My website is nowhere near complete, but I am already having second thoughts about it. The main idea of it is a text-based T.V. Station Management Game. I recently read a post here at Astahost where someone wanted to make a text-based game, and they got some negative feedback about it. Although I think it was one of those RPG kinda text-based games, the fact that there are so many text-based games out there can not be denied.

Now the second part to this post is what my new idea would be for a site. What I was thinking was (and yes this is also out there alot too) an beginners guide to programming. The spin would be that it would be from beginner to beginner. I would put what I have learned and already tried and tested out on my site. The site would be updated regularly. I have learned quite alot in the last few months since I've started doing this. Yes I still have my problems, but I am working them out.

I don't know. I just love programming. I was also thinking that if I did a programming site, I could do the Amazon.com Affiliate program and put some programming books on my site as well. Like I said, some advice would be great on this topic.

Frankly both ideas are cool to me. I know personally I love many of the text based games you can find around the interwebs. I've played various ones from company running, interstellar conquest, modern military, hacking, etc themes. As long as you balance everything well in the game it could be great regardless of if there are lots of similar sites out there.

As far as your programming site is concerned I like the idea of a programming site for beginners by a beginner. It would likely have a great POV as far as how it tackles problems and you'd be able to discuss which problems and pitfalls you faced and how you went about finding the problem and the eventual solution. Thus you'd teach people not only HOW to get past a problem, but how to figure out solutions to future problems.

Basically I say do whichever you want to do the most. Worst case scenario you enjoy creating it and can leave it up even if they don't become a popular site and then move onto the next idea. I'd say if you've already begun construction of the text based game then see it through. They can take alot of time and energy and I'm sure you'll feel accomplished afterwards regardless. Plus you could always leave it up as an example of what you've accomplished on your programmers site if you ever move onto that idea.

Yes, I did say I've already started the text-based game. But in regards to that, I've only completed about 3 or 4 pages. My girlfriend doesn't want me to give up on it, and it is something I do want to do too. But I feel really strongly about this programming site. It's probably because I know I can get it up and running alot quicker than the game. The game is going to take a very long time. I am only new to programming, and I am the only one doing it. That's the way I want it to be. I am stubborn like that (Geman roots ). I want to be able to say "look at what I did all on my own". I guess I was looking for advice on whether or not a programming site written by a beginner for beginners would even be a good idea.

But on another note, let me think this out. Maybe if I work myself up to 30 credits and get the upgrade, I can do both, and only show one. Argg! Now I'm blabbering.

Well if you know the game will take a long time and the programming stie would be a fairly quick thing to get up, you could always create the programming site and get it up and once you are used to updating it and keeping it running smoothly you can focus on working on the game on the side.

I too do not see why you should totally shut down what you have been doing. Just let it lie around there as you work on the other things.

I can almost find things in parallel between what you are going through and what I did go through before. Sometime back, I had this forum based RPG (a high fantasy genre) (play by post) running on a free forum hoster. It was going well. Meanwhile, I also wanted to get an article library site for myself. I also wanted to keep a blog that would give away informational tit bits on various topics. Now, I have two out of the three of them going good.

My blog, Splat!, is now pretty well organized and it is going good. I am getting mediocre hits, but I just think, it is due to lack of my marketing skills. My article library site, WiseTome, has started out on a good leg. Inspite of my lack in marketing skills, I am getting hits to it from the three search engines (Google, Yahoo and MSN). [That says, content is the key to a good site]. And I cannot say, the forum based play by post high fantasy RPG site, Chaos And Orders have been a total failure. Even though, I recently put up a post that all roleplaying would cease, I was confident enough to also add that it will make a comeback, being much better. Why? Because I have learned a lot while I was admining it and I know what the pitfalls are, and I have already thought up of solutions to it. (Ofcourse, I need to get my lazy bones to start working on it).

Now, when I said, I put a notice that there would be no more roleplaying there, I did not pull down the forum. I have let it lie there, so that people can learn from it too. [And I would get trafic from there, if I start a new one].

I have been talking too much about myself.

OK. Here is my advice for you. Do not put down your Game site. Just leave a notice there, that further construction has been halted for sometime. Get going with your Programming site, and get it up and lauch it. You will learn a lot of things that would help you when you revisit your Game site and think of reviving it.

Thanks for that advice Vyoma. I think I have figured out why I am having such a dilema here. I know some stuff to get me started on my game site: HTML, some basic PHP, and a little MySQL. But at the moment, it's not getting me to the point where I can get where I want to go fast enough. I have put some coding books on my wish list at Amazon.com, and my birthday is coming up, so hopefully my family will get me some. I've been to many sites online about how to do things, many tutorials, but the problem is, they are never all in one place and never completly what I am looking for.

Now I know with a programming site, I already know the content that would be there, and am fairly sure I would be able to make it. Just not sure if I would run into the some of the same pitfalls in making the pages, as I am now. But I guess only time would tell. But now I almost have my 30 credits to upgrade my site, and I don't think it would take much to run a programming site. And for now, until I get my own computer back with Xammp on it, I could keep both on there.

I would avoid a programming site for the time being. Your text based game site sounds very cool, and I would certainly be more interested in seeing how it develops than perhaps in say a straightforward programming site. I have enjoyed playing text based rpgs in the past but it is rare to find anything worthwhile. Keep working on the text based site.

I think a beginner’s guide to programming is a great idea. Especially for if it is related to building a website. The learning guide out there are so limited for beginners. I think there are a lot of people out there that could really benefit from this.

Although I don’t really understand why you cannot do both. A text game with tutorials on how to accomplish what you did.

Both idea's sound good to me and if you love programing you should go for it make them

This post has been edited by Mandi: Apr 20 2007, 10:53 PM