Leo Tolstoy’s Day | Game Design

A Day in the Life of Leo Tolstoy—an interactive journey through Yasnaya Polyana. The player searches for Leo Nikolaevich throughout the estate, learns about his daily routine, and tours the places where the writer spent his days. At the end, the player receives an invitation to visit Yasnaya Polyana in person.A browser game with a third-person perspective, 2D graphics, in the visual novel genre with point-and-click elements. The game is available on the site.

The expedition culminated in a video game hosted on the official website of the Yasnaya Polyana estate museum, as well as a series of materials from the participants: A Day in the Life of Leo Tolstoy | Game Design A Day in the Life of Leo Tolstoy | Game Design and Art A Day in the Life of Leo Tolstoy | Game Design and UI A Day in the Life of Leo Tolstoy | UI A Day in the Life of Leo Tolstoy | Sound Design A Day in the Life of Leo Tolstoy | SMM

In this project, I served as a game designer while also overseeing the team’s overall organization. My work began even before the expedition started. At this stage, it was crucial to develop the initial version of the game concept, define the genre, and find relevant references. After extensively researching museum materials and delving into Tolstoy’s biography, an initial game concept emerged: a visual novel with elements of point and click.

Key game references for the project: Rusty Lake and My Child Lebensborn. From the first game, I took gameplay elements: mini-games and puzzles. From the second, I focused on dialogue, which constitutes almost the entirety of the plot.

During the call with the team, we discussed the concept, made revisions, and trimmed the content. Following the call, it was important to create the first wireframes for all game screens within the interactive environment, Figma.

Once game designers had a full working prototype of the game based on the concept structure, they were able to divide areas of responsibility and assign tasks to other departments:

Programmers began creating the initial game prototype based on the mock-up.

• Programmers began creating the initial game prototype based on the mock-up.
• The Art Department actively worked on establishing the overall visual style of the project and sourcing visual references.
• Sound designers began selecting field recording options for the game.
• Writers gained insight into the game’s limitations and started developing the gameplay narrative.

My task became setting objectives for programmers, artists, and sound designers. I needed to ensure that every team member shared a common vision for the project.At the end of each workday during the expedition, we held a meeting to discuss the progress of each department and set tasks for the following day.

After delegating responsibilities, some in-game scenes deviated from their original concept. At this stage, the game concept was finalized, and subsequent work focused on executing the project plan.

My task became setting objectives for the programmers, artists, and sound designers. I needed to ensure that every team member shared a common vision for the project.At the end of each day of the expedition, we held a meeting to discuss the progress of each department and set tasks for the following day.

During the process, the initial content plan was condensed: some backgrounds and game characters were removed. This optimization allowed us to stay on track with the game script. You can view the final result on the Yasnaya Polyana estate museum’s website.