We talked to Vyacheslav, the developer of the game "Volkolak" — a person who, after 17 years in architecture, decided to join the game dev and got into the realities of the Russian gaming industry.
In this interview, we meet a developer from Irkutsk who combines the experience of extreme tourism and 17 years of work as an architect-designer with the creation of his own game. He talks about life in Siberia, encounters with bears, the magic of Baikal and shamanic traditions, which have become an important part of his worldview and inspiration.
The conversation gradually moves to the game "Volkolak" itself — a dark Slavic fantasy with elements of metroidvania. The author shares the history of the first demo versions, development problems, the search for an investor, and promotion plans. In the finale, we discuss the three paths of the main character, the approaching release, and how the experience of survival in the taiga was reflected in the creation of the virtual world.
- 00:00:00 Introduction
- 00:01:40 Volkolak from Irkutsk
- 00:01:36 Extreme tourism
- 00:04:58 How to survive a meeting with a bear
- 00:12:47 The magic of Lake Baikal
- 00:16:31 Shamanism
- 00:17:48 17 years of work as an architect-designer
- 00:23:52 XYZ Courses
- 00:27:42 Finding an investor
- 00:31:51 The first demo. First problems
- 00:34:22 Dark Slavic fantasy
- 00:37:45 3 paths of the hero
- 00:39:46 Metroidvania
- 00:42:57 Volkolak
- 00:44:44 Game promotion
- 00:49:18 Release soon
- 00:51:54 Survival in the Taiga
