AstroBob Posted March 10 Posted March 10 LaunchBox is continuing to grow, and we're thrilled to introduce our newest team member, skarmy_punk! (better known as Stefan! As a Full Stack Developer with 13 years of experience🖥️, he’ll be diving into the Games Database, helping to shape the next-gen cross-platform LaunchBox, and generally making the web side of things even better. Let’s get to know him! 🎮 👋 Introduce yourself and describe your role on the team? Hey everyone! I’m Stefan, a Full Stack Developer who’s been tinkering with web development for over a decade. My focus at LaunchBox will be on the Games Database and making sure our web-based tools are running smoothly, as well as helping to develop the next-gen cross-platform version of LaunchBox. Basically, if it lives on the web and needs some magic, I’ll be the one waving the wand. I’m beyond excited to be here and work on projects that bring gaming communities together. Also, let’s be honest—working on a platform that revolves around gaming? That’s the dream. 🎮🚀 🎮 What is your history with gaming? I genuinely can’t remember a time when I wasn’t gaming. I’m pretty sure I emerged into this world clutching an NES controller. My first console? No idea. It was just… there, like a childhood best friend who never left. One of my earliest gaming memories is playing some helicopter flight sim on a floppy disk with my dad. I have absolutely no clue what the game was, and at this point, I’m half convinced I imagined it. From there, the console collection just kept growing—N64, GameCube, Xbox (soft-modded, of course), Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, and now PS5. I also had a pretty serious handheld obsession, going through Game Boy Color, GBA, DS, 3DS, and even one of those MegaMan Advanced PETs—if you know, you know. Oh yeah, anyone remember these? 😉 Of course, once I built my first gaming PC as a teenager, that changed everything. Suddenly, I could play anything, mod everything, and lose entire weekends to games like Terraria. Oh, and VR? I’m in. Got the Vive, ready to dodge imaginary bullets in my living room. 🛠️ What’s the most challenging aspect of your role? Taking over a codebase that someone else wrote is like inheriting an ancient treasure map—except some of the landmarks have moved, and there’s definitely a few traps along the way. It’s always a bit of an adventure figuring out how everything fits together, but that’s part of what makes it fun. The cross-platform LaunchBox project is going to be a massive challenge, but it’s one I’m really looking forward to. Who doesn’t love solving puzzles, right? 🎉 What has been your proudest moment while working on LaunchBox? So far, getting the new game details page deployed has been a highlight—but there’s still plenty more I want to improve! Funny enough, before I was even officially on the team, I kind of helped out by pointing out that the SSL certificate had expired. So technically, my first real contribution to LaunchBox was playing the role of security watchdog. Not glamorous, but hey, someone’s gotta do it! 🔐😆 Some examples of the new games database game page, with rich media and metadata front & center 🔥 What do you think is the most underrated LaunchBox feature? I don’t know if it’s underrated, but I am blown away by how seamless emulator setup is. Anyone who’s tried to configure emulators manually knows the pain—it’s basically a rite of passage. The fact that LaunchBox makes it so smooth is a huge win. Also, Big Box theming is next level. The amount of customization you can do? Chef’s kiss. 🎨 🏆 What is your favourite game of all time and why? This is an impossible question. It’s like asking me to pick a favorite cat, and I have two (who would definitely judge me for it). That said, if I had to pick, I’d go with a tie: Halo 3 (because Forge mode was way more powerful than it had any right to be—anyone remember forgehub.com?) and Terraria, because once you start playing, it will consume your life. Honorable mentions to about 50 other games I’ve lost weeks of my life to. 🎭 What types of games do you enjoy in your downtime? It really depends on my mood! If I’m playing with friends, it’s usually something chaotic like Lethal Company, Blood Typers, or just some weird and wonderful indie multiplayer game. If I need to chill, I’ll fire up Satisfactory and spend hours optimizing factory layouts like a true efficiency nerd. For story-driven games, I love something cinematic like Alan Wake, which I’ll play on the big screen with my partner. And if I want to get moving, Beat Saber or Synth Riders in VR is my go-to workout that doesn’t feel like a workout. 🐱 Can you share a fun fact about yourself that the community might not know? I just adopted an 8-month-old kitten who is very eager to help debug my code—by randomly stepping on my keyboard. We’re in the process of introducing her to our 6-year-old cat, and negotiations are ongoing. Debugging hard at work with the new kitten 🐈 and the grumpy toothless Ruby in her little area we built for her, along with cat versions of famous photos Also, my partner plays competitive dodgeball, which is probably the coolest sentence I’ll ever be able to say. Oh, and I’m based in Winnipeg ❄️ 🎮 What’s your go-to gaming setup currently? Mostly PC for everything, but when I want to kick back and play on the big screen, I’ll fire up the PS5 for story-driven games. And of course, PC for VR, because let’s be real, that’s where all the fun is. Game console collection, along with VR PC, complete with cardboard underneath to prevent cat toys getting stuck 🎲 Do you have any hobbies outside of gaming? I love keeping my hands busy! I’ve been dabbling in game development (currently using Godot), building Gundams, making book nooks, and even needle felting. If it’s creative and involves putting something together, I’m into it. I also love board games, escape rooms, hiking (just getting into it), and bouldering (also just getting into it). And I’m a big fan of Activate, which is basically a high-tech playground where you jump, climb, and dodge obstacles. It’s like being in a video game, except with actual cardio. We’re absolutely stoked to have Stefan on the team! He’s already making an impact, and we can’t wait to see what he accomplishes next. Join us in giving him a huge welcome! 🎉🙌 1 1 Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.