Joukejan “Jouke” Timmermans is one of the Environment Artists here at Warhorse Studios, doing an amazing job in creating the beautiful landscape of Kingdom Come Deliverance. Jouke was born in Ljouwert, Fryslân in the Netherlands and moved to Prague to work for Warhorse Studios.
Do you have any additional questions to Joukejan “Jouke” Timmermans? 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?
You will find me in a dark room with all the other environment and concept artists. It’s the room where you can melt from the heat that is being produced by the people working hard on making the world look great. Seriously, it’s a sauna here!
2) Describe your position. What is it about being an environment artist?
I am working as a 3d environment artist for Kingdom Come: Deliverance. This means I am responsible for making awesome looking places and objects for the player to walk through and to enjoy. This job is not only about making the most beautiful piece of art you can make, but it’s also about making the artwork together with all the other aspects of developing the final game. For example, if I were to make the interior of a house interesting by filling it with objects and the testers find problems with the NPCs, then I would have to go back and fix it. That’s exactly what we are doing at this moment: optimizing the art to eventually make the game work and look awesome at the same time.
3) How did you hear about Warhorse?
I heard about Warhorse Studios when I saw the first Kickstarter video with Dan “the Viking,” as my father keeps calling him. In January 2014, I first applied for a job as a 3d junior artist at Warhorse and I was fortunate enough to do the art tests that every applicant had to do. So I got through both the art test and the level test (that came after the art test) and I was very thrilled. Unfortunately, at that time they needed to drop the open position to hire someone for the animation department. I was still out of work and I knew I had to pick up the pace and not fall behind on the newest technology. I took a job as a newspaper delivery boy, which meant getting up at 5 and bring the newspapers around different neighborhoods. At 7 I would be home and then I would start working on my portfolio during the day. On and off it took me 11 months to finish some decent portfolio pieces with which I could do another solicitation round. Of course, I contacted Warhorse Studios first and I immediately was asked to do a skype meeting. What follows, like they say, is history. On March 6th, 2015 I became a Warhorsian.
4) What are you currently working on?
Currently, I am busy with fixing bugs regarding mainly Sazava and Rataje City. Bugs vary from bad terrain alignment to characters grinding a fence when jumping over it. You come across some very interesting and funny bugs. Another thing that keeps me busy is making LODs for the models that are in the game. This means making ‘cheaper’ versions that will be displayed as the distance between the player and the object getting bigger.
5) Why do you think it’s the most important part or thing in the game?
There really is not one thing that is most important in my opinion. I believe that what each department is making is a piece of art in and of itself. Combining these pieces of art into one game is what is most important and I think we are succeeding greatly in this effort. From immersive and epic music to tense combat situations. When these aspects of the game come together and they are, that to me is what is most important.
6) What do you like the most about Kingdom Come: Deliverance?
What I really like about Kingdom Come: Deliverance is that I have no clue what the quests will be like. I will jump into this game knowing most of the layout of the world but with zero knowledge of the story and missions. I purposely tried to not get a lot of information regarding the story because I want to be surprised when the game comes out. Secondly, I love the attention to the detail that is going into the world that we created. It really is amazing.
7) How, when and with what game did you first get acquainted with videogames?
I think it was Super Mario Bros on the Super Nintendo.
8) Are there any videogames you repeat playing over and over again?
No question about it: Medal of Honor Allied Assault. Another really good one that I enjoy playing over and over is Hidden and Dangerous 2. The core mechanics of Hidden and Dangerous 2 strike me as one of the best to this day. I think I could play this game even 20 years from now, though I am hoping by then I will be playing Hidden and Dangerous 3
9) What would a perfect game according to your wishes look like?
I would like to see an Assassins Creed game in a World War 2 coat. I can already see the opportunities with such a concept.
10) Your favorite music playlist?
Electric Light Orchestra, Bee Gees, Interpol are the bands I am listening to at the moment. Besides that, I love to listen to the soundtrack of the TV series, “Band of Brothers”.
11) Your favorite movie/book?
There is one movie which I really love and which I can watch over and over again. It’s called “Where Eagles There” starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood. This 1968 movie has everything I want a movie to have, amazing music, drama, action and pretty good special effects for that time.
12) What species is your spirit animal?
Flying Spaghetti monster and don’t tell me he is not real!
13) Your travel tip?
That’s easy: Nepal. If you want to have an active and cultural vacation/trip, go to this country. Do a group vacation and you will go to amazing places, see crocodiles 2 meters from you in the water, hike the base of Mount Everest and go paragliding.
14) You are from the Netherlands, what are the main differences between the Czech Republic and the Netherlands?
The most noticeable difference I would say is that beers in the Czech Republic are served in .5l glasses. In the Netherlands, you get .33l and you have to ask if you want a bigger one. If you’re lucky, they’ll find some big old dusty .5l glass somewhere in the cellar.
Another big difference is the price of the beer. In Prague you can get drunk for less than 8 euros, so maybe it says something about me, but I don’t think so
15) How do you like living in the Czech Republic?
I really enjoy the Czech Republic, it is so rich in forests and there are many medieval sights to explore. The weather is amazing too. I am used to rain and wind, a lot of it. Over here I never had any real issues with wind or rain; it all seems quite moderate. On the other hand, there is plenty of snow around here. Last winter season was awesome but this winter season already makes last year look like a tropical season. I don’t enjoy it alone, I have a girlfriend with whom I am traveling a lot around the country and we try to explore as much as possible.
16) Which is your favorite historic event?
World War 2 for sure. This to me is so epic in scope and destruction that sometimes it is so difficult to imagine that it happened only around 76 years ago.
17) If you could say something to the fans of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, what would it be?
Thank you very much for your support in making this game happen. I am looking forward to hearing your experiences with Kingdom Come: Deliverance when it releases.
Do you have any additional questions to Joukejan “Jouke” Timmermans? Just ask here.