The study of the history of video games on the territory of modern Ukraine began only in the 2000s. Although their development began long before that, in the early 1990s. Subsequently, in the period from 2000 to 2010, several well-known versions were released. Let's talk about them.
Usually, informational silence regarding the history of the development of video games in Ukraine is associated with the secrecy of information by Ukrainian developers, especially regarding the cost of their projects. Although it was no secret that these amounts were much cheaper than the USA and Western Europe.
At the first stages of development, Ukrainian developers dealt with various orders in addition to voice acting and some types of animation.
GSC Game World, Best Way, Action Forms, etc. stood out among the Ukrainian companies involved in the creation of video games.
The genesis of the video game industry was in the 1990s. In 1993, the Luhansk company Meridianʼ93 was founded, whose specialists created the first commercial video game - Admiral Sea Battles, which became the embodiment of interpretations of naval battles.
The events unfolded in the so-called day of sails. 18 missions and 3 campaigns allowed players to feel like real adventure hunters - to gain a foothold in the enemy's position, take loot from pirates, build new bases. By the way, the presentation of the game took place only in 1996.
The first hits, which have already thundered at the world level, are various versions of the Cossacks game developed by GSC Game World. The authors' choice of the Middle Ages became logical, because Age of Empires "told" about different historical eras. The Cossacks were focused on one era. Initially, the game was supposed to pit Ukrainians against Russians, and there were to be four nations in total - Ukrainians, Russians, Ottomans, and Europeans. However, after the presentation, they decided to increase their number to 16.
In the middle of the decade, a number of Ukrainian video games appeared. However, the real breakthrough was S.T.A.L.K.E.R. by GSC Game World. Actions in the game took place in an alternate reality, where a second explosion took place on the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. He caused the emergence of various abnormal phenomena and mutant animals. Also, players come across "artifacts" that were ordinary objects before the explosion.
The developers of the game Metro: Last Light followed a similar path, which attracted attention in all parameters: from graphics to the plot, from the movements of the characters to the artistic design. The shooter was created based on the novels of the same name by the Russian writer D. Glukhovsky. Moscow, where only ruins remain after a nuclear explosion. The main character will need to escape from captivity, defeat soldiers and monsters.
If you look at the game We Are The Dwarves, then at first glance it is hard to believe that its authors are the Kyiv studio Whale Rock Games. The style is not at all associated with Ukrainian game development. Cosmic oceans, rocky mountains, clans of gnomes that from time to time go on space expeditions in search of stars. However, it is.
The full-scale invasion of Russia on the territory of Ukraine dealt a significant blow to the Ukrainian video industry. The danger to the offices where the games were created caused some of the developers to go abroad. Existing studios continue to work in a slowed down mode, and cooperation with Russian colleagues has been interrupted.
