Ukrainian developer GSC Game Worlds shared a development diary video for the upcoming STALKER 2, but where most dev diaries from around the industry are more promotional in nature, this one focusses on the horrendous Russian invasion that their country continues to defend itself from and the toll that it’s taking on the team members remaining in Ukraine.
Many members of GSC Game Worlds have been able to flee the country and, after development was halted in the early days of the war, have been able to reunite and start work again from Czechia. However, others have been unable to leave, the video showing glimpses of their lives with constant air raid sirens, working in bathrooms and corridors – Narrative Design Dariia Tsepkova speaks of the difficulty of writing violent quest lines when there’s so much violence being perpetrated outside. There’s also the heart-wrenching message from animator Oleksandr Levchenko, who hails from the now devastated coastal city of Mariupol and lives with the uncertainty of having had no contact with his parents who lived there.
Other members of the team have joined the armed forces fighting to defend the country, and the video notes that these were just a small handful of stories from the studio, with many other unable to publicly share their experiences.
The video came with a written message alongside:
War changes everything: desires, expectations, the pace of life and mindset, and even what’s waking you up in the morning. Splits the life into “before” and “after”. It makes you get used to a new reality without true safety, even at home. Some Ukrainians are forced to leave their homeland. Others have devoted themselves to volunteering or defending the country with arms.
GSC Game World is a Ukrainian company, so our story is alike. Everyone is in their place and helps Ukraine to win. And at the same time, we are working hard on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, which development became even more momentous and symbolic. Although, it was impossible to imagine that it could be “even more” before.
It’s been 111 days since war broke into the home of every Ukrainian. It’s still here, reaping the harvest of crime and grief. And still, we are fighting back with the belief of victory.
Helping Ukraine is a good deed that everyone can be a part of. We are sincerely grateful to those who have already contributed and encourage those who have the ability to help Ukraine through the fundraising platform launched by the President of Ukraine initiative: https://u24.gov.ua/
Despite the war clearly still having a massive impact on the GSC Game Worlds team, work has resumed on the game and they released a new story trailer for STALKER 2, pointing to 2023 as the new target for release.
TSBonyman
What’s happening there is horrific, unimaginable for many of us living our comparitively sheltered lives. I hope all of the team will be in a position to celebrate the eventual release of their game.