General Discussion

I’m currently taking a web design class which is currently working in html but we plan to move onto other languages as the year progresses. It’s been really fun and I feel like I can get sucked into it. I think I might want to make my own virtual pet game one day, maybe based on ferrets or otters. I also love learning about glitches in video games and I honestly don’t know why but it’s great.

I don’t really have any tips for you but if you need some projects to get better at coding, my teacher often assigns us to make websites for fictional companies like a pasta restaurant or a carpet cleaning service. That can help you see some practical uses for the things your learning.

@Fireflygamer

I appreciate that you posted too! I don't know html at all, but I have seen it mentioned in places. I like your idea for a pet game, I hope you're able to go for it some day!

I'm not 100% sure how to go about doing projects on certain things, but I'm currently poking around at a UI/UX course on codecademy that walks through making a fictional app with Figma. So I guess that's something? I'm not certain if Python is for me, maybe something I will circle back to though.

I see the common misbelief in here too... *whispers* HTML is not a programming language, it's markup lang :D Like, it doesn't solve "problems"(calculate values to make another value) but explain how document(website) look like. Don't say HTML is a lang, it will trigger so many code guys x'D +) Anyways I never knew there's this many people who interested in/loving coding! [emoji=coatl laughing size=1]

@WHDE

Thanks for the input! As I've said, I only know html by the name or mention only, and that's about it lol.

I had no idea either, which is part of the reason I asked here in the forums. I wasn't quite sure where else to ask about it, and since I hadn't really seen it mentioned for what I was looking for around here, I figured what the heck I might as well ask!

School life forced me to learn a lot... Python, C, C++, Javascript, HTML, CSS, PHP, Java... and the other less known languages too

I think the best way to start programming is understanding the algorithms behind how they work! For example, if you know of the if-else block, you can pretty much apply it to a lot of situations and scenarios!

You can also take up some random challenges for fun if you're looking for directions on next steps. The Flight Rising web tools I've made is one of those results from me going "I think I can make my FR life a bit easier", and some of them are from specific questions from other players that make me go "can I realistically implement this"

Hi! I feel you a lot: I was trying to “learn programming” for a while and it felt like the resources were kind of aimless? Like I’d sort of understand what they were talking about and could replicate it, but lacked the understanding of how it all connects and was super overwhelmed by having a lot of resources, very few of which i could understand how to use.

I’m a compsci student now at a college (still super beginner level) and ngl a big part of what helped me actually get better at programming is the structured learning of a class, combined with self-motivated projects. I realized that if I wasn’t making something that I was interested in, I’ll never learn the concept. So here’s my beginner tip: after going through a basics course in a language of your choice (I did Python, Java, and doing JavaScript now) find small projects that you’d like to do and learn the concepts needed specifically for that project.

Simple example: when I had trouble budgeting, I made a simple python file that would calculate how much I needed to be saving from each paycheck based on my savings goals. To get to that point, I needed to learn how to ask for input, store and update user info, do basic math operations, and make a basic menu with different options (change hourly pay, change savings goal, etc). If you’re following an online course, it will probably cover all these topics, but now it’ll be up to you to take the general concepts from the course and use it to solve your own problems.

Idk if this will help, but wishing you all the best on your programming journey! You’re not alone in the struggle :>

If you want a coding job in the game dev industry: I've been a professional game dev coder for 7 years now. Not sure about the rest of the world but in Sweden we have a few really great higher vocational educations. I think one of them has a school in England too now. It's essentially 2 intense years of individual assignments and team projects with artists and level designers. The game companies keep good relationships with the schools and basically everyone gets an internship which then usually leads to employment. Most swedish game companies pick interns from these schools, like mojang, massive, king, avalanche, fatshark, paradox, arrowhead, hazelight, and so on. Which is nice because now all my old classmates are spread out on a lot of companies and changing jobs isn't a hassle! I didn't know anything about code before I started, and then a year into school I was writing a game engine from scratch in C++ and DX11. So I can strongly recommend those higher vocational educations! [emoji=coatl happy size=1]

@BlueLatios

Thanks for posting! I know some of the if-else, but don't always pick up on when to use them. I don't know of any schooling around here that offers coding right now, so I've mainly been trying to teach myself with different sites.


@solar111s

Glad you posted! Yes, the beginning of your post is pretty much what I've been feeling. I have yet to come up with a project that I'd be interested in doing, mainly because I'm not familiar yet with what something like Python could offer. I've drifted away from it a bit while looking at some other resources, so it can hopefully help make a decision.

I do like your example though, that was a neat thing to come up with. And thank you for the well wishes! It's definitely nice to have a place where all of these posts are together in one thread to refer back to if needed.


@Zwynx

Thank you for posting! I haven't really dug into something like that, but I definitely appreciate hearing about it! I'm not sure if we have anything similar around here, but I'll keep that in mind.

Would you be alright with me helping to explain or provide examples for some Python things? I haven't the opportunity to be a teacher of any sort of professional capacity, but I'd like to help others learn about programming if I can help :o one could see coding as a puzzle game, in a way!

I know Python, SQL and to some extend Bash, Powershell, C# and C++.

The University of Helsinki offers a lot of tech courses that are either completely free or you only have to pay if you want to take an exam. Most courses are in English too. They have one for introduction to python and advanced programming in python.

When I want to learn a new language, I tend to just pick a project and learn as I go. However I've already been programming for a bit and most concepts tend to be very similar across most programming languages. I don't know how good that advice would be for someone without that prior knowledge.