Really discouraged as a wannabe game programmer...

[XZeroII]

If you don't understand something, it's probably because you are trying too hard. I found that if you just take a short break and try to relearn it from the beginning, you will have a better grasp of what's going on. Also, try to find some simple examples to illustrate the point of what you are trying to learn. If you are having trouble learning classes, find a simple example and play with it on your computer. Modify it a bit and see what happens. This is the best way to go because you will gain an in depth understanding of the subject. Or maybe you can learn VB instead of C++. VB is much easier to learn and once you get the hang of OOP, you can transfer over to C++.

 

[Ameesh]

Originally posted by: idNut
Well I don't SUCK but I haven't really sat down and gave it a whirl for a while. I'm taking more art classes to get me back in my vibe for art. I have numerous ideas but no game to apply them to. I had three friends that wanted to be game programmers with me. The one, Nathan, didn't take the summer course I took with my other friend and now he is pretty far behind. He only knows basic C roughly. Steve totally ditched me because he just found out having a depressed friend was something he couldn't handle so we no longer talk. The last one, Brad, doesn't care about anything except having fun and neglecting work. He'd like to make a game but he doesn't know enough either to even draw a line or a circle on a computer and we don't talk anymore. So I'm pretty stuck.

I bought a DirectX book when I thought I was still going to be a programmer but I found that it was even harder than what I was learning now in C++. I've always been an artist since I can remember so I think I should stick with it. Unfortunately I live in western PA and there are zero game companies around here in the Pittsburgh area. I'm sure there are places around that hire artists but I doubt I'll be ready for that without a degree in some sort. Speaking of which, would game artists need a degree? Also, how much do they get paid? I know these are all questions for the FAQ of game artists but I don't know where one would be.

So I'm 16 almost 17 and a die-hard gamer with a passion to create games and art for games...I don't think I have a chance.

sounds like you need to get rid of your depression before you worry about anything else.

 

[Mucman]

idNut - Sorry to be blunt, but I think the solution is easy! Don't do what you don't enjoy! Also, stop comparing yourself to Carmack! Do you like doing level design? I would love be a level designer, but I can't sit and use those programs for hours on end like some people... So I stick with what I enjoy 🙂

sounds like you need to get rid of your depression before you worry about anything else.

I agree... wait until you are a single 22yo virgin like me before you get into the self loathing trip 😛

 

[idNut]

Well I've taken a class in Visual Basic 5 and it's okay but it's still programming which I detest immensly. Unfortunately, I've lost my patience with all programming and I haven't been rewarded with any of my programs as trivial as they are so I just don't want to deal with it anymore. Originally, I wanted to do the art but somehow got sucked into programming since we were short-handed. It wasn't completely worthless, it was actually far from it. I've learned how programming works and how certain calculations are carried about but programming just seemed to push me farther away from my original goal.

 

[Mucman]

idNut - Get out of programming! Seriously! Are you mathematicly minded? There is lots of game related stuff you could do without having to program. I think you should shut down your browser and gave a good fragfest right now 😛

 

[joohang]

Originally posted by: MaxDepth
White board (also known as liquid-chalk board), not a notebook or scraps of paper, but a white board.

It makes programming, web development life a whole lot easier when you can see the problem diagrammed out on a white board.

I gotta get me 3 of those! 😀

 

[soccerbud34]

idNut, i feel your frustration man.

I was a 1st year CS student with limited programming background (one year of programming @ HS and not remembering a thing) at UT-Austin last year.

Oh boy, was it an experience.

I remember that one program i had to write, boggle, i spend 12hrs a day and 5 days on it.
Literally, i would wake up and start coding (with time to eat or take small breaks and nothing else) then go back to bed. Rinse, wash, and repeat it for 5 days.
And only to find out that later tha i received a 65/100 on that assignment (man was that discouraging)

Overall, at the end of the semester, i ended with a C 🙁

Programming is something that does not come naturally to me.
Most classmates finish what took me 2 to 3 days in 4 hours.
For any given assignement, i can think out of the solutions for the problem in terms of plain english and mathmatics.
However, it is a painful and slow process for me to translate ths solutions in to a programming language.

But i am not going to give up yet.
Going to try this CS thing for another semester and i will see how it goes!

But i just want to let you know that you are not alone in this confusing world of programming by yourself 🙂

 

[singh]

Originally posted by: soccerbud34
I was a 1st year CS student with limited programming background (one year of programming @ HS and not remembering a thing) at UT-Austin last year.

