James Finley

GAM1 · CIS18C · GAM2 · CIS18B · GAM4A · GAM35 · GAM21 · GAM50 · CIS17A · GAM50GAM35 · GAM30 · GAM21NCIS5 · 42 lifetime ratings

AI rating: 88/100
RMP rating: 4.3/5
Take again: 76.92%
Difficulty: 2.0

The decision

Great easy elective for game-curious students—just turn work in on time and .

Best fit · Easy A HunterIndustry game developerEasy A electiveLong lecture videosLate gradingLaid-back and funny

Most students call his game courses easy As with light work if you submit on time.
Industry experience and entertaining lectures are the biggest strengths.
, and sometimes thin feedback.

Key questions

Four answers before you build your schedule.

Is this an easy A?

EasyA

88/100

Students across formats repeatedly report easy As for completing straightforward assignments and showing up.

Online and ; and discussion posts.

Is the course easy?

Beginner

82/100

, and guided projects rather than hardcore CS for most sections.

Programming courses can feel harder for absolute beginners online, but history electives stay easy.

Is attendance flexible?

Varies

52/100

Some sections mark attendance mandatory and useful, while several online .

; in-person more often expects presence.

Is this professor recommended?

WorthIt

76/100

and ease, tempered by late grading and uneven depth.

Both formats recommend him, with more easy-elective praise online and more industry-mentor praise in person.

Course guide

See how this professor fits your week.

Grading

Generous

86/100

score well, and many say he passes nearly everyone.

Format shift

Online late work can still lose half credit if truly late.

Workload

Light

74/100

Typical load is a couple of weekly tasks, discussions, or research sheets rather than heavy coding marathons.

Format shift

Online summer terms can feel more assignment-dense but still manageable.

Teaching experience

Good

80/100

Students love his humor, industry stories, and clarity, though a minority say he is distracted or under-supports beginners.

Format shift

In-person energy is highly praised; online quality hinges more on long prerecorded lectures.

Assessment method

FocusOnAssignments

34/100

, and occasional midterms rather than dense testing.

Format shift

Online often ends with a ; .

Luni fit check

Weigh these signals against your actual schedule.

Get help balancing workload, grading, and timing when no option is an obvious fit.

Course format

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Classroom format

In person

28 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Easy A Hunter

and story-driven, often with and strong industry anecdotes.

Main concern

Some say he is busy with his studio, slow to grade, or .

What students said

“definitely the most chill class I've ever had. His lectures don't feel like lectures since he's so laid back.”
GAM2

“Fun guy easy A.”
GAM2

“His rating is good because he passes everyone. So if you want an easy A, sure.”
GAM50

Remote format

Online

14 reviews

High confidence · Best fit for Easy A Hunter

Online game history and Unity-style courses are usually easy with , and .

Main concern

Everything may grade in the last week, and late work can be penalized hard.

What students said

“This course is light-weighted and you can get an easy A+ if you do the work and the .”
GAM2

“he will grade everything in the last week which isn't good for my anxiety.”
GAM2

“you have a LARGE grace period and can turn in .”
GAM50

Exam style

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

Exams and finals are generally low-stress presentations, opinion questions, or light assessments with support materials.

Opinion-based midtermCitation homeworkPresentation finalStudy notes providedFew high-stakes exams

Assessment risk

StudentFriendly

82/100

Low score means less forgiving assessment conditions.

In person

In-person assessments include , and light essay work.

Study notes for exams3 tests and 2 essays in some coursesClear assignment criteria

“For exams, he created study notes for us so if you weren't able to attend a .”
GAM50GAM35

“3 tests and 2 essays. !”
GAM35

Online

; midterms may ask opinion questions with citations.

Presentation finalOpinion midterm with citationsBatch end-of-term grading

“ opinions on the history, and it will ask you to cite sources. final will have you do a presentation on, of course, games.”
GAM2

“The creating example assignments.”
GAM2

Student evidence

See what students actually said.

Top student voice
“Fun guy easy A.”
Voice snapshots generated from 42 reviews across online and , and late grading. Credibility rating: High.

🎯 Teaching Quality

80/100

“He is an actual CEO of his own game company so pretty good to go to if you want in to that industry.”

📈 Easy A Factor

88/100

“you can get an easy A+ if you do the work and the .”

⏳

35/100

“he will grade everything in the last week which isn't good for my anxiety.”

👍 Recommendation

76/100

“A MUST TAKE PROFESSOR if you are a gaming major!”

Theme 1

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

His lectures don't feel like lectures since he's so laid back so it just feels like he's chatting with the class.
Very charismatic, great at explaining concepts, funny, and smart!
Lectures were amazing and inspirational.

Theme 2

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

and easy to complete.
His rating is good because he passes everyone.
DO NOT TURN IN THINGS LATE. I got half credit on all my late work.

Theme 3

🎮 About Industry Value

if you want to know some "inside baseball" in the game industry, this is a !
This teacher is an active and current game developer and the course material shows it.
he brings the latest information to the table.

Data context

See exactly what the AI read.

Analysis sample

Recent reviews read by the AI

Lifetime ratings

88/100

Evidence confidence

42 reviews across online and easy, industry-connected, late-grading professor.

Inside 42 stored ratings

Quality ratings

5 out of 527

4 out of 58

3 out of 52

2 out of 53

1 out of 52

Course coverage

GAM212 reviews

GAM5011 reviews

CIS17A3 reviews

GAM353 reviews

GAM50GAM353 reviews

Show 7 more courses

GAM12 reviews

GAM212 reviews

GAM21NCIS52 reviews

CIS18B1 review

CIS18C1 review

GAM-301 review

GAM-4A1 review

Reported outcomes

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

28 reported outcomes

A range

A+ 7 · A 11 · A- 1

B range

B+ 1 · B 2

C range

C 1

D range

No reported values

F

No reported values

No letter grade reported

Not sure yet 2 · Not_Sure_Yet 1 · Rather not say 1 · Rather_Not_Say 1

James Finley

Great easy elective for game-curious students—just turn work in on time and x x x x x.

Four answers before you build your schedule.

EasyA

Beginner

Varies

WorthIt

See how this professor fits your week.

Compare the in-person and online experience.

Know what to expect from exams and major assignments.

In person

Online

See what students actually said.

🎯 Teaching Quality

📈 Easy A Factor

⏳ x x

👍 Recommendation

👨‍🏫 About Teaching Style

📈 About Difficulty & Grades

🎮 About Industry Value

See exactly what the AI read.

Quality ratings

Course coverage

A range results lead the reported letter grades.

A range

B range

C range

D range

F

No letter grade reported

Great easy elective for game-curious students—just turn work in on time and .

⏳