What keeps your programming? I want to be very good at C# and stuff, but I have no motivation, what's your motivation for programming, what helped you get through the learning process, besides being force by school/college,
What keeps you programming and motivated
Playing games that suck and you want to make them better.
Successfully fixing an issue with my code after lots of yelling at the screen is tops.
Learning things as I go along is rather fun too. Now that I can apply it somewhere, a lot of the math I never quite got like trigonometry seems easier to pick up.
Trying 'new' technologies that aren't teached at school motivates me.
We only learned basic Winforms and C# in my first year but i learned myself WPF, EntityFramework, more advanced C# feature and currently im exploring the Roslyn API to create C# scripts to be dynamicly loaded into a pokemon-ish game.
Half of my ideas fail in the design phase but after a while i pick them up agian after i get new idea on how to do it.
A teacher of mine told "You get the best idea's when taking a shit or taking a shower.".
friends helps, especially ones that don't scold you for being curious.
Having a passion for it helps.
If you're talking about getting through a particularly boring piece of code, music, lots and lots of high-energy music with minimal lyrics so I can keep my concentration.
Having a fellow programmer friend that is at the same level helps, a little bit of friendly competition.
I did that for a while then stopped and my friend turned into leet programmer and I stopped caring.
I cannot keep any motivation because I simply cannot wrap my head around the concepts behind programming, nor the math in the cases where a tutorial has a DIY section. I don't want to skip the section because it is probably required for the rest of the tutorial. I have been in this same loop for years someone help me :(
[QUOTE=whatthe;43618063]I cannot keep any motivation because I simply cannot wrap my head around the concepts behind programming, nor the math in the cases where a tutorial has a DIY section. I don't want to skip the section because it is probably required for the rest of the tutorial. I have been in this same loop for years someone help me :([/QUOTE]
That's kinda the same for me, I keep going on and off with motivation, I think the problem is that I have no one to teach me in person, or actually any one to help me, like, there are books and videos and web sites, but I cant directly communicate with someone
Either look for free lectures at a local school, or just try to think of a project to tackle. A game, something that you do daily that you want to simplify, anything that interests you. You'll work with that, start learning more as you figure out how to solve things you didn't know, then in no time you'll be building your own large(r) projects for WAYWO.
My problem isn't motivation it is a lack of project ideas.
[QUOTE=AnonTakesOver;43627404]That's kinda the same for me, I keep going on and off with motivation, I think the problem is that I have no one to teach me in person, or actually any one to help me, like, there are books and videos and web sites, but I cant directly communicate with someone[/QUOTE]
I would learn a lot better with a real person, I find myself asking the wrong question and going on tangents in my head that are completely either arbitrary or entirely wrong, because I'm looking at the problem from the completely wrong angle, but most these problems could be solved with a single question with the answer pointing me in the right direction.
[QUOTE=AnonTakesOver;43627404]That's kinda the same for me, I keep going on and off with motivation, I think the problem is that I have no one to teach me in person, or actually any one to help me, like, there are books and videos and web sites, but I cant directly communicate with someone[/QUOTE]
If you can't be autodidactic about programming, you will never be good at it. One of the biggest skills you need for programming is problem solving, and that [I]very[/I] often means you are going to need to teach yourself something to solve a problem.
If you set yourself up to rely on other people to learn right now, you will be setting yourself up to get stuck all the time later.
[QUOTE=whatthe;43628850]I would learn a lot better with a real person, I find myself asking the wrong question and going on tangents in my head that are completely either arbitrary or entirely wrong, because I'm looking at the problem from the completely wrong angle, but most these problems could be solved with a single question with the answer pointing me in the right direction.[/QUOTE]
The thing is that I can relate to that with physics, but physics was always a side interest for me.
I've always felt that I wanted to know the answer and didn't care about the details because it only interested me as far as fun facts go, or maybe as far as I needed to know for an exam.
It's never like that with programming because I actually care about the little details you learn on the way from the question to the answer.
