Report Do you enjoy developing games more than playing them?

Poll started by INtense! with 2,770 votes and 61 comments. Browse the poll archive.

 28%

(766 votes)I prefer developing

 72%

(2004 votes)I prefer gaming

Post comment Comments  (0 - 50 of 61)
INtense! Creator
INtense! - - 4,100 comments

Whilst I don't develop games I develop ModDB.com and I find that I actually enjoy the challenge of building the site, promoting it etc, more than I actually do enjoy visiting other sites (generally).

So I was wondering if modders experienced this same phenomenon... because many of the modders I talk to don't have time to play games once they become developers.

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filetofbaby
filetofbaby - - 32 comments

I don't develop games either, but I am a writer. Oddly enough I don't read books at all. I can assure you your plight isn't limited to the digital world.

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RageStudioZ
RageStudioZ - - 46 comments

I agree, I develop and enjoy the challenges of getting my code to work or to make a model as correct as possible. I love games but if I have to choose between playing or developing, I choose developing hands down!

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Henley
Henley - - 1,973 comments

I enjoy playing games more then making them, but I still love to have a week off to make a game :P

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mjnowak
mjnowak - - 104 comments

Developing is all the fun, getting that bit of code to work finally and test it ingame is just like the best fealing evers :P

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MrTimm
MrTimm - - 4,994 comments

lol but when it dont work, you are ready to trow your pc and of your window going outside and jump on it :P thats what i want to do most of the time when i get a coding error :p

but i prefer playing its more fun than modding :)

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NewMessageN00b
NewMessageN00b - - 234 comments

Imagine what would happen if the error took weeks to fix :D

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Ennui
Ennui - - 420 comments

I develop games because I love playing them. I voted for gaming, but IMO they're pretty well-tied to one another.

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Tatsur0
Tatsur0 - - 1,068 comments

I enjoy developing over playing but I am still a hardcore gamer at heart. I of course voted 'Developing' but I expect this poll will lean heavily on Gaming considering a large majority of the users aren't developers.

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Herr_Alien
Herr_Alien - - 342 comments

I'll second that. Nursing an idea to a playable state is so damned rewarding! So yes, I do enjoy developing a bit more than gaming. That doesn't mean that I missed out titles like STALKER or Cod4 :)

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awesomepossum
awesomepossum - - 997 comments

Developing ftw, its great to just be able to come up with your own ideas and just be able to create them. But gaming is fun to, also a good way to figure out how to do stuff you want by playing other peoples games

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NullSoldier
NullSoldier - - 973 comments

I've been programming games since I was 9. (Random number guessing game in Basic FTW). Yes, I prefer developing games rather than playing.

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z33ky
z33ky - - 112 comments

Fragging is less satisfying than seeing your ideas working out in the game/mod/program (and having fun by simply playing around with the code ;D).

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WoeKitten
WoeKitten - - 45 comments

Very hard to choose. I guess I prefer developing. There's not really much else in the world I can do for 48 hrs straight without getting bored for even a second. Even games usually start to get on my tits after about 12 consecutive hrs.

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DJ-Ready
DJ-Ready - - 456 comments

Developing is so much fun and so frustrating at the same time ... yet its what I enjoy the most.
And the satisfaction you get from actually finishing something is priceless

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xoftware
xoftware - - 67 comments

I absolutely agree.
Of course I enjoy developing my game.
But after developing a new level, I'm the
first one that playtests it over and over.
I created it, so its exactely the kind of
gameplay I enjoy. And because of that my
game is one of my favorite ones :D

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Smoth
Smoth - - 1,098 comments

I enjoy playing a game until I see what I feel is a failure on the part of the designers then nerdrage and go back to working on gundam.

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BuZZeR
BuZZeR - - 636 comments

I prefer developing. :D

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Berserkr
Berserkr - - 318 comments

Me too. Nothing left to say.

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SASteinhebel
SASteinhebel - - 231 comments

I honestly do both... I go to school to develop artwork for games, and I love gaming.

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Smonocco
Smonocco - - 113 comments

I wouldnt mind being able to develop games some day but for now i just like to play them.

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Squeebo
Squeebo - - 388 comments

Why is there no "I enjoy both!" option?! Because I really like to develop and play games. Developing is fun but can get really frustrating or tedious. Playing games is always(Should always) be fun, but it kind of makes me feel like I'm wasting my life when I play them too much.

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z33ky
z33ky - - 112 comments

Because the question is not what you enjoy, but what you enjoy more ;)

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Dragonlord
Dragonlord - - 1,934 comments

The option "both" is somehow missing. Of course developing the stuff is up my alley but I'm still playing games when I can. One reason is not only that it's a nice thing to do if the game is good it also allows you to snoop at what others are doing... and from time to time playing somebody's else game/mod you get this "click" like "wait... couldn't I solve this problem in a similar way?" or "if I would go in the same direction major but change this and that... that should work!". So it's inspiring to see others work since it allows you to see your own work in a different perspective useful to got over those block situations where some problem seems to be unsolvable ( like the recent ATI major league blocker I had in my engine... stalker-cs triggered that spark I needed to figure out how to get around this problem )

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General_Atrox
General_Atrox - - 321 comments

If a game is like Serious Sam, with great graphics, really serious gameplay and has 1000s of the enemies (literally) on the screen at the same time, i prefer gaming

buuut

most games aren't like that so you know, i prefer creating mods for those games insted

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happycheeze
happycheeze - - 128 comments

For me, I've always loved gaming. One the things I love the most about it is making my maps, customizing it, creating my own piece of the game.

