Teaching more than just a game for Sacramento State professor

Students know it’s not all fun and games in Professor John Clevenger’s classes. Clevenger, a professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and a recipient of the 2006-2007 Outstanding Teaching Award, teaches courses that help prepare students for careers in computer gaming.

“Computer graphics and games are up-and-coming areas of computer science,” Clevenger says. “Ever since computer games came out in the 1970s, students have said they wanted to study them.”
 
Clevenger says he began developing a curriculum for students here several years ago when it became viable to have computer games on desktop hardware. He teaches computer graphics and computer game architecture—the computer science behind the games.

 “Although many of my students play video games outside of class, they don’t spend time in class playing games,” Clevenger said. “Most are more interested in studying the solid science of developing an interactive medium."

Developing computer games requires a bit of creativity, and Clevenger says he tries to lay out a curriculum that pushes his students and forces them to channel their creativity.

“You can never have too much creativity,” he says. “What you might have is a lack of ability to focus the creativity. That is one of the biggest challenges.”

Clevenger, who has been teaching computer-related courses for more than 30 years, says he loves what he does. “It’s not the money, and it’s not the short hours,” he says jokingly. “The payoffs are the light bulbs. Teachers really enjoy it when the figurative light bulb goes off over a student’s head.”

Clevenger describes his teaching style as “tough” and says a survey of his students would probably conclude the same. “I don’t consider that a criticism, I consider it a compliment as long as it includes ‘fair,’” he says.

Notice, he didn’t say fun.