A shame the thread was closed. It was a debate, nothing more. Just different ways of seeing things. Maybe I passed my message a little roughly; it was indeed meant to be rough. But not to be taken as offensive. Simply food for thought. So my apologies if it offended.
Regardless, here's how I see it. This time in prose.
The whole notion that in order to learn a programming language one needs to find encouragement in the form of games, frankly annoys me. And it's not the fact the end result of these early text-based games are the computational equivalent of a very bad gastrointestinal disorder. For one I like text-based games. Even today I find enjoyment in revisiting text adventure games of old in the ZXSpectrum and DOS emulators, I still play nethack actively (well, sorta), and I still have live MUD accounts.
It's more to do with the fact I personally think wanting to learn how to make games by means of learning a programming language is a sure shot way to produce a bad programmer. Now, certainly not everyone. But that's where the vast majority of students eventually end up. And all because they didn't think themselves, or wheren't tutored into, or advised at, actually looking at a programming language as something worth studying. It's like the painter who doesn't really enjoys the art, or cares about it. It's just a means to an end.
Having fun while learning? Sure, why not? But since when fun became a dictator? Should it rule over every one single aspect of learning something? And where exactly does that fit with the much harsher reality of a programming career (in games or not)?
I personally can't accept that we must suffer the knowledge that in order to learn anything in this day and age we need to feel some sort of encouragement other than simply wanting to learn it. The thought is scary to me. But this does not mean I'm unaware that having fun while doing it doesn't cost a dime and is a good thing. What I question however is the methods.
Wanting to do a game at every corner of your apprenticeship (like when you just learned how to use functions and references) is going to burn you faster than you can say "Oh my god! Programming games can be so boring!". If you want to do games, fine. So be it (Whatever. It's not even original. But get in line, there's like tenths of millions ahead of you). But you will not learn anything special if you keep treating your programming language like a piece of disposable tool you put aside at every opportunity in order to pursuit your goal.
If you want to program games, your programming language is going to be your damn best friend. You will want it badly. More than your girlfriend. If you learn to love to program, if you really want to learn how to program, if you really study your programming language and try to master every nut and bolt, inspect every dark corner, then yes; You are in your way to become a damn good games programmer.
No matter what they tell you at that games course of yours, no one gets to the top having fun. It's hard work, it's pain and it is a thirst for knowledge more than a thirst to do games.
Why do I know this when I'm not even a games programmer, never was or ever will be? Because games programming is no different from any other type of programming. Same rules. Don't trust me? That's cool. We'll talk in a few years.