The way you describe "wrong directions" leads me to believe that maybe you're not all that interested in programming but rather the end goal of having the thing you wanted to make.
If on the other hand you're just anxious that you're doing something wrong, I can assure you that 5 hours spent in the wrong direction if 5 hours less the next time you get stuck on a similar thing.
[QUOTE=Darwin226;43636359]The thing is that I can relate to that with physics, but physics was always a side interest for me.
I've always felt that I wanted to know the answer and didn't care about the details because it only interested me as far as fun facts go, or maybe as far as I needed to know for an exam.
It's never like that with programming because I actually care about the little details you learn on the way from the question to the answer.
The way you describe "wrong directions" leads me to believe that maybe you're not all that interested in programming but rather the end goal of having the thing you wanted to make.
If on the other hand you're just anxious that you're doing something wrong, I can assure you that 5 hours spent in the wrong direction if 5 hours less the next time you get stuck on a similar thing.[/QUOTE]
Ye see over-articulating the issue really abstracts the obvious. I love the idea of learning to program, I know what I want to do with it, but if I truly wanted to learn things would be different. I accept this but the only issue I have is this attitude is something I seem to have towards everything so I get so frustrated with myself because I'm either really stupid, or I just cannot be bothered, and it's definitely the latter.
Gaming, in the end is still my main interest so programming is a side interest for me. But as I sit here and type this I still have a burning desire to learn, but it's the wrong time I have to study, and work, and when I have my own time all I want to do is game.
[QUOTE=whatthe;43618063]I cannot keep any motivation because I simply cannot wrap my head around the concepts behind programming, nor the math in the cases where a tutorial has a DIY section. I don't want to skip the section because it is probably required for the rest of the tutorial. I have been in this same loop for years someone help me :([/QUOTE]
Okay, I've had the same problem numerous times and the conclusion I've come to is this: [u]I was trying to do too much at once[/u]. A common trend in modern society is wanting instant results/gratification. You want to be able to write an awesome game but you don't [i]really[/i] want to put the work to learn the math, theory, patterns, and practices. Lets face it, not all of it is fun. The result is certainly gratifying but the work to get there can definitely be mind-numbing in some cases.
You say you can't wrap your head around the concepts, but I think it's more an issue of you don't want spend too much time on those concepts, because you want to get to the good stuff right?
The fact is, you need to come to terms with the fact that programming is not all fun and games, some of it is incredibly boring. Once you're able to break that wall and say "look I know this part's gonna suck but it needs to be done before I can get to the fun stuff" you'll be much better off.
I think it's worth identifying what parts of it do you legitimately enjoy. From there you can identify a rough path of how to get there and the obstacles you'll need to overcome.
I doubt I put this as eloquently as some of the other posters here could've made it but I hope it was some use.
Pick side projects you know you can complete on your own, and put them on [url=http://github.com/]GitHub[/url]. I'm motivated just by the GitHub's public contribution logs, but I've kinda been slacking lately
[img]http://i.imgur.com/WPCDihH.png[/img]
Curiosity and wanting to learn/make something new is what keeps me motivated. One of the biggest problems I have is that I will get bored with doing one thing so it will turn into two projects, then three, then four, and suddenly I've got a lot of not finished code.
I also have a lot of projects ideas but never write them down and when im trying to think of something to do I always get stuck.
Today I realized that I don't have problems with motivation, I have problems with understand something. Maybe everyone went through this and I need just some time but who knows.
Basically I think I am not motivated because I can't get over that.
If anyone would be willing to give me a hand on that think just say below.
[QUOTE=BoowmanTech;43714672]Today I realized that I don't have problems with motivation, I have problems with understand something. Maybe everyone went through this and I need just some time but who knows.
Basically I think I am not motivated because I can't get over that.
If anyone would be willing to give me a hand on that think just say below.[/QUOTE]
How about just posting your problem in WDYNHW?
If someone else has the same issue it will benefit them too that way.