That's the main problem right there. A good programmer never really stops writing code. Practise really is quite important. That's why it matters whether you like writing code or not. If you do enjoy writing code, then most of the programming is a bit more fun than say a regualar 9 to 5 job. Most good software developers I have talked to tell me that they always have side projects that they work on in addition to their regular programming job. That helps keep the interest alive, though it may also serve as a distraction in some cases.

Programming is something that does not come naturally to me.
Most classmates finish what took me 2 to 3 days in 4 hours.
For any given assignement, i can think out of the solutions for the problem in terms of plain english and mathmatics.
However, it is a painful and slow process for me to translate ths solutions in to a programming language.

IMO, it doesn't really matter if you are 'natural' at something or not. If you enjoy doing it, then given some practise, you should be able to adequately do it. If you don't enjoy writing code, then you will get burned out pretty quickly. The timing will keep improving with practise.

 

[amnesiac]

Dude, do you want to be a game PROGRAMMER or a game DESIGNER? You have to be able to distinguish between the two.

I took a couple game design classes, and honestly you just need a good vision, team skills, and leadership qualities to be able to produce a game. Most "designers" can't design to save their life, much less program.

And unfortunately, the best way to get into the field is to a) draw, b) program, or c) start from the bottom and work your way up.
Of course, you could come up with a GREAT design document for a game and submit it to every company you can think of, but that's akin to a fledgling writer submitting a screenplay.

 

[TNTrulez]

Yea, never stop programming. That's the key.

 

[Mucman]

amnesiac 2.0 - Good point in distinguising the differences between PROGRAMMING and DESIGN 🙂. I hated the software engineering course I took. I did love the data structures and algorithms course though...

 

[BD2003]

I used to hate programming. I used to think it was horrible. First semester classes in CS confirmed that for me.

Got an internship programming at citibank, programmed C, VB, Java, even some mainframe, and I have to admit, its actually starting to get a little fun. Vb is real nice.

If I went back to CS, I'd breeze through the whole thing. I think it just takes some time to get used to it. When I first saw some programs they looked impossible. After writing some of those impossible programs myself, I realized its not so hard.

Its as if they dont explain the simplest things to you in college.

 

[rbhawcroft]

Originally posted by: Ameesh

Originally posted by: MaxDepthWhite board (also known as liquid-chalk board), not a notebook or scraps of paper, but a white board.It makes programming, web development life a whole lot easier when you can see the problem diagrammed out on a white board.

i have two in my office at work and like 4 at home. in college we had one nailed to the wall that covered the entire wall.

ameesh are you a microsofter?


@dweeb or whoever this thread belongs to, are you gay? do you think anything with originality is easy?

 

[idNut]

Well I really think I have what it takes to be a designer. I know what I want and how I want it but it's just a course of ordering people around to do it for me. I've read that there is no game design job except to be a producer I believe. I mean, it's just I feel like I could do a game, I know what I want but the question is: do I know what other gamers want? I'm a huge FPS fan and I disect games to try and see how they did this or did that and it turns out I get the concept pretty well.

A few more things. I think if you do wanna be a programmer, you can never stop coding, you have to dream code because it's like Quake III, you stop, you may never get your curve back again. I don't have the interest level to just sit and code and code, not enough of a reward. But drawing leaves me a beautiful picture to look back at, coding doesn't give me that for a while.

 

[BD2003]

You need programming experience to be a developer or a designer. Its half paying your dues, half knowing what you can and cant do.

Unless youre really really lucky, youre not going to get to step 3 without passing step 2.

 

[LiekOMG]

A designer sounds cool in theory, but its actually a lot of hard work. You have to keep tabs on what everyone's doing, how they are doing it, and if what person A is doing will fit into what person B is building. Sitting in a chair and poping out idea's is not what a designer does. Sure it helps, but the fact of the matter is EVERYONE has ideas for the hot new game, be it the programmer, an artist, or even the composer. Companies don't generally hire people to sit around and think out ideas and have him order everyone around. Not to mention, companies want some kind of experience, which means you'd have to have worked on a game before, or done something *really* outstanding and popular (the people who made counterstrike come to mind). And lastly, you need to have really really good connections to get into this business.
How do I know so much about this stuff? Cause this is what i want to do (or maybe, wanted to do?).

