DEVELOPER'S BLOG

Meet Peter


1) Hey Peter! Can you introduce yourself...

Hi, I'm Peter, I'm from the Slovak Republic, but for the last seven years I’ve lived in Prague and worked for Bohemia Interactive.

2) What do you do as a programmer?

My responsibilities are mainly our in-house scripting language, UI, Input system, but I'm pretty universal so I do a lot of stuff outside my main focus like improvement of our editors (Workbench) and support for the game team.

3) What is the most exciting part of your job?

The most exciting part for me is to see that people really are using your software and creating funny stuff with it! It’s still mind-blowing for me even after all these years...

4) What was your role in the development of Enforce Script?

I'm something like the stepfather (smile) of the Enforce Script which was originally developed by our lead programmer Filip Doksanský, a long time ago. I maintained it over the last seven years and I'm responsible for all "upgrades" throughout this time. It consists of tons of language features, memory management, compiler refactor etc.

5) What does your usual day look like?

I wake up around six in the morning, prepare some food for the whole day, than I take my 3 year old to kindergarten. I spend a lot of time on the metro listening to audiobooks or listening/watching my favorite podcasts and YouTube channels. At work whilst I’m scanning/replying to all work instant messages I eat my oat meal and drink coffee. From this point on I’m frantically switching between programming and communication. After lunch I usually have some great coffee with colleagues and then try to complete some tasks until 4-5 pm when I'm hurrying home to my kiddoes. At home I spend most of my time with my family. My personal free time is from 9-10PM when I'm usually too tired to do anything. (smile)

6) How does one become a programmer?

Well, my dad was a programmer, my mum was a programmer and my sister was a programmer. So it's no coincidence that I became a programmer. (big grin) I grew up surrounded by computers, I even remember the ancient, room-sized, noisy computers at Mum’s work. First there were games to play, then when I was able to read and write, my mum showed me BASIC programming language. From this point on it was part of my everyday life, together with games.

7) How did your love of coffee drinking come about?

To be honest I don't remember how it started, I guess as a part of socializing with colleagues in my first job. Today with two children it’s more of an existence question! I’m lucky I have colleagues with a great taste for coffee, so I have excellent V60 or mocca few times a day. ❤️

  

 

8) What are your hobbies outside of playing games?

Where to start? (big grin) I'm a big fan of electronics and microcontrollers, then I love work with wood/carpentry. We’re participating on community chicken farming. And my latest passion is crawler RC cars. (smile)

9) Can you tell us a random fact about yourself?

I fear dolls.

10) What job did you want to do when you were little?

I always had it clear - programmer. (big grin)

11) What's your favorite movie, TV show, and/or book?

My favorite movies are Donnie Darko, Ghost in the Shell, The Hobbit movies. TV shows: Red Dwarf, Firefly, Evangelion. Books: The Wither saga, everything from Tolkien, The Dwarves series from Markus Heitz

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

It's pretty widespread from peaceful jazz music, through to rock and hard rock, into metal music ending in the madness of electronic hardcore music.

 

 


13) Cats or dogs?

Chickens!

14) Let's move back to the video games topic. What was your first positive interaction with video games that you can remember?

I think it’s Prince of Persia, Lemmings and Wolfenstein 3D.

15) And your most memorable video game moment?

Even after many years, I can't forget the tense moments of Silent Hill 2, especially the moment when I was trying one of the many locked doors in an abandoned hotel and something shook the door from the other side... it was just a sound and it happens only once in the whole game, but it was so unexpected that I remember it for the rest of my life.

16) Who's your all-time favorite video game character, and why?

I think it’s the Witcher, because I love both the games and the books. Then I love number 47 from the Hitman series, because he was efficient and practical.

17) Which game has had the biggest influence on you during your life?

The biggest influence on my real life has probably been Quake and Half-life, without a doubt they were great games, but the engines they were using was a big inspiration for me to make 3D engines - I make my own loader for Quake maps and models, also for animated Half-Life character models; implement "Carmack's Reverse" stencil shadows, etc. All these things paved the road to my actual job and life.

18) You have to pick one game you'd play for the rest of your life.

Probably Fallout 2.

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

As I already mentioned in the hobbies question, I have a lot of interests and we have two little kids, so I must combine all those together, e.g. during renovating the kid’s room I used my carpentry skills and made a bunk-bed for the kids. Also for example we ride an RC car with my son on family walks in nature.


Our next featured Bohemian is right around the corner, so keep an eye on our social media pages for the latest updates. 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 for you. Until next time...

Published on by Bohemia Interactive