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Why programmers should play games as a hobby

Andrew Baisden on July 24, 2020

Playing games is one of the most engrossing and entertaining activities out there and because of its huge social factor you can share your passion ...
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Mike Bybee

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only dev who isn't a gamer, and one of the few who is a huge sports fan (albeit still in a very geeky way - I'm heartbroken that there's no NFL preseason, because I love seeing which "nobodies" will earn roster spots). Since I'm making it a point to cover things devs shouldn't put up with, this reminds me of something we could all learn from professional athletes:

  1. Bonuses and perks are nice, but the "guaranteed money" should always be your first consideration. Don't let them underpay you by luring you into the "total pay" trap.
  2. Long term is nice, but sometimes it really is a good idea to think like those athletes who take one-year "prove it" deals. When they do, it's said that they "bet on themselves." Always bet on yourself.

There's more I'm not thinking of right now, but thanks for the reminder.

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Kasey Speakman • Edited

I have typically felt the opposite. Most of the devs/IT people I worked with in the past were not much into gaming and many were sports fans. My current dev team does play some of the same games I do. I have met very few people who play games as much as I do, lol. (So for the purposes of the original post, I am quite biased.) Not to say I don't do other things. But my free time has a consistent theme.

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Andrew Baisden

Having a fantasy football team technically counts as gaming too in a way :)

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Kasey Speakman

I'm inclined to agree. I have taken more to simulation and automation games lately, which seem even more programming-like. (Satisfactory is my current favorite.) These kinds of games require the player to devise a solution to achieve their goal, much like the experience of programming.

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Andrew Baisden

What games are you playing at the moment? I have Starcraft II and Age of empires 2 definitive edition which are giving me my RTS fix as PS4 lacks any real good RTS games. These games to have aspects of simulation as well building bases, working on your economy. Managing resources and monitoring production and facilities while also building troops. Quite similar to working on an app in a way.

The one major simulation game that comes to mind would be sim city.

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Kasey Speakman • Edited

I'm mainly on computer. My current game is Satisfactory, such an great game. Was pretty into Borderlands 2 before that. The character specs are interesting puzzles, and of course lots of shooting and upgrading. Played Jedi Fallen Order recently, amazing game. Subnautica played last year, also highly recommend. Raft is a great building game, still in early access. I have more fun in those last two games playing in peaceful mode. I've been on-and-off with Warframe -- fun but the grind wears me down eventually. I also play a bit of Civ V now and again for familiarity and some lighter-weight puzzle solving. Cities: Skylines is great for a relaxing time growing a city.

Factorio is hard not to mention in category of simulation/automation games. I've played through it a couple of times. I also played a lot of the Zachtronics games which are thinly veiled (SpaceChem, Opus Magnum) or just straight up (TIS-100, Shenzhen IO) programming games. Human Resource Machine / 7 Billion Humans are also programming games. Although I only find the latter two sets of programming games enjoyable to a point. After a certain point, they have you solve challenging problems but do not give you good enough organization tools. So the solutions end up a giant spaghetti mess that you have to work through by trial and error. Early in my career, believing I had to solve problems this way almost drove me out of the industry. But they are good fun otherwise.

Also congratulations on having a PS4. I looked at getting one recently, and prices on consoles in general (especially Switch) have gone through the roof.

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Rayyan Ahmed Quraishi

I agree, in the sense that I do think one you play video games and that they are helpful. But, I do not think they are helpful in the way mentioned. A lot of us have heard this argument that video games help us in problem solving, and they do to a certain extent. But just not in the way we usually think.

Playing games and watching movies help us in a much deeper way. They make you creative, they give you ideas, they give a good set of analogies to use for problem solving, and allow you to come up with creative solutions.
That is why, I believe, a person who engages in a variety of entertainment ends up being a better problem solver than someone who doesn't.

And games are fun, so why wouldn't you play it? :D

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Andrew Baisden

That's true and good point with the creativity aspect. These mediums have stimulated my mind and given me so many ideas throughout my lifetime. Including designs for apps, websites and even cool projects to work on. It is like a production factory for ideas.

And there are those out there who would say that watching too much of that type of content dulls your mind. While that may be true in some cases depending on what type of content you watch. I find that it makes you into a creative thinker and that type of personality will never get boring.

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Raphael da Silva • Edited

I play games before programming. After learn programming, somethings I try image how the games are programmated and how objects can represent games parts, I wrote article mixing Objects with Splinter Cell game.

Now I playing Metal Gear Solid 5 Phantom Pain on PC. Thank you for the article.

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Petergamer98

Thanks to this, you get to know the market and pay attention to new products. Currently, it is worth paying attention to the Elden Ring game. This is a really interesting game that I highly recommend to almost everyone: royalcdkeys.com/products/elden-rin...

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Keith Alleman

Good read man.

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Louis Low

Gaming is one of my drug supplement to my creativity.