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- Classics in the genre: Russian Federation will create a game based on Russian literature
Classics in the genre: Russian Federation will create a game based on Russian literature
Russian developers are creating the storyline game "Turmansk 1795", in which the works of Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ivan Turgenev and other classics of Russian literature will become the basis of the game world and mechanics. The project has already become one of the best student startups in the country, and its release is scheduled for next year. The authors do not rely on direct film adaptations of famous works, but on immersing the player in the moral and philosophical conflicts typical of Russian classics. About what the new game will be like and how its creators intend to popularize literature through an interactive format is in the Izvestia material.
The Russian cultural code
The project "Turmansk 1795" is being developed by three students of the Chelyabinsk State Institute of Culture. The game was included in the top 15 projects of the All-Russian competition of final qualifying papers in the "Startup as a diploma" format. This year, the competition received 1,222 applications from 65 regions and 189 universities.
The authors position the project as a cultural and entertainment game. According to one of them, Maxim Kryukov, the producer of the project, the goal is not to replace reading classical literature, but to offer players a story that will encourage them to think about the same moral and philosophical issues that are raised in the works of Russian writers.
— "Turmansk 1795" is a saying that has matured in the minds of a huge number of young people involved in video games. The Russian cultural code is the foundation on which to build worlds no less exciting than Western cyberpunk. It is important for us to see our reflection in games — deep, reflective and aesthetic. We went even deeper in our search for Russian meanings — literary classics captured our minds," he told Izvestia.
According to him, today the interest of players in products with recognizable domestic aesthetics is growing noticeably. This confirms the success of games such as Atomic Heart, as well as the audience's attention to new Russian developments using Slavic or post-Soviet themes. The new project takes the next step, turning not to visual images, but to the Russian literary tradition itself.
At the same time, the developers deliberately abandoned the idea of retelling the works of Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky or Ivan Turgenev. Instead, they use archetypes of characters characteristic of Russian classics, moral conflicts, and cultural and historical images.
— Imagine that nihilist Bazarov from Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Children" meets Raskolnikov from Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment" in a situation where only one of them can reach the ill-fated city. It is precisely such collisions of worldviews that we are interested in exploring," the developer explained.
The player will have to choose one of four heroes — a Khanty medic, a coachman, an officer or a convict. Each of them has their own beliefs, internal contradictions, and several possible lines of development. At the same time, the decisions of one character inevitably affect the fate of the other participants in the journey. The basis of the gameplay will be a variable dialogue system and the development of relationships between the characters.
— The player will inevitably have to step on his own principles somewhere, and somewhere, on the contrary, defend his rightness. Survival is a deal with conscience," said Maxim Kryukov.
Development of games useful for the country
The development has already received the support of the Project office for the development of youth entrepreneurship of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. According to its director Olga Serebryannikova, products that combine modern technology and cultural code are particularly in demand today.
— The game "Turmansk 1795" is a good example of how familiar educational meanings can be reincarnated and become interesting for young people. Such projects show that entrepreneurship can solve not only economic, but also cultural problems, and tell about our literature, history, and values in a new way," she stressed.
She added that the Startup as a Diploma competition does not end with determining the winners. Young teams receive expert support, assistance in finding partners and investors, as well as the opportunity to continue developing their startups in the professional community.
According to gaming industry expert Igor Baranov, such initiatives can become an additional tool for popularizing Russian literature among young people, although they certainly will not be able to replace reading classical works.
— It is important that modern games appeal to Russian literature and history, and not just to foreign myths and popular culture. Russians have a request for similar games. If "Turmansk 1795" proves successful, it may encourage our developers to use Russian literature more often as a basis for new games," he believes.
Olga Valaeva, psychologist and head of the NPC "Virtual Clinic" at the Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis, noted that "Turmansk 1795" reflects the youth's demand for their own cultural images.
— Teenagers' craving for novels in the boyar anime genre is not just a fashion, but a search for their own characters. When the Russian literary tradition and modern visual language meet in the same space, young people begin to learn about their own culture," she noted.
The expert added that the historical context is well represented in the Russian information space, but there are noticeably fewer images of the future based on Russian traditions. In her opinion, games using Russian literary archetypes and reinterpreting them in a modern format can not only popularize cultural heritage, but also give young people a sense of connection between the past and the future, reduce collective anxiety by the very fact of the presence of the image of our tomorrow.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
