#002: Who Is Renhet? Part 1!

Miguel - Founder, Programmer

Favourite game: Horizon Zero Dawn

I’m just a guy who always got good grades, especially in maths. Growing up, I was more of a football kid than a gamer, but then my dad gave me a Nintendo DS when I was 10, and things slowly started to shift. Inazuma Eleven, Mario Kart, Mario Bros. A bit of Minecraft on my sister’s tablet. COD Black Ops 2 Zombies round my mate’s house in the evenings. The usual.

The real turning point came in my final year of high school. My IT teacher, who was honestly like a second mum to me, spotted I was good at IT, AppInventor and Scratch, and signed me up for the national IT Olympiad. She taught me C++ for the first time in my life. I had five months to prepare, along with university entrance exams! The other competitors had six-plus years of experience. I don’t know why or how, I came third and I’ve been hooked on programming ever since.

I went on to study Video Game Design and Development, learning Python, C, C#, C++, Javascript, Kotlin, etc. I won a few game jams, and I recognised I was growing at an amazing speed. In Covid, I got my first PC and started playing competitive games (which I still do today) such as Apex Legends, Fortnite, Valorant, Overwatch. I don’t actually play that many games, which is a bit funny given the job, but nothing gives me more joy than watching someone play something I made. My favourite game is Horizon Zero Dawn, for what it’s worth.

Eventually I got so fed up with rejections and closed doors and “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” that’s why I decided to just build something myself. I wanted to do what I want, and make a living out of that. That’s how Renhet started. I’m more of a builder than a gamer at heart.

I got very lucky with this team, which is awesome! I love them.

Vaclav - Producer

First Game Bought: Baldur’s Gate 1, 1998

Hi! I am also here! Notice me, senpai!

I’m Vaclav, and if Renhet were an RPG, I’d have the highest level in the Age stat. Also probably maxed out on Stupid Humour, with either the Grumpy Sage perk or something equally undignified.

I’ve been working in the games industry for 10+ years, producer, release manager, publishing manager, QA lead, you name it. And for some completely inexplicable reason, I decided it was a great idea to start listening to someone half my age and help build an indie studio with him and an extremely international team. So far? Genuinely think it was one of the better decisions I’ve made.

My background is a bit of an adventure itself. In high school I studied to be a bookseller and librarian, yes, really, because I like books and reading. Then university, where I did Theory and History of Film and Audiovisual Culture, because I like films. And then somehow I ended up in games because, you guessed it, I like games. There’s a pattern here if you look hard enough.

I’ve been playing for a long time. The first game I can remember is Commander Keen, the guy doing hop hop, and Dungeon Master, which I played at age seven with absolutely zero knowledge of English. I had no idea what was happening. It was the best thing I had ever experienced. As a proud Czech gamer of a certain era, I was also a dedicated pirate for many years. The first game I actually bought was Baldur’s Gate 1 (in 1998), the best game ever made, full stop. It cost more than games do today. You young people have no idea how good you have it.

Give me an adventure game, cRPG, a tactical RPG, or a building strategy and I’m yours. I’ll play almost anything honestly. Except for sports games. Too dull for my taste.

So, let’s see what we can build together at Renhet. Maybe it  will change the world as you know it. Maybe we just make something you’ll have fun with. Frankly, I’d rather do the second one.

See ya, space cowboys!

Todd - Game Designer

Side Project: A TTRPG inspired by D&D and Pathfinder 2E

Hey, I’m Todd! I have a love for complex system mechanics and narrative shaped by player decisions.

I grew up playing all kinds of games, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2, Final Fantasy VII, and Metal Gear Solid were big ones for me. Over time, I stopped just playing them and started reverse-engineering them. One of my earliest game design memories is taking Armored Core: For Answer and rebuilding the mech numbers to work as a tabletop game. I also once designed an entire Magic: The Gathering set of Legend of Zelda cards, way before crossovers were a thing. I just… do that kind of thing.

I’ve always had trouble finding where I fit in, especially at work. Standard jobs never really suited me, I’ve had my fair share of bosses who demanded too much and gave back too little. Renhet is the first place where I’ve been able to take everything I know, years of playing, analysing, and pulling games apart, and actually put it to use creatively.

I’m also working on my own TTRPG project in the background, inspired by D&D and Pathfinder 2E, which is honestly a big part of what led me down the game design path in the first place, and how I found myself with Renhet Studio. I’ll be daydreaming about a new mechanic in the middle of cooking dinner, or out on a drive, and suddenly my brain just goes into overdrive to create! 

I’m honoured to be surrounded by people who genuinely care about what they’re making. I’ve already learned so much from this team, and will continue to in the hopes of following my dreams of being a game designer.

Jay - 2D Artist

First Tool: A Wacom Bamboo, age 15

Hi, I’m Jay!

I got my first drawing tablet when I was 15, a tiny Wacom Bamboo I pestered my mum into buying. Looking back, that little thing changed my life. I haven’t put a table down since.

I studied fine arts, but after graduating, I didn’t want to take the path most of my peers were following. I took some time to figure out what I actually wanted, started streaming games for fun, and somewhere in that stretch, it hit me: why had I never thought about making them?

My first job in the industry was at a AAA studio doing character concept art for 3D modellers. It wasn’t quite the right fit. From there, I moved across several other game companies, taking on a wide variety of 2D work, and the more I saw, the more I noticed the same pattern: the people in charge had stopped caring about making fun games. They weren’t playing, they weren’t taking risks, and they had no real sense of the game’s direction. Endless debates over nothing, constant pressure on the people actually creating. That’s what wore me down. 

I thrive when I’m fully immersed, free to collaborate, free to take on challenges, free to just draw. That’s what led me to indie development, and to Renhet. I wanted to work with a team whose eyes still light up when they talk about what they’re building.

Habin - Animator

Currently obsessed with: The Dragon Age series

Hi, I’m Habin!

Unlike a lot of people in this industry, I didn’t arrive here with a burning passion of, ‘I absolutely love animation!’ My original dream was to be a manga artist, but when I realised I didn’t have a knack for storytelling, I shifted to illustration. When that didn’t quite work out either, I used a career break to learn animation software, mostly just to find a job.

Just like how life never quite goes as planned, I stumbled into this profession almost by accident. It’s funny, because all those detours and wrong turns have ended up being my greatest strengths. 

Looking back, whenever I was lost, games were always there with me. During long nights at boarding school, I spent endless nights playing Princess Maker. During a long and exhausting job hunt, The Last of Us kept me grounded and helped me endure the uncertainty. These days my absolute favourite is the Dragon Age Series, I will talk about it at length if you let me!

Maybe it wasn’t an accident at all. Maybe the games that always comforted me were quietly guiding me here the whole time.

And that’s the first five!

Stay tuned for next week, when we will meet the rest of our amazing team!

• - Freya, on behalf of the crew!

Got a question for the team? Leave it in the comments or find us on Twitter, Instagram or TikTok. We read everything.