Creating games one bug at a time.

The Raw Beginnings

Born in 1982, I grew up on the beautiful island of Usedom by the Baltic Sea. At 16, I discovered the magic of programming. Back then, there was no internet for me, just a massive physical manual and QuickBasic. Trying to code my first game that way felt like a wild, months-long solo mission, but I made it to the finish line.

This spark led me to enroll in a distance learning program with a focus on C++ and DirectX 7. Honestly, I never truly understood C++. Yet, somehow, using 3D Studio Max and the Watcom compiler, I managed to build a simple 3D town where you could walk around. Funnily enough, you could walk straight through the walls. Financial struggles eventually forced me to abandon my studies and move to Berlin as a laborer, but my tech journey was far from over.

The Hotel Era & The Great Crash

A lucky coincidence brought me back to Usedom to design a single hotel homepage. That one website quickly snowballed into managing the entire IT infrastructure for a massive hotel chain. Networks, cash registers, video surveillance, I did it all. At the exact same time when everyone was hyping expensive SAP software, I developed my own custom web application for time-tracking instead. This saved the company massive costs and made me incredibly proud.

Driven by that pride, I built "Usedom Kompass" as a holiday rental platform, hoping to finally kickstart my independence. A few people signed up, but before the project could truly take off, unexpected personal and financial setbacks caused my entire existence to collapse. Devastated, I threw in the towel, left the island, and decided to walk away from IT entirely to look for a completely different purpose in life.

From High Politics to the Underground

Hoping to give back to society, I started training to become a kindergarten teacher. My hands still wouldn't stay away from code, though, which is when I built my first dating app, originally named Dynamic Placeholder and later released as Place to Meet. Sadly, financial pressures forced me to quit that first attempt. By a bizarre twist of fate, I then ended up working as an external developer at the German Parliament. It felt prestigious, but the rigid corporate environment completely drained my creativity.

Seeking a radical change, I went from the highest political halls straight down into the subway tunnels, becoming a Berlin U-Bahn driver. Yet, my heart never stopped beating for working with children. In 2024, I decided to give my dream a second chance and restarted my educator training. During this time, I even shared my journey and my vision of becoming a guide for children in an official interview: Read the interview about my path here. Unfortunately, the intense team dynamics in the field eventually took a heavy toll on my well-being, forcing me to step back once more. To stay afloat and keep my creative soul alive, I kept building apps. Even though they didn't become massive hits, they kept me moving forward.

Imperfect Skills & Today's Vision

Looking back, I never lost my connection to programming, but I also never became that overconfident, textbook software engineer. My raw skills remained at an advanced beginner level, and I never felt "good enough" for big tech firms. Today, I am incredibly grateful for AI assistance because it finally bridges that gap, helping me bring my chaotic, creative visions to life without getting stuck in syntax.

Ironically, I barely play video games myself these days. However, I deeply fell in love with World of Warcraft twice in my life for longer periods. That experience showed me the monumental task it takes to build immersive worlds. While the gaming landscape has changed, that old passion for creating meaningful digital spaces never left me.

When I’m not battling code, my true escape is scuba diving, inline skating, or disappearing into nature on my paddleboard. I still wake up every single day dreaming of new things to build. Time is always too short, but the passion never stops. That is why I am still here, creating games and apps, fighting for that dream of true independence. Take a look at my latest projects below, and you'll see exactly what I mean.