ABOUT US
We are a small indie studio founded in late 2012, in Bucharest, Romania. We are experienced developers and hardcore gamers, not necessarily in that order.
And we believe in building games that matter. Games that leave both the player and the developer fulfilled. Games as an engaging experience that enriches your life, not a boring and mindless past-time that wastes your time and ruins your health.
In the interest of full disclosure, we are guilty of losing countless nights to playing games, and will probably do so till the end of time. Games, like books, can be THAT good …
The Team
Dan Dimitrescu
– “The (Game) Design Guy”
Dan is the kind of designer that questions the status quo and breaks solid designs trying to achieve the next big thing. His greatest achievement so far is having contributed significantly to Ubisoft’s Silent Hunter franchise, but now it’s time for something else.
A longtime student of the military in all its forms, he’s been itching to do a project like Door Kickers. Maybe its because tactical shooters are dead and gone (hooray for Ground Branch and Takedown, though). Maybe it’s because tactical games are too complicated but also miss essential elements. Or maybe, just maybe, he thinks that, after all the books, documentaries and talks with CT experts, he now has something original to say.
Favorite games: Close Combat, OFP1985, COH1, Napoleon Total War, Falcon 4, European Air War
Currently playing: The Messenger; Frozen Synapse 2
Mihai Gosa
– “Chief Technical Something”
Mihai (or \’Pintea\’ in his online presence) is one of those programmers that feels better the more you throw at him, so its just natural that the just-a-cog-in-a-machine attitude of mainstream gamedev didn’t give him the fulfillment he needed. He’s always ready to play the game, look for solutions, talk to the public, help a modder, code some more and do some more, and needs to get better at his work in doing so. Responsibility and building cool games are his drugs, so going indie was a natural step for him.
After years of gamedev experience in companies like EA and Ubisoft, he says programming videogames is too damn easy, so he’s now doing art and design as well to fill his spare time.
Favorite games: Starcraft 1&2
Currently playing: Starcraft 2 (he\’s very consistent)
Adrian “Sick” Maraloiu
– “Part-time Level Designer, full-time Viking”
When he’s not busy raiding fishing villages, he designs and builds levels with the sole purpose of challenging us (and probably the players too). “One hand giveth, the other taketh away”, he says while filling a room full of explosives after carefully placing a white tulip on a dark oak desk that completes the summer lodge decor of a middle-aged writer with a penchant for light narcotics and heavy gambling.
Yes, we also think he takes his craft too seriously. He’s also an overly dramatic video editor and an intensely focused drummer.
Favorite games: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within , Witcher III: Wild Hunt, Fallout 4
Currently playing: WoW, Monster Hunter World
Adrian Cruceanu
– “Owns a snake so we guess he’s an artist”
Trained into submission by some fine gamedev school in the United Kingdom, Adrian handles mostly everything in the art department – from pretty levels to not-so-pretty portraits of battle-scared SWAT veterans. He’s also the only one in the team with no kids, dependents or “social awkward hobbies”, which means he’s better at most games than the rest of us… so we frag him “by accident” in the setup phase of Rainbow Six Siege.
*Not the only one with no kids, anymore!
Favorite games: Warframe, The Witcher 3, Destiny Fanchise (love-hate relationship), WoW
Currently playing: Destiny 2, Monster Hunter World, World of Warcraft
Serban “Cerbu” Nicolescu
– “I don’t know how that works, ask Cerbu” – Mihai Gosa
Equally skilled at coding as he is at being brutally honest, his friendly demeanour makes him great to hang out with as well as the perfect person to have your feelings hurt by. He and Adrian have a long-standing competition, to see who brings the most hipster home-cooked lunch to work (jury’s still out on that one).
His large collection of boardgames, which he generously shares with the team, have led to many late after-hours at the office.
Favorite games: Fallout: New Vegas, Hollow Knight, Age of Empires 2, Black & White
Currently playing: Escape from Tarkov (which he consistently tries to get us to play)
Iulia Tivig
– “Can probably 1v1 anyone in the team IRL”
Don’t be fooled by her unassuming, “cute as a button” facade. Her martial arts training only rivals Dan’s firearms proficiency, which practically guarantees that she can end you just as quick as she can paint a gorgeous landscape. Her architectural background really comes in handy when she’s making objects and designing maps with Sick and she can handle anything we throw at her! Fancy chairs, dinner sets, lamps, various furniture items, you name it! And we threw them really hard too!
She’s also a fountain of factoids, like a walking Wikipedia, with an emphasis on birds, urban development and plantlife.
Favorite games: Civilization VI, Portal (series), Caesar 3, Bioshock Infinite
Currently playing: Ori and the Blind Forest (well, mostly dying), Divinity: Original Sin, Witcher III: Wild Hunt