About Me
I am currently a UX/UI producer at Hangar 13 bravely creating amazing games. In addition, I am continuously building up my game dev skills with an emphasis on Unreal Engine 5 and game design. I usually spent my free time (outside of gaming) with my son and dog or hiking/climbing in the mountains.
Knowledge and skills
My primary areas of focus are:
- Product and Creative Leadership - Two areas in which I have been developing my competencies for the longest time. Over the years I have found out that I love to ensure a smooth and efficient production/game direction flow and at the same time I really need and enjoy being part of the creative and development process - getting hands dirty and chipping in with my knowledge and skills is extremely satisfactory - even more when there are actually areas and tools in which I can really provide additional value.
- UX and UI Design - I have already been engaged in Product Design and UX/UI before joining the game industry, but my passion for this area has only grown thanks to the fact I am responsible for a large UX/UI team in our studio. I am actively participating in the UX design process and at the same time, I am expanding my skills and knowledge through specialized courses and self-education;
- Worldbuilding/Setting Design - Creating new worlds for our table-top RPG campaigns has always been my big passion, I always focus on coherent settings with internal logic, where I want to provide diversity and richness, not through quantity, but rather through quality aspects such as cultural and ethnics differences, political competition, and attractive story hooks and themes for players to develop on their own, in addition, I am also learning about the specifics of open-world level design;
- Narrative design - to tell an engaging story is not enough, it is about utilizing the right tools and elements of gameplay and the world to engage the players in the story and preferably give them the agency and options to alter it with real consequences and causes to care about;
- Encounters design - My games are usually less focused on combat, but when it comes to it, I want to provide the players with an entertaining and challenging experience that reflects both the setting and system we play in, making it enjoyable no matter if we use tactics and combat-oriented DnD 4e or storytelling system such as FATE.
Recently, I have started to learn visual scripting utilizing Unreal Engine 5 blueprints to rapidly prototype, validate, and test new systems and mechanics independently.
Professional Experience
Last but not least, I have 9 years of work experience primarily in the roles of project manager and product lead in both SW and HW domains with a focus on defense and space technologies.
Here you can see some of the articles I have written on the topics of satellite imagery analysis of armed forces capabilities and deployment:
https://spaceknow.com/blog/automation-in-satellite-imagery-analysis/
https://spaceknow.com/blog/putting-defense-news-into-perspective-with-satellite-imagery-analytics/
https://spaceknow.com/blog/classifying-military-equipment-from-space/
I am well acquainted with videogames development intrigues and I do really enjoy the leadership of cross-functional teams, building relationships with subject matter experts, getting to know the technical details, and aligning them with the creative and artistic vision as much as possible, dealing with any potential issues and communicate all important aspects with key stakeholders.
The Origins I - Tabletop RPGs and collectible card games
From the age of 12 throughout my grammar school years, I have been obsessed with all things fantasy and sci-fi, mostly through reading books and playing tabletop RPGs and collectible card games. Being a multipotential enthusiast I have put my hands on a ton of games including Wastelands, Magic, LOTR from Decipher, Warhammer 40k + Fantasy Battles miniatures, original Draci Doupe (Czech version of DnD), and DnD 3E.
During university, I have become part of a large tabletop RPG community via the RPG Forum, mostly as a dungeon master, writing articles, tidbits of settings, and lore, testing my systems, and playing many games. I was crafting my worlds, putting together plots and adventures for my players, and always trying to avoid the usual stereotypes - unless directly asked for them.
I also participated in the early stages of Draci Doupe 2 development as a tester (along with a couple of card and board games).
The Origins II - Video Games
My very first experience with video games (that I can remember) was playing with my older brother the all-time classics Winter Games and Cannon Fodder. My independent gaming path began with our first family computer, on which I immediately started playing such titles as NHL 99, Tomb Raider III, and Need for Speed III. What follows is a list of the older games that stayed with me for a long time and I always like to get back to them:
- Heroes of Might and Magic III
- Diablo II
- Operation Flashpoint (Arma: Cold War Crisis)
- Hidden and Dangerous I
- Rainbow Six II Rogue Spear
- Might and Magic VII
I took a break from playing video games mostly due to full-time work obligations, climbing mountains, running, and last but not least starting a family. Still, whenever I ended up being sick at home I usually played more than a fair amount of turns in HoMM III.
I returned to active playing, but this time more as an aspiring game developer interested in how the most interesting titles achieved success - I usually do one or two play sessions (a couple of hours max), write down some notes and in case I am hooked up, I do continue playing long term because I want to finish the game.
Newer titles that got me (I tend to add something here from time to time):
- Baldur's Gate III - Larian Studios know how to make modern, entertaining, and rich RPGs, BG III in Early Access seems like the dream mix of ingredients I have been lacking in so many promising cRPGs in the past decade.
- Mass Effect (both 1-3 and Andromeda) - truly massive sci-fi experience
- Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade - my first experience with JRPG, absolute blast in storytelling, engaging combat, and entertaining characters
- Warhammer 40k: Darktide - Fatshark simply knows how to deliver an immersive, engaging, and entertaining co-op experience in the Warhammer universes. Darktide is spot on, building on the extensive experience with Vermintide and pushing this genre even further.
- Banner Saga 1 - 3 - An amazing storytelling game with beautiful art direction and an immersive world.