Google Summer of Code

School has been going fairly well, though there are some things that I have felt could have gone better.  Anyway while thinking about how I can get better at coding this summer I ran across this excellent program known as Google summer of code, which puts worthy opensource programs in touch with college students (like me) so that improvements/additions to said open source programs can be made.  I feel a little intimidated to be sure, but I will need to practice coding in order to get better, and what better way to do that then working on an opensource project.  I will still be working as tech support for my school's smart classrooms this summer, but I think that I probably won't be allowed to work much more than part time.  This will be a lot of work, but I think that it would be incredibly rewarding and fulfilling at the same time.  I have been thinking that opensource might be the better way to go with all of this anyway, and while I realize that I won't be able to make a lot of money ( if any at all) I feel that being able to share my work so other can build on it is important.

I have realized lately that I have been making a shift from gamer to game developer.  Part of that is the realization of what it takes to make a game of any size.  I now have a much greater respect and appreciation for all of the game developers out there.  I know that many hours of hard work will be required for the smallest part of what I want to do, and that people will most likely be very critical and/or demanding of my work as soon as I get it out and available for use.  I'm not so much worried about that, it's just that I would like to play this game in a multiplayer setting, and if no one is willing to play the game that will be really hard to do.  The nice thing is that I can also see from both perspectives now.  I still understand the frustration of the gamer community at not getting new content at a rate that they desire, yet I understand the plight of the developers who work so very hard just to have people turn around and say meh.  It's an interesting turning point, and I hope I can remember to feel empathy for both sides.