Elysian Shadows

I feel kind of lost in programming. I can write code and do all my assignments fine, I just feel like I'm missing something?

I look up to the programmers on youtube like GyroVorbis and the others, and I just want to be so much like them. They never seem to lose interest, give up, or anything. It's like they were given a keyboard and an NES when they came out of the womb, while I was given an Atari controller alone. My dream is to sit around with a bunch of friends on a Friday night and code a game. That is a good time to me.

I feel like I have so much ahead of me, just to make a simple game like Pickin' Sticks. And when I think about how much it would take to make a complex RPG like what ES is working on, I feel completely and utterly defeated.

How can I keep myself motivated when I don't feel like going on?

Firstly, motivation is a term usually used by people who lack it, think about it for a second, do you every say to yourself "I'm well motivated!" no, you get on with what you need to get done.

One thing that plagues programmers is lack of direction and drive, I suffer from this myself, but you aren't going to be told what to do, there isn't anyone there to tell you to work, you have to do that yourself.

It's a bit naive to think that the ES team don't suffer from the same problems, they have mentioned such problems countless times in the videos (and I'm sure this has happened especially when the camera weren't rolling), the mere fact of the situation is, they make their own drive and motivation, and they set goals.

If you want some drive and motivation, start desigining, and once you've done that, get coding! you need to build your own momentum to achieve anything.

now I just need to follow my own advice


EDIT: good god, all of this gym time is making me sound like a coach

And once you find that initial burst, you're all set. Why? Because you can post whatever you are working on right here in these forums and receive all kinds of great feedback from people just like you. Aside from watching the latest episode of Adventures in Game Development, what could possibly motivate you more than twenty people telling you how good you are doing?

Like PiP said, the first step to being motivated is to a goal. Any goal, not matter how small or seemingly easy, will give you reason to continue work.

i take it you never played any kind of sport on a competitive level.
ive found that people that dont partake in sports on a competitive level lack drive and discipline.

sometimes people practice for hours when they would rather be doing something else. just like
sometimes people sit down and write tons of code when they would rather be doing something else.

note: im note saying this is empirically valid all the time. just a trend.

programmerinprogress wrote:It's a bit naive to think that the ES team don't suffer from the same problems, they have mentioned such problems countless times in the videos (and I'm sure this has happened especially when the camera weren't rolling), the mere fact of the situation is, they make their own drive and motivation, and they set goals.

Very, very true. There have been maaany times where ES has been less than motivating, and I have to take a few days off.

There are several things that I find motivate me. It started out as a love for video games. Then that evolved into a love for programming. Then that evolved into a love for engineering. One of my biggest motivators is to learn something new, figure out how to turn it into something cool for Elysian Shadows, then integrate. Sometimes I also like to revisit my influences--games like Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and the classics.

I'm not sure how new you are to programming, but there is a gigantic amount of knowledge to absorb. I remember when I was younger how mentally draining programming was for me. There will always be a gigantic amount of information to learn. Hell, there is a loooot that I still have yet to learn. With experience, you will learn to learn better, though. That will make things easier. :D

Well, I find programming interesting, and I am definitely not an "artistic" person.
Do you guys think that I'm just being lazy?
Is programming even supposed to be fun? Or is it something that you learn to love over time?

And finally, if programming was my passion, wouldn't I be in love with it at "first sight"?
If it was my passion, I'm sure I would studying it every spare second I had. Am I right?

Guess that just depends on the person. I have been an artist for years now more than a programmer. I started teaching myself about a month ago and have been loving it ever since. There are just those that are more artistically inclined and are meant to be artists.

GyroVorbis wrote:Very, very true. There have been maaany times where ES has been less than motivating, and I have to take a few days off.

There are several things that I find motivate me. It started out as a love for video games. Then that evolved into a love for programming. Then that evolved into a love for engineering. One of my biggest motivators is to learn something new, figure out how to turn it into something cool for Elysian Shadows, then integrate. Sometimes I also like to revisit my influences--games like Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and the classics.

I'm not sure how new you are to programming, but there is a gigantic amount of knowledge to absorb. I remember when I was younger how mentally draining programming was for me. There will always be a gigantic amount of information to learn. Hell, there is a loooot that I still have yet to learn. With experience, you will learn to learn better, though. That will make things easier. :D

So I basically have to suck it up and keep making progress while learning a language, even when it gets draining?
I think it gets monotonous when I am just learning a programming language and not actually using it to make a game, which is what I really want to do.

Is it supposed to take a while to get to the "good stuff"?

The Great wrote: So I basically have to suck it up and keep making progress while learning a language, even when it gets draining?
I think it gets monotonous when I am just learning a programming language and not actually using it to make a game, which is what I really want to do.

Is it supposed to take a while to get to the "good stuff"?

You don't have to wait to make games, but you SHOULD wait to make BIG games. Start off with a number guessing game and SLOWLY work your way towards Platformer/RTS/RPG/Adventure style games.

After responding to the email from ye that said the exact same thing, I thought it'd be useful to make a video showing an example of the steps taken and how long it's taken to go from Pickin' Sticks to [in my case incomplete] RPG. :P
There really isn't any other way but starting out simple. If you try to start out too big too soon, it'll never get done... If it does, it'll be a mess.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myWVSbnm5SQ

I just want to say thanks to Rachel for clearing this up for me .
All I have been making is text based games that show up on the command prompt.
I'm sure that once I start learning about 2D programming it will be a lot more interesting to me.

I enjoy the 2D a lot start with pong pong is fun...

I have to finish learning the fundamentals of the language before I can start with 2d . But I am certain that it's worth it.

Some people might think I'm a dick for saying this... but those people probably don't know what they're talking about...

Game programming is one of the most broad, complex fields of programming/computer science. It can encompass everything from hardware and architecture, physics, and algorithms to calculus, linear algebra, and advanced geometry. I firmly believe that just "wanting to make games" is not good enough to become a good game developer.

It might get you started, but unless you have a real interest in the fields of computer science or computer/software engineering, you won't make it far. There is just too much to learn and too much to know for an attitude of "I just want to make a game." You need an attitude of "I want to know how this works, and I want to understand this."

At least 70% of ES is me enjoying the engineering aspect of game development rather than just wanting to make a game.

GyroVorbis wrote:Some people might think I'm a dick for saying this... but those people probably don't know what they're talking about...

Game programming is one of the most broad, complex fields of programming/computer science. It can encompass everything from hardware and architecture, physics, and algorithms to calculus, linear algebra, and advanced geometry. I firmly believe that just "wanting to make games" is not good enough to become a good game developer.

It might get you started, but unless you have a real interest in the fields of computer science or computer/software engineering, you won't make it far. There is just too much to learn and too much to know for an attitude of "I just want to make a game." You need an attitude of "I want to know how this works, and I want to understand this."

At least 70% of ES is me enjoying the engineering aspect of game development rather than just wanting to make a game.

i completely agree.

also, andre lamothe, (very famous in the gaming field, basically was the pioneer of the game programming book) is quoted as saying that games are the most complex pieces of software. note this is a dude that was a software reaseacher at NASA and holds degrees in mathematics, computer science, and electrical engineering.