From 2010-2014, John Pile Jr ran the Game Programming degree at Champlain College. In addition to his director responsibilities, he also taught the following courses:
Additional student comments can be found at RateMyProfessor.com.
Graphics Programming I
This course takes a shaders-first dive into modern computer graphics programming. Students are introduced to vertex and fragment shaders, 2D and 3D coordinate spaces, drawing primitives, lighting and shading, data flow and manipulation, and modern GPU capabilities. Linear algebra and 3D math concepts will be refreshed and/or introduced for applicable topics.
“I loved this class and it helped me get more excited about graphics programming, the instructor was very well versed and explained things clearly”
“This class is done very well, I thought the method of teaching was very effective. For the first few classes I didn’t really like it but it all comes together, making us learn things on our own is a great way to get us to really understand the material.”
“I think Pile is a great professor, one of Champlain’s best! He knows what hes doing and he knows how to teach it. Too often tech professors know the material but cant teach it well, this is not a case for Professor Pile!”
“Having had John Pile before I specifically designed my schedule to take this course from him. He is an excellent teacher and has been in every class I have had him in. He does his best to teach students the course material and actually cares about his students. He is by far the best teacher I have had at Champlain in my three years here.”
“I had a great time in this class and I definitely feel like I learned a lot. Sometimes the work load seemed like a little much, but it was still doable.”
“John Pile is a great teacher. I really enjoyed his teaching, and his perspective of things. The course was excellent and I received a lot of knowledge from my teacher and the course. I cannot wait to learn more from him in the second part of the course.”
“Solid teaching method of giving the general idea and allowing the students to explore. Very informative.”
“Class is great, never change. (I was worried about taking a class with you, but you’ve thoroughly changed my mind. See you next semester!)”
“The problem is that the course is so much fun that I will shirk other work to do Graphics programming. I would be happy and also learning a lot if I was only taking this course. Pile is great, he imparts not only useful technical knowledge but perspectives and information about the industry that I feel is invaluable.”
“Professor Pile is a great teach for the subject of Graphics Programming. He really knows what he’s talking about on the subject and he cares about his students. If a student needs help as I frequently did throughout the semester he was there to help me but would also not just give me the answer to the problem I was having. After having him for this class I would try to take any courses he taught in the future. He is a great part of the Champlain College team.”
“This is how programming classes should be done.”
“Great teacher; knows what he’s doing and knows how to teach it. Enough said.”
“Pile is a great teacher”
Graphics Programming II
“Great class, and an even better teacher.”
“Teaches us a lot, which is probably good for us but it is incredibly stressful.”
“Great course!”
“Awesome teacher glad to have him at Champlain.”
“Frustrating yet fun and useful class.”
“Solid course. Learned a lot, more than from most classes.”
“Good class. A little too fast paced, but definitively worth the experience and knowledge John Pile is a great teacher, I learn so much from him. The subjects that he teaches are great. He teaches the course at a quick pace, which means a lot more work and frustration, but I know it is for the good for we learn a lot more. I feel like I will not get the grade I would like for the class because of the difficulty, but I leave the class feeling a lot better because of the amount of knowledge I received from him.”
Game Networking
“Best teacher at Champlain College.”
“Loved taking this class. Had a lot of fun working on the projects and getting to implement the topics we’d learned in it. Keep up the great work and see you next semester!!”
“Great professor. Taught class in an easy and understandable way. Work/Subject matter tough to master.”
“Pile is knowledgeable and fun to learn from. The class requires a lot of work, and personal effort but Pile makes you want to do that.”
“This class is absolutely excellent. At the beginning I was worried about the pacing of the lessons because the subject has a high difficulty curve but it evened out after a few weeks and was a really interesting course. John is an excellent professor with a true passion for teaching and it has shown once again in this course.”
