I used to be really into the Doom modding community and the ZDoom forums specifically 10-15 years ago, so it's really funny to me seeing a reference to this here now.
Back then I got invited into helping on a big custom map pack project and did a lot of level scripting for it. Nearly failed a few high school classes because I was skipping homework to work on it, and I ended up quitting cold turkey before the end to focus on school. The project was great experience and I think of it as my first real software development experience programming something for actual users. (It was also what made me realize I absolutely needed to learn a version control system like Git. Never again am I doing any group work on that kind of project if actual version control isn't used!) I was excited to learn later that the project got finished and it was one of the 2010 Cacowards winners (Stronghold).
It definitely helped for getting into college, which helped me out a lot, though fittingly I did end up dropping out of college years into it because of more projects I picked up on my own which then helped get me a job.
I think a lot of homework is busywork, made under the idea that nothing a kid does already outside of school has educational value. It's a shame that some of the most educational experiences I had were in conflict with the system. But then again, maybe that is an unusual experience? I think there's a stereotype I don't want to fall into, of autodidacts who fail to realize something unusual happened with them and think that all that's necessary to put others onto their path is to merely remove the obstacle of school. I wonder if it's possible for schools to better encourage this kind of experience, of kids learning through fostering mildly-competitive scenes of projects like this.
Back then I got invited into helping on a big custom map pack project and did a lot of level scripting for it. Nearly failed a few high school classes because I was skipping homework to work on it, and I ended up quitting cold turkey before the end to focus on school. The project was great experience and I think of it as my first real software development experience programming something for actual users. (It was also what made me realize I absolutely needed to learn a version control system like Git. Never again am I doing any group work on that kind of project if actual version control isn't used!) I was excited to learn later that the project got finished and it was one of the 2010 Cacowards winners (Stronghold).