16 replies to this topic

[Linkoman]

I just came out of a two years programming class with a fair grasp on programming with stuff such as C#, Visual Basic, XHTML, JavaScript and Blitz 3D. I'm trying to remain active with my work and improve. However it seems I've run into a wall. I've been self teaching other languages with various books but when I sit down to do something I have no idea what to make or what to do. I'm running without direction and can't seem to find any way to give myself some hands on experience. Any tips or solutions? Any help would be great.

[Alexander]

What sorts of projects are you attempting to work on? stick to a language that fits the scope of what you wish to do in the future (or for hobby) and stick through to atleast a single book, as long as it's reputable that is, reading too much and learning too much at the same time will just hand you walls you'll hit because you're not applying any of it.

Start with examples, games, anything other than something "big" until you can grasp the concepts of your goals. I lack examples of things to do right now (it's late), but I'm sure others will list all sorts of nice things to practise on!

[Linkoman]

I've been attempting C# as my primary as well as Java, Lua and XNA. Ive been using mostly O'Reilly books. I understand most of it it just seems I have a perpetual 'writer's block'. Every Time I sit down all I can think of is "durrrrrrrrr"

[Alexander]

What did you learn programming for? Even in OCD-induced duty to program random things I still lack doing anything productive unless I have a reason to write it. You may just need to wait until you find inspiration, until you do it will be hard to learn any further.

[Linkoman]

Well I'm aspiring to be a video game programmer in the future. but right now I'm just looking for any reason to write code. I need a reason to do that instead of playing more crysis or world of warcraft.

[Linkoman]

I think I got it. I'll make a WoW addon! Thanks for the help Nullw0rm! that was really helpful! :D

[lor]

That's what I'm scared will happen to me when I finish study. What I think will prevent me from doing this though will be getting a cadetship/internship where they have you on as a junior programmer say and they take you through the reigns of what they do and slowly ease you into programming something for them. However finding these opportunities is probably hard. I guess you just need to keep on persisting and keep up your determination... how though, I do not know.
Good luck.

[artificial]

Linkoman said:

I need a reason to do that instead of playing more crysis or world of warcraft.

Although I sometimes play computer games myself, it's IMHO just a waste of time. If you really want to be a game programmer, stick to C# or learn C++. The latter is more common for games, but you can create games with C#, too. The next thing you need is a library to program with. Take a look at SDL and the respective binding for C#.
The trick is that you'll learn by doing 'cause game programming can be a lot of fun. So start with a project like Pong or whatsoever and you'll see that you become better with every finished project.

EDIT: WoW-Add-on? I hope that was a joke...

Greets,
artificial

Edited by artificial, 21 July 2010 - 12:13 AM.
EDIT

[Linkoman]

Video games have always been my passion and the reason I started programming to begin with. also why would a WoW addon be a joke? its relatively easy, useful and gives me a reason to pick Lua back up

[artificial]

Linkoman said:

Video games have always been my passion and the reason I started programming to begin with.

That's why I started programming, too. The point is that you spend more time on programming instead of playing games. ;)

Linkoman said:

also why would a WoW addon be a joke? its relatively easy, useful and gives me a reason to pick Lua back up

I don't know WoW's EULA, but it might be illegal to make an add-on for it. The second point is that it's better to use a programming language like C/C++ or at least C# if you want to become a professional programmer someday.
I don't have an idea about how much work it is to write a WoW add-on, but it might be too much. Consider how experienced you are. ;)

Greets,
artificial

[Linkoman]

AddOns are completely legal and often encouraged as long as they abide by the UI Add-On Development Policy. and from what I hear its fairly easy as all the coding is done in Lua and XML which are both very easy to learn. after that It's justa matter of getting the resources to use in it. Entire mod communities revolve around making Add-Ons for WoW. Check it out to determine how complex the work is.

[artificial]

Do you want to program a game or do you want to create a mod?