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Ask HN: Hobby coding that doesn’t feel like work

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Re: Ask HN: Hobby coding that doesn’t feel like work

#31

Post by vga805 »

etra0 wrote: post #14

For me, it's game hacking (not online cheating, though!). Such a diverse topic where you can do a lot of stuff, learn a lot of stuff (x86 assembly, reverse engineering, etc) and you can achieve things like free-cameras, spawning npcs, and understanding how the game actually works at a lower level. With that, I like to experiment with different languages, I started doing it in C++, moved to Rust, but I also tried Zig…

+1 for game programming. I always wanted to learn ASM, it wasn't until discovering Super Mario World ROM hacking that it became fun and exciting enough to really dig into.

Re: Ask HN: Hobby coding that doesn’t feel like work

#32

Post by markus_zhang »

I think programming always involves certain amount of frustration and a lot of learning so the problem is do you enjoy the learning?

For example I fimd it interesting to write HDL for the nand2tetris but I absolutely hate writing leetcode. But I also know many people enjoy writing leetcode so it's personal. You have to find something you are willing to learn so the fruatration is overcome by the joy.

Re: Ask HN: Hobby coding that doesn’t feel like work

#33

Post by snarfy »

I work from home. I have a separate work computer than my personal computer which are in different rooms. When I code for fun, I make mods for video games. I get to use the mods I make when playing which is a nice bonus. My mods are played online so I also get to see others use them which is satisfying.

Re: Ask HN: Hobby coding that doesn’t feel like work

#34

Post by piva00 »

nuclearnice1 wrote: post #26
piva00 wrote: post #21

I've started to play with microcontrollers and other embedded systems to create tools for performance artists. It was a path from a very long soul searching effort. After some 18 years of professional career as a SWE I was really tired of anything related to programming. Finally I got to find something that actually motivates me to learn like it was when I was a young kid and programming was a fun and creative hobby.…

Brilliant! What’s your tool chain in terms of hardware and libraries and so on look like? I imagine your skill set is very rare in that community.

So far I've been using a lot of Adafruit components. Their 9-DOF breakout sensor board is really cool to keep track of small movements and I pair it with a WiFi enabled Wemos D1 for wearables.

For my current project I'm creating vests with the 9-DOF sensor + Wemos D1 that connect to a central server and this server is a central dispatch to communicate with other stage parts (similar to the architecture of the Philips Hue Bridge). I have an Adafruit HUZZAH32 to control some stage lights and other equipment (fog machines, etc.).

My idea is to enhance the job of the light designers, instead of them having to choreograph with the artists every movement they can instead select areas of the set that should be reacting to the artists movements and the light FX are triggered by those movements at the points the light designer select as focus for the part.

For programming I'm mainly using CircuitPython or MicroPython as I love Python for the ease of prototyping and iterating over, and there are libraries for all the components I've needed so far :)

Edit: I've also started to look into DMX to integrate these tools into the normal workflow of stage lighting/FX.

Re: Ask HN: Hobby coding that doesn’t feel like work

#35

Post by Fradow »

If it's for fun, it shouldn't feel like work. While others have some good suggestion, I'm going to ask the hard question: do you really want to be coding as a hobby?

The fact that you ask that question suggest you already code enough during work hours and you need to do something else after work.

Did you used to code for fun before it was your work? Then maybe it's a good idea to accept that you are not going to find in fun as long as your job is mainly coding (but it might become fun again if you don't mainly code as a job)

Did you drink the kool-aid that a developper is supposed to code for fun after work? Then maybe it's time to question that belief. A lot of professionnal developer that used to do that came to term with the fact that they'd rather do something else from their free time after coding all day.

After 10 years coding professionally, the only times I'm going to consider coding after work is as a mean to an end. There has been some occasions, but I wouldn't consider it "coding for fun". I wanted the results badly enough to dedicate some of my free time to getting that done despite not really enjoying the actual "coding" part.

Most of my free time is now used for anything but coding and I'm cool with that.

Re: Ask HN: Hobby coding that doesn’t feel like work

#36

Post by JonChesterfield »

I've just moved to two desks. One for work and one for play. Have used different machines for each since starting work but separate desk is new. No regrets.

I stay away from things I associate with frustration. E.g. no cmake. My home stuff used to be written in C and Python, now it's C, Lua, assembly and lisp. Tools that bring me joy that noone seems inclined to pay me to use.

Finally I write things I want as opposed to what anyone else wants. I really like a test framework I built years ago that noone else has any interest in. I like constraint solvers and expect to be the only user of my one. I've also spent days on very precise optimisation with no credible return on investment because perfect brings me more joy than adequate.

Feels just like playing computer games used to. Same feedback loop, same puzzle solving.

Re: Ask HN: Hobby coding that doesn’t feel like work

#38

Post by beardyw »

> For example, I’d use a different desk/space from the one I do my daily work, or work from a coffee shop, or from the sofa with a laptop.

If you work at home you should invest in a good office chair set up properly. I did, a bit too late. You should then use it for fun too. My solution was separate logins for each use and have distinctive desktops, which tricks your brain into feeling it's somewhere different.

Re: Ask HN: Hobby coding that doesn’t feel like work

#39

Post by wccrawford »

If I want to code something for myself, I just do it. I don't worry about whether it "feels like work" or it's "hobby coding" or whatever. It's a goal-oriented process, and I enjoy it, mostly.

My other hobbies are all basically the same, even if they aren't productive at all. There are parts I enjoy, and, parts I don't. I try not to worry about it too much, and just enjoy the parts I can, and work through the parts I don't to get to more of the good stuff.

I think it's really hard to separate "hobby coding" and "work coding" because they're both coding and I enjoy both. There's more stress for work coding because I'm being told I have to do things I don't agree with, or under a time crunch, but they're still both enjoyable. I don't think sitting at a different desk or location would change that.

Re: Ask HN: Hobby coding that doesn’t feel like work

#40

Post by oweiler »

This may sound stupid but what helps is:

* jump straight into the implementation * skip writing tests, CI or documentation * do not overthink stuff, write the simplest code that works * do not account for edge cases

This way, I spend most of my time just churning out code, which is different enough from day to day work .

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