On February 24, 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. A large-scale military offensive that, according to an estimate by the Wall Street Journal last September, has claimed over 80,000 lives and recorded more than 400,000 injuries among the Ukrainian people. A war that has brought destruction across the country and, more than two and a half years since its outbreak, is still ongoing and dominating news reports and front pages worldwide. Many speak about the conflict, including a brave Ukrainian game development studio: Twigames.
It all began in 2015. A young freelance developer, Valerii Minenko, stood out among his clients for his skill and reliability. The number of commissions grew significantly over the next few years, leading Valerii, along with three collaborators, to establish a company and expand his business. Twigames was born. The studio’s first game, Shipwrecked Shambles, unfortunately, did not achieve the success they had hoped for. However, Valerii and the rest of the team remained undeterred, continuing to work on a mix of in-house productions and outsourcing projects. Their dedication and persistence paid off, and positive results soon followed. Years passed, leading to today and their new project: Hollow Home. An ambitious game, demanding far more resources from the studio than usual, but one made with heart. Hollow Home addresses the war that is tearing apart Twigames’ homeland: Ukraine.
The protagonist of Hollow Home is Maksym, an ordinary Ukrainian child. He goes to school, lives with his family, and plays with friends. Until one day, war knocks on his door, and his life is suddenly and irreversibly changed.“Children are forced to grow up very quickly during a war. It’s something we’re witnessing in Ukraine, and we want to show it to the whole world” says Valerii Minenko to Excaliber.“I have an 8-year-old son, and I had to explain to him what war is. By now, he’s learned all the emergency signals, hearing air raid sirens, defense systems, and explosions caused by drones and rockets almost every night. A girl from his school was killed by a Russian missile in the summer of 2023. It’s simply impossible to shield children from the war in Ukraine because the war is just too close to them. They are forced to know it and to think about things that children in other countries don’t have to face. ”
While Hollow Home is indeed a video game, it presents players with a theme that is anything but a game. “Our protagonist, Maksym, at the start of the story, decides to skip school” Valerii explains. The idea of a child skipping class to have fun with friends brings a smile, a playful mischief. But after this light-hearted beginning, tragedy strikes, hitting like a punch to the gut.“The next day, Maksym has to protect his home because the war has begun. And the day after that, he sees death for the first time: someone he knew has been killed and lies there, in front of him. This begins a forced process of growing up that has become a reality in Ukraine, and it’s also part of the story we want to tell. ”
Translating the horrors of war into a video game narrative is anything but easy. “The real challenge in creating a game like this is probably telling this story” Valerii admits.“We have to revisit the horror and shock of the first weeks of the invasion, again and again. We’ve gathered numerous testimonies, and it was emotionally challenging to do so. During the pre-production phase, we worked with a Ukrainian journalist who helped us gather evidence from the first months of the war. We created a 600-page document with data collected from open sources: official Telegram channels, news, personal blogs. We even have the weather data from those days.” This thorough documentation is especially important, aimed at preserving the memory of the tragedy that has occurred and, sadly, is still ongoing.“For the game, we didn’t adapt real stories directly but instead wrote our own story inspired by actual events. Like the siege of Mariupol. In that city, water suddenly became a rare and precious resource, and people were forced to use the water from radiators that, just days before, had been used to heat their homes. Or they had to start cooking food in their courtyards. ”
Normal life, which just a few years ago was the norm, has sadly become the exception in Ukraine since 2022. Situations like those described above have become more and more frequent.“The story of Hollow Home was written using these real situations. Many people shared their thoughts and personal experiences. Some offered their help in development and even shared their own diaries with us. Others worried about whether we could tell such an emotionally difficult story in the right way and with the proper respect. We feel tremendous support from the local community, which motivates us to keep going with our work. To enrich the story, we are also drawing from the experiences and emotions personally lived by each member of the team.” Twigames’ goal is to show how terrible war is and how quickly and drastically it can change people’s lives, their character, and their personalities.
Hollow Home remains, after all, a video game. For this reason, the team wanted to retain narrative games mechanics to offer an interactive experience. However, even here, they approached it in a way that places the player in extreme situations, as every action has consequences.“Most of the quests in Hollow Home revolve around survival, both for the protagonist and the people he encounters. This involves making difficult decisions. It means that not all missions can be completed in the best possible way. At some point, the player will have to decide whom to help survive” Valerii reveals. It’s a bold design choice that might seem almost cruel to some but aims to convey on screen what the Ukrainian people are actually enduring. Although softened, it remains difficult to accept.“My colleagues and I hope to make people understand how horrible war is. How horrible the war we Ukrainians are experiencing is, a war that erupted near the heart of Europe, close to millions of other people. We hope that everyone considers what they could do to stop it and prevent other wars in the future. ”
Reflecting on everything Valerii has shared, it becomes clear just how complex and delicate the themes of Hollow Home are. But this hasn’t discouraged Twigames from moving forward with the project. On the contrary, it has motivated the team to pursue this path with even greater conviction.“In the film industry, there are many movies that tackle tough themes and issues. In video games, however, it’s still quite unusual. But I believe video games are a great medium for this purpose – not only to entertain players but also to make them think about important topics and, hopefully, to help make the world a better place.” So, if you’re a developer debating whether or not to create a game about such themes, Valerii’s advice is simple yet resolute: “Do it!”
Now, Twigames must complete the development of Hollow Home. A goal that is challenging in itself, made even harder by the situation the studio is facing. Valerii and the rest of the team do their best every day: they continue working on projects for other clients to support themselves while seeking publishers or investors to provide the financial help needed to finish Hollow Home. However, you too can lend a hand to Twigames. Add Hollow Home to your Steam wishlist, follow and support the studio on social media, and if you feel you can make a bigger contribution, reach out to Valerii via email: valerii@twigames.net
Every bit of help is welcome.
