Comments on: The Demonic Wasp From Hell! With 'survival' you're getting down to the physiological level, which is literally a 'no-brainer'. With game dev (and hobbies) we're talking about a much higher esteem or self-actualization level (re Maslow). In order to master something like game development, one must study it. In order to solve a problem like a buffer overrun, stack corruption, memory leak, or a general problem with class architecture one must understand the problem and at least know the general concepts involved. In my experience (while helping people in IRC chat rooms or via email), many newcomers to computer programming (forget about game development for a moment) get lost in these somewhat-abstract problems and don't know where to start looking to solve the problem. In most cases, it helps to break the problem down into smaller chunks (Baby Steps) and build the necessary knowledge gradually, solving the problem step-by-step. Some people can jump steps rapidly while others need more time. Still others just simply get too frustrated and give up. Maybe like you say it was "simple curiosity", but I can't judge that. I can only assume the people asking for help are committed, want to learn, and are not necessarily being forced to learn. Nevertheless, I've found breaking the problem into baby steps is a very effective learning and teaching tool. With ‘survival’ you’re getting down to the physiological level, which is literally a ‘no-brainer’. With game dev (and hobbies) we’re talking about a much higher esteem or self-actualization level (re Maslow).

In order to master something like game development, one must study it. In order to solve a problem like a buffer overrun, stack corruption, memory leak, or a general problem with class architecture one must understand the problem and at least know the general concepts involved. In my experience (while helping people in IRC chat rooms or via email), many newcomers to computer programming (forget about game development for a moment) get lost in these somewhat-abstract problems and don’t know where to start looking to solve the problem. In most cases, it helps to break the problem down into smaller chunks (Baby Steps) and build the necessary knowledge gradually, solving the problem step-by-step. Some people can jump steps rapidly while others need more time. Still others just simply get too frustrated and give up. Maybe like you say it was “simple curiosity”, but I can’t judge that. I can only assume the people asking for help are committed, want to learn, and are not necessarily being forced to learn.

Nevertheless, I’ve found breaking the problem into baby steps is a very effective learning and teaching tool.

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By: snake5/2011/04/10/the-demonic-wasp-from-hell/#comment-2727 snake5 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 11:11:33 +0000 Good for you. You have a high degree of determination. Most successful people share that quality. You didn't give up and kept trying. Unfortunately not everyone shares that quality. Good for you. You have a high degree of determination. Most successful people share that quality. You didn’t give up and kept trying. Unfortunately not everyone shares that quality.

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By: snake5/2011/04/10/the-demonic-wasp-from-hell/#comment-2598 snake5 Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:36:08 +0000 The whole point of baby steps is to ensure that progression takes place at whatever rate the learner needs to effectively learn the content. Sometimes, jumping too far ahead in the learning process can lead to frustration and simply quitting. I think that many little successes are better than a few huge failures, especially in the beginning. The whole point of baby steps is to ensure that progression takes place at whatever rate the learner needs to effectively learn the content. Sometimes, jumping too far ahead in the learning process can lead to frustration and simply quitting. I think that many little successes are better than a few huge failures, especially in the beginning.

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By: snake5/2011/04/10/the-demonic-wasp-from-hell/#comment-2587 snake5 Mon, 11 Apr 2011 16:06:05 +0000