Both. I like it, but it can also get very tedious or frustrating at times. I've been working with some stuff that I wouldn't normally touch, just because my works demands it. But I also love it. More than programming itself, I like creating stuff. It just so happens that programming is one way to create something.

Both.

It's fun when you can get creative and implement far reaching systems from scratch, try out different designs, find ingenius ways of accomplishing tasks.

It's tedious when you have a long list of simple and boring features to implement, preferably within a tight deadline *sigh*

Perfect example of what I mean:
Every time you want to draw a picture, you don't have to cut down a tree and run it through the mill, to make your pencil and paper. You get a pencil and a sheet of paper, and the creations process starts immediately. From your brain straight to the paper.

Yes, but someone somewhere still had to cut down the tree and make that pencil and paper.

I do believe this is possible with game development, as there is an app on IOS called Gamepress which actually allows for this type of free form development.
I don't mind the work or time, but I guess I like to be able to sketch my ideas quickly, and I am not that efficient yet, so by the time I even start, I am bored.

Personally for me writing up a prototype of a game idea is generally as easy as it is for an artist to sketch their ideas. However ask me to grab a pen and paper to actually draw a sketch of something and your ganna be waiting for quite some time. Programming is like any other craft, it rakes time to get even moderatly ok, alot more time to get decent, even more to get good, and a crap ton more to be considered an expert.

However like other crafts how much time this takes all depends on how much effort and passion you put into learning it, and if you don't find yourself enjoying it, expect it to take a long time to get anywhere.


Lastly i'd like to say making complex games is not something you can do by yourself in a short amount of time, and it sounds like your coming to that realization.

Both!

Programming is the most flexible and powerful building material. When you're tired of programming, you're tired of creation. Of course it only becomes fun once you're good enough that programming becomes just a form of expression, as opposed to something you struggle with.

I have been programming more than 30 years. I have taught classes, ranging from 100-level college, to advanced classes.

People are surprised when I say intelligence is not the best predictor of a great programmer. They all seem to disbelieve me when I say it is personality: if the person loves it--like "oh my god, I can't stop until it works" love it--then they will be great at it and get to enjoy a fantastic career.

Some of my brightest students were wash-outs because it just wasn't their thing.

If it is work for you, you will never be more than a "capable" programmer, and you will never be happy doing it. The only chink in the armor of that statement that I can think of is this: some people are very narrow and only get excited about certain things: optimization or low-level work, graphics (such as OpenGL), networking and seeing remote devices work together. Test some of these waters, and if you don't float as if by magic, drop Programming and go elsewhere. It will be a great thing to know no matter what you end up doing, but you'll be happier doing something else.

Coding for me is a lot of "how do I get this to work" and "Why won't this work?"

It can be fun, it can be arduous.

The first 90% of a project is fun and exciting and takes 10% of the time.

The last 10% is debugging and adding sparkle and is annoying and takes 90% of the time.

Coding is my passion, I enjoy it on all levels. Without source code, sometimes I think I'd just die. :)

Shogun.

If it is work for you, you will never be more than a "capable" programmer, and you will never be happy doing it. The only chink in the armor of that statement that I can think of is this: some people are very narrow and only get excited about certain things: optimization or low-level work, graphics (such as OpenGL), networking and seeing remote devices work together. Test some of these waters, and if you don't float as if by magic, drop Programming and go elsewhere. It will be a great thing to know no matter what you end up doing, but you'll be happier doing something else.

This. Most programming jobs would make me want to kill myself; and I find most game programming pretty tedious as well. But I have plenty of hobby projects that I like to work on whenever I have a good quiet stretch, and at work im also programming at least 50% of the time, and loving it. Saying you like programming is a little like saying you like making things. Make what? Shoes? Bread? Quite different professions. Personally, I get my fix where the hardcore math meets the silicon, but your mileage may vary.