About Me

Currently I am a student at the Technical University of Munich where I'm doing my Bachelor's degree in "Computer Science: Games Engineering". Originally I'm from Lower Saxony, but several years ago I moved to my partner in Bavaria. My interests are very widely spread, which makes it difficult to draw a uniform picture of me.

Code, Code and Code again

My greatest passion is probably programming, even before my studies. I find that writing code has a very special magic that makes me euphoric every time. It's the feeling of deep satisfaction when you fix a very difficult bug, add a great new feature, or just play around with the piece of software you've just built. Of course, my main interests are primarily focused on the simulation and games sector, but the discipline of AI has always fascinated me deeply as well.

My weapon of choice is "C++", a powerful beast that helps me to realize my visions, and cause of my ever growing abilities. I also have Python3 with me, with which I took my first steps into unknown terrain and which still serves me well when writing scripts quickly. Lua was helpful in programming games in environments like "PICO-8" and "LÖVE" and is definitely to be deemed positively. My knowledge of HTML and CSS is not worth mentioning, for a small website it's enough, for more I simply lack the incentive. And last but not least, Java; the "squirt gun" which every student gets handed over so that he doesn't shoot himself in the foot with the "armed weapons". For my part, I don't like being patronized by a programming language. I can handle Java quite well, but it's less fun than it should be.

Ain't got no hobbies?

Nah, I got quite some. Of course not always everything at the same time, but I have come pretty far with most.

Analog photography (with film!) is pretty much the first remarkable ability that I discovered when "growing up". I have a rather contrary point of view regarding the dilution of photographic art by relying on digital technology, but also trends like "LOMO" I judge hardly. Being of my age and "old-school purist" at the same time, this results in potential for conflict. But nevertheless, I love to take photographs of all kinds.

Music has always been important to me and the tendency to make music is programmed somewhere in my mind. As a child I was sent to music school to be taught keyboard and electric guitar. Looking back, I don't think that was so great anymore, because I was robbed the creativity and playfulness with which I used to approach music. It was not until much later that I tried my hand at new instruments such as electric bass, ukulele, ocarina and many more and since then I have finally enjoyed making music and composing again. Especially the combination of my computer knowledge with music, synthesizers, DAWs, etc. enriched me a lot.

Having a split relationship with drawing throughout my life, it was soothing for me to see how well this art form suits me if you only add one additional dimension to it. 3D-Art in Blender has become a dear hobby to me over time, which I should definitely allow more time for. The results amazed me because I thought I had less talent in such arts. As you can see, it's all just prejudices, so I can only recommend to everyone have a try at it because it's a lot of fun!

As an enthusiast of video games I of course was drawn to the charm of fantasy and the Middle Ages. This influence formed me as a child, I think. I'm pretty much through with all kinds of fantasy themed games now. From video games to tabletops to TCGs to Pen&Paper role-playing games to LARP and of course the Lord of the Rings has also been a great influence.

A rather unusual hobby of me is playing Yoyo. For many it's "vintage", a relic of the past, but for me in its modern form it's the ultimate "skilltoy". Originally born out of defiance against all those who too often ascribed to me a clumsy or uncoordinated kind, since I've always been regarded more as someone who thinks and not acts. My enthusiasm is unbroken, my repertoire of tricks is more than sufficient, my Yoyo is a companion in my everyday life that helps me to concentrate, relax and just enjoy the free time I have.

In addition to all these things, there are other aspects of my life, such as working in my garden, metal detecting, building model airplanes, reading mainly classical and science fiction literature, watching many good old movies, building PCs and soldering microcomputers like the Raspberry PI, etc. I'm sure there's still a lot missing, but I think you can see how colorful my life is and that I'm never averse to new impressions!

What kind of guy are ya?

To describe oneself is always a difficult thing, so if you want to be on the safe side, you should get to know me personally. In my youth I was known as very anxious and hushed. I kept my sensitive side but with time my self-determination and my self-worth increased enormously. In the meantime, I see myself most likely in the leadership role in groups. With the reins in my hand I feel comfortable. I like to coordinate and plan. I like to talk about things that mean a lot to me and also listen to those who have something to say. I'm not available for trash talk, small talk and the like, then I rather prefer the company of books. My favorite characteristic is probably my curiosity paired with an enormous thirst for knowledge, which regularly opens the door to new worlds and experiences for me. I also have quite some patience which allows me to cope with long and difficult problems. My biggest weaknesses are on the one hand the fear of finally starting something and the feeling of inner restlessness which often prevents me from being satisfied with my achievements at the end of a job. But I also work hard on that, because the most important thing for me is not fame or material prosperity, but personal happiness.

And what is the blog here for?

This blog will mainly serve as a developer diary for my current big project, the "RawSalmonEngine", but I also want to deal with other important topics. Let's see what comes to my mind!