We went to Yasnaya Polyana and made a game about Leo Tolstoy.
From September 23 to October 2, 2026, a student expedition took place at Yasnaya Polyana. The expedition was supported by the programs «Rediscovering Russia,» «Russia—A Country of Opportunities,» and «More Than a Trip.» Participants included students from the HSE Art and Design School, ITMO University, IMLI RAS, RUDN University, and the Moscow Polytechnic University.
Photo by Alexander Angold, Yasnaya Polyana
Together with game designers, programmers, UI designers, sound designers, and 2D artists, we lived and worked just a twenty-minute walk from Leo Tolstoy’s home.Rain, fog, lack of hot water, and heating didn’t stop us—the expedition culminated in a complete game published on the Yasnaia Polyana website.
Concept
The resulting game is a virtual journey through Yasnaya Polyana, designed to introduce players to Tolstoy’s later life and create a first impression of the nature reserve. The player literally and metaphorically follows in Tolstoy’s footsteps, immersing themselves in the details of his daily life. In the game, Tolstoy is a living person, not a static monument.
«Leo Tolstoy’s Day» is a visual novel with point-and-click elements. For the majority of the time, the player reads text: dialogues and facts about the life of Leo Tolstoy.
Characters
I worked on character design. I drew a total of 15 sprites (6 characters and their variations) and one screen.
It was challenging to make the characters stand out without clashing with the background.
Media about our game
