a C++ programming class. Spending more than one lecture on it is one less lecture on building game engines. I would agree if it weren’t the second semester and second programming class at all for everyone involved, save those who were taking it again because they failed it last year (where it was even harder). I know you’re right, it’s just a bit of a kick in the teeth. ☹ The other stuff is kinda BS though. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/12 "2013-09-24T19:09:00Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > I got this impression quite distinctly in the Discreet Structures math course. Shhhh. You shouldn’t be telling everyone about that in a public forum! ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/13 "2013-09-24T19:19:35Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Shhhh. You shouldn’t be telling everyone about that in a public forum! Nobody here (well, other than you) knows who I am or even what university I’m talking about, and even if they knew what university I was talking about, they wouldn’t know which student I was. Besides, of all the things to take issue with, that one’s kinda silly. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/14 "2013-09-24T19:35:59Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Nobody here (well, other than you) knows who I am or even what university I’m talking about, and even if they knew what university I was talking about, they wouldn’t know which student I was. Besides, of all the things to take issue with, that one’s kinda silly. 😃 I think the joke was with the term Discreet (discrete). You wrote discreet, when you meant discrete. So he was teasing you about not being “discreet” and telling. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/15 "2013-09-24T19:57:30Z")
[Relevant _Safe Havens_ strip.](http://safehavenscomic.com/?webcomic1=september-24-2013) ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/16 "2013-09-24T22:09:33Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > Here’s to you, you stupid, overdemanding fuckwit. You’re paying good money for this, right? So raise your concerns about him not actually teaching the subject and not advertising the pre-requisites with the Dean. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/17 "2013-09-24T22:44:35Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > You’re paying good money for this, right? So raise your concerns about him not actually teaching the subject and not advertising the pre-requisites with the Dean. If you feel compelled to speak to someone, start with the dept chair. Deans really don’t like it if you leap frog the chair. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/18 "2013-09-24T23:16:23Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > You’re paying good money for this, right? So raise your concerns about him not actually teaching the subject and not advertising the pre-requisites with the Dean. We did, as did the class last year, and improvements were made - a little late, mind, but they happened. I’m mostly still pissed about this new crap. Not that we pay much, it’s one of those EU colleges. ---
**Author:** ![get\_lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@get\_lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/get_lives)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/19 "2013-09-25T03:13:43Z")
This is why I’m attending a local community college for as many of my CompSci prereqs as possible. I have little programming experience, and I DON’T need BS like this, right out of the gate. It’s a bad idea to go to a big research school for a CompSci undergrad degree, anyway. They don’t give a shit about you, they only want to do research. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589/20 "2013-09-25T14:00:16Z")
Dear God, not _10 hours_ of optional homework! Nobody can possibly handle a non-requirement like that. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-games-engine-design-professor/669589.md?page=2)