nevalis

I tried learning game coding with C++ but never made it too far. Most tutorials I came across were like:

Step 1: Declare simple variable

Step 2: Declare simple loop

Step 3: Do a bunch of advanced, complicated stuff without properly explaining it

Step 4: Done

I also worked on a sniper game in flash that actually made it far enough to have a working scope and hit detection, but little else, and I had at least a dozen crappy RPG Maker projects.

I'd still like to get involved with game development, but only as a hobby. My programming job now is not nearly as stressful and pays well enough that I wouldn't want switch careers and possibly ruin my favorite thing. Despite that, with every game I play, I can't help but try to envision how they coded certain systems. Knowing how complicated game programming is, I just have to give a lot of respect to those that do it for a living.

I'm in a similar situation with my brother and his friends. He asked me which I'm going with (PS4), while his friends are leaning towards XB1 mainly because they have the 360 and it seems like an easier transition.

I told him my reasons for going with Sony, but said in the end he should go with whatever suits his needs. They're mostly a CoD group, so I pointed out XB1 will get map packs sooner, but PS4's $100 savings basically covers the cost of CoD and its season pass. The hardware differences at this point are a wash, and they neither care about XB1's TV/browser/Kinect nor PS4's more friendly indie policies, so it'll boil down to going with the console that better fits with CoD.

I already went through the PS3/360 generation with a scattered friends list across the consoles, so this is nothing new. However, if asked, I'll highlight the good and bad with both new systems and let them decide.

Can't go wrong with Dragon Quest VIII. The gameplay and fantastic music kept me coming back.

As a former WoW subscriber who invested around 80 hours/week from 2004-2006 while in school, and around 50 hours/week after I got a job, I can relate to the struggles of game addiction. While I had it under control at that time where I would only allow myself to play if I kept my grades up, I shunned almost all social interactions only left the room for food/bathroom/showers/school, all while justifying it as "Well, I have a 4.0 GPA, so it's OK to play a lot." I've missed out a lot on the college experience as I would count down the minutes for class to end so I can race home and join a raid or get some PvP in.

After getting a job, it was even worse in that now I was trapped somewhere for 45 hours every week, so any time I might've had to spare to hang out with friends between sessions was completely out of the question. It wasn't until my grandfather passed away in mid-2007 that I realized I had to change my lifestyle.

Like quitting any addiction, it's not something that can be done overnight. Little-by-little I lowered how much time I invested with games, and even was fortunate to get involved in a relationship that gave me other priorities over gaming. There were still tough days where I'd feel overwhelmed with life and needed to escape, but thankfully by then I had managed to rebuild some connection to my family, that they helped keep me grounded along with an understanding girlfriend.

Now that I have a house and family to care for, gaming is nearly at the bottom of the list of things I have time to do. I can still enjoy gaming, but gone are the all-day sessions and social separation. I won't lie and say I can don't long for such days, but once I acknowledged that there are other equally satisfying and rewarding hobbies or goals that can be done if I just put even a small amount of effort that I do in gaming, then it's not as hard to take a break from it.

I've rambled enough here, but the point I want to make is this: you are not alone with what you're going through, and you can overcome the issue with some support from friends/family and hard work. Video game development is a challenging field that is exhausting both physically and mentally, but channeling your passion for gaming into a passion for creating games will help you immensely. Don't think of your 8 weeks of no gaming as a punishment, but a step towards your goals.