Thank You

This post is going to be a little bit different. I don’t have bits of Java code to throw at you. This is just a simple article saying, “Thank you for downloading Forge.”

(Card picture from the set - Duel Decks: Ajani vs. Nicol Bolas)

When I started working on Forge I was at my lowest point and very depressed. My college degree was getting me zero interviews and I had recently got myself into a huge heap of trouble which gave me a little too much time on my hands. I knew that I enjoyed programming so I started working on Forge as a hobby. I thought that more than likely no one else will ever see my work but it would at least give me something to do.

Now other people actually contribute code to Forge and I just blog about it. Most open source)projects don’t ever get off of the ground but with Forge there has always been people wanting to work on it, which is exceptionally rare. For some reason open source videogames are rare and I’m glad that Forge is a shining example.

The current developers have to deal with my design decisions and I say “Thank You” because they have done such a good job programming around Forge’s limitations. I created Forge as well as I could but there were gaping holes in my logic and architecture. I am humbled by the fact that they have added so many more cards to Forge than I would have been able to do as individual programmer. Sometimes the group is smarter than the individual (but not always).

I also want to say thanks to you for reading this blog. Most of my life seems like a failure: no job, no girlfriend and I’m 33, but writing for this blog is very satisfying. I get 200 to 300 hits a day which is very impressive considering that I only post one article a week.

If I would have been able to find a job, Forge probably would have never been written. The same thing probably could be said of J.R. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series. She began writing because she was nearly homeless and didn’t know what to do with her life.

I enjoy telling people that I started a thriving open source project. Creating and working on Forge have been one of the highlights of my life. I would encourage you to try to do something “big” yourself, even if the odds are stacked against you. Even writing this very geeky, niche blog is very rewarding.

Even if I never get a job programming professionally, Forge has given me confidence in my skills.

Humble programmer and writer,
mtgrares

p.s.

-- I also understand that Forge is far from perfect. I wrote Forge to very flexible but that flexibility makes Forge harder to use. Thanks for powering through and being able to see the beauty of Forge.

--A side note about my recent programming activity. I haven’t written any Java code in three years. I don’t know if it is burnout or just laziness. The main reason that I avoid coding is because it takes so much concentration, which is exhausting. Programming is like doing an extremely, long math problem. If you get the right answer it feels great and when you get the wrong answer, you feel like crap. I try to praise the coders who work on Forge because I know how strenuous it can be. Trying to fix a bug can be like the 3rd circle of hades.

I do enjoy programming and maybe I can prod myself to work on a small project. Trying to tackle a big project is like wrestling with a bear, you might win but it won’t be pretty.