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What is considerd a small idea/project and how do you all find motivation? (lemmy.fmhy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago by QuietStorm@lemmy.fmhy.ml to c/programming@beehaw.org

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(warning lots of wordy words)

I feel like i stink at everythign and im limited to what my low end pc can do it use to be an office pc but it got refurbished and whatnot (still low end). I usally just go to chatgpt to learn coding and youtube too but i guess thats the lazy way of the coder and i use chatgpt to code to becasue i stink at everything. i have no talent, skills or good hobbys and im dylexic and autistic but yet for some reason and im not sure why i want to make a game. I just feel very lost with things like wanting to make a game i even made a post asking what engine or framewrok i should use most said godot, python, love2d mostly but im not sure how to start its like some werid form of writters block with the fear and guilt of failing gamedev. i tried making a endless runner in godot but i coudent get the player to stand on the platform without falling thru so i raged quite and gave up.... but i still have the urge to create or be creative.

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[–] rimu 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Motivation is a tricky thing. You need to create it, it's not something anyone has innately.

Something I've been using lately, with good results, is to spend a few minutes at the start of each day reminding myself of the vision I have for my future. I previously collected photos or symbols of those things and spend a few seconds dwelling on each of them and trying to imagine how my life will be better then. Cultivate the dream.

A lot of those things I dream of will take a long time to happen so they need to be broken down into smaller sub-goals. Use chatgpt to help with this?

Once my vision has been refreshed I make a to-do list for the day.

Executive functioning is often hard for people with autism. Some of the techniques that people with ADHD use can be helpful, as they have the same issues. Lots of info on the web out there about this and your public library will have free books on it too.

[–] QuietStorm@lemmy.fmhy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

thank you for the words.

[–] AVeryCleverName@lemmy.one 1 points 1 year ago

This is beautiful advice, thank you

[–] duckythescientist@lemmy.fmhy.ml 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Here are a few ideas to help with motivation and project selection.

A lot of the time for me, my issue is that what I want to make is too open ended. I get stuck with decision paralysis. I keep trying to add features in my plan, or I don't know how I want to do parts of it because I don't know how I'll want to expand it in the future.

Artificially limit the scope of your problem. You want to make a game, but that could be a several year long indevor. You want a way to quickly feel successful in making something (for now). Possible limitations: Make a 2D black and white game out of only ASCII glyphs on a terminal. Make a game that can be won or lost in only 5 minutes of play. Make a game that only uses one or two buttons. Choose some or all of those.

Sometimes it can be nice to instead of starting from scratch, to extend someone else's work. Find an open source game in a language you know and add one feature to it. Add more only after the first feature works.

Reinventing the wheel can be fun. Pick a simple game and recreate it. Snake, Flappy Bird, and Pong come to mind.

[–] QuietStorm@lemmy.fmhy.ml 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thank you, but im also not sure what thing to code in or with do you have any suggetsion by chance? i also keep hoping from one thing to another in terms of engines, frameworks, and whatnot.

[–] duckythescientist@lemmy.fmhy.ml 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm a big fan of Python and just its standard libraries plus a couple 3rd party libraries depending on what I'm doing. Python is a great general purpose language. PyGame should be fine for basic video game stuffs, but I'd start simpler with just standard libraries.

VS Code is probably your best choice for an IDE.

[–] Domiku@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

Yes - Python can be good for making a simple game like Blackjack or Tic-tac-toe or the like. It’s a great way to practice breaking down large projects into smaller manageable chunks.

It’s how I started my programming journey. I think the first game I made was the card game War. There’s not much game complexity, but you can practice with arrays/lists, shuffling/randomizing, and conditionals.

[–] AVeryCleverName@lemmy.one 3 points 1 year ago

Make snake! See if you can get chat GPT to give you directions without giving you code to copy and paste. Feel in the blank spaces with googling and Ctrl+f in the docs.

I'm in a few beginner programmer discords and am a noob myself, having begun self teaching python in February. DM me and let's connect on discord!

[–] dubbel@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 year ago

Especially for game developers game-jams are a great way to prevent scope creep and actually push towards a deliverable at the end of the timeframe.

And by signing up in advance you have something to hold yourself accountable with.

That being said, as a game dev, or developer in general, you need to be pretty frustration resistant. Even as a senior dev you still have these situations. Most often it's the dev that's wrong, not the computer (or third party library/framework/engine).

I'd also advise against using chatgpt and instead go for some basic coding Tutorials first.