It’s been over two weeks now since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which marked the biggest land conflict in Europe since World War II. We caught up with Ukraine-based Xitilon, who many of you know for publishing and porting games such as Castle of No Escape, Smart Moves, and ReactorX, to learn about his experience with the war currently waging throughout his country. “I feel exhausted, but not in a pessimistic way,” says Xitilon.Xitilon, who wishes not to disclose his real name or exact whereabouts, tells me that the first day of the invasion, February 24th, was confusing. “The first day was ridiculous,” Xitilon says. “I heard a loud explosion very early in the morning, and there was no information on what was going on.” Since then, Xitilon has been in and out of bomb shelters trying to avoid Russian artillery and rockets that are pounding Ukrainian soil. Where he’s located, air raid sirens are constantly sounding throughout the day and night, forcing him into the shelter. “Air raid sirens are heard every day, sometimes between the hours of 2-5 am,” Xitilon says. “I’ll go to the bomb shelter every now and then, and stay there for anything between 20 minutes and several hours.” Xitilon tells me that he feels physically exhausted, but emotionally, he’s staying strong and not letting negativity creep in. However, despite managing to relocate some of his development hardware across the city, his publishing and porting business has unsurprisingly come to a halt in terms of updating games and publishing new ones. The Ukrainian government has banned the majority of fighting-aged men (those aged between 18 and 60) from leaving the country, and it’s resorted to doling out weapons to its civilians, forming a grassroots resistance to take on Putin’s troops. With Xitilon still in the country, he has decided not to take up arms. “I don’t have any kind of combat experience, so I’m not guarding anything with a gun. It would not make much sense.” Instead, he is using some of his time to help out the local people and by paying out money to the developers of the games he’s published. “I’m helping to keep up the bomb shelter, and I’m busy with paying out the game sales revenue to Ukrainian developers and helping the local civilians.” With the situation worsening, Xitilon says that infrastructure around the city is “becoming shaky” and that “people are losing their jobs” and falling into debt. With an “affordable part” of his revenue, Xitilon says that he’s helping people cover what he can. Where Xitilon is located a strict curfew is in effect. Nobody is allowed to leave their homes between early evening and the morning, and if they are caught outside after these hours, they will be considered as working with the Russian forces. For Xitilon, though living under curfew isn’t really a problem. “Living under curfew makes no difference to me, I don’t like to go out,” Xitilon explains. “Other people, I guess, take it like another form of quarantine, so nothing exactly new. Sirens that call people to hide are much more stressful than the curfew.” The only time civilians are allowed to break this curfew is when the air raid siren sounds and people have to make their way back down into the bomb shelters and wait for what must feel like an eternity until the all-clear is given.In recent weeks we’ve seen an outpouring of support for Ukraine from across the video game industry. Numerous companies, both big and small, have donated directly to humanitarian organisations in the country, with some holding special, limited-time sales of their games to raise money for charities. Some companies have followed in the footsteps of their governments and have decided to impose their own sanctions on Russia and Belarus by refusing to sell their games and services in the two countries. Microsoft, Sony, Ubisoft, EA, Take-Two, Activision-Blizzard and many more have all pulled out of the Russian market for new sales. Xitilon believes that these sanctions from video games companies will hopefully make Russians realise that something isn’t quite right in the world. “The world’s reaction is surprisingly strong and on par with what seems to be going on,” Xitolon says. “The video game industry, naturally, has its voice too, and it really could be the only way of informing a certain audience of real-world problems. Big games companies have stopped their sales in the Russian market to show their position, to make a point. It’s more inconvenient than good or bad because gamers will always find a way to play what they want, but certainly a lot more people will notice something is not okay in the world when they aren’t able to do what they are accustomed to. It works as an emergency notification for the majority of players.”Xitilon works with numerous developers from across the world, including some in Russia. Xitilon says that the Russians he knows are against the invasion. “None of the Russians I have met think that their government is doing the right thing. Some of them are going to the peace protests, and are being arrested for that. The last thing I heard is that it’s now a criminal liability for the protesters, instead of just detention and a fine.” Xitilon says. “Some of the developers that I publish have even offered me their revenue if it can help with safety and maintenance, though I hope this won’t be necessary, and only as a last resort. Everyone I know is sorry that innocent people must suffer a war started for political interests.”As The Guardian reports, there have been positive and constructive talks between Russian and Ukrainian diplomats over the weekend, and while the fighting in Ukraine continues, there are hopes that peace talks between the two countries could be held soon, putting an end to the war.
Source link
