Technical Environment Artist

Joining us from beneath the foaming waters of the Splash Damage Bubblatorium, comes Radek 'ElDonaldo' Szczepanczyk, a radiant vision, clad in alternating bands of crimpolene, flannel, interlocked lobsters and more flannel. Radek has already made a significant contribution to our well-being by driving away the nine Moths of Mopery that had plagued us ever since we opened that urn. Yeah, I know, we shouldn’t have. But it looked soooo tempting. Who wouldn’t open an urn? Come on!

Radek's hobbies include Wafting, Woofing and White Water Rafting, sometimes all at once. When he’s not imparting a camber to our intra-office highways and footpaths with a cupro-nickel maul, he’s erecting massive fluted columns to support a delightful Redwood gazebo.

Things You Were Too Afraid To Ask...

Every once in a while, we interrogate one of our own and put their answers up for all the world to see. Read on to find out more about what Radek does, how he ended up at Splash Damage, and more.

What do you do at Splash Damage?

I am a technical environment artist. That means that when I’m not pushing polygons and colouring pixels in, I code stuff like new tools that allow us to do things more quickly or shaders that let us achieve a different look. So it’s quite a varied job, but that’s what keeps it interesting.

Why did you want to work in the games industry and how did you get started? Do you have any tips for people wanting to break in?

I was studying animation and computer graphics in Warsaw when I got my hands on a Radeon 9800 card. This was brand new tech back then and so was DirectX 9.0. Unfortunately, the games out at the time weren’t making any use of the fancy features of the card. So I started poking around with shaders to see what all the fuss was about. And I thought, this could be kind of fun and I could combine it with the 3D graphics skills I was learning and work in the games industry. Sure sounded more fun than databases and Lunix servers ;-) So I built two giant robots and used them to get an internship at a small developer called Tannhauser Gate. You can’t argue with two giant robots.

Another good way to break into the games industry is to get involved in the mod community. This lets you use real tools, work to real constraints and learn about technical limitations and techniques. More importantly it shows your prospective employers that you’re serious and enthusiastic about this kind of work

What other games have you worked on? Which one did you enjoy the most?

I worked on a whole bunch of games that never saw the light of day before landing a job building tracks for Race Driver: Grid. If you’re ever driving past the little village just before the first chicane on the main straight of Le Mans, look to your left and maybe you’ll find some Easter eggs I left there ;-)

All games I worked on were fun in one way or another – every project has a different set of requirements and lets you try new things and use new technology.

How did you end up at Splash Damage?

I wanted to work at a company that makes the types of games that I like to play and Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory is one of my favourite games - I’ve played it online for years.

What is it like to work at Splash Damage?

It's a busy life here at Splash Damage. We do routines and chorus scenes with footwork impeccable. But many times we’re given rhymes that are quite unsingable. Between our quests, we sequin vests and impersonate Clark Gable.

What are the best and worst parts of your job?

Best part is seeing the game you have been working on in a finished, polished state and actually playing it for fun and not as a job for the first time. The worst part is having to sit in front of a computer all day when it’s sunny outside (good job I'm in England).

What was your first gaming experience?

I think it must’ve been on this 8-bit computer from Sharp that my dad had; was a simple game written in Basic. Unfortunately, I was way too young to remember the name.

What types of games do you like, and what's your favorite game of all time?

My favourite game of all time would have to be Doom, a game like nothing that had come before – immersive, believable and atmospheric – and it pretty much ensured I was hooked on gaming.

I play all sorts of games but mostly action stuff. I've only bought my first console (Xbox 360) recently and up until then it’s just been PC games. The 360 has so many good titles that now I don't have a single game installed on my PC. Oh noes, my l337 skillz must be well rusty by now!

What's the meaning behind your nickname?

It all started when, for lolz, I signed this assignment I had to do for school as Donald Duck. When the teacher was giving the marked assignments back he burst out: "Who the hell is Donald Duck?" I had to admit it was me and it stuck. However, since Donald is such a common name I started using ElDonaldo online and gave it a bit of a Spanish twist.

Finally, what do you enjoy doing when you're not at work?

When I'm not ridding the world of the zombie menace, I like to play guitar and sculpt. Or just drive off and explore Britain.