Beginning to lose interest to code for fun
-
I am now 25 Ive graduated from university in informatics engineering, Now i am coding and getting paid for that over a year and a half. But now I don't spend endless hours coding games and other stuff just because i like it, and it is not because i don't have time is because I lost interest. I wonder if that is what real life does to you.
I have been writing code for the same small company for 13 years. For the most part, it has lost the excitement it used to bring. Through the first few years, there was so much to learn, so much to build! Every day was full of challenges! It was not uncommon through that period to find me writing code until 1 or 2 in the morning...of course, I was single then, so not much else to do anyway...but the truth is, I had a real fire back then...not just for writing code, but for all things computer related. I used to spend hours at a time playing Myst and Riven. I haven't played a computer game in months now. I really need to learn some other programming languages, but after being on the computer all day for the job, I just can't get motivated to get started with something new. Getting married, or having any serious relationship tends to change the priorities.
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
-
Yes, though it took me until 40ish.
ditto^2
- S 50 cups of coffee and you know it's on! Code, follow, or get out of the way.
-
I am now 25 Ive graduated from university in informatics engineering, Now i am coding and getting paid for that over a year and a half. But now I don't spend endless hours coding games and other stuff just because i like it, and it is not because i don't have time is because I lost interest. I wonder if that is what real life does to you.
GL_Terminator wrote:
I wonder if that is what real life does to you
Yes. And it gets worse once you have a wife, mortgage, yard work, house maintenance, car maintenance, kids, a physique to maintain, and any other interest that gives your brain a break from work-like stresses like writing code. I'm in total awe of those who can manage all that and still have time/want to do personal coding on anything significant.
We can program with only 1's, but if all you've got are zeros, you've got nothing.
-
I am now 25 Ive graduated from university in informatics engineering, Now i am coding and getting paid for that over a year and a half. But now I don't spend endless hours coding games and other stuff just because i like it, and it is not because i don't have time is because I lost interest. I wonder if that is what real life does to you.
For the most part coding isn't my actual job but it has been something that helps in digging out data from reports. Until recently I had time and inclination to work on a game program. However, since I've finally worked out how to run the API on our email system I've been gung-ho on writing some extreme programs in that area. The game program has lain fallow for the last two months. Some of the switch in interest has been due to the slowness of progress in the game program due to runaway featuritis. I still want to finish the game but the longer it takes to get back to it the longer it will take me to reacquaint myself with how I was approaching some of the coding.
I'm not a programmer but I play one at the office
-
I am now 25 Ive graduated from university in informatics engineering, Now i am coding and getting paid for that over a year and a half. But now I don't spend endless hours coding games and other stuff just because i like it, and it is not because i don't have time is because I lost interest. I wonder if that is what real life does to you.
Congratulations, you're a grownup. College was easy wasn't it? You thought it was hard then, but now you're working 40-50 hours a week you remember it fondly as a part of your life where you had a lot of free time and not too many responsibilities. Hard to stay up to 3 AM coding when you gotta face the freeway and be in the office by 8 (or 10 or whatever). As others have noted, getting married will reduce your free time further. Dang ol' spouse will want you to spend time with them, instead of coding. Kids'll be even worse. They look so sad when you say, "Go away, I'm coding." Don't fret. There's still some time to code, if you want to. You'll get tired of network TV and Youtube videos pretty soon, and have that time back. You may find that other interests take over; in my opinion, parenting is the ultimate programming experience. You'll never work with a more powerful computer than your baby. The world is full of interesting stuff, and now you have money to go do and see it. Coding is fun when it's all you've got. Life is more fun, when you can get it.
-
I am now 25 Ive graduated from university in informatics engineering, Now i am coding and getting paid for that over a year and a half. But now I don't spend endless hours coding games and other stuff just because i like it, and it is not because i don't have time is because I lost interest. I wonder if that is what real life does to you.
Don't waste the next 10 years doing work for someone else if you don't like what you are doing every day. I did this for 17 long years and finally made a change just over one year ago and started my own business as an independent developer. Running a business can be very difficult at times, however my perspective on software development and outlook on life has changed considerably and is much more positive! There are tons of startups and exciting opportunities available these days. If starting a business is not for you then find a company with products that you would enjoy working on every day. This way you can get your groove back and enjoy coding once again. Don't spend your days working on crap. This is what I did and it can really wear you down. I am 39 now - about to turn 40. If I could be 25 again I would have spent those days doing something fun instead of the daily grind, saving money in my 401K so that when I "retire" I can finally enjoy life. Start now. There are tons of possibilities. It's NEVER too late to make a change.
-
I am now 25 Ive graduated from university in informatics engineering, Now i am coding and getting paid for that over a year and a half. But now I don't spend endless hours coding games and other stuff just because i like it, and it is not because i don't have time is because I lost interest. I wonder if that is what real life does to you.
Same happened to me. I started programming on my own when I was a teenager. After getting paid to do what I loved that interest slowly faded away. Nowadays, when I'm not at work, I don't feel like programming at all. Beer became much more interesting to me. ;P
"To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems" - Homer Simpson
-
I have a project ive been meaning to write for about 5 years now but can never find the motivation after coding all day occasionally i'll find myself doing paperwork/testing/admin stuff in the office for a stint and will do a bit of it to handle the coding withdrawl, other times i might do some if im between contracts and, again, havent coded for a while inevitably it never quite gets finished and then random events such as exploding hard drives cause me to start again it'll get done one day, maybe when i retire lol
Pedis ex oris Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur
I have numerous projects i'd like to finish, but after long day at work coming home and sitting at a computer just doesn't happen. I used to sit behind a computer all the time, but now life just gets in the way, and even if i have time to sit i just don't feel like doing anything. It is kind of weird and sad, but after sitting behind a desk at work doing stuff that you, in reality, don't really want to do coming home and doing stuff that you really want to do doesn't really happen. Like you said "can never find the motivation after coding all day" But, i would like to point out that i have actually started doing 1 of the projects, and even though it's not really going fast, it is moving forward.
