Welcome to another round of our meet-the-team series. This time, we are happy to introduce you to our incredibly talented 3D modeler Rudolf Herstek, who, in fact, might be one of the most proficient game designers in Slovakia. Right now, he’s working hard on the environment modeling for our upcoming MMO shooter Citizen Conflict - just wait and see the fruits of his craft.
Before delving deeper, let’s get your VIP pass for Citizen Conflict Alpha 2.0 and experience Rudolf’s immaculate design on your flesh. Get your QORPO ID now, and shoot your way through Ether Islands!
Rudolf Herstek has vast experience in 3D art design for projects such as Arma, Grayzone, Dead Island II, Hell Let Loose, Train Sim World, or even his own highly ambitious, albeit yet not fully released, large-scale strategic game Age of Pyramids. Let’s dive into his story. How do they make so masterly game designers?
Hi, first of all, I’m so interested in your background. What were your starts with game design?
I think my introduction to 3D design, and game design specifically, dates back to my early years. I’m a prolific Battlefield player. I’ve been grinding on shooter games my entire childhood, and that’s basically where my first contact with the gaming world stems from.
However, my involvement in actual game creation, paradoxically, arose from my frustration. As I said, I’m a dedicated Battlefield fan, and thankfully, Battlefield introduced the customizable environment-building interface accessible to regular players. That was actually good for a start, but the customizable options didn’t fulfill my expectations. That’s when I set myself to design my own in-game assets to meet my expectations.
That sounds incredible. But how did you make it? It certainly isn’t a simple task to start modeling your own game design.
I’m a self-learner. I have basically no formal 3D design education - in fact, I studied Automotive Electronics in my home city of Košice. So I commenced my painstaking journey of learning 3D Studio Max on my own and started modeling. My first projects covered creating my own maps and models of buildings within Battlefield before I managed to step into a professional 3D modeler career.
That’s what I call dedication. How did you manage to land your first paid job in gamedev?
It was tough, I won’t lie to you. Lots of struggles and rejection to begin with. But I was stubborn and passionate about what I was doing. Luckily, my friend, who was working on some projects for Ubisoft at that time, introduced me to more professional grounds for game development. I worked on several smaller projects for his company Scifica, which resulted in some high-profile work, given the circumstances. To name one, this realistic model for Tanks II is a nice example.
That’s basically where my career as a 3D modeler started to take shape. Since then, I have put my hands on several projects, gone through a handful of studios, and even tried my hand at freelancing.
So tell me about some of the most interesting projects you worked on prior to joining QORPO Game Studio.
I started to work as a 3D artist for companies such as Ticklersoft and Cultech, which is actually kind of nice to reminisce back on. In Cultech, my classmate and I created an app containing stories for children. It could be considered a community project since I came up with the idea behind the app, the stories were told by my fiancée, and the images were hand-drawn by our concept artist Martin Demeter. However, more noteworthy gaming projects began to loom later on.
I hopped through quite a few gigs here and there before I settled down. Some jobs were game related, some were not, but all of them enriched me in some way. For instance, I had a chance to design a realistic model of a neolith village for the National Czech Museum, I modeled designer glasses for a VR store or designed models of Czech historical sights for the navigation system Navitel.
From outside the game development, I was also honored to contribute some slight touches on in-game figures design for a Star Wars board game.
This all sounds so unordinary, yet splendid. Tell me some more details about your game design endeavors.
The most interesting projects in game design came with my joining a game development company EastWorks. I was part of several truly ambitious projects. For instance, I contributed 3D modeling and texturing to Grayzone, a tactical real-time strategy with RPG elements.
That’s also the place where I was honored to put my hands on games such as Arma, thanks to EastWorks’ outsourcing activities. Not long after, however, I moved forward with some of my friends from EastWorks to form a new outsourcing game development studio, today known as Cassa Game Industry. Soon I got involved in many perspective projects, such as Dead Island II, an upcoming zombie-slaying RPG action game, or Hell Let Loose, a WWII first-person shooter, along with a train simulator game - Train Sim World.
But for me personally, the major step up was the game I envisioned, designed, and managed, a sort of my brain-child called the Age of Pyramids. It was supposed to be a large-scale city-building strategy set in ancient Egypt, with a historically accurate background and massive gameplay. Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming technical and financial demands of such a gigantic project, the game release didn’t manage to live up to its intended potential. However, there is an free early access on Steam, albeit it’s far from what I would expect from the final result. Despite the hiccups, Age of Pyramids got awarded the best pitching project, but the current development is at a standstill, which is a shame.
So that’s when you left and moved on to QORPO Game Studio, right?
Basically yes. I got approached by the recruiter from QORPO, Antonín, and seeing the potential QORPO Game Studio has, I couldn’t resist. Right now, I’m a 3D environment modeler working on the upcoming MMO shooter Citizen Conflict. So far, I have designed some environment assets in the upcoming Ether Islands districts, along with the Bratislava Castle, which is going to be featured on the New Pressburg map.
Another thing I am proud of is this industrial truck, also to be featured in Citizen Conflict.
Hope you like your QORPO experience so far.
Sure. I truly believe in the projects I’m working on, which helps me to regain my passion for game design.
Job aside, what are you into in your free time?
There are several things I’m into. My passion for gaming still didn’t leave me. I’m an avid Battlefield and Call of Duty player. I’m also a fan of long road trips, aimlessly driving around, or hiking, I like to go out and scale some hills. Lastly, I also like to chill outdoors and grill.
Nice! Thanks for sharing your story with me.
No problem.
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See you next time!
