Michal âMikeeâ Hapala has a crazy haircut, but he is a talented programmer, who joined Warhorse very early in February 2012 long before the Kickstarter campaign. He was raised in Prague but born in Bratislava which is nowadays in Slovakia, formerly Czechoslovakia, but that is a history on its ownâŚ
Do you have any additional questions to Michal âMikeeâ Hapala? Just ask here.
You can find a Spanish translation of this interview here.
1) Where can we usually find you lurking in the holy halls of Warhorse?
At my keyboard, with in-ears blocking outside clatter. As weâve entered the optimizing and fixing phase, I also frequently roam the halls in a lookout for heretics claiming there are bugs in my code. Nobody expects the Spanish inquisition!
2) How did you hear about Warhorse?
In 2008 I worked with Viktor Bocan, our lead systems designer, on a Nintendo DS game (that never got released) at a company called Cinemax. Later that year I also became involved in teaching a computer games development class at my alma mater. I invited Viktor to have a lecture there and evaluate the student projects too. Some years passed and at one of the evaluation meetings he mentioned that the new game studio he works for (with a yet unannounced project) will soon be looking for experienced programmers. At that point, I was in the third year of an EECS doctoral study and I was looking for ways to get out of it at least for a while, so I told him Iâll be interested and to keep me posted. And he did . I joined Warhorse in February 2012.
3) Describe your position. What is it about being a programmer?
Iâve always believed that being a programmer is a diagnosis. My job is a manifestation of my character, not vice-versa. Was that too deep for your taste?
4) Have you ever worked on Videogames before?
When I started attending university my goal was to get a job in the gaming industry, so after I felt a little confident I applied and started working externally for Centauri Production (much later they were incorporated into Bohemia Interactive) and then for Cinemax working on a Nintendo DS engine with a few of released DSWare titles. Before and after I did other programming jobs too: mainly web and database programming and also some computer graphics research.
5) What is your favorite team activity?
The occasional football or floorball game with colleagues. We even played cricket once!
6) What are you currently working on?
Thereâs honestly not that much to talk about right now since itâs bug fixing and optimizations. Here and there though there are some new (forgotten) features or tweaking of some old ones, but we try to keep that to a minimum.
7) What are some of your notable accomplishments?
Since Iâve worked on this project almost from the start, my code changes are all over but mostly in the animations and (oh my god) the physics systems. I am pretty satisfied with the new leg IK solver we created with our lead animator Petr Samek. His idea, my implementation, to be absolutely fair. For those who have no idea what that thing means: it dynamically fits the legs and feet to the shape the character is standing on.
8) What do you like the most about Kingdom Come: Deliverance?
I am a history buff, so the story and the setting are my thing.
9) How, when and with what platform or game did you first get acquainted with videogames?
Oh boy, I donât remember the glory of the good old 8-bit days, but the first computer my parents owned was an IBM XT with a black-yellow monitor and on this beast of a machine I played my first videogames. I systematically went through the âgamesâ directory and for example, it took me a few months to figure out how to take off in Microsoft Simulator 1.0. I was about seven and I knew only a few English words, but I did it!
10) What was your most touching video game moment?
Through the audio logs and e-mails, I became pretty attached to the character of Marie Delacroix in System Shock 2. To this day I remember how sad I was to find her dead nearing the end of the game.
11) Which videogame character or figure is the best?
Drizzt DoâUrden. Drow ranger wielding two scimitars with a magical panther. Are you still asking why?
12) Which class, gender, or type do you usually pick?
Elven mages are my RPG favorites. I usually want to control the character that has the most gameplay options.
13) Are there any videogames you repeat playing over-and-over-again?
I used to play (and finish) the original Diablo from time-to-time. Last time it took me four hours (with the sorcerer, of course). Now that I think about it, I might play it again!
14) How do you relax after a hard day at work?
Married with a kid. Whatâs that ârelaxâ thing you are talking about? Seriously though, of course I play videogames (MGS V: Phantom Pain is my current favorite) and I try to find time to get through at least one book a month. When completely exhausted, I pick a movie Iâve already seen a couple of times.
15) Your favorite music playlist
âFloating through spaceâ on Google Music. I am a trip-hop fan, so anything that includes Portishead, Lamb, Massive Attack and such.
16) Your favorite movie or book?
Too many to list, but if I have to mention one author I do love Richard P. Feynmanâs books. Also, Iâve recently seen Blade Runner with Ridley Scottâs commentary. That. Is. A. Treat.
17) Your travel tip?
Israel. Cheap flight tickets, cheap car rentals, and a small country with history on every corner make perfect traveling.
18) What is your weakest trait?
Concentration deficit mixed with a mild OCDâŚ. or is that my strongest?
19) What was your favorite subject and your most hated one at school? What were your grades in history?
It depended more on the teacher than on the subject, although in general, you can say that I liked information, I hated classes. Grades in history? I honestly donât remember.
20) If you could say something to the fans of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, what would it be?
Thanks for staying with us for so long. The less you ride the hype-train the more youâll be satisfied!
Do you have any additional questions to Michal âMikeeâ Hapala? Just ask here.