I know exactly what is happening in Game Coding Complete, but I just don't know how to implement it on my own.

Well, like what specifically? We can probably help more with concrete examples than with abstract advice.

While programming can be enjoyable in its own right, its usually a means to an end. Focus on what kind of a project you want to create and let that project dictate the technical challenges that you will face. You should know that since you were able to disseminate and understand the concepts in Game Coding Complete, that is a very good indication that you will be able to overcome the new technical challenges you face while making a project that sparks your fancy.

For example, if you are interested in a 2-d platformer with good jump/attack physics like Mario, you may find yourself learning about sprite sheets and 2-d physics.

If you are more interested in a voxel world with an organic crafting system, you may start learning about procedural content generation with a focus on making voxel terrains.

Or you might get interested in old school roguelikes and just focus on cool and interesting game algorithms and AI/pathfinding code.

The point is you can be more directed and get out of your rut, if you focus on *MAKING* a complete finished game and not just learning one piece of tech after another in a vacuum.

I think you're right, I've learned more making my own projects than anything else.

I'll start doing that immediately, but in the mean time I really really REALLY want to be able to sit down and implement my own engine (that's the end goal here). To piece one together piece by piece through making more and more ambitious games will take forever.

I'm not shrugging off your advice, as soon as I finish typing this I'm going to get to work on it, but if there was a more direct method short of retyping engine code to learn explicitly how to make an engine that would be awesome.

EDIT: Nevermind, had an idea for something I want to build, so I'll see you all in like two weeks :)

Ok so it's been 10 days and not two weeks but I think it's ready to show :)

I wrote a crappy engine (doing that went waaaaaaay past my comfort zone - it was awesome) and in like no time at all I wrote this little Procedural City thing.

http://imgur.com/tvWyU1F,XDVZjZ5#1

There's a current screenshot of it, I have a lot of plans for it, and it's gonna be doing some cool things soon.

Anyway it had been about a year and a half since I programmed something like that, so I figure that's why I felt so stuck in a rut.

Thanks for the advice guys!

Haha when I was 15 I remember laying in bed and reading that, wishing I could do something as cool

That was partly my inspiration, to try to and do that on my own, which to me meant I couldn't look at that blog until I finished the first version of this thing.

Now I'm going to port it all to DirectX 11 (thank god for encapsulated graphics objects and vector data stuff, seriously thank god), and try to gleam what I can off that blog so it looks less lego and more good ;)

Reading it again now for the first time since I was 15, and damn he's good, only 30 hours too - I spent like 2 times that on mine, cause I was goofing around with all this engine stuff. Guess I have a ways to go.

If you all are curious here's my less incredible procedural city:

v0.1 - Overview of project:

v0.2 - Car + Performance Update:

Once again thanks for all the advice, feels good to be doing this stuff again!