Piotr Wiśniewski - Unity Developer

1. What do you do for Toria?

I’m responsible for the technical side of Toria. I monitor the game's overall architecture to maintain its cleanliness, scalability, and ease of maintenance as it expands. A big part of my work involves planning and coordinating the programmers’ tasks. I break down major game features into smaller tasks and assign them to developers accordingly. I also review the game’s code and assist in resolving technical issues as they arise. Additionally, I take part in testing the game to make sure everything works as expected.

I also work closely with other members of the team. Together with the lead game designer, Daniel, we plan new features to be added to the game and continuously discuss elements in development to ensure everything aligns with his vision. I also maintain close communication with the artists and composer to ensure their work integrates seamlessly into the project. In short, I make sure all elements of the game, such as code, visuals, and audio, work well together and that the game functions as it should.

2. Where did your interest in programming come from?

When I was eleven years old, I accidentally got my hands on an old computer – an Atari 65XE. It had only 1.7 MHz and 64 KB of RAM, but unlike the PC that was sitting next to it on my desk, this computer had a built-in programming language – BASIC. My older brother, who had exactly the same computer in his childhood, showed me one day how you could easily and quickly write a simple game using BASIC. Being a big fan of games, I was fascinated that you could create and invent your own games. That event made me realize quite early in my life that this was what I wanted to dedicate myself to and what I wanted to build my future around.

3. Do you have a typical daily schedule, or does each day look different?

I try to start each day positively. Right after waking up, I do a short 15-minute stretching session, which helps me wake up, gather my thoughts, and mentally prepare for the day ahead.

Due to the nature of my role within the team, each workday looks a bit different. One day, I review code written by other programmers and test new game features. On another day, I verify assets prepared by artists. Another day, I will write code and create new features. There are also frequent unplanned meetings, where we discuss important matters or address issues that have recently come up.

4. What was the biggest challenge for you in the project?

The biggest challenge in the project was switching to a client-server architecture. This approach requires a different way of writing code compared to games where all the code and logic execution happen on the client side. Both creating and testing such code turned out to be significantly more difficult and time-consuming than in the traditional model. However, the client-server architecture brings important benefits – most notably, it makes games more resistant to cheating by dishonest players.