NV visited the Wargaming office in Minsk. We saw how the cult game World of Tanks is being born and talked with its developers.
The appearance of the Wargaming headquarters does not stand out from the general plan of the industrial outskirts of Minsk. Anyone passing by will not look in his direction, because he does not know what these black mirrored walls are hiding. If he had dared to go inside just to satisfy his curiosity, he would have seen a different world. It is home to fans of their craft, working in a creative and friendly atmosphere.
By chance, I managed to get into this atmosphere. Celebrating the release of the major update World of Tanks 1.0, Wargaming invited journalists to their home to show how gamedev lives in the post-Soviet space. After all, to see the pros of the industry, you do not need to sail overseas or climb over the mountains.
Music has tied us
First of all, the journalists were introduced to the loudest part of the team – the soundmen. These people create the roar of engines, the roar of gunfire, and a chilling alert that means you’ve been “highlighted”.
7 people are working on the soundtrack for WoT, two of whom are in charge of the whole process. They set the tone and make sure other team members follow it. In addition, they have to control the creative bursts of another 50 musicians who worked on WoT 1.0 music. In particular, the orchestra, to the tunes of which Game of Thrones fans watched the medieval battles.
It takes a lot of time and effort to create game music. One of the authors of the musical intro for WoT 1.0 maps Andrius Klimka said that he came to the company as an effects creator. Then he worked on the sound of the shot, which he had to listen to 250 times a day to make it as authentic as possible.
“At the end of the day, I went out to my colleagues and said:“ Don’t talk to me – I’m deaf, ”recalls Andrius.
Such persistence can only be envied. Not everyone is ready to sit in one place for days on end and remove all unnecessary from the three-second sound. The endurance of the sound engineers is also striking. They can work calmly and not be distracted, even when a dozen journalists have filled a cozy studio and poke their cameras. Iron endurance, bravo.
Visual enjoyment department
The hottest part of the excursion came when we were admitted to the graphic designers. No, the room was not filled with beautiful ladies, because the space was filled with huge computers. These monsters warmed the air worse than the good old country oven. But this does not stop professional designers from doing their magic.
There were people in the room who were creating tank models in WoT 1.0. On their shoulders was entrusted a responsible task – to please the eyes of the fans of the game. On the forums you can find dissatisfied with the amount of equipment in the game, and this part is especially for them.
It takes designers from a month to six months to create one tank. Historians are the first to jump on the job and create a credible model. Next, the layout is transferred to designers who create its playful embodiment. There is always a small tank figure nearby so that the artist can create the most accurate graphic copy. After the main part, the tank is overgrown with details.
The body of the tank is covered with little things that make it more realistic. Chips appear on the edge of the muzzle due to the shots of shells. The parts of the caterpillar are covered with rust, because there is nothing to ride in mud and water. And paint will peel off the hatches.
“In the Swedish museum, we took about 800 photos of the Strv-103b tank from all angles. When we processed the photos and built the 3D model, of course, it turned out to be so heavy that it could not be released into the game: no computers would have pulled it. Therefore, we made a lightweight game model, where fine detailing, down to the bolts, remained, ”- CG artist Mikhail Vayser.
Especially for WoT 1.0
In World of Tanks 1.0, the game moved to the Core engine. The developers have improved the graphics several times, this is especially noticeable when comparing the same card on different versions. It is noteworthy that the developers were tasked with making it beautifully and without harming performance. Old players will not have to run to the store for new hardware, but only enjoy the updated graphics.
“We, as players, do not want to lose our gaming comrades who love to play with us every day, so we have spent a lot of time optimizing,” – Irakli Arkhangelskiy, graphics engine software engineer.
Maps have become not only more beautiful, but also larger: the area has been increased to 16 kilometers. Previously, developers hid the borders of the map from the player, flooding them with fogs or surrounding them with mountains. Now the locations feel more free, because even outside the map there is now life. The designers called it “edge geometry”.
“In the 1.0 update, the maps became more realistic due to the addition of geometry. The stones became sharper, and the edge geometry appeared, the maps became more voluminous. If earlier it was just a playable square, now it is 16 km. The edge geometry is not gameplay, it is a continuation of the picture in the non-playable zone. Now you can drive up to the edge of the map on a tank and look into the distance, ”- location designer Pavel Sugak.
All these innovations have graced the game so much that players forget about battles. Publishing producer Yuri Kuryavyy said that at the launch of the update, players just stood and rotated their towers, looking at the new world of WoT 1.0.
Big Wargaming is watching you
The Wargaming team consists of designers, musicians, programmers and even a place for scientists. The company has no plans to make discoveries in the fields of medicine or rocket science, but their research is equally interesting.
The company has created an entire laboratory with psychologists, sociologists and interface designers. The first pair analyzes the behavior of the players, while the designers listen to the comments and make changes to the interface. Only the target audience of World of Tanks is invited for tests: usually, these are men 35 years old. The developers of the game or those who are not interested in it do not participate in the research. The former have their own vision, which does not coincide with that of the players, and the latter do not care.
During the tests, researchers look at the player’s facial expressions using a camera on a monitor. If something does not suit you, they will understand it – it is hard not to notice a displeased face. Players are also interviewed to directly hear all comments.
Previously, players complained about the sudden end of the game. They didn’t pay attention to the timer that counted down to the end of the match. The point is that the players focus on the very process of the battle. The developers have solved this problem by adding a siren that signals the imminent end of the match.
Works pay off
After going through all the stages of development, you understand how much effort the Wargaming team puts into the game. The coolest thing is that all their efforts are seen by the players and do not hesitate to show it. At the end of the tour, we were taken to a spacious room that looks more like the lair of a wild WoT fan. The walls are hung with posters, pieces of tanks, and the shelves are littered with models made of metal, wood, and even knitted tanks.
Regional producer WoT Evgeny Krishtapovich explained that all the exhibits are fan art. People send such gifts to the main office as a token of gratitude to the developers. This room really has the magic of the community. Those who send parcels are always contacted and offered to thank them. It turns out that people just do it for their favorite game. This is a project health indicator that shows that creators are moving in the right direction.
I want to work at Wargaming
The 16-storey Wargaming office employs more than 2000 people, and the entire company employs 4000. The average employee profile is a 30-year-old man with work experience and professional skills. Of course, the company also found a place for women: 70% of the state was occupied by men, and the remaining 30% were filled by women.
Before joining the Wargaming team, new employees undergo a three-month trial. The adaptation program here is a quest that an employee goes through and earns achievements. At the end, the winner will receive a prize.
If you’ve dreamed of working at Wargaming for a long time, but you don’t have enough experience, then don’t be discouraged. The company does not employ junior developers, but a school has been active since 2017, where students are recruited for training. Successful completion of the course will help with employment at Wargaming.
I really want to work for the company. A gaming atmosphere reigns in the Wargaming office. The people who work there love the industry and demonstrate it in every possible way. The hall is furnished with models of tanks, planes, and logos of the company’s projects flaunt on the wall. The elevators are covered with themed prints, and there are models of tanks and posters in various sections.
There are queues to discuss new games or updates, and some are simply playing on smartphones or laptops. I generally keep quiet about fans of geek clothes: a pretty girl in a sweatshirt with Sonic (write me) is not uncommon at Wargaming
After a tour of the Wargaming office, the reason for the success of World of Tanks became clear. It’s simple: the game just fell into the right hands. The PlayStation slogan reads: “For the players”, and in the case of Wargaming it would sound: “From the players to the players.
