Tereza “Fura” Semecká was born here in Prague and joined Warhorse Studios a year ago, on the first of April 2016. But this was no April fools joke, she is taking her job as a scripter very serious. Just read what she has to say about it.
Do you want to know more about Tereza “Fura” Semecká? Just ask here!
You can find a Spanish translation of this interview here.
1) How did you hear about Warhorse?
The first time I heard about Warhorse was on TV a few years ago. I thought something like, “Wow, I’d love to work there!” I thought I might at least try to learn the CryEngine but the poor old computer I had was not able to run it. I looked up few different game engines and ended up starting to learn Unity3D.
I joined Warhorse on April 1st, 2016. It all started with a crisis in my previous work so I was thinking about what I wanted to do in the future. I applied to Bohemia Interactive at first and got an interview for a position in Brno, which was not so attractive for me. I thought that I might as well try sending a CV to Warhorse too. To my amazement I got a reply the day I sent the CV and we agreed on an interview. Evidently, it went well.
2) Did you ever worked on Videogames before?
It was about sixteen years ago when I first thought it would be cool to make a game. I started some programming classes, learned the basics, but I didn’t have the patience to stick with it. It took me another seven or eight years before I tried again and somehow I managed to learn more of it and I actually began enjoying it. Still, I was nowhere near the point where I could make a living out of it or even make games. I took a job at a bank and forgot about making games for some time. I learned to script in Excel and a little bit of database stuff and I occasionally worked on small hobby projects which I began and I never finished except one or two of them, like a memory game or a maze generator. When I got some experience, I ended up in a data warehouse department (do not confuse “warehouse department” with “Warhorse Studios”, this is another thing). It seemed pretty cool at first but it was not in the end. The best thing about this was that it made me rethink what I wanted to do. I got to the point where just the decision of quitting the job was a huge relief. Luckily by that time, I met a person who helped me decide that I might as well try to apply for a job in game development, which is what I always wanted to try. The day when I handed the resignation to my boss was one of the best in my life. So, here I am
3) Which job would you not want to do?
Clown. I’m not that funny.
4) Describe your usual day at the studio?
I make coffee. I drink coffee. Repeat until evening.
5) What are you currently working on?
Writing answers to those questions, thinking about making coffee.
Oh, you mean at work? Quests and more quests - old quests, new quests, fixing quest bugs.
Currently, I’m working on a quest Night attack. It features attacking. At night.
6) What are some of your notable accomplishments?
Learning to make fun of myself. I was a real Grinch, as one of my colleagues would call me when I’m grumpy.
Being able not to consume more than three or four cups of coffee a day and stay awake.
7) What do you like the most about Kingdom Come: Deliverance?
Nature and the environment. It feels authentic. Only thing that I miss is the scent of morning in the forest.
8) How, when and with what game did you first get acquainted with videogames?
First game I remember is Goofy’s Railway Express on PC. I still don’t understand how it kept me entertained, even for a few moments. Few years later I got my hands on Descent, The Incredible Machine, and Heroes of Might and Magic; those still feel like games that hooked me up for good.
9) Which class, gender, or type do you usually pick?
Druid. Female druid.
Or, something which shape-shifts, casts bad-ass spells, and has cute pets. Pets are a must-have so it can be a ranger if druid is not an option. Best would be necro-druid, who would raise/summon skeletal animals that will kill wandering villagers and then spill their blood onto the roots of trees to awaken them as evil treants, to roam the forest and make them want to feed on the living too. The druid’s forest would be full of evil creatures lurking in the shadows, watching you with only a spark of cold blue fire in the empty eye-holes. Imagine a little skeletal kitten with blue fiery eyes cuddling to get scratches…
A little tour to my own creepy world. You’re welcome.
10) Are there any videogames you repeat playing over and over again?
Baldur’s gate 2. Even though the RPG system sometimes feels like random chaos and classes are poorly balanced, I still find this game engaging because of many aspects. As an occasional Dungeons & Dragons player I love the complexity of the Forgotten realms world and how you can encounter characters from books. I repeatedly played it just to see how the story goes with different party members. Characters feel alive and their interactions not only with the player but also with each other are simply wonderful. For example, when Viconia (a bad-ass evil dark elf cleric) was hitting on Sarevok (a bad-ass main evil guy from BG1) he replied how he’d been to hell and back and he wasn’t scared of anything except her. Well, it doesn’t sound very funny if you don’t know the characters…
And of course, you can play as a druid, which is a big plus.
11) What would a perfect game according to your wishes look like?
Definitely RPG. Simple base stats, like Skyrim or Ultima Online - lots of skills which you would advance by practicing them. Crafting more like UO or Minecraft - you can grow plants and trees, mine ores, make houses and equipment, tame animals, wander into dark dungeons to obtain rare materials., and the ability to write your own story in this world as either hero, nobleman, simple craftsman, or just a lone wanderer.
12) Most hilarious bug you have ever encountered or worst video game experience?
Broken animations. For example, instead of a normal walk, the character was moving while playing the sitting/riding horse animation. That made me laugh for a solid fifteen minutes several times. But to be honest, it is fairly easy to make me go into a crazy unstoppable laugh.
13) How do you relax after a hard day at work?
I began training Jiu jitsu recently to get in shape and unwind a little. Apart from that, I spend an awful amount of time at the computer playing games, mostly Heroes of the Storm with a bunch of friends or coding some stuff for a hobby project which is slowly growing. Maybe one day it will become a real game. Sometimes I draw silly pictures or I try to write short stories to keep my mind occupied with something else than technical stuff. There are even days when I try to go out and socialize, but only in moderate amounts.
14) Your favorite music playlist
Melodic power, speed or heavy metal, folk, rock, orchestral music. Whichever keeps me in the mood to get things done. Currently Dreamtale.
15) Your favorite movie or book?
I can’t decide between Dogma and Galaxy Quest; both of those are hilarious.
As for a book, it is definitely the Earthsea series by U. K. Le Guin.
16) Sport is…
Trolling. Have you heard of it? It’s fun, you should give it a try.
17) Is it possible to buy you with candy?
Nope, but you can try pizza… or very good coffee.
18) What is your weakest trait?
I am lazy as hell and have little to no patience at all.
19) You have to fight in medieval times… who are you?
I believe you already can guess now. Druid it is.
20) If you could say something to the fans of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, what would it be?
Thanks for your support and patience. We are all trying to do our best to make this game great! Special thanks to you all for reading the weird stuff I wrote.
If you have some more questions to Tereza “Fura” Semecká, you can ask them here!