A Deep Rock Galactic player became a real-life explosives miner as "a direct result" of the "silly little dwarf game," and couldn't be happier with her career

Deep Rock Galactic
(Image credit: Ghost Ship Games)

Famously wholesome co-op dwarf game Deep Rock Galactic has finally done it. The game inspired one player to become a miner, specifically an explosives miner, in real life. 

I've followed Deep Rock Galactic for years and have always wondered if this would ever actually happen, so when Bulk-Detonator – or Maddie, as she requested – shared their story with the game's Reddit community, I about fell out of my chair. This is one of the white whales of my 11-year career in game journalism, and this story did not disappoint. 

In a post, Maddie explained that Deep Rock Galactic helped dig them out of a "dead-end job that barely provided for my family" by making a career in mining, or "rock drill training / explosive mining," seem like a real, plausible thing. "Huh, wouldn't it be funny to do the video game thing IRL," he thought.

Folks, Maddie is doing the video game thing IRL, and it sounds pretty great. 

Deep Rock Galactic is the sole reason I decided to become an explosives miner. It's the best decision I've ever made. from r/DeepRockGalactic

I am a dwarf and I'm digging a hole 

Deep Rock Galactic

(Image credit: Ghost Ship Games)

Speaking with GamesRadar+ on a video call straight from her work truck, Maddie explains that, a few years ago, she was looking for machine work after getting fed up with an unfulfilling job at a plumbing store. 

"My intention was to find some type of machine operator, maybe like crane work," she says. "And I happened across a driller trainee position. I looked up the machines themselves, they looked pretty cool, and I applied. They took me in and here I am today. I'm still technically a driller trainee, but they've needed a lot of help out on the blasting crews, and they really like me out there. I actually have different crews that fight over who gets me on the job on any given day. That was about two years ago, and I'm going to be hopefully moving in on a driller position soon." 

There's a lot of strange crossover ... granted, we don't have gunners.

Maddie

"I just came into this blind and it ended up not only being a job that has been very good for me, but I'm incredibly passionate about it," she adds. "You know, all my other jobs were just a job. This one, I was like, wow. I didn't know this whole industry existed, and now I'm absolutely in love with it." 

Maddie's crew focuses on quarries where they might drill anywhere from 60 to 400 holes, some 5 feet to 120 feet down, which are then pumped full of a semi-liquid explosive that apparently "looks like pink frosting. Honestly, it's the same consistency too." They pipe in the boom frosting, cap the holes with stone, then trigger carefully wired detonators once the area is clear. The aim is to break down rock to make gravel which is used in things like concrete and asphalt. "We help make roads," as Maddie puts it. No jewels or precious minerals in sight, but it's an important job. 

Deep Rock Galactic

(Image credit: Ghost Ship Games)

There's always danger when you have explosives in the workplace, but Maddie says it's honestly not that dangerous since it's "all dangers that can be mitigated." Even if a truck full of their explosive somehow caught fire, for instance, it wouldn't lead to a dramatic Hollywood explosion since this stuff is "very well engineered" to only detonate under specific conditions. If anything, Maddie says the bigger danger is staying aware of your surroundings, especially the weather conditions and the rock above you. I'm reminded of Deep Rock Galactic, where getting tunnel vision and only looking down can lead to trouble. 

"You know, the more I do this job, I swear these guys over at [developer] Ghost Ship Games did some of their research with all this, this industry," Maddie responds. "There's a lot of strange crossover. I mean, even the terminology, you know, our main explosive is called bulk and, of course, one of the big [Glyphid creatures] is the Bulk Detonator. You know, the engineers, the drillers. I mean, granted, we don't have gunners. But even just small stuff, like, we do have spiders. The environment that we're in, there's little rock spiders that are crawling around. You know, they're not big, 20-ton behemoths, but." 

Rock and stone 

Deep Rock Galactic

(Image credit: Ghost Ship Games)

How do you go from playing a cool dwarf game to blowing up rocks in giant quarries? Maddie says it made sense financially because it was basically "on-site, paid training," and another part of her couldn't get Deep Rock Galactic out of her head. "The small, little, insignificant decisions that I make seem to have some of the most positive impacts on my life," she says. 

Playing Deep Rock Galactic after a Star Citizen friend gifted it to her ended up being a significant decision. After Titanfall 2's early demise, Maddie was hungry for another game with a good grappling hook (a fellow enthusiast) and DRG kept coming up. She quickly fell in love with the game, splitting her time between all the roles based on what the crew needs, but, fittingly, with a soft spot for Driller.

Seeing these bearded little dwarves that just picked each other up and carried each other, I identified with that.

Maddie

"I make a point to buy all their DLCs now because, one, I got the game for free, but two, I think I'm upwards of like 900 hours with the game now, and I just, I don't even use half the skins, but I mean, these guys have created such an amazing community, such a great game that not only is fun, but respects your time," she says. "Even if you lose, you're still having fun. So it's like any little thing that I can do to help support these guys at Ghost Ship, I love doing it." 

