Dissension
Dissension is a Walking-Simulator game set in Ukraine towards the end of the Soviet regime. You wake up in the Carpathian forest with no memory of your arrival, and your main objective is to survive and retrace your history.
Context
The game is set in the late 80s in the USSR. This was the last decade of the Communist Party, which had been corrupt and slack since the 1960s. The state had virtually no money left in its coffers. Public morale and the birth rate fell sharply after the Chernobyl accident. A sense of gloom could be felt all throughout the population, and most people were afraid for the future.
Zlatko Azarov, a Ukrainian man in his thirties, wakes up in the middle of a snowstorm in the Carpathian forest with severe headaches. His past is a blur, and he has no idea why he is there.
Faced with extreme temperatures and unknowingly drugged, he has to find his way back to Kiev. As he makes his way, his own belongings are strewn across the ground, and strange memories of the past seem to resurface....
Roles and involvement in the project
Dissension was my initial solo project during my first year of Game Design. Inspired by the historical period of the late 80s in the USSR, I wanted to make a narrative video game that would plunge us into the heart of this dark period of great upheaval for the Soviet people by adopting the point of view of a character consumed by hatred of a failing and corrupt system.During the production phase, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with a Russian speaker who was able to interpret the voice of the main character in his native language, giving him a more distinctive personality and enhancing the gaming experience. This project gave me my first experience of developing and organising a game, as well as allowing me to showcase my storytelling and writing skills.