-
I have a 5month old child, I will concur whole heartedly. So if your 25 now, that gives you between 5 and 10 years to get that home project finished. Once the kids arrive, wow, where did my time go... but I just don't mind at all.
-
damn.... I've got 1 coming now, and i'm 25. I don't like the sound of this at all! Guess I have to finish this thing before May
It's fantastic, you'll be fine.... But get anything that actually takes up time, or requires you to have had a good nights sleep well and truly done before the little one arrives. In fact, do whatever it takes so that you don't need any sleep in May, or June, and some of July! .... or make sure the baby is breast fed, then you can't help, and might as well stay in bed :zzz:
-
I am now 25 Ive graduated from university in informatics engineering, Now i am coding and getting paid for that over a year and a half. But now I don't spend endless hours coding games and other stuff just because i like it, and it is not because i don't have time is because I lost interest. I wonder if that is what real life does to you.
I'm 26 now, and I see where you're coming from. I've been losing a lot of motivation to do anything, really. I've been so frustrated over the last two years with not having enough free time anymore because of the job, my first serious relationship and generally more responsibilities that even when I do have time once in a while, I don't know what to do with it. But then, a few weeks ago, something weird began to happen: motivation started crawling back! I'm not sure how or what caused it, it just came out of nowhere. In addition to that, I try to organize my time better so that I have more time to do stuff I want to do. I've started to dive into game programming and instead of playing games in my lunch break or doing whatever, I'm coding away. And often enough it is really exciting and inspiring. I keep thinking about my project after my break and how I want to do what that I can sometimes hardly concentrate on my actual work. It's not that magically all problems have disappeared; I'm still struggling with not enough time or lack or motivation, but compared to six months ago, it feels like a new life. There's no denying that real life changed my priorities and that I'm not as enthusiastic as I was as a teenager, though. As I said in the beginning, I'm only 26 years old, so I may not have as much life experience as some of the other posters here, but I know how you feel and I know that the motivation can return. Get in contact with indie developers, take a look at other games out there, what ideas there are and, more importantly, what ideas still await implementation in one form or another. Let it inspire you. If you have a heart for coding, the sheer amount of possibilities will probably leave you with too many choices on what to do first rather than a lack of interest. Which is also a huge problem, but one that I prefer by far :)
-
I'm 26 now, and I see where you're coming from. I've been losing a lot of motivation to do anything, really. I've been so frustrated over the last two years with not having enough free time anymore because of the job, my first serious relationship and generally more responsibilities that even when I do have time once in a while, I don't know what to do with it. But then, a few weeks ago, something weird began to happen: motivation started crawling back! I'm not sure how or what caused it, it just came out of nowhere. In addition to that, I try to organize my time better so that I have more time to do stuff I want to do. I've started to dive into game programming and instead of playing games in my lunch break or doing whatever, I'm coding away. And often enough it is really exciting and inspiring. I keep thinking about my project after my break and how I want to do what that I can sometimes hardly concentrate on my actual work. It's not that magically all problems have disappeared; I'm still struggling with not enough time or lack or motivation, but compared to six months ago, it feels like a new life. There's no denying that real life changed my priorities and that I'm not as enthusiastic as I was as a teenager, though. As I said in the beginning, I'm only 26 years old, so I may not have as much life experience as some of the other posters here, but I know how you feel and I know that the motivation can return. Get in contact with indie developers, take a look at other games out there, what ideas there are and, more importantly, what ideas still await implementation in one form or another. Let it inspire you. If you have a heart for coding, the sheer amount of possibilities will probably leave you with too many choices on what to do first rather than a lack of interest. Which is also a huge problem, but one that I prefer by far :)
Thanks for the motivation, i am 25 and also in a new relationship and have new responsibilities that take almost all my time but i feel if i organize my life and spend less time playing and wasting my time, more time will be left for interesting tasks, i am developing an XNA battleship game from 4 years ago i have it posted in my blog www.vasilydev.blogspot.com ,now after your speech I feel i can finally give it a little push thanks
-
I am now 25 Ive graduated from university in informatics engineering, Now i am coding and getting paid for that over a year and a half. But now I don't spend endless hours coding games and other stuff just because i like it, and it is not because i don't have time is because I lost interest. I wonder if that is what real life does to you.
GO INDIE FULL TIME!!! :D that might help, maybe. :D I'm 26 and still not giving up :D I'm confident that I'll become a game dev full time pro indie !!! (Even with wife and children :D) Bro, honestly, don't give up! You can do it put your brainz into it :), visit dailywtf and failblog to get some mental garbage collection :D
-
Thanks for the motivation, i am 25 and also in a new relationship and have new responsibilities that take almost all my time but i feel if i organize my life and spend less time playing and wasting my time, more time will be left for interesting tasks, i am developing an XNA battleship game from 4 years ago i have it posted in my blog www.vasilydev.blogspot.com ,now after your speech I feel i can finally give it a little push thanks
Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad if I was able to give you a bit of motivation and it's great to hear. I'll keep an eye on your blog and hope I'll be able to play Battleship soon :)
-
I am now 25 Ive graduated from university in informatics engineering, Now i am coding and getting paid for that over a year and a half. But now I don't spend endless hours coding games and other stuff just because i like it, and it is not because i don't have time is because I lost interest. I wonder if that is what real life does to you.