"It's been nothing but good interactions with the community," she adds. "Everybody's always worried about being the new guy in a game. Oh, I'm going to bring the team down. Most Greybeards actually love having a new guy on the team, because it almost adds an extra challenge. And that ends up being the fun, showing the new guy the ropes and watching him grow. So it's almost this feedback loop in the community of: bring in the new players, build them up, show them how to play, and then they will bring in newer players." 

Deep Rock Galactic mining ore

(Image credit: Ghost Ship games)

This career shift is an extreme, amusingly direct example of how games can bleed into peoples' lives, but the underlying message is common in this medium. Games can connect and inspire people in ways that positively affect them in real life. At this point, Maddie says she wants to share this story so that "maybe it'll help one person." I also asked if she wanted to say anything to the Deep Rock Galactic players or to the folks who make the game. 

"I tell the community all the time how much I value that they helped me not only find this job, but just find an identity in myself," Maddie says. "I was kind of lost, and seeing these bearded little dwarves that just picked each other up and carried each other, I identified with that. Specifically to Ghost Ship Games, I hope they realize that they are like the shining example of how game developers should not only build a game, but interact with their community, listen to their community, and I cannot thank them enough for their silly little dwarf game.

"I am the happiest I have ever been in my life," Maddie concludes. "And everything that I have in my life right now is a direct result of getting this job, which is a result of Deep Rock Galactic. It's improved my health. It's improved my outlook. I've met so many people in my life now because I'm more outgoing. I cannot thank them enough. I really can't."


These are the best co-op games of all time – and yep, Deep Rock Galactic is on the list. 

Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

Read more
Deep Rock Galactic Survivor
Deep Rock Galactic Survivors devs were scared the roguelike spin might not sell, but thankfully they have "one of the most active communities on the planet"
Prologue
"If we can do it… This will be something groundbreaking": PUBG creator Brendan Greene is five years into making a 10,000km "realistic Minecraft" – but there's still a decade to go
Helldivers 2 Warbond
Helldivers 2 players "became obsessed" with Malevolon Creek, but it was Gabe Newell who really kicked off one of Super Earth's bloodiest battles
A Big in 2025 Dune Awakening image, showing combat and a sandworm
After survival games like Conan Exiles, Funcom says it's made "a game with its own identity" out of Dune: Awakening – and I believe it
a dude holding a gun cowers against a wall as the shadowsof raptors can be seen coming for him
'No-one wants to play a Match-3 game': Prolific indie dev made his Match-3 Metroidvania to "definitively prove" his publishers wrong
The key art for Baldur's Gate 3 showing dragons and the Nautilus, with Karlach standing in the foreground, weapon in hand
The Making of Baldur's Gate 3: "We really wanted to make it so that even if you don't know D&D or Baldur's Gate, you would still have exciting choices as a player"
Latest in Co-op Games
A character's face in horror game REPO.
Best REPO mods to improve your matches with more players and new monsters
Cropped key art for Revenge of the Savage Planet showing two player characters running away from lots of green goo, flanked by various googly-eyed wildlife
Revenge of the Savage Planet is a refreshingly colorful and light-hearted co-op throwback to the carefree action platformers of the noughties
The two characters in Split Fiction holding their hands up in surrender in a futuristic city
The actors behind Split Fiction's main characters nearly botched their first auditions because they didn't know the script had two sides: "We were just stood there, sweating"
A player carrying a potion in horror game REPO.
REPO Strength explained and how to upgrade it
A room in horror game REPO.
How to play REPO
The two characters in Split Fiction in futuristic bodysuits staring at a huge crack in the simulation they're in
Split Fiction players defeat secret challenge so tough that some of the devs themselves can "barely" complete it, and get rewarded with the promise of an early peek at the director's next game
Latest in Features
Naoe kills a target with a black and white filter over the camera highlighting the red of blood spray in Assassin's Creed Shadows, with an On The Radar orange frame
Assassin's Creed Shadows "has a little bit of Tarantino flavor", but its real secret ingredient is intrigue: "It's almost like you're watching an episode of Shogun"
Helldivers 2 Borderline Justice Warbond helldiver using hoverpack to shoot down with hunting rifle
Talking points from the Game Developers Conference 2025 and how they could impact the future of gaming
Flexispot E7 Plus with plant, monitor, soundbar, and controller on top next to white wall lighting.
Gaming desks vs regular desks: which surface should you buy?
Google Pixel 9a smartphones on a beige background
One Google Pixel 9a feature could make it a better gaming phone than most budget mainstream models
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Captain Planet #1
Captain Planet is back after 33 years with a "sexy" makeover and a message that's as important as ever: "Reality has gotten a lot less subtle"