[warcode]

Nearly all the side projects I've done have been related to fixing a problem or enhancing an experience me or my friends have had in relation to games.

In general they have been weekend projects where 90% functionality is achieved in one weekend, and then I spend months adding small features or fixes.

#1 Advice when doing a personal side project is to make it something you will use yourself. If not you might lose interest quickly.

As a software engineer that usually codes all day and plays all evening (4-5 hours), I'm saying there is no need to do a full stop of anything.