The game I was working on at the time was to launch mainly on console, and as with most pre-launch console games with simultaneous multiplayer, various different teams and individuals were working tirelessly to allow us to support a higher number of players when we shipped. Technically absurd, in the best possible way What followed was several years of learning, community, discovery, and of course, enjoyment, which transcend anything I have personally experienced from a video game before or since. 'This is the best game ever made,' he opened, 'but you need the cRPG mod to really play it.' I eventually cracked and asked him what it was all about. '*Friend who normally plays really difficult games* has started playing Mount & Blade: Warband.' Many times, over and over, for weeks. I came across it how I suppose lots of us discovered games back then: Steam popup notifications.

I was around 25 years old, working as crunchy functionality QA on a driving game in a medium-large team. Mount & Blade: Warband found me at an odd time of my life. This entry was contributed by John Nejady, technical producer at Coconut Lizard and veteran of Sumo Digital, Ubisoft, and CCP Games. Why I Love is a series of guest editorials on intended to showcase the ways in which game developers appreciate each other's work.

Mount and blade warband getting started