My Story
The summer right before high school, I asked myself, "if I like playing video games so much, why don't I try making them?" After downloading Game Maker 7, I fell in love
with game development. This was perfect, because it was getting close to the time in my life where I needed to decide what my college major would be. However, while I
wanted to make games, the advice given to me was to study information technology (IT) and become a software engineer instead. I agreed, and after three and a half years, I
graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Information Sciences and Technology. However, I was still determined to make games. One of my best friends and I
worked on the very early concepts for Arra World
and
Flick! during college, despite my friend attending a different university. While we failed to manage our games and our careers went
separate ways, we both agree that working on the games was one of the best parts of our lives.
It was also during my college days that I started the CoderNunk YouTube channel. At the time though, it was just a hobby. I had fun making videos on Adobe Flash, Unity, and
even speedcubing, but my videos were pretty low effort. I ended up stepping away from the channel right before graduating college, though.
After college, I accepted a full-time software engineering position, while my friend became a copywriter. For a while, my focus was solely on the full-time job,
establishing myself at the company. At first, the work was pretty challenging, and the company I worked for treated me well. I met some really amazing people, who I still
reach out to this day. However, the COVID-19 pandemic changed a lot for me. Working remotely gave me more time to work on game development stuff and build my skills there.
During this time, I became proficient with Blender and Godot, and I knew that I needed to revisit my dream of making games again.
It was a tough decision, but with mixed emotions, I decided to leave my job at the beginning of 2023. This was so I could "reset" and renew my focus on game development
again. Fortunately, I had enough savings so I could take some time off from work, so it made it easier to do so. However, I quickly realized that there were far more issues
that I had yet to take care of, that would prevent me from putting in my all into my games. I would spend the latter half of 2023 working on the physical and mental issues
I put off for so long, so I can focus on my future. Despite all this, I don't regret making the decision I did, because I learned so much during the journey.
In addition to this, I was able to restart the CoderNunk YouTube channel this year, and the support has been fantastic. I couldn't be more grateful to all of you,
especially with my shaky upload schedule and all that. I firmly believe that CoderNunk will play a key role in the future to help me, among others, achieve their game dev
related dreams.
The Mission and the Future
My goal is definitely idealistic - I want to create content, games, etc. that will provide joy, and inspire others to do the same. Of course, I've always been a dreamer,
and growing up playing video games makes me want to be a hero in my own little way. I'm no hero though - I'm not going to be beating up real life bad guys or anything. But
if I can make the world a better place through my passion, I say that's a win. I know I'm only human, and I have stumbled and will continue to stumble from time to time,
but I feel like it's my life's purpose to do this, so I refuse to give up.
After quitting my job in January of 2023, I have come to realize a lot about myself and my own limitations. I realize that working on games alone will not be sustainable
currently, so I am taking a new path to set myself up for future success. First, I'll be addressing some physical and mental issues I've put off for so long - improving my
sleep, exercise, mood and diet among things. I don't expect to fix this overnight, but any step in the right direction is great.
Once I regain most of my energy, I'll be looking to address my financial situation. I can live comfortably for a little while longer with what I've saved up from my
full-time job, but having some income again would definitely make things more comfortable. I also realized that the corporate life isn't for me, and I would like to do
something that gives me more freedom and control over my time.
After deliberation, I have decided to start my small company, Nunkware Digital. At first, Nunkware Digital will simply be a IT consulting agency, targeting game studios as
clients. Over time, I'd like to evolve Nunkware Digital into even more, such as a game studio and a place for education on IT and game development, so that I can help
others achieve their dream of developing games. I know that my story is very similar to all of yours, and games are our passion. I'm hoping Nunkware Digital becomes an
honest company that makes a positive impact on the game dev industry.
Ultimately, my games will be released under the Nunkware Digital name when the time comes (Flick! will be a bit different due to it being open source), and I may eventually
choose to collaborate with other developers on these projects. We will have to see how things evolve over time.
I know this won't be easy. But as a former software engineer, I have confidence in my own ability to solve problems. Plus, I have support from my family, friends, and all
of you! As lofty as my dream is, I welcome you to join me on the ride. Let's make this happen - together!
My Hardware, Software and Proficiencies
I actually have two workspaces in my home - a Windows workstation and a Linux workstation. The Linux workstation is actually recycled parts from my Windows workstation. I
use them mostly interchangeably, but the Windows one has more horsepower and is better suited for video editing.
Windows Workstation
- Motherboard: ASUS
- Operating System: Windows 11 Pro
- CPU: AMD Ryzen R5
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
- Storage: 1 TB Samsung 980 PRO M.2 SSD
- RAM: 32 GB DDR4
Linux Workstation
- Motherboard: ASUS CM6330 (from a prebuilt workstation)
- Operating System: Fedora Linux 39 Workstation Edition
- CPU: Intel i7 3770 8-core
- GPU: EVGA Geforce GTX 980 Ti
- Storage: 500 GB Samsung 860 EVO SSD
- RAM: 16 GB DDR3 RAM
Proficiencies
This section is meant more to provide context to my existing skills and experience. Some of these things may appear in some of my content.
- Java
- Groovy
- C#
- SQL (SQL Server, MySQL)
- JavaScript and TypeScript
- NodeJS
- Svelte and SvelteKit (I made the website with this)
- AWS - Lambda, AppSync, DynamoDB, etc. (I also have the AWS Solutions Architect and Developer - associate certs)
- Godot Engine and GDScript
- Blender
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- A little bit of Firebase