Actually I started off JUST like you. I thought programming would be my thing. I went to a technical college, and it turned out that i SUCKED at programming. I just couldn't understand any of it. So I had to leave the school cause they didn't really offer much else except computer science and engineering.
I still want to make games, but i'm not an artist, nor a musician. Only other 2 openings are level designer, or game designer. I've tried level design and while I can do it, I can't exactly make anything nice looking. So now i'm looking towards the game design option, but its turning out to be more of a 'dream' than anything else. Sure, i'll still work towards that goal and try to get into the field, but i'll have to do something else in the meantime to earn a living. I can't live with my parents until 35 until i can land a design job.

There is a lot of info about this stuff on the net if you look around.
A good article to read would be THIS ONE which lists the events and hardships of making a game and getting it out the door. There are a lot of other sources too, one of the better ones being http://www.gamasutra.com/
Good luck!

 

[zsouthboy]

Ugh.. I'm discouraged myself. I can't even create an errorneus input handler for my program(rather, this is the first program that I have made that is kinda useful).... You can find source and compiled here...

I've taken about a three month break from trying to learn anymore.... I stopped because I TOTALLY got stuck on pointers, and might I add that I still am TOTALLY stuck on pointers..... I do not understand, and the book I bought doesn't explain it well enough for me....

All I have to say is not to give up permanently, just take a break, and you'll get the hang of it.

Good luck

 

[BD2003]

Yep, pointers are a total bitch, and I try to avoid using them at all costs.

Just look at pointers like windows shortcuts. All they really contain is the address of what you want.

I've found one of the best ways to learn how to program is to learn more than one language. They all are pretty much the same, except for syntax and some nuances. But what this will teach you is actual programming technique, not just technique for one language.

I hate to break it to you, but like others have said before, everyone has their ideas about the game. If all you bring to the table is a bunch of good ideas like everyone else, what use are you? 35 year old programmers are not going to sit down and listen to a punk 23 year old who obviously doesnt have a clue about what it takes to make a game but what other people told him. You cant be steven spielberg without having made some movies yourself from the ground up. You cant be a good general without having been in a few battles. You need to understand everything about everything, not nothing about everything.

That being said, programming really isnt anything. It takes some people a million years to do things other people can do in 2 hours. Those people should stop programming, because its only going to get harder and you are going to hate your life.

I love movies. Movies are my favorite thing in the world. After making a few of my own movies, I've found that I like watching movies a lot more than I like making them. Sometimes its a downright pain in the ass. Games are pretty much the same way.

 

[lRageATMl]

i'm going into my 5th year at the University of Maryland. In highschool I took pascal and it was a joke...really easy for me. Get to college...it had been a year since I had programmed...started with C...it was also a joke...i flew through it. Next semester, took begaining c++...still easy for me. then the logic class came in and kicked my ass. then advancded c++ came in..it also kicked my ass...at this point I was discouraged that I took time away from comp sci and started on my Sociology degree. well that's done now and I've taken a few moer comp sci classes (Java, PERL, ML, and more C++). I have about 1 more year an i'll be finished...

do I love programming? no. do i get in the zone? yes. nothing feels better then writing a program that works and knowing you did it...it's a sense of accomplishment. hang in there...make sure your doing what you want to do though...otherwise you'll regret it for the rest of your life.

and somebody brought up the point about being math minded...on my SAT's i scored a 750 on MATH...don't worry about verbal (i suck when it comes to english), flew through cal, cal2, cal3 and linear alegbra...now only if stat was as easy.

 

[idNut]

Wow, we got some rather intelligent guys here which I like. I knew that the job didn't exist but I'm still not sure what I want to do. Something like Fountain Head Entertainment could be something I might like because I get to cover everything awesome and new. If you look at Fountain head, I think they make the best documentaries I've seen for games. They did the Doom III: The Legacy video perfect, I mean perfect and they portrayed gamers in their Gamers documentary awesome also. I think that'd be a great job since you work with cameras, mix stuff, use your imagination and there is little if not any programming involved. I'm not saying I want to work for that specific company but something that deals with entertainment and is web based. Television is something I'm trying also with broadcast media. Once again, I can use my ideas and immediately put them to work. Just some ideas. I'll keep programming but I'll do it on my own and keep out of classes. I'll also keep drawing and if I'm lucky, begin painting.