As our Medieval realm continues to thrive with enhanced gameplay, new and exciting features, and an ever-growing community, our family grows as well. Today, we spotlight Olga Kidora-Grybelna, our highly skilled QA engineer based in Ukraine.

While Olga ensures the seamless functioning of our immersive world, we took a moment to sit down with her, exploring her role, hobbies, and the passions that drive her.

What inspired you to join Medieval Empires?

History. I love history. My higher education was in European Diplomacy and I actually wrote my thesis on the Turkish wars in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. So, that is what drove my main interest in joining Medieval Empires. I would say I am half history and half human! 😀

Even now when I see our developers and design teams create, for example, new heroes in the game, I try to pitch in my feedback based on my understanding of the Turkish culture and history.  

Tell us a bit about what you do in Medieval Empires team?

I am working as a QA Engineer in Medieval Empires. It is a process that is very close to my preferences in real life as well – I like to have good quality in everything, such as furniture. Items in my home are also clean and high quality and my favorite scent is the scent of quality! 😀  

With Medieval Empires, since it’s a fresh new game, it is very exciting to work on its QA as compared to maybe an already released game. It’s fresh and historical and I can clean it up and make it better, make it into a higher quality version of itself!  

Can you share a bit about your past work experience? Have you worked on any gaming project before?

My last project was not a gaming project, it was a VR project with a British company, which was developing a business meeting app through VR. As far as a previous gaming project goes, I have worked a bit on a small game for children. Medieval Empires would be a bigger and better experience for me being a historically inspired strategy game!

What’s your favorite video game? /What was the last video game you played?

I am like one of those designers who never wear their own clothes. 😀 I don’t really play video games, and the last game I played was The Sims! To be honest, I don’t really have the time for video games right now, I want to focus entirely on our product and how I can make our game better.  

What’s your guilty pleasure?

My mother hates this but my guilty pleasure would have to be smoking, along with a nice cup of Arabic coffee. I can't live without coffee and one cigarette in some fresh air. I don’t drink alcohol, but this is one thing that I enjoy.  

If you were in medieval times, what character would you be, and why?  

I would actually like to be a character from our game – Leila. She would be a hero in Medieval Empires in the future. I would like to be her because, in the Eastern world, men have always been the traditional protectors. Heroes are mostly men, and they do most of the fighting. But now we are living in the 21^st century – girls are also playing fighting games, playing strategy games. They can also take up a sword and protect their children and families.  

Also, my name is Olga, and if you translate it into an Eastern language word, it’s the same as Leila, Helga etc. 😀  

What is the best part about working with Medieval Empires?

All great things start with a great idea. And I think Medieval Empires is based on a wonderful concept. A historically inspired strategy game – that would have to be the best part for me. And the other thing would be the team. We can't create a great game without a great team! The people working on the creation of Medieval Empires are all very talented.  

What’s your all-time favorite old/war movie and why?

I don’t actually have a favorite movie, I have favorite cartoons! One of my all-time favorites is The Lion King. And another one I really like is Spirit, the one with the horses. I love these cartoons because I think they have a stronger storyline than any movie, they both show that we can't forget about our roots and to never give up.  

Your favorite pastime/hobby?

I love creating high quality things in real life just like in my profession as a QA Engineer, as I mentioned earlier as well. One of my hobbies is remaking old furniture to make it higher quality. So, I go out and buy cheap, old furniture and then make some changes to its design and fabric and then it becomes a fabulous new piece.  

Another hobby I would say is making hair accessories. And I also love to ride horses and bicycles!

What’s your one hidden talent?

I don’t think I have any ‘hidden’ talents as such or maybe I don’t know about them yet. 😉

So, let’s wait another day, see what’s inside, I might find something new that I didn’t know I had!

Your colleagues in 3 words?

The most beautiful people! Both on the outside and inside.  

‍