We continue to summarize the year 2024 with gaming (or gaming industry-related) teams and experts. Next up is an interview with Konstantin Sakhnov, director of the studio Vengeance Games.
How did the year turn out for the company? What achievements would you like to highlight?
Vengeance Games is a small indie studio that values not only a business approach but also a creative outlook on things, with individual responsibility of each developer taking the forefront.
This year began with a paradigm shift for us: in 2023, we started developing Shadows of Vengeance, a space 4X strategy for PC. Relying on previous experience in attracting investments and interacting with funds and private investors, I planned to seek financing for this project. However, under current circumstances, obtaining targeted investment without leaving Russia has become challenging.
This prompted me to launch a new project that we could fund independently. Thus, Azrael, the Harbinger of Death was born, a small adventure game developed by a core team of six (plus up to 10 contractors and 11 voice actors are involved).
Azrael is an adventure game in which players assume the role of an ancient god, the ruler of billions of elves, humans, and orcs... and an office clerk for his fellow deities. The game is set for release in spring 2025, with demos on Steam and VK Play scheduled for next February. Initially, it was meant to be a classic visual novel on Ren’Py, but I was eager to offer players a new experience by transitioning from a textual game to a nonlinear set of mini-games. Thus, Azrael includes puzzles, time games, city-building mechanics, trade, combat, collection, character progression, and even elements of a mobile battler.
During development, I explored the option of attracting targeted non-institutional investments and reached an agreement with Chinese partners, securing funds for the game's marketing. Our current focus is on launching the product in the US, Europe, and post-Soviet countries. Based on these results, a decision will be made about the project’s release in China or shifting focus to other company projects.
An important achievement I consider is the partnership with popular Russian bloggers who assist us with the voiceover and promotion of Azrael. For instance, the voice of the goddess of death, Mortariel, will be provided by a famous Russian blogger Daria Ostrovskaya. Daria provides significant support to Russian indie projects. In my view, in the current realities of the Russian development market, such help is invaluable. One of the projects she is also involved in is Run Away from Me. Alexandra.
Besides Daria Ostrovskaya, we are also working with another popular blogger, Mikhail Kshishtovsky, who agreed to voice for us Bartolomei Razumovsky, a high priest and undead with dementia, spending his days after death on warm atoll shores, fishing, and cooking.
The selection of voice actors and direction is overseen by Alexander Gavrilin (the voice of Batman, Loki, and Silco from Arcane). Students from his Dub School have lent their voices to many characters in the game.
In 2024, Vengeance Games also became a member of the APRIORI association. Its activities, along with the initiatives of the RVI association, help develop the Russian video game production market.
This year also witnessed the relaunch of the game project management program I created at the Higher School of Business at NRU HSE. Our students are launching more and more gaming studios and cool new projects for both the mobile and PC markets.
In your view, how has the situation in the gaming market changed?
Since I am currently working in the indie games market for PC, I will share my opinion primarily about this segment. Indie games continue to gain popularity in the Western market and Russia. This established trend accumulates player disappointment in the products of large corporations and dissatisfaction with the left-wing agenda actively promoted by Western studios. Indies can afford greater risks and creativity.
Meanwhile, Russian indie studios and independent developers face scaling difficulties due to the inability to quickly attract funds domestically. Some solve this problem through connections by raising funds from a pool of private investors. Fortunately, more opportunities to raise small sums are emerging, such as the INDIE GO accelerator, the Rostelecom fund, the cultural initiatives fund, and of course, IRI. However, this is not yet enough to meet market demands.
How did the year turn out for the genre you are working in?
Adventure games with elements of a visual novel are an extremely niche product. Our audience is very stable and primarily expects a deep storyline and original game mechanics. One of Azrael's goals is to help us gain experience in this segment and better understand our audience's needs. This will allow me to answer the question of whether it makes sense to put such projects on stream for scale through quantity or to develop expertise by transitioning to more complex indie projects.
As for classic visual novels, this year Doki Doki Literature Club sales surpassed 30 million (with 96% positive reviews on Steam)! Even more impressive numbers are boasted by Everlasting Summer. Incredible emotions are offered by the mysterious The Bunny Graveyard and the extraordinary Slay the Princess. More novels are emerging, whose plots revolve not only around relationships and romance but also address deeper issues. More novels are expanding beyond the genre by adding more game mechanics.
What trends do you anticipate strengthening or emerging in your niche in 2025?
I believe in people and their desire for self-expression and creativity; therefore, I think that deeper games addressing socially significant issues and revealing personal and psychological problems will become increasingly in demand. The product market for a "thinking" audience will expand. However, it is important to remember that deeper games do not mean more complicated. I see the necessity to simplify the delivery of information, especially when it comes to issues that truly concern people. I prefer to adhere to the well-known principle of cinema: show, don't tell.
Azrael, the Harbinger of Death
Another interesting trend I see in the indie segment is the increasing share of indie projects in the mobile market. More bloggers are emerging, reviewing mobile novelties or conceptual games for phones. The range of mobile game genres is expanding, offering players even mobile indie horrors. However, the current structure of game stores, the specifics of mobile marketing, and the monetization of such games do not provide grounds to believe that this market will become commercially more attractive in the coming years.
What are the company's plans for the next year?
Our main goal at the start of the year is to launch Azrael into the market and analyze its financial results. We are preparing for the fact that the outcome of this launch will be the next round of investments from Russian, Chinese, or other investors from friendly countries.
The company's plans involve further development as a PC game developer. Personally, my goals include doing everything within my power to advance the domestic game production market.
Azrael, the Harbinger of Death