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▶ What do you do on Vigor? I am a programmer with a focus on the implementation of the user interface (UI). I go through the designs made by our UI designer Petra, take art assets from our UI artist Kuba and then put it all together into the working UI that you can see and interact with in the game. Sometimes I implement entire screens and most of their functionality, other times I create special widgets that our scripting department can use and expand on. Every feature is different and they often require a lot of communication and co-operation with other people and departments which I quite enjoy - despite all the stereotypes that are associated with us programmers. The work on UI is also very dynamic, as the designs of both game and UI tend to change, especially during the early prototypes. ▶What is your contribution to the Vigor Team? That is very hard for me to evaluate. Instead of just implementing UI according to designs, I try to think ahead and create reusable solutions that would simplify our life later on when we develop new features. I'm a perfectionist and focus on details a lot, sometimes maybe even too much. On a personal level, I really enjoy my work and feel privileged to work with all the amazing people here so I always try to keep a positive attitude and help others with anything that I can. We truly have something special going on here and I do my best to preserve it and keep making it work. ♥ ▶ What do you like about Vigor? From the gameplay perspective, I like that I can enjoy the game and make progress even if I try to avoid other players. I'm very bad at PVP so I usually go into a match empty-handed and just sneak around. The adrenaline rush when I get something good (like a full backpack of resources or the airdrop) and I'm trying to reach safety is amazing. On a technical level, I like the environment and sound the most. There are times when I test something in a level without other players being present and I find myself just walking around, discovering the world - long after I already did everything I planned to do. Same story with the shooting range - I'm not particularly interested in guns in general but there's something very satisfying about how they behave and sound in Vigor. Oh, and of course I love the UI too! ▶ What do you want to see in Vigor? Given my playstyle, I would like to see more features related to stealth and the slower approach to the game. Something that would limit visibility for example, like the possibility to go into an encounter at night time. Playing with aurora borealis on the sky above would be amazing! ▶ What do you do when you are not making Vigor? So many things! Apart from consuming pop culture (playing games, watching movies/TV shows, reading books) I also build and collect LEGO, keep trying to learn how to play guitar and piano, travel (and take many photos while doing so) and sometimes cook or bake. On top of that, I used to do some ballroom dancing a long time ago which is something I'm getting back to these days. In fact, I must keep TO-DO lists for almost everything in order to not lose track of things whenever I put something aside. I would need the day to be at least 30 hours long but until that happens, I'm constantly testing the limits of my body by sleeping less and less. ▶ Did game dev change your view on the games and how? Definitely. When I like or dislike something in a game now, I automatically think about it and try to figure out the actual reason why is it done like that and why do I feel that way about it. Before, I just consumed games and did not really think about them in this way. For example, I played a very good Metroidvania recently which I generally enjoyed, except for one frustratingly difficult part. Before, I'd just think that I'm not good enough or that this part of the game is stupid. This was the case at first but I quickly realized where the problem lied - the difficult part involved not only a high difficulty spike but also introduced new kind of obstacle that required precise timing and some trial-and-error, none of which was the case before. Still, I'd say that my view on the game industry itself changed even more than my view on games. So much so that I'm not even sure if I'd be able to coherently describe it all. I often think about it and try to sort my thoughts on it. ▶ Your favorite games and why? My all-time favorites are - in no particular order - Age of Empires 2, Half-Life 2, Commandos 2, Max Payne 2, Just Cause 2 and the entire Metal Gear saga, especially Metal Gear Solid 3. Have you noticed all the 2s? I've always found it interesting how sequels in the game industry are usually perceived more positively than sequels in the film industry. These days I'm enjoying the new Spider-Man game and love it so much that it will most likely end up being one of my all-time favorites. An honorable mention goes to Rocksmith, an excellent game/education tool in which I spent hundreds of hours learning how to play the guitar. ▶ What's your favorite music, movie, show, book and why? Music: I usually listen to music when I work and because of that I mostly listen to soundtracks or instrumental songs. My absolute favorite is the 10 hours long entire score of the extended version of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, released as The Complete Recordings. Apart from soundtracks, my favorite band for the last 12 twelve years has been (and probably always will be) the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall. Movie: Without a doubt, The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring. I still remember how our entire class went to the movies. 