Meet Josef

Hey, Josef. Please, tell us a bit about yourself...

Hi. My name is Josef Zemánek. In the Arma community I'm best known as Jezuro. I'm 33 years old. I started playing around with the mission editor in Operation Flashpoint (later rebranded as Arma: Cold War Assault) when I was 15 and since I was 20 I've been working at Bohemia Interactive - initially as Playable Content Designer (mission maker). I joined the company during development of Arma 2 and have since been involved in nearly all subsequent Arma releases. My current position is Senior Scripter; that's not to say I'm no longer designing stuff, just that I spend the majority of time scripting.

Can you tell us a random fact about yourself...

As a kid, I got spooked by my own shadow and nearly crashed my bicycle.
I'm kidding.
I was 25.

What was your first positive interaction with video games, that you can remember?

I think when I was maybe 7 or 8, my friend had an old Atari knock off and he let me play this racing game. I was blown away. It felt like I was actually driving the car.

And your most memorable video game moment?

This might sound like a cliché, but it was definitely the famous After Montignac scenario in the original Operation Flashpoint campaign.

What's your all-time favourite video game? And what sort of game do you like to play generally?

Again, I gotta say Operation Flashpoint. It was the one game that literally changed my life. As to what sort of games I play, it's usually RPGs with some GTA every once in a while.

What’s the worst — or most memorable — bug you’ve come across in a video game?

Recently I've been replaying Fallout: Tactics in Tough Guy mode (which means you are unable to save the game during a mission) with some new mods. After playing one of the last missions for about 3 hours the game crashed near the end. I didn't finish that playthrough, it's not good for my health.

What's your favourite movie, TV show, and/or book?

The Big Lebowski, Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, Harry Potter series. What a weird list.

And your go-to music playlist is...?

Lately I've been listening to a lot of synthpop and synthwave, like Timecop1983, Garth Knight, Lazerhawk and so on. And then of course Dalibor Janda.

So, as a Senior Scripter, what do you do?

Basically, making stuff happen in the game. In Arma 3, that could mean anything from a little pop up hint telling you how to shoot your weapon at a specific time to a full-size game mode like Warlords. Programmers take care of the massive foundations of the game, scripters can utilize their scripting language to the extent programmers allow them to.

What do you think are the most important skills / traits to have for someone in your position?

Being able to think in context. If I implement this feature in a certain way, will it work in unusual situations? What happens if...? is constantly on your mind. Also important for design.

What do you enjoy about your job, and game development in general?

Coding is a great workout for the brain. Every day you need to solve dozens of small individual challenges. Also, some of my best friends are my current or ex-colleagues. You rarely run out of things to discuss when you're working in videogame development.

I'm curious to know more about the campaign with playable Miller. How did the gameplay work? And the story? (@Arma3Aegis)

I'd say it was a mix of East Wind and Contact campaigns. In 2035, during a war in Europe, an aircraft crashed on a Mediterranean island carrying an unspecified but valuable arms research item from Switzerland. The crash rendered a large area uninhabitable; people would lose their minds, electronic devices would go haywire, etc. What we now call CSAT sent their special forces to investigate, to be later reinforced by a regular garrison controlling most of the island. NATO finds out about the situation and sends special forces teams to investigate. Most are MIA but one team manages to send intel about the unknown technology on the island. A CTRG team is deployed but their submarine is sunk. Captain Miller is the sole survivor...
And there the adventure would begin!

What was the reaction to the UE5 demo? (@Astronotic_s)

I was blown away by the detail and lighting. I'd like to see a scene with more moving models, though.

Will modders be able to change the core engine module from scripts in newer games made on Enfusion? (@NiiRoZz)

You won't be able to change everything. But I can assure you that you'll be able to do much more than in SQF.

Cats or dogs?

Dogs.

Is there anything else you're currently working on in your spare time?

With two small kids it's not really an option for me. When I get home it's their time.

To finish, tell us one of Josef's Top Tips...

When you feel angry, sad or something is bothering you, try to imagine if you'll remember it in a year or two. If not, it might not be worth the stress. Just take it easy, man...

Our next Featured Bohemian is right around the corner, so keep an eye on our social media pages for the latest updates. But until then, feel free to learn more about working at Bohemia Interactive by checking out our Careers Page – we may just have the perfect job opening for you. Until next time...