I have a problem which is concentration. I started learning GLUA last year in January and I gave up after 4 months because I couldn't figure out how to create server-side file.
At my college we had to do a website to pass the assignment and I started working on my website, because I worked on it in my free time I finished it in a like 2 weeks. I started working on another one and a few weeks ago I wanted to start working on my portfolio but I didn't. I started using Unity 1 week ago and I started following their projects and I gave up again and for some reasons I can't continue, all I do is play CS:GO and watch TV shows.
I think I always give up because I want to do to many things in a short time.
So any of you have any advice what I can do to keep my mind concentrated at something and not just give up so often ?
Set yourself goals, not too big but something achievable.
If you want to code a game, design a simple one and start programming.
If you feel lazy, force yourself into doing it. If you don't you will end up in a procrastination loop which is a terrible, terrible thing.
Also try to have fun and enjoy whatever you are trying to do.
Set yourself up for 2 hours of programming each day.
When you're not programming, read programming articles and interesting shit.
actually asdfdhfhj this inspiration shit just [B]DO IT[/B]
[QUOTE=ollie;43524982]Set yourself goals, not too big but something achievable.
If you want to code a game, design a simple one and start programming.
If you feel lazy, force yourself into doing it. If you don't you will end up in a procrastination loop which is a terrible, terrible thing.
Also try to have fun and enjoy whatever you are trying to do.[/QUOTE]
To be honest while coding in GLua it was fun because I was able to create things I wanted in it.
But while you learn it's not that fun because you don't know what to do, and it takes time to learn everything.
Mm. I know how you feel. I've performed very well in my coding classes, and I've been told that my mind is very well oriented to work with computers, but I can't really force myself to code or to learn. It's something that I find fun, but I just end up not coding very often.
The way I made myself code was coding for a community. It's how I became better with web stuff and Lua, as I had to learn and get better at it to better the community itself.
5 Min ago I looked at Havok and saw that they are using C++ and LUA and for some reasons I wanted to start using Havok which means I was giving up on Unity, but I closed it before I do that.
My mind is so fucked up.
Sounds like a self discipline problem to me. You either want to learn it or you don't. If you want to learn it, sit down and learn it.
Maybe coding is not for you?
If I'm procrastinating I'm coding since coding is fun! :v:
I think you need tools that give you more feedback. Generally games and modding are great for this, but when creating applications, not so.
Maybe you're all right but I wanted to make games since I was 12 and I couldn't really do anything till 2-3 years ago. I think because I couldn't understand the server-side part when using GLua put me down a little.
Would you suggest to start understand the language first and then start using a game engine or just code in the game engine.
Ex: Unity, I am working with C# you suggest to look at tutorials about C# first? If yes can you recommend some channels or website where to start.
[editline]14th January 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=WinCat;43528003]Maybe coding is not for you?
If I'm procrastinating I'm coding since coding is fun! :v:[/QUOTE]
It might be to late even if it's not for me. I've done almost 2 year of games development and I applied at Games Development courses at University.
I will start making a game at college using C# next month and maybe I will get a better understanding of programming languages in general.
[QUOTE=BoowmanTech;43528393]Maybe you're all right but I wanted to make games since I was 12 and I couldn't really do anything till 2-3 years ago. I think because I couldn't understand the server-side part when using GLua put me down a little.
Would you suggest to start understand the language first and then start using a game engine or just code in the game engine.
Ex: Unity, I am working with C# you suggest to look at tutorials about C# first? If yes can you recommend some channels or website where to start.
[editline]14th January 2014[/editline]
It might be to late even if it's not for me. I've done almost 2 year of games development and I applied at Games Development courses at University.
I will start making a game at college using C# next month and maybe I will get a better understanding of programming languages in general.[/QUOTE]
If you've got the determination that's 90%
Maybe you have just not found something you like doing with programming yet.
Do you do it as a hobby or is all the stuff you do assignments?
As a beginner I am pretty sure nobody is going to recommend C++.
I watched tutorials a while ago to understand the basics of C++, now I learned the basics of C#, so I kinda know the basics for both.
Which one would you recommend. Could you also tell me in a few steps how to start learning.
Ex: Use that programming language, use that engine, check this website, check this youtube tutorials etc.
C# with SFML.NET would be a good learning experience, or Unity if you want to make 3D stuff.
[editline]15th January 2014[/editline]
Well Unity has decent 2D support now as well, but SFML.NET is probably more beneficial for learning.
I am going to check SFML.NET out and see how is it. Thank you for the answer.
[editline]15th January 2014[/editline]
What do you think about XNA ?
XNA is a bit of a mess in my opinion(there is a lot of boilerplate code), I used to use it a lot but I prefer SFML.NET now.
