I think one of the biggest steps when learning a foreign language is transitioning from “learning” to “using.” And a big part of that switch is moving away from media made for learners. Why would you want that? Partially because content for learners is usually not that good. Those books, shows, and games mostly just try to lump required vocabulary together until it…
I’ve created a telegram bot that makes it easy to create Anki German flashcards on the go. If you’re studying German with Anki, check it out!
Day 5. 10.03.2022 A group of cool students let me stay with them for a week, so I’m leaving my friendly neighborhood hostel. A snow storm ramps up, and miniature snowflakes are instantly melting when they hit the asphalt. To celebrate this, the cafe placed a personal heater under my feet. After figuring out how to say “1 coffee” in turkish, I was eager to whisper these words to…
If getting out of your comfort zone is so damn good for personal growth, why are comfortable jobs in big companies so popular? One reason could be that some people just seek maximum comfort. Another reason is that comfortable environments give space to focus on hard, uncomfortable problems. Why focus on uncomfortable stuff? Discomfort is a sign that whatever you are doing, it’s new,…
Mandarin Chinese is the first foreign language I’m learning by myself, and I’m surprised there are so few universal best practices. Resources with hacks and tricks(like http://hackingchinese.com for Chinese) are a great starting point, but they still leave room for delusions. Here are some of mine. You have to master the language before using it When travelling in China in 2019, I…
By thinking about tasks, we automatically create stories about them. When planning to cook, we imagine the components, the efforts, the look and taste of the final dish. A set of events with emotional peaks and valleys. A story. Unconsciously, by default, we feel that the more exciting a story is, the more important its task. This doesn’t cause much trouble, except when we perceive an unimportant…
A VR game for HTC-Vive, created as part of an escape-room experience in Saint-Petersburg. VR space was precisely mapped to the geometry of a real room, making every virtual object feel tangible. Coded game logic, designed interactions, managed a remote 3D artist.
SpheraVR studio photogrammetry project, that I’ve been involved with. We’ve spent the whole night locked in a local, Saint-Petersburg monastery with several photographers, shooting every inch of the huge, two-storied space. After that, we’ve embarked on a months-long journey of generating hi-poly meshes, cleaning them & assembling into a coherent virtual location, as a GearVR…
Game about trying to attract your forgotten family members to your apartment by buying cool stuff on tv-shops. Created for LD37 Jam in 72 hours. Game design & programming by me. Art by Anastasia Prokofyeva aka Mifmorerak.
A 2D mobile time killer, created with Unity3D. Coded the whole thing by myself & designed difficulty progression. The game was released on the AppStore and GooglePlay.
Co-programmed iOS bank app, closely collaborating with server-side team, management and remote UI designers. It’s ranked as the best mobile bank for small business in Russia by analytical agency Markswebb Rank & Report in 2015, 2016 & 2017.