Resident Evil fan modder lands industry break in a dream come true story
Sole developer behind the Resident Evil 4 HD Project, has been hired by Nightdive Studios
When Albert Martin and Cris Morales began working on the Resident Evil 4 HD Project in 2014, they likely never expected that their passion project would one day lead to a career in game development. But after eight years of hard work, dedication, and a whole lot of modding, Albert Martin has landed their dream job as a game developer at Nightdive Studios.
Nightdive Studios is a game developer known for specializing in retro remasters, with titles such as Turok Dinosaur Hunter, Quake, and both System Shock games under their belt. Their work involves remastering older polygonal games and making them look sharper and run smoother on modern systems. Martin's experience with the Resident Evil 4 HD Project and their talent for improving graphics and textures made them a perfect fit for Nightdive Studios.
The Resident Evil 4 HD Project is a mod that replaces almost every texture in the game with new high-resolution textures, and replaces a number of flat objects with new 3D models. Martin even traveled to the same locations in Spain and Wales where Capcom took photography, taking the photos again to make higher resolution assets that were as accurate as possible. The mod requires players to own a copy of the PC version on Steam, as the mod doesn't use any of Capcom's existing assets.
In an update on the mod's website, Martin expressed their excitement for their new role: "I'm really happy because I'm finally and for the first time in my life working in the videogame industry. Thank you, Joel, for having faith in me, and thank you, Stephen, for the opportunity in Nightdive Studios."
While Martin is excited for the opportunity, they're not done with the Resident Evil 4 HD Project just yet. Martin plans to release another patch for the mod in the summer, but with their new job and studies, they're understandably swamped with work.
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The story of Albert Martin's journey from fan modder to game developer is a true inspiration for anyone with a passion for game development. With hard work, dedication, and a little bit of luck, dreams can come true.
