About

Hello, World! I'm Florian Zhou (FlorianIO) ( °-°)/

Online, most people know me as FlorianIO.

To me, IO stands for Input & Output — a philosophy I live by: life is an endless loop of taking in inspiration (Input), writing code, and outputting software (Output) that hopefully leaves a genuine dent in the world.

01 / Where It All Began: Age 10, a Mac, and Chaotic First Steps

My programming journey started when I was 10. I remember being completely mesmerized by the underwater world of a game called ABZU. Seeing those breathtaking visuals on screen sparked an immediate realization: I wanted to build worlds of my own.

My mom believed in that spark and bought me my very first computer: a MacBook Air M2. As I type these words, that exact same Mac is sitting right beside me.

On that machine, I took my first chaotic steps into code:

• The funny detour: Wanting to build games, I downloaded Unity — completely unaware that it used C# for scripting. Naturally, I spent months head-first learning C and C++, constantly staring at errors and wondering why nothing was linking to my graphics (￣▽￣;)
• The first real build: Once I figured things out, I built a first-person 3D parkour game (think Only Up!, but with active skills). I eventually scrapped it because I wasn't happy with the graphics, and the source code vanished over time, but the sheer thrill of turning an idea into running software stuck forever.

02 / The Reality Check: Age 13, Heavy GPUs, and Overambition

At 13, I decided to go big and tackle Unreal Engine.

My mom backed my passion once again and helped me build a powerhouse rig: an RTX 5080 paired with a Ryzen 9950X.

Truth be told, top-tier hardware didn't automatically make me a better engineer — it mostly amplified my oversized ego.

First, I tried solo-building a seamless open-world game. Between animation pipelines, vehicle physics, and dynamic weather, reality hit hard and fast. Trying to tackle a 3A-scope project alone was like trying to push a mountain with a stick.

Pivoting away from that, I thought: "If I can't build the world, I'll sell the shovels to the gold miners!"

I started building a massive, all-in-one developer platform for UE. But I fell right back into the same trap — chasing breadth over depth. I kept stuffing in AI tools, paid course infrastructure, plugins, and honestly, probably would have added a built-in coffee maker if I could figure out the logic lol.

The scope blew up, the architecture turned into a bloated mess, and I found myself trapped in an endless loop of feature creep.

The Song That Saved Me

At the peak of that project's pressure, I was close to getting swallowed by burnout. I kept forcing myself to push through, grinding against impossible odds even as my mental health was crumbling.

Then, out of nowhere, I stumbled upon "Let It Be."

It was my very first time listening to rock music, and my very first time hearing The Beatles. As those piano chords hit, something inside me released. That song taught me a lesson I desperately needed: when you're pushed to the edge, learning to let go and let things be can be the bravest answer.

To this day, The Beatles remain my absolute favorite band ٩(ˊᗜˋ)و♪

03 / A New Horizon: AI & Software Engineering

Learning to "let it be" gave me the courage to walk away from that bloated platform.

That failure taught me the single most valuable lesson of my dev life: great products aren't forged by piling on features; they are built through relentless focus and restraint.

Stepping away from game engines opened my eyes to a whole new realm: AI applications and modern software development.

I hit the reset button and shifted my energy toward software craft. Today, I'm fully focused on building AI-powered applications — leveraging the power of modern LLMs to craft clean, lightweight, and genuinely useful user experiences.

As for that unfinished UE game? Who knows — maybe when my skills mature down the road, I'll pick it back up and finish what I started. It might just turn out to be legendary (✧∀✧)

04 / A Time Capsule for the Future

To be real with you, I haven't built that "world-changing product" just yet.

But hey, who says it won't start tomorrow? ദ്ദിˊᗜˋ)

I'm keeping my head down, learning every day, and pushing forward. After all, both my code and my life are just getting started.

If you're interested in what I'm building, or just want to geek out over tech, products, or wild ideas, my inbox is always open!

Catch me on → @FlorianIO