A farmer who grew beets in Australia became a game developer at Projekt Red and is working on The Witcher 4. Pawel Sasko, deputy game director the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 told us how it happened.
Modder Eero Varendi caught Sasko’s attention a few years ago when he posted the prologue of The Witcher 1, a recreation of The Witcher 3, on YouTube. Later he moved to Poland, where he is now develops The Witcher 4.
In an interview with Flow Games, Sasco advised new developers to learn how to modify games. According to him, about half of the people who are currently creating quests for Cyberpunk 2 are former modders. Sasko told an inspiring story about senior quest designer Eero Varendi, who used to make mods in the evenings after picking beets.
«I saw the video and I thought: «Damn, this is such quality work, so I asked [CDPR writer Philipp Weber], who is also a model, «do you know this guy in the community?». He said: «Yes, I know who he is», [and I said] write him a message and ask him to send us his resume». He sent me his resume and we took the test, the result was great».
«We had conversations. He was, I think, 20 or 21 years old, and he was in Australia at the time, harvesting beets with a huge combine… That’s what he was doing. I brought him from Australia, his name is Eero Varendi».
Hiring experienced modders is a common practice for many large studios. In addition to CD Projekt Red, Valve, Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, and even Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone are examples of this practice. The case of Eero Varendi shows that this can happen to anyone who is capable of doing a good job. The composition of the Cyberpunk 2 quest team is proof of this.
Source: GamesRadar
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