how do i convince my parents modding is not wasting time (they think its just gaming)
Max Petrosyan@max_2010
ok so context im 16 and i make minecraft mods in java, ive got 2 on modrinth, one has like 3.4k downloads which is lowkey insane to me. my parents (mostly my dad) think its "just playing games" and want me to do more "real" stuff like sat prep and robotics club. i do go to school and my grades are fine (mostly As, one B in chem dont ask)
but every time i say "im coding" they see minecraft on the screen and its over. yesterday my dad said "when are you going to learn real programming" while i was literally debugging a mixin that took me 3 hours 😭
how do i explain to them this is actual programming?? did anyone else have this with their parents? also is modding even good for college apps or no. also should i just do robotics club to make them happy, is that a waste. sorry for the 5 questions lol
Accepted answer
Hey Max, ex-AAA game dev here (8 years at a big studio in Montréal). What worked with my own parents, a long time ago:
1. Show the numbers, not the game. 3.4k downloads means 3,400 people chose to install your code. Show your dad the Modrinth page, the download count, the issues people opened, your commit history. That's a portfolio. Most CS students don't have users.
2. Explain one bug like an engineer. Not "the mod broke", but "my mixin injects into a rendering method, it crashed when another mod injected into the same method, so I had to change the injection point". Parents understand "I solved a hard problem" even if they don't understand the words.
3. Translate it: you're writing Java against a huge codebase you didn't write, with almost no docs, while other people's code breaks yours. That was literally my old job.
4. Robotics club is not a waste, honestly. Hardware, teamwork, and your parents are happy, which buys you more modding time. Ce n'est pas pantoute une perte de temps.
5. College apps: yes, an open source project with real users is great. Write about the 3-hour mixin bug in your essay.
Bonne chance !
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Olivier Gagnon@ogagnon
Hey Max, ex-AAA game dev here (8 years at a big studio in Montréal). What worked with my own parents, a long time ago:
1. Show the numbers, not the game. 3.4k downloads means 3,400 people chose to install your code. Show your dad the Modrinth page, the download count, the issues people opened, your commit history. That's a portfolio. Most CS students don't have users.
2. Explain one bug like an engineer. Not "the mod broke", but "my mixin injects into a rendering method, it crashed when another mod injected into the same method, so I had to change the injection point". Parents understand "I solved a hard problem" even if they don't understand the words.
3. Translate it: you're writing Java against a huge codebase you didn't write, with almost no docs, while other people's code breaks yours. That was literally my old job.
4. Robotics club is not a waste, honestly. Hardware, teamwork, and your parents are happy, which buys you more modding time. Ce n'est pas pantoute une perte de temps.
5. College apps: yes, an open source project with real users is great. Write about the 3-hour mixin bug in your essay.
Bonne chance !
Max Petrosyan@max_2010
bro this is so helpful fr. the show the numbers not the game thing is genius ngl. gonna show him the modrinth page tonight
Max Petrosyan@max_2010
update: showed my dad the modrinth page and explained the mixin bug. he asked how many people downloaded it and then went quiet and said "thats more people than work at my company". now he wants me to show my uncle lol. ALSO im still doing robotics, deal is 2 days robotics = no complaining about modding. thanks everyone fr 😭
Jen Hayes@night_owl_jen
mom of 3 here, my 9 year old is getting into scratch. Max, from the parent side: show your dad something he can click and see work. we parents panic when we see a game screen but we melt when our kid explains something they built. also bring him a snack while you do it lol 🦉
Jaxon Pearce@j4x0n_mods
bro same, my mum calls my server "the game thing". showed her a gradle stack trace and she said "oh that looks hard" and left me alone for a week 💀 show the stack trace
Lena Hoffmann@arch_btw_lena
also: a B in chem is fine. i had a C. now i write go for money. your parents will survive
Tanvi Hegde@tanvi_makes_games
my parents thought quitting my design job to make a game was "a phase" ~ what changed their mind was strangers on steam wishlisting it. external numbers work on parents 🐈 you've got 3.4k! show them!
Pedro Henrique Lima@phzin_7
mano minha mãe é igual kkkkk she think godot is a game. max we need to make a mod together so our parents see we serious