“Great Professor. Very helpful”
“John Pile is a great teacher. He is super dedicated to helping the students get a solid and useful grasp on all subject material. He makes himself very available for help in and out of class, and works hard to help answer questions at almost any time of day over email. John is a great resource that [Champlain College] is very fortunate to have.”
“John has asked us about what we have learned more than any other teacher I have had. He not only covered the content of this course but was not afraid to stray off of the normal Networking course in order to teach us something else that was needed in order to do a networking task. He went over many different concepts that are all great to know. He clearly is thinking ahead to see what we need to know to get a job and helping us prepare for that. Aside from this the content seemed easy the way he explained it. He was available outside of class when needed and responded to email quickly. The course itself was not one I had a particular interest in but after taking it the concept is fun to me. I like the challenges it presents and the solutions are fun as well.”
Game Physics
“Fun Course. Workload was a lot heavier than we were used to. Also I guess we should be able to deal with it right?”
“really enjoyed reading the text book “Game Physics Engine Development,” the projects were fun to work on each week, and I learn exactly what I expected to so I’m highly satisfied.”
“I found this class to be about what I expected. liked having the large project as a whole to show at the end.
“The book was great. It was a mixture of telling us what was needed for us to know and having us fill in the rest. In a way it made sure we thought about it. There were several weeks when what John covered in class through the lecture and slides was good enough that after reading the chapter I felt like he had not missed a single thing. The lectures were very informative.”
“Pile is awesome.”
“Pile’s a good teacher, sometimes it can be hard to understand what the material is, but he’s always willing to help you out if you need him to.”
“John is an amazing teacher.”
“He is the man. Stayed after with me till my stuffed worked. Turns out I had bad values for duration and something else.”
Letters from Graduates
“I just wanted to thank you for everything that you have done for me since you started at Champlain. I was recently offered a job at Kronos and it was largely because of you and your teachings. Before you arrived at Champlain I was seriously thinking about leaving the program, pursuing a regular computer science degree somewhere else, but you and your classes made it worth it to stay. And had I not stayed, I would not be in the position that I am today. So thank you.”
Last week a Technical Director from one of the top five studios that I’d like to work at contacted me about going through screening process for an internship. What’s cool is he contacted me after finding my blog; I never applied or contacted them. He said some of the qualities he saw in my work and write-ups matched what they are looking for. I’ve got an interview with one of the lead programmers this week.
I don’t know if anything will come of this, but I have to thank [you] for encouraging us to blog. If you hadn’t encouraged us, I probably wouldn’t have rewritten my website this summer and written extensive posts about my work, and I would have never been contacted. Also, thank you for always pushing us to do more; due to your classes (graphics, etc) my passion for programming has skyrocketed since sophomore year.
So I’ve been digging into DirectX 11 at my apartment and having a lot of fun with it… but the gravity of what I’m able to do now, and the technology I now understand how to work with (as opposed to 2-3 years ago) hit me in the face like a brick.
If you would’ve told me the kind of stuff I’d be doing my senior year when you showed up here at the end of my freshman year, I wouldn’t have believed you. The stuff I used to think was magic is now in my hands, and with creativity, some head-against-the-wall-ing, and Google, I feel like I can do anything with practice.
This is all thanks to you.
You didn’t even know me at the time, but when I asked you about a game minor before you’d even really started working here, you said yes. And you spent time you probably didn’t even have to make that happen for me. That track helped evolve my passion for games, and gave me an incredibly clear career path. To boot, you let me take a class with you while I was abroad which helped me keep my minor going while still being able to make the connections that helped me get my past summer job. And that’s not even to mention all the help, encouragement, critique, and guidance you’ve given me since then, which is more than I could’ve ever asked for.
So what I’m trying to get at is “thank you.” For everything. You’ve made a much bigger impression on me than you probably realize, and have been a role model for me since I first had class with you, a great teacher, and an awesome friend. I know it’s nothing in comparison to what you’ve given me, but the best I can do (at the moment) is say thank you sooooo so so much! And I look forward to the rest of the semester and what comes next.