It doesn’t say he learned blacksmithing specifically for the game, just that he pulled the knowledge from having learned blacksmithing.
Honestly, blacksmithing isn’t that hard. And the video in the article looks like it was cold sheet steel work over a form and a few rivets, so a few hours’ work for a beginner. Even basic forge work is something you can learn in an afternoon.
For me, I don’t care how easy or difficult it is. To me, it’s about them doing it. I don’t remember hearing about other sound designers actually learning the skill to help his creativity with the sound design. Everyone can get online and learn to code, do graphic design, and even study to be a lawyer. Not everyone does. That’s what I mean in terms of commitment. I think it’s dope.
Honestly, blacksmithing isn’t that hard
it’s well beyond the reach of most people, specially considering the price of the tooling alone
For cold work, you need a hammer and some hard object. That’s it. Anvil, swage block, piece of rail, random scrap steel, or even a hard rock. That’s it. It’s really not expensive at all, unless you’re buying a whole bunch of brand new unnecessary stuff.
I started out with a rail-anvil I bought for $67, a few hammers and peens for $40, tongs for $20, and a forge for $140. That was more than enough to get started. If you live somewhere that that’s a lot of money, you probably also have a guy in the area who does similar work and has extra tools, and your biggest expense will be fuel for hot work.
We live in a world where hundreds of millions of people are literally starving, dude.
