You might think making one of the most influential games of this century would be a source of unending happiness for its creator. But for Dean 'Rocket' Hall, founder of RocketWerkz, the relationship with his most famous creation isn't that simple. "When DayZ happened, it was like dying," says Hall of the mod which, alongside Minecraft, helped establish survival games as a cornerstone of the medium. "It ended my old life. My relationship with everyone who I knew up to that point changed completely."

This isn't to say Hall doesn't recognise his good fortune: "It was obviously an amazing thing that happened to me," he stresses. But there is a sense that, while Hall gained much from the creation of DayZ—fame, respect, and to a certain extent, fortune—something was lost too. "I loved making the mod, and I loved that feeling, and I've been chasing it ever since."

Chasing the feeling of making DayZ has taken over a decade, sent Hall down numerous rabbit holes and even led his studio to the precipice of bankruptcy. After all that time, Hall still hasn't found what he is looking for and admits he may never find it. Yet as he continues his search, RocketWerkz is beginning to find success on its own terms.

What is it, exactly, that would rekindle the feeling of making DayZ for Hall? Specifically, he says he's searching for a solution to a specific problem he sees in survival games. "You see it time [and] again. If you go see commentary on a survival game, people will say it gets boring, or the end game sucks," he says.

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