I'm in my final year of a game programming degree, but I still feel like I don't really know how to build things on my own. I often feel overwhelmed and have to look up information constantly. Is that normal, or should I be much more advanced by now? I'm planning to make a personal project over the summer, but while the semester is running I want to focus on school and protect my mental health. The mental health concern is mainly about college itself, not programming.
4 Answers
Classes can teach the fundamentals without making you confident at building complete software. It’s a bit like learning vocabulary and grammar but expecting that alone to make you a novelist. Independent practice is what teaches you how to combine those pieces into a finished project. If you’re putting genuine effort into your assignments, poor instruction may also be contributing to the problem, so don’t assume the whole issue is a lack of ability.
Looking things up is completely normal, including for professional developers. The important question is whether you’re learning from what you find or repeatedly searching for the exact same beginner concepts without making progress. Keep notes on solutions and explanations so you gradually build your own reference library.
The best way to improve is to build things, but start much smaller than you think. Make a series of tiny projects that each focus on one mechanic or idea. Your first few projects are supposed to be rough and may never be worth showing anyone. Finishing several small projects will teach you more than planning one huge game that never gets completed.
Try treating each project like a short game jam. Spend the first day planning, make a basic prototype quickly, add the core mechanic, polish it briefly, and finish with something playable. If you can’t complete it in the time limit, reduce the scope next time. This teaches planning, avoiding feature creep, and completing a full design-to-build-to-release cycle.
That makes sense. I think I’ve been judging myself against projects that are much too large instead of focusing on completing something small.
I do put effort into my class projects, but the teaching hasn’t always been very effective. I also have to revisit information often because my memory isn’t great, so I’m hoping better notes and more practice will help.