Many of these things I don’t understand how they are hobbies. Mechanical keyboards for example. I bought one, now I have one. That’s it. I love coffee, I drink it daily. But that’s not a hobby. I got a gaming PC, I game on it. And that’s it. I have a couple house plants, I water them sometimes. Done. I built a server with all the Arrs and Plex, and it’s awesome. But now it’s almost fully self sufficient, that hobby lasted about a week.
I figure it’s about how deeply you enjoy something that makes it a hobby. If you buy a mechanical keyboard because you need a new keyboard, it’s not really a hobby to you. But if you want to build your own keyboard, or like hotswapping, or making artisan keycaps? That’s a hobby.
Same goes for coffee. If you drink coffee because it’s your daily routine and preferred beverage, not really a hobby. But if you’re roasting your own beans and have a dozen ways to prepare it, then that’s getting into hobby territory.
Unfortunately, I think it’s one of those things that you have to answer yourself, y’know?
Hobbies mean different things to different people, but usually it has to do with making stuff, doing stuff, or learning stuff. But in almost all cases, your hobby comes from trying new things.
I’d say wander around your library, Wikipedia, or a hobby store or something and see if something sparks interest. Try it out, and if you enjoy yourself then it sounds like you could have a new hobby. And if it doesn’t spark joy, then at least you gave it a shot.
A lot of people also don’t have hobbies, and if that makes them happy then power to them. You don’t have to have an obsession to find meaning in life.
You say you like gaming, and are tech savvy enough to set up your own Plex server. Have you ever considered making your own games? You can get started for free and game development spans across so many disciplines that you might find something along the way that you really enjoy.
Side note: if you find you don’t really enjoy anything, then that could be a marker for depression. I know when I’m depressed I have a very hard time engaging with my hobbies. But sooner or later, I’m able to come back to them and enjoy myself again.
Your mileage may vary depending on your learning style, but I got started with Godot from their official guide on creating your first 2D game. Their manual is also the gold standard for what you can do with the engine. It’s a lot to digest, so if you look at the docs and find them a little bewildering that’s normal. I mostly use the manual as a reference once I already have an idea what it is that I want to do.
If you like video tutorials, I like these guys. Their courses regularly go on sale, and they can help you hit the ground running. You can probably find a bunch of videos on Youtube too, but again, your mileage may vary. I would note that when learning from video tutorials, you’re usually taught how to do things, but they often miss out on the why behind them.
If you’re a reader, you can find tons of books on game design here. They have a few books on Godot as well, although one thing to watch for is what version of engine they use. Most of the books I found cited 3.0 when we’re now on 4.2.
One of the perks of being an open source engine is that there’s tons of demos and the like online. Here’s a collection of demos which you can download the source code and check out yourself. You can even play them in the browser to see if there’s one you like and want to build upon yourself.
You can say the exact same thing about knitting: I already have knit sweaters and scarves and hats and mitts, that’s it.
Or woodworking: I already have a table and chairs and cabinets and shelves, that’s it.
The point of a hobby though, as I’m sure you actually understand, is to enjoy the process of learning and making and exploring the depths of a particular thing, not just getting to a particular end product.
Interestingly, this list seems to be a close match with trending YouTube content. Perhaps there’s a discussion here about how social media and purpose engineered trends shape our hobbies (and even live purpose ig). Or maybe these topics just get lots of views naturally on account of them being good hobbies.
Also, obviously no offense to op and their interests.
Interesting observation - but I’m not sure if YouTube is the main driver here. Many of the hobbies listed here like photography, gardening, woodworking, knitting, cars etc. were popular hobbies even before anyone even thought about inventing the internet or even television. So it could also be that people are doing YouTube content for already popular hobbies, because people were doing all those things before YouTube.
Yeah, maybe I was seeing a connection where the was none here. I still think YouTube might popularize and normalize some of our hobbies, but perhaps not that much.
My list:
They all kinda work together and interconnect so I can make new things
deleted by creator
Many of these things I don’t understand how they are hobbies. Mechanical keyboards for example. I bought one, now I have one. That’s it. I love coffee, I drink it daily. But that’s not a hobby. I got a gaming PC, I game on it. And that’s it. I have a couple house plants, I water them sometimes. Done. I built a server with all the Arrs and Plex, and it’s awesome. But now it’s almost fully self sufficient, that hobby lasted about a week.
