Under Pressure: Games as a weapon of resilience during war

Join us for a talk with Yaraslau Kot, a game developer and active industry participant, who has researched how Ukrainian developers have responded to the war through their creations.

In this talk, you will discover how and why these games were created, what stories they tell, and how the reality of war is reflected through the creative responses of game developers. Having analyzed over 200 games, he will explore the motivations behind their creation, the reasons some projects disappear, and the diverse roles these games play in society.

Yaraslau Kot is a Ukrainian-Belarusian Game Designer and Narrative Designer with global experience in the industry since 1996. A political refugee, he currently works with two indie studios “East Beasts' Games” and “A Little Bit Different”, as well as the Ukrainian project ComBat Vision.

Beyond game development, he is a researcher at the European Humanities University and serves as President of the Magnus Ducatus Foundation. Previously, he was the Regional Coordinator for Eastern Europe and Asia at IGDA and the Chairperson of BelGameDev. He also co-organizes major industry events such as Games Gathering Conference, GameOn, the Game Industry Conference, and the Central and Eastern Europe Games Awards.

Holding a PhD, MBA, LLM, and MPsych, Yaraslau Kot is also the author of several books and articles on game design and the broader cultural impact of games.

With support from Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA