a400 employees of GSC Game World, the creator of the hit video game “Stalker,” gathered in its Kiev office in January 2022, most of them in front of a strange bus parked around the corner. I didn't even notice it. As tensions with our neighbors across the border rise, those heading to their offices covered in frost feel like this: largely usually. routine. Or so they told themselves. As whispers of war spread throughout the country, constant reassurances from business partners and President Zelenskiy made it seem foolish to worry. They were told that life would continue as usual.

After a few weeks, their fears were no longer so foolish. On February 24, 2022, at 4 a.m. local time, Russian forces crossed the border and invaded Ukraine from the north, east, and south, shelling more than a dozen cities and killing 40 Ukrainian soldiers in 24 hours. . The bombs fell hard and fast, destroying a building less than a mile from the GSC offices. Fortunately, those eerie blackout buses had sprung into action a week earlier, taking more than 200 GSC employees and their families to the Ukrainian border town of Uzhgorod.

“We were preparing for the next [the war] About a month and a half,” says Evgeny Grigorovich, game director and CEO of GSC Game World. “The drivers were sitting there 24 hours a day, every day, and no one noticed.”

Although he still received assurances that Russia would not invade, Grigorovich's guts were screaming at him to flee. “One day, we had a big meeting and told the teams that we believed there was a very good chance that war would break out, and that they and their families could go. [across the border] If they want. It's hard to make this decision when almost everyone says it's okay. do not worry. 'But we didn't want to put our team at risk. We weren't worried about business or what was going on in the game. They had to save as many people as possible. ”

For the past 13 years, GSC has been hard at work developing the globally anticipated direct sequel to the 2007 cult classic Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl, which sold 4 million copies. The game is an apocalyptic survival game set in the aftermath of his second Chernobyl disaster in war-torn Ukraine. This is an alternate history, but one that is distressingly close to reality for Ukrainians. In March 2022, Russian forces captured the still-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, raising very real concerns about a nuclear disaster related to the fighting. GSC's fiction was beginning to blur with reality.

GSC is relocating around 700 people, including their families, and the final paperwork was completed just one day before Russian forces entered the ground. He was only allowed one suitcase per family, and it only took him three hours to get important technology out of the office, so he had little time to figure out what was going on. One of her members on the human resources team gave birth during the active phase of the invasion, and other staff members were already grieving loved ones who had died before reaching their destination. “Fortunately, we had the opportunity to start moving before the war started. But we didn't expect everything to be so cruel and so tough.”

It is estimated that more than 500,000 people have been killed or injured since the war began. The bloody conflict shows no signs of abating, with 170 GSC employees remaining in Ukraine.

“Some people were in the position of joining the army and standing on the front lines when the war started. And that's what they did. They immediately began defending our country. We pay them because they are still our employees and their military salary is not enough to cover everything. We are still helping them as much as we can. ”

One of the first to go to the forefront was Volodymyr Yezhov, the series' long-time designer. Yezhov, who was serving as a volunteer in the UVO company, was killed in action on December 22, 2022, during a battle near Bakhmut.

“It's impossible to imagine,” says Grigorovich, shaking his head. “Your friends say they will stay in your country to fight the war, but some of their friends died there. This war should not exist.”

Like many Ukrainians, GSC workers are forced to accept this pain as part of their daily lives. Some developers replaced their keyboards with Kalashnikovs, while others continued to work on his Stalker 2 remotely from GSC's Kiev office or from all over Ukraine. For those still in Kiev, offices have become a haven.

“We made this a shelter and tried to look as beautiful as possible so that people felt as safe as possible,” Grigorovich said. “They play music, they have guitars, and we have books in there. We have one big floor for a motion capture studio, and we turned it into a kids area. We have mocap equipment. It's so full and so soft that it's now a place to bring toys.

“This winter there was heavy shelling and fighting, and there were frequent power outages. So we built a large generator. Also, the office always has electricity and hot water, so everyone can bring their relatives. We also created a corner, so it’s better to be there than at home.”

It may be hard to understand why these developers continue to code video games in conflict zones, but for many, Stalker 2 is their life's work. After leaving Uzhgorod and taking temporary refuge in Budapest, the departed GSC staff settled in Prague in March 2022. Like many creative companies, the Kiev office had become a second home for many of its employees. Care was therefore taken to ensure that the new Prague headquarters wore a familiar brand and feel, to provide an atmosphere of peace and respite from the horrors of war.

“At this point, this is more than just a game,” agrees Grigorovich. “It's very important to our people, our nation, our culture. It's good for your country to be known simply because someone attacked you, not for your cool art, technology, or engineering.” No. This game can reach a lot of people and let them know that Ukraine makes world-leading products. I think that's the biggest impact we can have. For artists, It is not always wise to go to the front line with a gun without combat experience. But they can still help in other ways – and we are trying to help our Method. “

To date, Stalker 2's most popular gameplay trailer has been viewed over 2.5 million times. With this visibility, Grigorovich sees an opportunity to help prevent further Russian aggression. “Many of us are dying. Keeping people informed could save us all. Ukraine is actually the largest country in Europe, and this is not a small conflict, it's all It's going to impact people. Yes, we're making games, but it's also our job to bring people back to reality. I see the elephant in the room. There's no elephant. I can't say that because the elephant will just destroy everything there and then it will come to you. You would be foolish to think it will stop.

Source: www.theguardian.com