Yeah, I started off with an RPG, it's still going on too, on the back burner right now as more important projects have taken over, but i learned so much working on that RPG.

Now here is the difference. If i'm going to teach a class on programing, i'm going to start with a mario clone. If i'm going to teach myself I'm going to start with a final fantasy clone. The reason is there is so much i can jump back and forth from to keep my interest in the game. The class however can hear more indept reasons from a teacher, I can't get that from myself if i'm just now learning.