   When is it time to put down a project you've been working on as a hobby?
  I'm a sophomore in college who's had an interest in gaming since I was young.  Right now I'm going to school for Experimental Theatre, but I wanted to maintain some of my interests in programming and design.  I'm trying to minor in Mathematics and Computer Science, and I took one of the entry-level courses in Computer Science at my college.  It was abysmally taught, but nonetheless it kickstarted my interest in actually programming.  I've taught myself a fair degree of Java and am using Java2D to create this game that has gone through many phases:it started off as a planetary simulator of the planet's in which they could elastically collide or absorb each other, now I've added a ship I control in, I've added enemies, weapon types, shields, etc.  It's all suddenly getting very complicated for the untrained scope I'm working with.  There are many design concepts that come with expertise that I am not entirely getting yet.  But, I've been working on this for, about only a month or two.  I don't know where I want to end it.  It was meant to be more of a learning process than an actual product.  But, supposing I finish, or not, what could I do with the results?  Is there a site I could put it up on?  Should I try to make a finished product, or leave it in the very unfinished state it is and try to get fresh starts on other projects?   
  Depends on you. For me, I have a lot of motivation issues, so I find I get the most learning in; the most achievement if I just let myself work on whatever I feel like at the time.   ;  It really depends.For the most part, I would suggest to never abadon a project as that tends to teach bad habits in terms of not completing projects.  Often, it seems like the last 10% of the project takes 90% of the time.  Not saying it actually does, but it certainly feels like it.  Companies want people who are able to complete projects, as that shows perserverence, and not people who have great ideas, but are unable to ever finish what they start.I'd suggest to only abandon a project if it was never meant to be anything more than a proof of concept or help you learn a fundamental and the task has been accomplished.Sure, you might come up with a better idea, or technology changes, but a simple Tetris Clone with EGA graphics is better for your portfolio than a DirectX 12 MMORPG demo that's incapable of showing anything about your talents.   ;  I understand what you're asking and you should consider yourself lucky for having the patience to consider your options.  I'm ashamed to admit how many times in my past I started from scratch on certain projects when things didn't feel right.   It truly is a hard habit to break, so try to learn now how to avoid the trap.Maybe fate is offering you an opportunity to learn about code "refactoring", which is the basically the reworking of sections of code which you want to change/improve, while keeping the original functionality.   Very important skill to have, imo...On the other hand, maybe you're just bored with the current project and want to try something new.  ;  Do whatever you want.  Hobbyist/learning projects are just fine without any long term goals - they're what I used to teach myself a wide variety of concepts.  Backup projects in case you get an itch to work on them again even in the (far) future.I usually stop working on personal projects whenever I get bored, or overcame the primary programming obstacle I was facing.  If it's a particularly interesting implementation, I'll try rewriting parts from scratch to see if I do it better the second time.If you want to teach yourself some basic project management skills, you could set some goals, milestones, testing procedures or whatever you feel like.   ;  Well, I've had issues with projects, especially since they're due to change when I come up with other great ideas. I would suggest not to abandon it, since it just doesn't feel right (to me) to abandon something, unless it is in extreme circumstances.Besides, if you're just doing hobbyist stuff, then just keep the project. If you end up finishing it, you could post it on a bunch of sites. There's lots of ways to use it. I can't even name all of them. Heck, I guess you could even make your own site and give your finished product as a free download or something. You could even charge money, but it's not likely to really catch on. There are ways to profit from a good game product. That is, if you want to do that.Point being though, don't abandon the project. There's lots of things that could be done with it. Plus, your first finished game? A bit of achievment to feel good about once it's done. I hope this has helped.   ;  If you're just worried that it's getting bigger than you can handle, it sounds like it's time to learn how to refactor.  Refactoring is a very useful (even necessary) skill to have, especially once your project gets to a decent size.  If you're worried about it taking too much time, not having enough time, or are bored and want to do something else, then just drop it.What I think you should do, is to get it to a state where it's "done."  Or at least, where everything works, and it's more or less complete.  Then refactor it.  Then add everything you want.   ;  One thing you might want to do, if you're looking for something to do, is port it over to C#.You'll get a chance to do a lot of refactoring and optimizing, you'll get experience with porting code between languages, and you'll actually have a potential launch platform in XNA.Is it an applet or application?   ;Quote:Original post by way2lazy2careOne thing you might want to do, if you're looking for something to do, is port it over to C#.You'll get a chance to do a lot of refactoring and optimizing, you'll get experience with porting code between languages, and you'll actually have a potential launch platform in XNA.Is it an applet or application?Right now it's an application?  I know it's not an applet.  I guess that defaults to application.  ;Quote:Original post by CyJackXQuote:Original post by way2lazy2careOne thing you might want to do, if you're looking for something to do, is port it over to C#.You'll get a chance to do a lot of refactoring and optimizing, you'll get experience with porting code between languages, and you'll actually have a potential launch platform in XNA.Is it an applet or application?Right now it's an application?  I know it's not an applet.  I guess that defaults to application.It shouldn't be horrendously difficult to make it an applet, which I'd recommend you do as then we can play with it.   