Boformer shares why he joined Colossal Order and how it turned out!
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I’m Boformer, and I work as a programmer at Colossal Order.
How did you get into Cities: Skylines and modding?
After playing the game for some time, it was bugging me that there was no way to have palm trees as roadside trees on my tropical map. Because there was no mod to solve that issue, I decided to write my own mod, and published it on the Steam Workshop.Before modding Cities: Skylines, I wrote some plugins for Minecraft servers and had taken some basic programming courses at university, but didn’t have any other experience with programming. What helped me tremendously was that other modders shared their source code, as this allowed me to learn from them directly.
What is a significant mod you made? Why is that special to you?
I’m particularly proud of mods that involved collaboration with talented developers and asset creators from all over the world, many of whom I now call my friends.Special mentions in this category go to Building Themes, which I worked on with BloodyPenguin and SamsamTS, and Network Skins, which TPB, kian.zarrin and Chamëleon contributed to.
How did you end up applying for a job at Colossal Order?
I had never really considered working in the games industry. I don’t have a degree in computer science, and moving to a foreign country is quite a big step to take. As it happened though, Colossal Order invited a group of modders (including me) to Tampere for their 10th anniversary, and this gave me some great insights into what working for Colossal Order could be like. Also, a fellow co-modder (TPB) got hired a year earlier, and he only had good things to say about the company. So, in short, I decided to apply.What is it like working at Colossal Order?
It’s great! I have the best coworkers in the world, and exceptionally good working conditions. Having access to a dozen different saunas (to heat up) and lakes (to cool down) is also a great plus!What has it been like turning your hobby into your profession?
I quickly learned that making games is quite a bit harder than most people would imagine. Having modded the game previously really helped me get started, because I already knew the internals of Cities: Skylines (and simulation games in general).How do you spend your free time now?
I have to admit that I hadn’t really played Cities: Skylines all that much after I got hired. Modding (and helping other people mod) feels like its own game, and I’m still enjoying it even today.Generally, I am trying to spend less of my free time on the computer, so I’m not playing and modding games as much as I used to. Instead, I have picked up woodworking and gardening, and I enjoy playing (e-)sports with my coworkers!
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