Is Programming Fun or Work for you? If it is fun for you, please tell me how, because I am trying hard not to quit this hobby.

So far I just see it as a tool that will help me with computational tasks whenever I need it, but when it comes to games, what type of computational task am I really doing?

Where then is the fun in game programming for you? Or is it even fun for you?

Perhaps someone has some methods for making it fun?

If you're not having fun, do something you enjoy instead of programming as a hobby. Why would you persist with spending your free time on something you don't enjoy?


To more directly answer the question, I program for fun AND for work.

I like programming for the same reason that i like 4X/strategy games : problem solving using logic. I don't know if there's a method to "make it fun". Either you do or you don't.

To be frank, if you don't enjoy it, why would you want to code as a hobby ? Life's way too short to do stuff you don't like on your free time (that's usually reserved for work).

Both?

Both.

Both.

Sometimes there are taskes, I just want to be finished with, but overall I love programming.

Its solving lots and lots of puzzles, and when it all come together as a whole, you have created something from (almost) nothing.

I especially love the hard problems, that needs a lot of thinking - the feeling is awesome when it finally works in the end.

In general it is fun for me. It is hard to describe, but it is similar to art. If you have the freedom (which is often the case when doing it as hobby), you do something creative, which feels really good. This might change. if you encounter lot of limits common in most jobs.

I like to compare it to art. You start with some aweful paintings and drawings and you need lot of training to get better. But once you are skilled enough and are able to do more complex stuff, you will feel good about what you created... Thought this could be reserved to nerds only

Both.

I program fun stuff like games and social networking apps for fun. I also like learning new languages, APIs, programming paradigms and algorithms for fun. If you are not of a technical / mathematical mindset and you only see programming as a means to an end then it probably isn't the right field for you.

To pay the mortgage I program high frequencey trading and spreadbetting applications. It doesn't sound as cool as programming games but I have worked as a games programmer and the actual part of programming that I enjoy is no different in finance than it is working on a AAA games.

Both. I program things I enjoy for fun, and things I.. enjoy less don't necessarily enjoy as much, for work.

It has its ups and downs though, when I was younger I would often take 6 month breaks from programming to do other stuff, and then spend another 6 months spending a lot of my time programming, my lifestyle is no longer compatible with this so I occasionally get burnt out these days, but I still have fun when I program, most of the time. The first few months I started programming (11 or so) were really, really exciting. I realise it may be a bit harder to be passionate about a recently picked up hobby when you start older and are more critical/cynical towards new things, but if you veritably don't get any enjoyment out of programming, ever, maybe it just isn't the hobby for you - not everyone can like everything.

In any case I don't think there is any "method" to enjoy programming. It's like any other hobby, you do it because you are happy doing it and find it challenging, exciting, relaxing, whatever your motivation is. If your motivation is "it helps me solve computational problems", that's perfectly fine too, it means you see programming as more of a tool than, for example, a creative endeavour, though it may no longer qualify as a hobby if you actually find it tedious, but just as a miscellaneous skill

Of course fun depends on the project (and personal projects are more fun to work as opposing to work projects), but yeah I'm also having fun doing them. So, as almost everyone here, it is fun and work for me.