Robin Betka Interview

What's it like to help port a game like RimWorld to Console? We chat to programmer Robin Betka about his unusual journey into RimWorld Console Edition. 

Can you tell us a bit about what you did before coming to work at Double Eleven?

Sure. Before I came to Double Eleven I was a professional esports player for Red Bull Racing Esports in Forza Motorsport 7. I have been playing Forza competitively since 2010 and we were able to win the world championships in 2019 and 2020. It was an incredible time in my life I’m very grateful for.

I also always wanted to become a games programmer, since I was very young when I started out on the original PlayStation. So after Forza esports winded down I decided to pursue my dream job. I already had a deep background in software development so I decided to move from Germany to England to work for Double Eleven.

What are some of the limitations in the hardware you come across when working on the Console version as opposed to a PC?

We are working with a closed ecosystem compared to Windows, Linux and Mac versions of the game, with set hardware capabilities in terms of memory, cpu speeds etc.  So we always have to be focused on optimisation. RimWorld may look simple graphically but it is so complex behind the scenes. This gives the players a really engaging and deep simulation but presents developers quite a challenge. 

One thing we had to do, for example, was make the game IL2CPP compatible. This technology allows code conversion into a highly optimised form. It brings the final code output closer to the machine code for each platform.  This and a ton of other work helped improve performance,  it meant we could stay true to the PC version in terms of content and led to smoother gameplay, better frame rates, and reduced loading times, overall a better experience for the players.

PC to Console Documentary Still | Double Eleven

What do you think sets RimWorld apart from other games in the same genre, and what do you hope players will take away from their experience with the game on consoles?

RimWorld is an incredibly deep game with so many things to do. You can easily rack up hundreds of hours of time without getting bored. The game will always give you a unique experience and it’s always fun to jump back in again from a break.

I’m very proud about the console UI and controls that we have created. Kudos to Kevin Mann for that. It plays very naturally and it works far better than most people would expect. It is very readable, accessible and intuitive to use and makes it feel like the game was designed for controller input.

RimWorld Console Edition

What’s the weirdest thing that has happened to you while playing RimWorld?

I like to quote one of our first internal bug reports: “The random arrival of 10+ gun wielding NPC nudists caused an FPS drop and total disabling of the UI.”