I've found less bugs in SFML.NET too, I always ran into issues with XNA/Monogame.
I have the exact same problem as you OP. I can do a decent amount of arduino or RobotC programming but can never really expand to other languages or beyond my very basic knowledge because I lack the motivation
Im really trying to buckle down and learn some Javascript and Python though. I have like 4 game ideas I want to make beyond belief and at least one of them should actually be possible for me
The trick is to make your programming related to your passion. EG, I enjoy playing video games so almost all my programming has to do with engine expansion and/or modification.
developing for garry's mod got harder, at least for me.
not the same as it was a few years back.
try developing on garry's mod 9, hahaha that was fun. all you need to focus on in gmod 9 is the server side.
love2d is super easy to get into. and for learning programming, I'd try out game maker. a lot of people diss it but it's actually a pretty useful tool for learning, and I certainly used it as a kid.
I think if programming is something that you truly have an interest in you would be fascinated by it and want to spend a lot of time on it. I know that when I started I would pull all-nighters just reading about the stuff and watching videos.
Some people have suggested making small projects but I find that making large projects is very helpful too. They take such a long time and require so many different things that you end up learning a lot in the pursuit of its completion, regardless of whether or not it actually gets done (and if it does, that's awesome too).
For example, come up with an idea for a neat game or application that you want to make, even if it seems extremely challenging or way out of your league. Then, start learning things that will help you make progress on that game/app. This gives you specific concepts to study and specific challenges to overcome, and every time you get to a certain point in the program you will feel a sense of accomplishment.
[QUOTE=MWSunder;43543475]I think if programming is something that you truly have an interest in you would be fascinated by it and want to spend a lot of time on it. I know that when I started I would pull all-nighters just reading about the stuff and watching videos.
Some people have suggested making small projects but I find that making large projects is very helpful too. They take such a long time and require so many different things that you end up learning a lot in the pursuit of its completion, regardless of whether or not it actually gets done (and if it does, that's awesome too).
For example, come up with an idea for a neat game or application that you want to make, even if it seems extremely challenging or way out of your league. Then, start learning things that will help you make progress on that game/app. This gives you specific concepts to study and specific challenges to overcome, and every time you get to a certain point in the program you will feel a sense of accomplishment.[/QUOTE]
If you do that, you really should write reusable components though. That way you don't have to start from scratch every time.
[QUOTE=Tamschi;43543685]If you do that, you really should write reusable components though. That way you don't have to start from scratch every time.[/QUOTE]
I had a nice post written about how you shouldn't focus to much on abstraction/reusability too much and let that happen naturally over several games/apps as you pull out and refactor your old code to put into the new game/app, but then halfway through, then Windows Update decided it would ask me if I wanted to restart now or postpone for a while just as I was pressing the 'n' key (which is the shortcut for "Restart Now") and Chrome closed out and that post disappeared.
Basically, what I was trying to say was [url=http://scientificninja.com/blog/write-games-not-engines]write games, not engines[/url].
If you're looking to learn more about game engine architecture, it's fine to focus on the engine, just have at least a vague idea for a game so that you have something to work towards.
[QUOTE=robmaister12;43544143]I had a nice post written about how you shouldn't focus to much on abstraction/reusability too much and let that happen naturally over several games/apps as you pull out and refactor your old code to put into the new game/app, but then halfway through, then Windows Update decided it would ask me if I wanted to restart now or postpone for a while just as I was pressing the 'n' key (which is the shortcut for "Restart Now") and Chrome closed out and that post disappeared.
Basically, what I was trying to say was [url=http://scientificninja.com/blog/write-games-not-engines]write games, not engines[/url].[/QUOTE]
This is not what I meant.
When I write things, I split them into "framework" modules that have few or no dependencies among each other, put them into separate projects/binaries and just continue as normal.
It's not slower than usual because I write everything top-down and on demand, but reusing these things in different projects takes about a minute and sharing changes is more or less instant due to subrepos.
Writing monolithic engines is a bad idea, putting solutions to common problems into their own module is not.
[editline]15th January 2014[/editline]
I'm basically skipping the whole "pull out and refactor" step through a slightly different strategy, but I end up with a minimal general solution on first try in ~70% of the cases anyway.
[QUOTE=robmaister12;43544143]I had a nice post written about how you shouldn't focus to much on abstraction/reusability too much and let that happen naturally over several games/apps as you pull out and refactor your old code to put into the new game/app, but then halfway through, then Windows Update decided it would ask me if I wanted to restart now or postpone for a while just as I was pressing the 'n' key (which is the shortcut for "Restart Now") and Chrome closed out and that post disappeared.
