Welcome to "Meet the Crew", the first instalment in an ongoing series that aims to shine the light on some of the people that make up the Starbreeze Crew! Today's talk is with Martin Waern, Lead Gameplay Programmer and manger of the PAYDAY™ 3 gameplay team!
When did you join Starbreeze and what do you work with?
I joined Starbreeze in 2010. I was part of of Overkill, the original creators of the PAYDAY franchise, that merged into Starbreeze. I’m currently the Lead Gameplay Programmer (GPP in short) and manager of the PAYDAY 3 gameplay team.
<em>Play games and be curious about what makes them tick! What features resonate with you as a player? Then start testing your ideas.</em>
Martin's advice to anyone looking to start out as a gameplay programmer.
What motivated you to stay with the same company for 14 years?
Great question. I think that over time no company will ever stay the same, so there’s always something new. It means that there will be both good times and hard times but also always something new to learn, obstacles to master as well as opportunities to grow. I like to stick through tough times and be there when it’s time to build the foundation for the good times.
How did you end up as Lead GPP?
Initially, our team of Gameplay Programmers was small, so there wasn’t an immediate need for a lead. But as the team expanded, so did the need for leads. I had served as a lead in past roles and with my deep understanding of PAYDAY, It was a very natural next step to take.
What advice would you give someone starting out as a gameplay programmer?
Play games and be curious about what makes them tick! What features resonate with you as a player? Then start testing your ideas. There are many good engines to program in that are free to use.
And on that note – get into programming! Any programming language is good to start with, but eventually you’ll want to master C++ or C#. Both are popular among the bigger game engines and are usually a requirement to get hired.
How many times have you been featured in a Starbreeze game?
I think I’ve been featured, in-game, twice. In 'PAYDAY: The Heist’ and in ‘PAYDAY 2’ I play the character “Bobblehead Bob”. We look alike, but that’s all we have in common. I’m not in PAYDAY 3 yet, but I featured in the ‘Houston Breakout’-trailer as a TV newscaster for our tie-in news conglomerate “The Gateway Report”!
What’s your favorite game ever, and why?
The Sid Meier’s ‘Civilization’-series. I’ve played all of them, all the way back to the original (Ed’s Note: launched in 1991). I have an unhealthy number of hours spent with Civilization VI. I think it is because every playthrough is different; each civilization plays in a unique way and the map generation always keeps things fresh and interesting to explore!
As the company’s longest tenured employee, there are quite a few emojis on the internal Slack of you?
Ouff, yeah. I think there might be five of them? I’m not sure, but I’m most proud of the “:wise-man:” one.
