Back to the roots

Posted on:February 28 2007

I quit my job some days ago.
The reason for this was that I need to have more time for Irrlicht, irrKlang and similar, but also that I want to go back into game and graphics related development. It was quite a difficult choice to do this step, especially because I like the company I am leaving now as well as the software I've been working on there. (BTW, they are currently looking for experienced C++ developers, so if you want to work in a nice environment, on cool products... :) )

So what's next?
After the period of notice I'm going to invest some more time into Irrlicht again, and I'm also finally able to help companies using Irrlicht with their special problems - previously I always had to refuse such requests because of my lack of time. But of course - to save myself from dying of starvation ;) - I'm going to do some freelance programming. If you're looking for an experienced C++/Java/C# programmer for your project, there's now one more to choose from. :) I've updated the 'About me' page of this blog a bit, and I've got a (still a bit unlinked) linkedIn profile now as well if you want to know a bit more about me. So lets see what will happen now, I think I'll face some interesting times now, and I hope most of it won't be that negative. :)





Comments:


It’s a gutsy move and good luck. I admire you for following what you really wish to do.

Now that you will have more time does that mean the Mac version of irrEdit will be coming soon? ;)
joemacher
Quote
2007-02-28 18:09:00


im sure youll get a lof of offers ;)

btw: you developed "die völker" (nations) ? i loved this game in my child ages espacially the intro

thanks,
halan
halan
Quote
2007-02-28 19:20:00


wow, cool move. I wish you good luck with your new undertaking.
*thumbs up*
miko
Quote
2007-02-28 20:33:00


wow, that's quite courageously of you
i like your decision though :)
bakkdoor
Quote
2007-02-28 21:07:00


btw, i found an error in your 'about me':
"I'm enjoy blogging" <- that should be "I enjoy blogging" :)
bakkdoor
Quote
2007-02-28 21:09:00


So you've done it too now eh? :) I wish you the best of luck. I know from experience that it's a scary proposition to give up a guaranteed wage to do something you believe in, but it's also very rewarding. Hope it goes well!
Steve
Quote
2007-02-28 22:20:00


Good luck, Niko!

Just as a tip (hope this doesn't sound too much like advertising :S); maybe you can sign up at the donationcoder.com forum, then people can donate to you for your projects. They have a microdonation system called 'donationcredits', basically forum members can give eachother donationcredits as appriciation for a project or even forum post, each donationcredit = $1, which you can redeem into real money.

It is a project started by a friend of mine when looking for a way to 'survive' while making free software. He wrote a long article on his findings when asking for donations. (http://www.donationcoder.com/Articles/One/index.html)
Off course if you want users to donate to your project you can always put a paypal button on your site, but as the article sais, it often takes a bit more work than that if you want to be able to keep being able to pay rent, while making only free software. On donationcoder.com there's a strong community where you're much more likely to receive donations from fellow community members than anywhere else i've found... Beyond that it's also just a fun place where i've gained lots of friends. (eeek this is really starting to sound like some cheasy commercial). They also have something called 'coding snacks' where software users can post a request for a (small) program, and any developer can take the bait and make it, for which you'll usually get donationcredits from the user. A nice mix of users and developers makes this possible.

Anyhow, I just wanted to give you a tip/another option if you plan to quit your dayjob. I think there is some other websites out there where you can make some money solving other peoples coding problems (experts exchange for example) but it's not really the same.

Good luck!
Gothi[c]
Quote
2007-03-01 00:36:00


You are correct, it does sound like advertising.
TSM
Quote
2007-03-01 03:08:00


Well...good luck with that.

Hopefully, you can make some money from Irrlicht.

Or,some of your other projects.

I did the same several years ago,but had a cash buffer to prop me up.

Compliments of a ton of overtime at Siemens Medical.

But,on a lighter note, Dharma Beer showed up on tonights (28-02-2007) version of 'Lost'.

Uh...how did you here about this 3 weeks back?

The beer cans looked exactly like yours.

Whuch is why we didn't get your joke.
HLFat
Quote
2007-03-01 05:20:00


Well Niko best of luck. I know it was a very hard decision to make. But life is not worth it unless you are living your dream...
btw Welcome back to your roots.
PS. Keep away from the Dhama beer its bad news ;-).
leo
Quote
2007-03-01 09:02:00


Niko good luck and that is a really brave move :)
I also quit my job (good job in a bank) to indie game
development (in which I had zero experience). There were ups
and downs, but a lot fun overall!
With your knowledge and skills I am sure you will have
no problems at all!
Martins1
Quote
2007-03-01 09:57:00


@TSM: I'm sorry :( I was just trying to help, and I can't help being passionate about certain things, Niko is free to delete the comment if he shares your opinion.
Gothi[c]
Quote
2007-03-01 16:17:00


thanks all :) the dharma beer is already emptied, unfortunately :)
@halan: no, only 'die völker2', but a bit of 'die völker online' :)
@bakkdoor: thx, corrected now.
@steve: yep, looks like I'm copying you everywhere I can ;)
@gothi[c]: hm, maybe, would be an idea.
niko
Quote
2007-03-01 17:02:00


The best of lucks for you niko! :D
bicunisa
Quote
2007-03-01 22:32:00


How about offering professional support for companies that use Irrlicht? Oh wait - I don't think companies are using it. Never mind. :P

www.rentacoder.com (www.rent-a-coder.com is a spyware site - ignore it)
Frobozz
Quote
2007-03-02 12:00:00


well, I work for a big international corporation and we are using Irrlicht for internal projects, that's why I'm reading this blog here. And having talked to other people in our business area I am sure we are not the only ones using this 3d engine.
bload
Quote
2007-03-03 10:12:00


I don't think we will mind if you become a poor bum living in a cardboard box just as long as you manage to find a computer every so often to code.
RabidLockerGnome
Quote
2007-03-03 15:36:00


@bload: The keyword there is "internal". Once you start selling stuff that uses Irrlicht I'll take you more seriously. :P
Frobozz
Quote
2007-03-03 22:15:00


good luck niko,in your new endeavour!hope u get lots and lots of offers!you thouroughly deserve it!

p.s: you saved my computing life!
tunde
Quote
2007-03-04 19:33:00


Hey Niko, it's been suggested in the forums that you should be a guest on my new internet radio show on OpenRecon.com. We'd like to chat about Irrlicht, 'Irr-brands', being an open-source developer, and your thoughts about other related topics. Up to it?
RabidLockerGnome
Quote
2007-03-04 22:46:00


sure, why not, would be fun. If you really want to hear me speaking, I guess my spoken english is even crappier than the written one :)
niko
Quote
2007-03-05 20:20:00


I guess we'll have to ask simple questions :-D
RabidLockerGnome
Quote
2007-03-05 20:59:00


irrKlang - irrlicht - Is this helpful?

Does anybody have softwares which let you
shrink your audio and then send the file
as fast as possible so that after
composition it could be played back quick
in the model of *Citizens' Band radio*
(/CB/)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens%27_band_radio
but instead using better sound?


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HEBLACK, J
Quote
2007-03-11 20:23:00


wtf...
bicunisa
Quote
2007-03-19 18:25:00


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