Basically, what I was trying to say was [url=http://scientificninja.com/blog/write-games-not-engines]write games, not engines[/url].[/QUOTE]
Please add "unless you want to write an engine" to the end of that sentence.
Writing an engine when you want to be writing a game might be a bad idea, but saying it like that makes it sound like writing an engine is a bad idea/project.
I'm the worst for this, as I normally have breaking bad or a distraction on my second monitor, if you want to concentrate on your code, get some sleep. Coding when your tired just makes it so hard, seriously.
I think my main problem is that I don't know how to start.
There are so many programming languages and engines you can use and I don't know with which one to start. Like an year ago I wanted to try CryEngine with C++ which is not a good idea for a beginner.
I am thinking to start with C# and use SFML.Net (reevezy67 suggestion)
I was working on a project with a friend and we totally fucked it up at some point. We did even think about abandoning it, but somehow we were able to fix the problem(s) and kept the work going on. Sometimes there occur problems, but when you fix them you'll become much more motivated. Second thing is that you're getting more out of (FIXING!) your problems than ignoring it - dont ever use the [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrich_algorithm"]Ostrich algorithm[/URL] :wink:.
[QUOTE=Tamschi;43545859]This is not what I meant.
When I write things, I split them into "framework" modules that have few or no dependencies among each other, put them into separate projects/binaries and just continue as normal.
It's not slower than usual because I write everything top-down and on demand, but reusing these things in different projects takes about a minute and sharing changes is more or less instant due to subrepos.
Writing monolithic engines is a bad idea, putting solutions to common problems into their own module is not.
[editline]15th January 2014[/editline]
I'm basically skipping the whole "pull out and refactor" step through a slightly different strategy, but I end up with a minimal general solution on first try in ~70% of the cases anyway.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, that's probably a better workflow. The original post I'd written mentioned that if you can make those modules entirely independent from the start, that's great, but that you shouldn't add a bunch of complexity in order to avoid having some dependencies, and that was the point I was trying to make.
The way I usually work is that I'l write a moderate amount of independent code in it's own namespace (though using git submodules for this kind of makes me want to reorganize my game right now), hack the rest of it in the main game state. Once the feature is usable, I have a good idea of how it should be designed based on my own usage, and I'll move all that code back to the separate namespace in a well-organized way.
What the article is trying to get at is that it's bad to work on some code (whether an engine or a separate module) in isolation is usually a bad idea since most people will get swept up in "what if the user wants to use it like X?", and spend a lot of time on useless abstractions, completely missing the most common use-case. At least that's what I got from the article.
[editline]15th January 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=Darwin226;43545920]Please add "unless you want to write an engine" to the end of that sentence.
Writing an engine when you want to be writing a game might be a bad idea, but saying it like that makes it sound like writing an engine is a bad idea/project.[/QUOTE]
I added a little bit about it being fine to focus on the engine, but as I said a bit further up in this reply, working on an engine (or even separate modules) in isolation is usually a bad thing. Having something to work towards focuses the changes and abstractions you're making so that you avoid ending up with either spaghetti code or EntityFactoryTaskParameterFactories.
Problem is I can think of a project I would [I]love love [B]love[/B][/I] (so much so that when I daydream its not uncommon for me to think about the content and mechanics of this) to make
But I have no idea where to start. My knowledge of object-oriented programming is nil, I can't texture worth a damn, and I'm even worse at modeling. Yeah, I know I want to make a massive and in-depth vehicle building game like Banjo Kazooie nuts and bolts or Robocraft, and I know that I would be willing to start with the most basic of premises (like just being able to attach blocks together in an editor)
but.
where. to. start. What engine would be best? I like Unity but it seems limited in many ways. I can't really think of any other engines. Good advice in here though. And sorry for hijacking the thread OP
Check out r/dailyprogramming
I have been just doing the little programs daily and I was able to find the coursework for higher level Java and Cpp classes at my university.
[editline]16th January 2014[/editline]
I also couldn't get myself to program often for a long time. I really think it had to do with me trying to tackle complicated problems too early. Now I have been taking it slow with intermediate level work and problems and doing tons of them.
I've been like this for quite some time now, actually since I was 8, but recently I found a system that seems to work for me. Keep away from the video tutorials, stick to the documentation and tutorials given by the creators of the language or a trusted source. Then from there use that knowledge to create software that you want.
I recommend you search deeply to see if this is REALLY what you want to do. If you feel like its to become popular or become an elite that's not the way you should go.
If you have a passion and can't stop thinking about programming than you are on the right track. Personally I try to solve all the problems and ideas I have with my code throughout the day.
Good luck on your journey, and make sure you want to do this!
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