Hey I can say I have and still do fell that way everyonce in awhile. Like when I first started working with pointers and linked lists.(I understood the theory concept and implamentation but just couldn''t seem to group it all together.) But nowadays I can read most code and follow along fine execpt on some really optimized memory and surface manipulations,and when I run into new things like windows callbacks being used a differnt way than I thought possible,ect. I now run into the problems mainly with artwork thue I can code a game,a engine,but I can only do decent artwork(3d rendered stuff) at the best ,and forget about animation and any real textureing.

It''s atavist, moe.

And I''m in Calgary, starting computer science at UofC next september (hopefuly)

One person said that the games industry is "a transfer of funds from the rich to the lucky"

Hey wut is yer ICQ UIN?
tell me if u know!

heh, pretty much everyone hits the wall when they try getting into graphics programming...but soon itll all make sense and youll be doing stuff. Just takes practice and lots of research....about the teacher thing. I think its up to the person learning the information, some people are better with books, and some just cant stand books and need to learn form a teacher. Personally i dont like learning from teachers, i like the text books. I just feel that reading a book in silence beats a yelling teacher. My CS teacher in high school yells all the time, i get really annoyed by him. He yells when he''s talking 5 inchs from your face...just saying...Some people learn better from a teacher, some learn better from reading. well gbye, and keep at the bitmap loading, youll soon get it and be in AWE!
just remember to have fun!

-Phorisc

Well, in your life, now matter how smart you are you''ll always face people smarter than you.

It''s a fact we are not created equal, some brains are better designed and perform better.

There will be a lot of things you wont be able to do in your entire life no matter how hard you practice. And at the same time some guys will be able to do that almost painlessly

We are capped and there are not many things we can do about it.

sorry to sound pessimistic, but IMO it''s true..

John Carmack!?? He only makes one kind of games!! And how many is it now? Something like 6-7? Okey the made that platform game many years ago, but all newbies start of with that kind of games. If I would chose someone it would be anyone in the old Bullfrog team (many of them has tend to form their own companies now), there you have quality games with a great deal of orginality!!!

In response to the "you are what you are" genetics type post:

People may have different genetic dispositions and basic make ups, but that hardly stops anyone from becoming a mega-success in this world if they dont give up and work hard and awarely.

You dont have to be any kind of genius to be successful in this industry, you just have to try to make the best decisions you can about what paths you take, then work hard at achieving goals in that path.

Edison didnt say "Genius is ninety-nine percent genetics and one percent perspiration", did he?

-Geoff

Do not despair you''ve got a lot of enjoyable learning.
I''ve been learning another language, French, and it has come with its low points. But the payoffs are there.

ZoomBoy

A 2D RPG with skills, weapons, and adventure.
See my character editor, Tile editor and diary at
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Atlantis/7739/

Time is not important. Practice. Work at it. You'll get there. Don't think about being the next "John Carmack". Think about being the next "*insert your name here*".

As to genetics, ignore it. I have seen many instances of "genetics" get nowhere, while those who work hard earn more and get farther. Remember, that which burns brightest, fades fastest.

Edited by - Jeranon on 2/23/00 5:54:55 AM

i do believe that you "are what you are" to a certain extent. i''ve learned to identify my strengths and weaknesses (in life in general, not just programming), this has helped me a lot in understanding myself.

for example, in school i always had an easy time in math class because i had a natural ease with numbers. numbers to me are very logical and precise. i would usually get 90% or more on exams while a lot of people were on the brink of failing. yet i did very little of the homework, i just paid attention in class. on the flip side of the coin, i always had a hard time in english class. i don''t like answering questions that have "no wrong answer" and stuff like that. support your answer , etc etc. relate this to your own experience , bleh, not everyone can relate to everything . i would still wind up with grades around 80% in english class but i had to work a LOT harder than in math...

i understand this as my strengths and weaknesses (these are just 2 cases; my life is not so black-and-white ). if i focused on being a writer, i would be a very poor one. but, with my fondness of math, i took a very natural liking to programming and i feel i will get very far in this field, because i like it, a lot. not to mention that all the years of being an avid video game player while growing up will come in very handy (if it hasn''t already).

I think it all comes down to what you like to do. If you like something, and keep at it, you will succeed. And it looks like we all like game programming here, so I wouldn''t sweat it