10 year old me knew nothing about the books or even the fantasy genre itself and when the movie's prologue started, I discovered a brand new world. I also grew up with action movies from the 80's and 90's and will never get tired of watching Terminator 2 or Die Hard. Or almost anything with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Show: The only two shows I watched more than once (which is a testament to how good they are) are Firefly and Community. Another one that deserves a mention is Person of Interest, which starts as a classic procedural with an interesting premise but later evolves into something amazing. It is also the only show I know which handles technology in a realistic way (most of the time). Finally, there's also Game of Thrones (of course). I'm not a big fan of some of the plot changes they made for the show but I love and admire how incredibly epic they made the entire show feel. Book: The Silmarillion probably takes the #1 spot. Each time I read it, I find something new in it or connect some dots which I missed before. Comic book: (Will anyone notice that I added a new category?) I spent years reading the entirety of Spider-Man comic books. I think I have read practically everything that was released until 2015. Now that I think of it, I need to catch up! ▶ Is there something that you want to say to our community? Thank you for all your amazing feedback. Whether it's positive or negative, it's all appreciated very much. We all want to make the game the best it can be and your feedback helps us get closer to that goal. ▶ You are an Outlander; humanity has fallen. What would you do? After surviving the fall of humanity and the inevitable mental breakdown associated with it, I'd need to look at the bright side and find at least something to keep me going. It would be nice to be in Norway which has always been on my list of places to visit. In winter I'd look for shelter but the rest of the year I'd be hiking around the country, enjoying the beautiful nature. It might even be a welcome change when compared to my current sedentary lifestyle! I'd get some weapon for basic self-defense (simple handgun should do) against less friendly Outlanders and Fällkniven for survival in general. If food becomes an issue, I'd stick to the coast and try to do some fishing. Bonus Question (From Roman ) ▶ What is your favorite puzzle? That's a hard one! I like puzzles and problems in most forms and shapes that they appear in. I am unable to choose a clear favorite - for me, there are two things that make a good puzzle: 1. There is a logical set of rules that might be known from the start or I discover them myself. 2. I can solve the puzzle using these rules, without the need to guess. When it comes to games, my all-time favorites are The Witness, Portal, Hexcells and last but not least, the devilishly difficult Fish Fillets 1 & 2. In the real world, I enjoy solving picross and various puzzles that involve mathematics or ciphers. Finally, I've been to an escape room once and it was a pure delight. Thank you for reminding me, I must find and visit another one! You can Also find Rastislav on Instagram where he mostly posts photos from his travels https://www.instagram.com/tisovcik.rasto

Great news Outlanders! - Now you have the opportunity to get to know the #VigorTeam much better. Every other week we are going to introduce one of our fellow team members with a set of 11 Questions right here on our Forum! Let us know what do you think and do not hesitate to ask any additional question down below! Our first interviewee is: ▶ What do you do on Vigor? I am designing, that means that I come up with in-game systems and game rules. My primary domain on Vigor is monetization, meta-game layer (for example crafting and shelter) and economics. In the end, that means that I decide what will be the cost of the Suomi or how many levels of shelter we have. These systems, even though they may not seem like it, are very complex, and I learn something new every day. I work very closely with our UI department, marketing and cloud programmers ▶What is your contribution to the Vigor Team? That is hard for me to judge. I believe I bring a positive attitude, empathy, and an open mind. Also bad puns, random social science facts, and pop-culture references. ▶What do you like about Vigor? That is very specific, almost experimental in some way. From a design point of view, it offers a very unusual combination of approaches; that very often create particular challenges for us. For example: how we are going to match a player who spends thousand hours in-game with a player who played for two hours while making fights still interesting for both of them but also keep matches stable. How to pace combat in which anybody can leave and so on. So much space to be explored. I would even say that it is alluring for me. ▶What do you want to see in Vigor? I am really looking forward, weirdly enough, for monetization mechanics. It is kind of my baby. Monetization in general (not only in games) is really fascinating to me because it combines a lot of different fields: UX, Design, PR, marketing, analytics and so on. We are preparing some non-standard mechanics and I am really looking forward to finding out how will fans like it, if it is going to work and so on. ▶What do you do when you are not making Vigor? Actually bunch of stuff. I teach communication skills, work with group and workshop design in the evenings and on weekends. I am trying to learn how to throat sing and play guitar. I want to become a life coach (don't worry, I don't plan to leave Game dev any soon) I do tons of reading also, you know, love life is important... ▶Did game dev change your view on the games and how? Yes, very. Now I see a lot of stuff that I haven't seen before. I can be fascinated by one sentence in a game for hours if it's well crafted. Now, even if I dislike some game features I find it fascinating to analyze why they have done it in this particular way and what they were trying to achieve. There is so many more thing that I can wonder about in games. I also play way more than before. ▶Your favorite games and why? My favorite games are civilization series (including Alpha Centaury), Deus ex-series, new X com series, Stellaris and Divine Divinity series. But of course, as a designer, I have to play a lot of different games. ▶What's your favorite music, movie, show, book and why? My favorite band is Meshuggah, but I also like Childish Gambino and Thundercat. My favorite movie is probably The Room. My favorite show is Adventure time. My favorite book is Non-Violent Communication: Language of Life by Marshall Rosenberg. ▶Is there something that you want to say to our community? You are amazing, and we read your feedback every day. Keep it coming. Don't be afraid to share your ideas but if you can add reasons and needs, why you want something specific that is the most fabulous thing ever. ▶You are Outlander; humanity has fallen. What would you do? Adjust internally to a new state of the world. Find/create a right community of other survivors start to think long term, establishing a base of operation. Help others not to get insane. Enjoy possibilities of a new world. ▶What is your favorite joke? Nah, I only tell jokes in person. but I really love my t-shirt with sign "Straight Outta Context." Let us know in the comments down below what do you think about this idea and also if you have any additional questions. You can also follow Roman on Twitter where he shares relatable things about life and other pearls of wisdom: https://twitter.com/RoSzomak