That RPG screenshot is from his VB Game Programming for Teens book. The people look to be from Reiner's tilesets. Not sure about the other graphics.
Anyway, I think it's silly to bash him for writing a book like that, and not including professional quality graphics and UI elements. The book's meant to be a simple introduction to making games in VB. It's not about designing a nice UI, or being an artist. It's about letting kids get into programming, and having something at the end of the book that they can see. If they enjoyed the process, they might keep on that path and start creating some games that you'll actually want to play.
Personally, I wish I had a book like that back when I started programming. I had to hack through it on my own, with the help of the occasional magazine with a little BASIC code in it.
Anyway, I think it's silly to bash him for writing a book like that, and not including professional quality graphics and UI elements. The book's meant to be a simple introduction to making games in VB. It's not about designing a nice UI, or being an artist. It's about letting kids get into programming, and having something at the end of the book that they can see. If they enjoyed the process, they might keep on that path and start creating some games that you'll actually want to play.
Personally, I wish I had a book like that back when I started programming. I had to hack through it on my own, with the help of the occasional magazine with a little BASIC code in it.