[QUOTE=BoowmanTech;43714672]Today I realized that I don't have problems with motivation, I have problems with understand something. Maybe everyone went through this and I need just some time but who knows.
Basically I think I am not motivated because I can't get over that.
If anyone would be willing to give me a hand on that think just say below.[/QUOTE]
Programming is a constant learning experience. You have to figure out how to make it so that your lack of knowledge becomes a motivation to you and not a hinderance. You can't let yourself get stuck because you don't understand something. You have to just go at it until you do get it.
[QUOTE=Tamschi;43717240]How about just posting your problem in WDYNHW?
If someone else has the same issue it will benefit them too that way.[/QUOTE]
You are right.
[QUOTE=KmartSqrl;43717346]Programming is a constant learning experience. You have to figure out how to make it so that your lack of knowledge becomes a motivation to you and not a hinderance. You can't let yourself get stuck because you don't understand something. You have to just go at it until you do get it.[/QUOTE]
You are also right.
[b]Question[/b]
Basically what I don't understand is how you know how to make something specific in any language. I had the same problem with Lua, and when I asked it someone game me a straight answer to my example and it didn't helped me.
Example (remember this is just and example don't have to explain it to me): if I make a game in C#(for example) and I would want to achieve a certain task like "You punch someone in the face and he explodes and your player starts dancing".
I sort of know how I would make this logically but not in coding. Basically to don't have to start looking for answer and all this sort of things is just about experience ?
After a while I might get that good so I don't have to look for the answer because I already know how to do that or what ?
And how long did it take you do be able to make your first game using any engine, something a little bit more fancy not just a square that moves when you press the arrows.
I have been lurking in this thread for a bit, but I think it's time for me to contribute my two cents to the conversation.
I started programming when I was nine years old. The thing that got me started was when my brother started writing text adventure games using Qbasic. He used to make all these really brilliant, elaborate story lines that were absolutely hilarious, and being the computer nerd I was at the time, I wanted to know how he did it. So one day, I sat down and tried out some of the codes, and when I managed to print one line of text to the screen, my face just lit up with joy. My little kid mind was like: [I]Oh my god, I told the computer to do something, and it DID IT.[/I] That was the point when I realized I could make whatever I want... however I wanted. The possibilities were endless.
Eventually, I got into Flash 5 and Actionscript. I started making all these really weird, freaky games that used my pets as characters. I eventually ended up with over two dozen games where you control a stick figure with this boxer dog's head sitting on top, and just doing the weirdest shit possible. I remember this one game I made where you shot a dog out of a catapult at glowing orbs for points, and there would be a randomized background on each level. I think one of them was even my face... The hilarity of my creations, and the fact that I could make the goal of the games whatever my messed-up mind came up with, fueled my desire to make these interactive adventures.
When I was 14, I was into developing content for Halo Custom Edition. I realized that many of the tools that came with the SDK sucked, so I wanted to have better tools to work with. That was when I discovered the jots of C# and the .NET Framework. I spent countless hours just learning all the different classes, the syntax, and all the intricate little details of the language. I wrote GUI interfaces for many of the development tools for Halo, and ended up using them extensively. The desire to create something useful drove me forward and kept me wanting to learn more and get better at programming.
Later on, I created more things. I went to high school online, so I was bored a lot of the time. I wanted to make fun things with code, so I started working on new ideas. I wrote joke programs. I made chat clients that could rank people as "trolls" and replace their messages with ridiculously embarrassing things. I wrote Moist Banana, the random story generator that people eventually came to know me for on this site. I wrote all sorts of goofy things, because it was fun. Those experiences are what made me the halfway-decent programmer I am today, and they pretty much made up my childhood. I learned a lot through my curiosity, my desire to have fun and make things, and my hunger for knowledge. I look back fondly on those memories.
In conclusion, don't learn to program because you [I]need[/I] to. Learn to program because you [I]want[/I] to. Think of some fun things to make, and learn the steps necessary to make them! In the end, it isn't about the knowledge you accrue, but the enjoyment and the benefits from learning to code.