Sometimes when I'm on a multiplayer game, I'd rather design the map the people are playing rather than play myself. Its not so much that I suck, but rather I'm not as competitive as others. I like hosting my own servers too, so its nice at a lanparty if some of my buddies are playing my maps.

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Wiweeyum
Wiweeyum - - 347 comments

Yeah, I think I'm more of a developer because I'm not quite as competitive.

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ConfusedMaster
ConfusedMaster - - 321 comments

i spend more time on modding than playing. but actually if theres people around and a good athmosphere i prefer to play

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DarthNader26
DarthNader26 - - 16 comments

Gaming can be fun, but you're always going through the possibilities of what you can add or what would be better in your mind (or at least, I am). I think it's much more fun to challenge myself to bring these possibilities to life.

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leilei
leilei - - 5,721 comments

I develop because all those 'hot' games out there, frankly, suck.

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tastyjerk
tastyjerk - - 611 comments

The only reason I prefer gaming over developing is that, well, I suck at developing. In the future as I try more and more and when I get better, then maybe that'll change.

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Dremth
Dremth - - 1,400 comments

thats a tough one. it depends on what games we're talking about. i enjoy developing for the unreal engine more than i enjoy actually playing ut3, but i enjoy playing source games more than developing for them.
i guess when it comes down to it, its just the mood im in really. sometimes i like to game; other times i need a break.

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JustDaveIsFine
JustDaveIsFine - - 1,545 comments

I love to develop. Personally, I'm not much of a gamer. :(

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Wiweeyum
Wiweeyum - - 347 comments

I honestly hardly play games at all. I enjoy watching people play games, and I play them myself every once in a while, but for the most part I get impatient with games after one or two days of playing because I'm so excited to see what the inner workings can do.
Games will give me ideas for my own projects, so once that idea hits me, I'm eager to implement it into my own project.

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bloodstalker
bloodstalker - - 1,077 comments

when u play a game ,the game can surprise u,thats fun.but when u develop a game then u are the creative mind behind the project. u can do stuff that u only could have wished before,i mean creat something u want to,but still being surprised is really fun,when u are surprised then u will have to improvise stuff,and there is no fun without improvisation in life at all.

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tacoo
tacoo - - 89 comments

I develop because I love playing. It's like customizing a game exactly how you want it.

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LongBottom
LongBottom - - 233 comments

Developing beats all!!! :D
(until Left4Dead ships lol)

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TheOneandOnly
TheOneandOnly - - 231 comments

The only real downside to developing a game/mod is that you get to know it inside-out during development. For that reason I find it more fun to be presented with something new and unknown, made by someone else.

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UncleAnkle
UncleAnkle - - 22 comments

I love play, but I think it is much more important to know developing (unfortunately, I can only play now, so i have vote playing). Develop is the best thing we can do for a game!

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BunnyJen
BunnyJen - - 886 comments

I like developing more, but it's really important to me that I try and not get sucked into forgetting to play in my spare time. It's extremely hard when you're working a lot but I think to be a good developer it's important to play as well.

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myles
myles - - 854 comments

I develop for the challange, much like a gamer might play for the challenge of finishing the game or getting achievements.
Whilst I cant say that I always want to develop or always play games.

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AJ_Quick
AJ_Quick - - 1,321 comments

lol the current vote tally reflects the fact that moddb is 3/4 gamers....

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Metafiz
Metafiz - - 504 comments

Of course, who's going to download the mods?

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Mobius_gen
Mobius_gen - - 141 comments

Being part of something bigger than oneself, working with your teammates to your first release. It's the best. :)

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Rigelblast
Rigelblast - - 220 comments

I prefer developing (both games, mods and addons). Of course I play, too, but not very much. (I'm not good at playing, either ;) .) However, if I find a game or a mod which is good in my opinion, I may play it a lot. But the feeling you get when your project has reached a milestone or the gameplay test result turns out to be positive (everything works well) is great, and once you release something you've made (at least partially), you really feel like you've achieved something.

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neai
neai - - 17 comments

Programming > gaming for me, whether it's some tool, iPhone toy or a PC game. Quests = milestones, campaigns = products, skill points = growing list of tasks completed, and there's no level cap ;)

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norton2
norton2 - - 320 comments

Much more prefer to game because I got nearly no skills into modding, alas some very basic mapping and scripting.

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TheodorusBond
TheodorusBond - - 228 comments

no big wonder really, but I often make stuff to play it myself some time later xF

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BuddhaMaster
BuddhaMaster - - 51 comments

prefer developing, surely ;)

It began with Unreal, the real reason why i bought it was: It had a fricking Level_editor !

Imagine to build any World you ever wanted.

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Combine68
Combine68 - - 95 comments

I wanna help program HAARP! :)

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