I figure it’s about how deeply you enjoy something that makes it a hobby. If you buy a mechanical keyboard because you need a new keyboard, it’s not really a hobby to you. But if you want to build your own keyboard, or like hotswapping, or making artisan keycaps? That’s a hobby.
Same goes for coffee. If you drink coffee because it’s your daily routine and preferred beverage, not really a hobby. But if you’re roasting your own beans and have a dozen ways to prepare it, then that’s getting into hobby territory.
I guess I just don’t enjoy anything deeply enough. How do I find a hobby that I am that obsessed about?
Unfortunately, I think it’s one of those things that you have to answer yourself, y’know?
Hobbies mean different things to different people, but usually it has to do with making stuff, doing stuff, or learning stuff. But in almost all cases, your hobby comes from trying new things.
I’d say wander around your library, Wikipedia, or a hobby store or something and see if something sparks interest. Try it out, and if you enjoy yourself then it sounds like you could have a new hobby. And if it doesn’t spark joy, then at least you gave it a shot.
A lot of people also don’t have hobbies, and if that makes them happy then power to them. You don’t have to have an obsession to find meaning in life.
You say you like gaming, and are tech savvy enough to set up your own Plex server. Have you ever considered making your own games? You can get started for free and game development spans across so many disciplines that you might find something along the way that you really enjoy.
Side note: if you find you don’t really enjoy anything, then that could be a marker for depression. I know when I’m depressed I have a very hard time engaging with my hobbies. But sooner or later, I’m able to come back to them and enjoy myself again.
Thanks for the link to that game platform, are there good tutorials for getting started/trying it out?
Your mileage may vary depending on your learning style, but I got started with Godot from their official guide on creating your first 2D game. Their manual is also the gold standard for what you can do with the engine. It’s a lot to digest, so if you look at the docs and find them a little bewildering that’s normal. I mostly use the manual as a reference once I already have an idea what it is that I want to do.
If you like video tutorials, I like these guys. Their courses regularly go on sale, and they can help you hit the ground running. You can probably find a bunch of videos on Youtube too, but again, your mileage may vary. I would note that when learning from video tutorials, you’re usually taught how to do things, but they often miss out on the why behind them.
If you’re a reader, you can find tons of books on game design here. They have a few books on Godot as well, although one thing to watch for is what version of engine they use. Most of the books I found cited 3.0 when we’re now on 4.2.
One of the perks of being an open source engine is that there’s tons of demos and the like online. Here’s a collection of demos which you can download the source code and check out yourself. You can even play them in the browser to see if there’s one you like and want to build upon yourself.
You can say the exact same thing about knitting: I already have knit sweaters and scarves and hats and mitts, that’s it.
Or woodworking: I already have a table and chairs and cabinets and shelves, that’s it.
The point of a hobby though, as I’m sure you actually understand, is to enjoy the process of learning and making and exploring the depths of a particular thing, not just getting to a particular end product.
Legally allowable Unsuitable behaviour in public.
Extreme ironing.
Interpretive dance.
Wanking marathons.
Telling people the wrong information when asked.
Telling people correct information when not asked.
Street furniture restoration.
The list is endless.
Is #4 legal?
Staying erect for 26miles sounds like a real challenge.
Depends where your venue is.
I already do 4 of these lol
Interestingly, this list seems to be a close match with trending YouTube content. Perhaps there’s a discussion here about how social media and purpose engineered trends shape our hobbies (and even live purpose ig). Or maybe these topics just get lots of views naturally on account of them being good hobbies. Also, obviously no offense to op and their interests.
Interesting observation - but I’m not sure if YouTube is the main driver here. Many of the hobbies listed here like photography, gardening, woodworking, knitting, cars etc. were popular hobbies even before anyone even thought about inventing the internet or even television. So it could also be that people are doing YouTube content for already popular hobbies, because people were doing all those things before YouTube.
Yeah, maybe I was seeing a connection where the was none here. I still think YouTube might popularize and normalize some of our hobbies, but perhaps not that much.
For me it was reddit tbh