Looking for Structured C++ Project Lists With Clear Milestones and Constraints
Yesterday, while looking to get back into C++ as an alternative hobby to just playing videogames, I made a post asking if there were any sites that teach the language (including advanced topics) in a gamified way.
It turns out that doesn’t really exist, so today I’m back looking for the next best thing I know would work well for me.
When it comes to videogames, what motivates me is the challenge of accomplishing well-defined goals (achievements), which is why I usually can’t get into sandbox games.
Similarly, I’m looking for a list of programming projects with gradually increasing complexity that, crucially, also provide clear constraints and milestones for each project - possibly even specifying which libraries to use.
I know this might sound odd, but without that structure, it still feels too close to a sandbox to me.
So instead of something like:
・Create a calculator
・Create a 2D game
・Create a renderer
I’m looking for projects with clearly defined goals and intermediate milestones, like:
・Create a calculator using Qt
・Create the calculator window with buttons
・Add addition / subtraction / multiplication / division
・Add keyboard input support
・Prevent invalid operations (division by zero, malformed expressions, etc.)
・Add memory functions (M+, M-, MR, MC)
・Write unit tests for the calculation logic
・Package the application into an executable installer
・Create a simple 2D game using Raylib
・Render a controllable player character
・Implement collision detection
・Add enemy AI with pathfinding
・Create a save/load system using serialization
・Create a simple renderer using OpenGL and GLFW
・Create a window and initialize OpenGL
・Render a colored triangle using shaders
・Add a movable camera
・Render a cube
・Implement textures
You get the gist. The milestones and constraints are very important to me because the former gives me something I can easily track and “gamify” for myself, while the latter reduces the sandbox feeling and pushes me to learn libraries or tools I otherwise probably wouldn’t use.
It needs to have that external, verifiable sense of progression.
It doesn't necessarily need to be a website by the way, if there is something like this in the form of an exercise book, I' would buy it.
If you know of anything that resembles what I'm looking for, please let me know.
Thank you.
Posted May 12, 2026, 6:06 AM UTC