Programming languages exist to make cool things. Let that be your motivation.
[QUOTE=Berkin;43717875]I have been lurking in this thread for a bit, but I think it's time for me to contribute my two cents to the conversation.
I started programming when I was nine years old. The thing that got me started was when my brother started writing text adventure games using Qbasic. He used to make all these really brilliant, elaborate story lines that were absolutely hilarious, and being the computer nerd I was at the time, I wanted to know how he did it. So one day, I sat down and tried out some of the codes, and when I managed to print one line of text to the screen, my face just lit up with joy. My little kid mind was like: [I]Oh my god, I told the computer to do something, and it DID IT.[/I] That was the point when I realized I could make whatever I want... however I wanted. The possibilities were endless.
Eventually, I got into Flash 5 and Actionscript. I started making all these really weird, freaky games that used my pets as characters. I eventually ended up with over two dozen games where you control a stick figure with this boxer dog's head sitting on top, and just doing the weirdest shit possible. I remember this one game I made where you shot a dog out of a catapult at glowing orbs for points, and there would be a randomized background on each level. I think one of them was even my face... The hilarity of my creations, and the fact that I could make the goal of the games whatever my messed-up mind came up with, fueled my desire to make these interactive adventures.
When I was 14, I was into developing content for Halo Custom Edition. I realized that many of the tools that came with the SDK sucked, so I wanted to have better tools to work with. That was when I discovered the jots of C# and the .NET Framework. I spent countless hours just learning all the different classes, the syntax, and all the intricate little details of the language. I wrote GUI interfaces for many of the development tools for Halo, and ended up using them extensively. The desire to create something useful drove me forward and kept me wanting to learn more and get better at programming.
Later on, I created more things. I went to high school online, so I was bored a lot of the time. I wanted to make fun things with code, so I started working on new ideas. I wrote joke programs. I made chat clients that could rank people as "trolls" and replace their messages with ridiculously embarrassing things. I wrote Moist Banana, the random story generator that people eventually came to know me for on this site. I wrote all sorts of goofy things, because it was fun. Those experiences are what made me the halfway-decent programmer I am today, and they pretty much made up my childhood. I learned a lot through my curiosity, my desire to have fun and make things, and my hunger for knowledge. I look back fondly on those memories.
In conclusion, don't learn to program because you [I]need[/I] to. Learn to program because you [I]want[/I] to. Think of some fun things to make, and learn the steps necessary to make them! In the end, it isn't about the knowledge you accrue, but the enjoyment and the benefits from learning to code.
Programming languages exist to make cool things. Let that be your motivation.[/QUOTE]
All I can say is that you are one lucky muthefucker. When I was 9 I was probably playing in mud I don't even think I had a computer at that age.
I started coding when last year and I was almost 19 basically I don't want to learn to code because I have or need to, actually I don't have to do it, I want to because I dreamed of a game since I was like 12-13 and I am still thinking at that game.
Right now I started learning C# because that's what I am doing at college and in like 2 weeks we are going to start coding in XNA, all I hope is that when I finish this year I will have a good knowledge of C# and be able to start using Unity and make my own games.
While I will use XNA I will code for my self to get better and better but all I wanted to know is that I am not the only one that has no idea how to do things.
And one more question if I want to start making a game in XNA and I don't know how to do something, how am I suppose to do it if I don't even know where to start ? There won't be a tutorial that tells me how to do that specific task.
I find that comes with experience, eventually you hit a point where you know how to do just about anything within reason and it's more a matter of measuring the time and effort it will take rather than if it is possible or not.
Start by solving small problems, for example you could try some of these. [url]https://github.com/karan/Projects/blob/master/README.md[/url] (scroll down till you hit the numbers heading)
[editline]30th January 2014[/editline]
Programming is all about solving problems, if you can't handle that then it isn't for you.
[QUOTE=Proclivitas;43601275]Playing games that suck and you want to make them better.[/QUOTE]
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