2012 - what a difference a year makes

The last year was full of changes for me professionally. My focus is still games and entertainment, but I’m drifting towards other languages and platforms than I’ve been using the last few years. I’ve changed office and I’m also spending lots of time on my new hobbies: electronics and 3D Printing!

Hardware

I started the year by taking two months off from client work so I could study electronics and microcontrollers. In theory, I have some electronics background from school and earlier, but now I really wanted to learn this deeply. I had heaps of fun and I’ve gotten far enough that I can solve pretty much any idea I get. From having just a very basic knowledge of electronics, I can now read datasheets, solder and build circuits that solve problems. Thanks to microcontrollers (such as an Arduino) I can get really far with only limited electronics experience. Throughout the year, I wrote 19 blog entries about Arduino and 9 about electronics.

3D Printing and modeling

In April I got myself an Ultimaker. I built it from scratch based on a kit and at the end of the year, I got myself a second 3D Printer - a Printrbot Jr. Throughout the year I’ve written 9 entries about 3D Printing and I’m sure it’ll be at least twice as many in the year to come. I’ve always known how to model in 3D, but 2012 was the year I learned Rhino. It’s very different from other 3D packages, but I absolutely love it! It’s incredibly intuitive and easy to learn. Drop by Thingiverse to check out things I’ve designed this year.

Projects

I’ve done several great projects this year. My favorite was the Rock City Project where I got to work with my friends in Back on a huge museum installation. On this project I did 6 of 10 interactive installations and lots of hardware integration. If you’re travelling in the Namsos area, it’s well worth a visit!

Another favorite what the HTML5 game I made for NASA! The screen was 8x12 metres and anyone with a smartphone could open a URL and then play a game on the big screen using their phone as a controller. Unfortunately, the project was only live for a week. Due to that I can’t really show it, but hopefully there will be more projects like this in the year to come.

My Arduino Companion app keeps going strong. It’s now surpassed 70k installs on iOS and Android and it just keeps growing. I’m also working hard on another AIR-based game at the moment that I know is going to be a success. Hopefully, we’ll have it out mid February.

My new office: Bitraf

I’ve said goodbye to my architect friends for now and moved to Oslo’s biggest Hackerspace -> Bitraf. I share my office space with designers, 3D modelers, illustrators, programmers and other geeks. In the evenings, the office transforms into a lively Hackerspace with an even wider mix of people. It’s a really great place with lots of nice people and it’s something I’ve dreamt of for many years.

Bitraf works as a “DoOcracy”, meaning that those that DO things there gets to decide what happens there. My biggest contribution this far has been the 3DP weekends, but I hope to contribute even more in the year to come. You’ll usually find me there every Build-night (Thursdays).

If you’re looking for an office in Oslo and you have an interest in code, creativity and making things - check it out. I don’t think you can find a better deal on an office for freelancers in Oslo.

Adobe’s lack of interest

I’ve put anything that has to do with Flash on hold until Adobe (or a new owner) take the platform further. I still do Flash & AIR projects, but when Adobe can’t bet on it’s own platform, then how can I? I’m looking beyond Adobe tools and I’m liking what I see on the Open Source side. The way Adobe has treated developers the last year clearly shows that they’re all about graphics, not code. This also means that Flashmagazine.com is on hold until something new happens to the platform.

2012 is also the year when Flash User Group Norway (FUGN) went silent. The group was started 5 years ago by Paulo, Øystein and me. It’s been a hotbed of creativity and inspiration over the years. I have gotten lots of good friends through it, but wouldn’t you know - just as we were sitting in a meeting we got an email from Adobe saying that the group had been closed down?

Apparently the reason was that we had less than 50 active members. In other words -> if you run an Adobe User group - you better make sure it’s in NYC or other big cities. “Small” cities like Oslo are apparently no longer being tolerated. After all - they do support you with free pens and a single software license per year so they can’t waste that on good customers. What can I say… Words fail me…

I still do lots of projects based on AIR and I’ll continue to do so as long as Adobe keeps the product up to date. It’s by far the best cross-platform solution that I know of, but Adobe really isn’t doing much to tell the world how great it is. It’s sad…