History of Russian Computer Games. 1971-2024

Russian computer games emerged roughly at the same time as the introduction of "Dendy" consoles and real personal computers into the country. We all know about "Tetris", some remember Color Lines or "Perestroika", some spent their childhood playing the quests of "Pilot Brothers", the surrealism of "Wangers", the spark of my soul "Long Haulers", flight simulators like "Il-2", piracy in "Corsairs", the adventures of Petka and Vasily Ivanovich, or the tank battles of World of Tanks. After several decades, we can confidently say that during this time, the field has produced its own heroes, antagonists, hits, and scandalous flops.

Founding fathers, experimenters, fervent ideologists, and convinced romantics — in one book we have collected stories from 27 key participants in the industry, which come together to form a large and colorful pixel tapestry. The book is based on the documentary series "History of Russian Computer Games", released in 2023. Reviews from some of the heroes of the series: "This is probably the first series that has delved so deeply into Russian game development. I want to believe that the girls and boys who watch it will be inspired by the still energetic 'old-timers'. Having created a lot of interesting things from almost nothing back then, we can amaze the world again now!" Petr Glantz, former employee of "Fargus" --- "You gathered probably the coolest people in the Russian gaming industry and told the story of this industry, and importantly, you did it very honestly. Some episodes I didn’t even know about, and some I thought were just myths" Roman Zorin, creator of Age of Magic, game designer, creative director of Golden Dragon Games --- "The History of Russian Computer Games" — is a unique series, a moment "frozen in time" — the story of the industry that spawned a whole generation of people, whom we now call "IT specialists". The very generation that is now creating our future. 

The generation that will succeed us and will be grateful to those very video games — that funny and mysterious thing that ultimately gave them their ticket to life." Alexander Kuzmenko, journalist, blogger, former editor-in-chief and publisher of the magazine "Igromania" --- "For me, it was very pleasant to see and hear all contemporaries, colleagues, and competitors from the early stages of the industry’s birth and development in the country" Nikita Skripkin, founding father of the computer games industry in Russia