TheFWA - Lukas Macura

I’d like to write a novel about the video game industry because there are so many interesting stories.

Please give us a brief bio of yourself.

My name is Lukas Macura and I am a founder of an independent game development studio CINEMAX (founded 1998). We started on PC, but now we develop games on PC, iOS and Nintendo DS.

What do you do for inspiration?

Just one word – dreaming.

Please list 3 of your favourite sites.

http://www.ted.com/
https://twitter.com/
http://www.youtube.com/

What do you regard as being your biggest achievement?

Inquisitor. Statistics: • 3 playable characters, 90 monsters and 180 NPCs • Animations of the game characters consist of almost one million sprites (i.e. graphical elements) • 34 surface areas with deep forests, green pastures and extensive towns • 1.2 million square meters of exteriors • Dozens of interiors, buildings, temples, palaces and forts • 37 extensive dungeon complexes (including multilevel dungeons) • 100 kilometers of twisting corridors • Game environment design uses 50.000 manually finished sprites • More than 200 weapons and projectiles, including many magical ones • 80 spells with spectacular effects, 7 different schools of magic • Huge amount of potions • 10 years of development • More than 1.500 pages of storyline

How many hours do you work each week?

Usually 60 hours per week, but during “crunch time” it can be much more.

How do you relax or unwind?

I call it BEER-RESET! But I don’t recommend doing it often. And also soft-reset is better than hard-reset. :)

If you weren't working on the internet what would you be doing?

A chef.

What's your favourite part of your job? What's the hardest part of your job? What do you do when you get stuck?

My favourite part is brainstorming new ideas and prototyping. And as for many devs (read all the developers) it’s definitely getting project done.

What's the longest you've ever stayed up working on a project?

I think that it was around 42 hours, but I’m not sure now, I had to forget.

If there are any pivotal experiences/decisions you could point to that helped shape your career, what would they be?

It’s when I got my first computer Atari 800 XL. It’s 26 years ago now.

How many projects does your company juggle at any one time?

Lots and lots. Better not to count them. I think that we have one of the highest ratio of active projects per employee.

Who is your target audience?

I hope that clever players. (Hidden message: Everybody should buy our games.)

Has winning FWA awards helped you in any way?

Yes, we are sleeping on our laurels. :) It is a great motivation to continue in improving Gyro13. Now we are working on PC version and also on iOS update.

Have you written any books, if not do you plan to?

I’d like to write a novel about the video game industry because there are so many interesting stories.

Of all the project you/your company have produced, which one are you most proud of?

A role-playing game Inquisitor (already released in Czech language; the English beta will be ready soon). It’s really a huge old-school game. We’ve been developing it more than 10 years! And it’s done.

What would be your ultimate vehicle to travel in?

A teleport.

What country excites you the most in terms of innovation?

Japan. A lot of crazy ideas (in a good way). “Not cook a fish” is one of my favorite. :)

There must be a project that you have always dreamed of doing, what is it?

It’s a MMORPG, because this genre offers really a lot of opportunities. I think that there is a lot of space for improvements.

What does the future hold for your company, or you as a person?

To develop the 52nd game. We are so close…

What is the most expensive thing you have bought in the last week?

I prefer to spend on experience. So there is really a nice piece of beef in my fridge right now. But I’m going to buy The New iPad soon, because its display is really amazing.

It has been a privilege, thanks very much

Thanks, Rob. I certainly appreciate the opportunity.

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