Thanks for the long detailed reply Blizz
my reply is gonna be to you. it will be kinda off topic. but hopefully someone else can get something from it.
When I was a child I wanted to make video games too.
At one point I did. I programmed with my T-89.
I made games with its basic language. this was half good and half bad.
I learned a lot on my own which gave me a bit of an ego. when I took classes in college for C++ and VB. I had already used them to some extent and gave this attitude
"I already know this crap" and I'd leap ahead of the group and make many mistakes in my code such as global variables rather than locals. or instead of properly using functions I'd use them as if it were an old language like basic. this in turn made it even harder to evolve as I thought I know things well and really had no idea.
I found RPG maker translated by Don Miguel and fell in love with it. as I could easily pump out games using other game resources.
this made me super addicted to making games . I'd pump out game after game in just weeks. sub part I'm sure. but this just furthered the ego "I can already do it..why do I need to learn this!? I can already make games".
I still explored eventing and making things like blinking characers, night and day, timed events for story cut scenes, changing animations such as climbing a ladder would switch the char set ...blah blah.
I still explored programming for a bit after that but kinda dropped it.
I switched my career to automotive which I picked up quickly and did well in. a lot happened in the time between 2006 and now 2015. but now I live in Japan. about 4 years ago I thought about making a game with rpg maker XP. that's when I found this site. I took a strong interest in programming again. you guys help ease me back into coding.
I did check out codecademy actually. completed ruby and Javascript there while I've been working on my RMXP game. wonderful site.
I also took a long break to study self development. as I realised I had a serious inferiority complex. making me feel like a victim all the time.
learning how to take ownership of my decisions and past while squashing that ego that I tried to hide behind modesty, really helped me learn about the world.
I'm like a completely different person from 3 years ago.
I regret not seeing this stuff earlier and taking the risks I did to get myself where I am today.
I feel like I only just started my life at 30. lol.
I really recommend doing some serious self reflection and listening to debates and philosophy . it will do wonders for personal development.
I would also suggest that starting from how to assign variables 10 times or 15 times or 25 times is not a big deal.
you may learn something new from a different class,video, teacher, ect.
beware of the ego. it can block you from learning what you really need to know.
heck, that may e why so many people's code socks as Blizz said. lol.
if you want to program and your having trouble picking up programming, you may be your own problem.
anyway that was kind of a rant. thanks for listening.
I know it was off topic since I'm not a programmer. but I think it may be relevant for others who may be or may have been in a similar situation.
thanks for the comments blizz, thanks for the free code, thanks for the site and this community. I hope others can be inspired here.