With the Make Arma Not War 2025 modding competition now concluded, we’re excited to speak with the talented creators who claimed the top spots in each category. Up next, we have JohnnyKerner, the developer of Freedom Fighters and the winner of this year’s Playable Content category.
BIO
Nickname: JohnnyKerner
Nationality: Polish
Random fact about yourself: I trained in archery and horseback riding in the past.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Would you tell us a bit about yourself?
I'm in my 30s and I work as a software engineer. I love learning new things so it's sometimes hard to keep up with me. I'm the type of person who is never bored and never gets enough sleep. I really wish the day lasted 48 hours! I've always had an interest in the military, and as a teenager I wanted to become a helicopter pilot or a paratrooper. Music and an active lifestyle are my escape from the daily routine - I play drums, produce music, and I love hiking and running.
How did you first get involved with Arma and modding?
My first title in the series was Arma 2 and I spent a lot of time in the mission editor, but I never really got into modding it back then. I was already invested in another modding scene at the time. Later, when Arma 3 came out, I was more interested in writing custom engines and the underlying tech, so I skipped modding it as well. But, I guess the third time's the charm! Previous experiences made me instantly realize the potential that lies within the Enfusion Engine and I got completely sucked into it. Unbelievable as it may seem, Freedom Fighters is my very first venture into Arma modding.
Would you give us an introduction to your winning creation?
Freedom Fighters is a new game mode - a long-lasting, persistent campaign focused on asymmetric warfare. In this scenario, players start as regular civilians and join the ranks of the FIA, which starts out as an underground resistance force in an occupied land. The objective is to take control over the entire island and repel the occupying forces by capturing various points of interest and winning over the civilian population's hearts and minds. But above all, it's an open-world sandbox with a unique living world.
How did the concept for Freedom Fighters begin, and what inspired the creation?
The general premise of guerrilla warfare and armed uprising is naturally inspired by Antistasi, Overthrow, and Vindicta. Sharing the same core theme, it's inevitable that certain ideas and mechanics will be similar, but I wanted to make Freedom Fighters stand out as an independent creation. Since this topic has been explored so extensively, it was an interesting design challenge, but I think that goal has been achieved. Naturally, many players initially see it as "Antistasi in Reforger," but this assumption is quickly dispelled once you actually get into it. KP Liberation was a direct inspiration for some of the economy mechanics, and Old Man influenced the narrative approach. In a broader sense, Freedom Fighters draws inspiration from many other open-world games in its emergent gameplay. Credit where credit is due - Freedom Fighters really is standing on the shoulders of giants.
Give us some insight into the development process. Are there any interesting anecdotes you can share?
Development started in August 2024, and I originally planned to release it in 2026. The announcement of Make Arma Not War 2025 turned everything upside down, and it took me a full week just to redesign the features, the scope, and triage the tasks - things that had to be completed, things that were nice to have, and things that could be added after the competition. And the most frightening part - a hard deadline! In retrospect, the technical side - implementing features, testing, and bug fixing - was very straightforward, just "business as usual." The production aspect was the real challenge: the art of making very difficult trade-offs, choosing designs that were realistic to deliver, and sometimes cutting content I had already invested work into. Games are creative works and have that artistic aspect to them, which makes them significantly different from typical corporate or strictly technical projects. All of this becomes even crazier when you’re the designer, developer, project manager, and producer all at once.
One day, a player reported that they were having a critical issue related to persistence. Every time they joined, they were spawned as a different character with a different loadout and location — as if player profiles were being randomly swapped. If confirmed, that would’ve been a nightmarish problem! It turned out they simply hadn’t noticed they were joining different servers.
Could you tell us about any future updates that might be coming to Freedom Fighters?
My main focus now is on internal improvements and documentation for other modders. It's already amazing to see community made scenarios and compatibility packs, and it's something I want to support further. I'll be announcing a new, more detailed roadmap - along with some significant news - as we approach the end of the year. Of course, a steady stream of minor fixes and improvements is to be expected in the meantime.
Is there anything new that you might be working on in the future?
I will be working on something new, but as they say - "I cannot confirm or deny anything..." 😉
What is your favorite piece of Arma user-created content (mod, addon, scenario, game mode, tool) and why?
When it comes to Reforger, it's definitely Escapists by NotSocrates. It brings a lot of chaotic, emergent gameplay, and the Quick Reaction Forcess (QRFs) can be terrifying! And if Creator DLCs count - it's going to be the Mike Force mode along with S.O.G. Prairie Fire content in Arma 3. Doing rocket runs, hauling supplies, and transporting other players with a Huey is infinitely fun and I will not admit publicly how many hours I've sunk into it!
With the popularity of Arma Reforger and the potential of Enfusion Engine and Workbench, what are you looking forward to with the franchise as we move along the road to Arma 4?
As Reforger is just a warmup, I'm very excited to see what a fully-featured Arma title powered by Enfusion will bring, and what kind of toys we will be able to play with - especially when it comes to systems and functionalities. In the meantime, I hope that more experienced modders and developers will join the Reforger modding scene. There's still a lot of room to push the envelope - as Freedom Fighters proves. And if you never modded - start today, it’s just the right time to become an expert by the time Arma 4 arrives.
BONUS
What is your most remarkable “Arma” moment?
I once played as a dedicated pilot in a semi-milsim group and was tasked with transporting a platoon — the entire unit — into the area of operations in a Chinook. We took heavy fire and I lost the engines, but I managed to land it using autorotation in an extremely tight spot, saving the operation and the lives of everyone on board. I'm sure I would never be able to repeat that feat under the same conditions in the editor, even if I tried a hundred times! Even though the lives were virtual, the adrenaline rush was totally real.
What advice do you have for people who want to start modding?
Start small and pace yourself. It's better to complete little projects and be hungry for more, than to burn out right in the middle of something very ambitious. And don't pull all-nighters. Think of it like a marathon, not a sprint.
