I Gave Up Codeforces to Build an Ecosystem

Hi everyone! Around two years ago, I wrote my first blog, "Motivated Coder.". At that time, I shared how Codeforces helped me stay motivated, practice problem-solving, and even become part of my daily routine before working on my own projects.

Today, I am still coding.

But I spend much less time on Codeforces now.

So... where did I go?

First, who am I?

Honestly, I am not really sure how to answer that question.

A Mobile Developer?

A Game Developer?

An Expert coder on Codeforces?

A chess player, a Go player, and a guitar player?

Maybe I am a little bit of everything.

But I think they all have one similarity.

They train the mind.

I love thinking.

I love solving problems.

I love looking at something I do not understand, trying different ideas, failing many times, and eventually finding a solution.

That is probably why I enjoyed Codeforces so much.

I still remember my first Accepted.

And of course, I also remember the WA, TLE, MLE, compile errors, and those moments when I thought:

"How is this solution still wrong?!"

I even managed to keep a HEART STREAK for a while:

From programming to chess, Go, and puzzles, I realised that I simply enjoy exercising my mind.

Second, why did I really stop using Codeforces as my daily warm-up?

In my previous blog, I said that I often used Codeforces to warm up before starting my work.

And I still think it is a great way to practice.

So why did I stop?

The problem is...

Some problems are easy to stop. Others are not.

I might plan to solve one problem for 30 minutes before starting my work.

Then I find a beautiful medium or hard problem.

I get stuck.

I try another idea.

It almost works.

Then I get WA.

Now I cannot stop.

One hour becomes two.

Two becomes three.

And sometimes, the whole day disappears.

It is a little like saying:

"I will play one chess game before going to sleep."

Then suddenly it is 3 AM.

The problem is not Codeforces.

The problem is that I enjoy it too much.

So sadly, I had to stop using it as my daily warm-up. My work requires consistent time, and starting an unfinished problem is sometimes too risky for me.

Third, if we love something, why keep waiting for someone else to create it?

After spending years solving programming problems and playing games like chess and Go, I started looking for more games that could give me the same feeling.

Games that make me think.

Games that make me remember.

Games that challenge me.

But it was difficult to find exactly what I wanted.

Sometimes I had an idea for a game and searched for it...

but could not find it anywhere.

Then I started asking myself:

"If I keep waiting for someone else to create the game I want to play... how long will I be waiting?"

Maybe forever.

So eventually, I stopped waiting.

Fourth, I did not want to spend my life solving only Problem A

After graduating from university, I received job offers and started working as a Mobile Developer.

The jobs paid well.

But sometimes I felt like I was solving Problem A again and again.

There is nothing wrong with Problem A.

But if life is a contest, I did not want to spend all of my time solving only the easiest problem.

I wanted to try something harder.

Something where I did not already know the answer.

Something where I could fail.

So eventually, I returned to my old dream.

Making games.

At first, I only wanted to make games that I personally wanted to play.

Then one game became another.

Eventually, I realised every project needed more than just a game.

Accounts,

Leaderboards,

Downloads,

Patch notes,

A website,

A forum.

Browser mini-games.

So instead of rebuilding everything again and again, I decided to connect them.

That is where a lot of my Codeforces time went.

I did not stop solving problems.

I just found a different one.

Now I am building PromTGames — an ecosystem where my mobile games, web games, stories, updates, and future projects can live together.

You can visit it here:

promtgames.win

If you enjoy math and programming, maybe try:

Math Recall

And if you are both a coder and a chess player, I have another small challenge for you:

How Knights Move!

Finally, I have not really given up Codeforces

The title is a little dramatic.

I still love Codeforces.

But right now, I cannot always afford to start a beautiful problem and disappear into it for four hours.

Instead, I am spending more time solving problems without an editorial.

Some take days.

Some take months.

Some of them might not even have a correct solution yet.

But the process is still familiar.

You see a problem.

You do not know the answer.

You try.

You fail.

You think.

You try again.

And hopefully...

Accepted.

I think that is why Codeforces will always be part of my story.

It taught me that when a problem looks impossible, you can still sit down, think about it, and slowly move forward.

So I did not really give up Codeforces.

I just stopped using it as a warm-up...

Because sometimes the warm-up was longer than the actual work.

Thank you for reading!

If you are interested in the story behind the projects, I have also started writing about the journey on my website:

The Story Behind PromTGames

And if there is something you have always wanted to exist but cannot find anywhere...

Maybe stop waiting for someone else to build it.

Maybe it is your problem to solve.