ABOUT
Madwolf Studios is a one-person studio. This is the story behind it — who I am, what I'm building now, and how I work.
Introduction
Hey — I'm Madalin Dinu, an independent developer and the person behind MADWOLF STUDIOS.
I've been interested in computers, games and creating things since I was a kid. After spending years away from programming, I found my way back to technology and decided to take it seriously.
Today I'm focused on learning, building and experimenting through my own projects — including WOLFCANI, an OnFocus Workspace for students, and No Respawn in War, a game currently in development.
How It Started
My programming experience started long before I considered myself a developer.
As a kid, I learned basic HTML by opening websites, looking at their source code and trying to understand how they worked. I'd take what I found, experiment with it and build my own versions.
Years later, I started learning programming seriously — a combination of formal education and self-study. The interest had been there the whole time; this time I committed to it.
What I'm Building
- WOLFCANIIN DEVELOPMENT
OnFocus Workspace — everything you need, in one place.
- MadScopeRELEASED
Local-first responsive testing and visual regression for developers.
- No Respawn in WarIN DEVELOPMENT
Game currently in development.
WOLFCANI is a student-focused workspace: tasks, subjects, topics, exams, calendar events and focus sessions in one place, with a separate workspace for each student. It's the project I've taken furthest so far, and the one I've learned the most from.
No Respawn in War is an independent game currently in development, created as a tribute to those affected by wars and conflicts around the world. More information about the project will be shared soon.
Progress on both is written up in the dev log.
How I Work
Before technology, I spent several years in the fitness industry — eventually managing gyms and leading teams.
That taught me responsibility, solving problems while they are happening, making decisions under pressure and working with people. It also taught me that things rarely go the way you plan, and that you keep going anyway.
I don't see that experience as separate from what I'm doing now. Building software is another kind of problem solving — you start with something that doesn't work, figure out why, and keep working until it does.
Education
Formal education gave me the structure. Independent learning and my own projects are how I keep going beyond the curriculum.
This isn't a finished list of qualifications — it's an ongoing process: studying, preparing and building, all at the same time.
- Higher National Diploma (HND) in Cross-Platform Application DevelopmentMy formal software development studies — currently in progress.
- Public-sector IT preparationStudying for the Spanish public-sector IT opposition — preparation, not a position.
- Online coursesfreeCodeCamp, Coursera, bootcamp-style training, documentation and tutorials.
- Independent studyPython, Java, artificial intelligence, machine learning, Git and automation.
- Learning by buildingSmall scripts and utilities for my own use — experiments while I learn.
I'm also exploring the possibility of beginning university studies in Artificial Intelligence through the UNED in Madrid. I haven't started — it's a direction I'm considering, not a degree I'm enrolled in.
The next section is what all of this looks like in practice: the tools I actually work with.
Technologies
These are the technologies and tools I've worked with while building my projects, studying software development and experimenting on my own. Some are part of my daily workflow, some I know well, and others I'm still learning. Knowing a technology isn't the same as mastering it — what matters is being able to build something real with it.
- Daily— in my current projects
- Used— real projects and studies
- Familiar— hands-on experience
- Learning— studying it right now
- HTML5DailyThe first thing I learned — still under every page.
- CSS3DailyLayout, themes and this site’s neon look.
- JavaScriptDailyEvery interaction on the site and in WOLFCANI.
- TypeScriptDailyWhat keeps both projects reliable as they grow.
- ReactDailyUI for this website and for WOLFCANI.
- Tailwind CSSDailyOne design system across both projects.
- ViteDailyBuild tool for the website and WOLFCANI.
- GitDailyHistory for every change I make.
- GitHubDailyWhere every repository lives.
- npmDailyPackages and scripts for both projects.
- Node.jsDailyBuild scripts — from prerendering pages to game sounds.
- GitHub PagesUsedHosting for this site — free, deploys on every push to main.
- PythonFamiliarPersonal scripts, automation and small utilities.
- JavaLearningStudying it now — JDK 23 and IntelliJ IDEA installed.
- GodotUsedNo Respawn in War — Godot 4.4 with GDScript.
- AudacityUsedAudio editing — sound work for the projects.
- LSLibreSpriteUsedPixel art and sprite work.
- PhotopeaUsedImage editing — logos, artwork and PSD files.
- GIMPUsedRaster graphics editing and quick image fixes.
- IntelliJ IDEAUsedMy IDE for Java coursework.
- GDGitHub DesktopUsedDesktop client for commits and branches.
- OCOpenCodeUsedAI coding agent in my day-to-day workflow.
Now
Madwolf Studios is still small and still being written — one problem at a time, in public, through the dev log.
I know what I can do, and I know there is a lot left to learn. Right now that means heads down on WOLFCANI and No Respawn in War.