Comment by cageface
5 years ago
I actually did take a couple of years off and try to make a living on my own selling music software with a lot of handwritten DSP code in it. I learned a lot and it was a lot of fun but I also realized that to a certain extent programming is programming no matter what the domain is. Things that seem exotic and sexy on the surface actually involve a lot of the same considerations and problem solving that building a website does.
So yeah there's no shame in working in more mundane & utilitarian areas. And, like you said, you might reach more people with your work that way.
I had the same experience doing game programming. It's not at all like gaming, and almost exactly like all other programming, except with more linear algebra.