Gaming Lobby "Gaming Session of the Future" showcases the many sides of Russian game development at the "Inventing the Future" Symposium

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New releases and trends in Russian game development, the strengths of the Russian games industry and cybersecurity were among the topics in focus at the Gaming Lobby "Gaming Session of the Future". The special project made its debut at the III International Symposium "Inventing the Future" on 13 November at the National Centre RUSSIA, bringing together gamers, developers and video game experts. It was co-organised by the Russian gaming ecosystem VK Play, Lesta Games, the Cyberdom project, the international esports club network COLIZEUM, the REACTOR game developers' community and Synergy University's Faculty of Gaming Industry and Esports.

The Gaming Lobby programme featured public talks, presentations of new releases, playtests, a large-scale tank tournament and other events that explored different sides of the video game world. The programme was hosted by television presenter, comedian and actor Vladimir Marconi.

New releases and trends in game development were among the main topics. Gaming Lobby experts discussed new Russian games inspired by Slavic mythology and Russia's history, geography and culture. They explored what makes a modern game reflect Russia's cultural code while offering both educational value and entertainment.  

"A game has to stay a game. Take 'The Witcher 3', for example. It sparked interest in exploring East Slavic folklore. 'Atomic Heart' reminded us that we are a great space power. 'Black Book' surprised the world with the local culture of Perm. We're finally seeing games that go beyond prefabricated tower blocks, the 1990s and the like. We're starting to look more closely at our own history and ask ourselves who we are and what we want to play. That's why I'd like Russian players to believe in Russian developers, and for our developers to put their own players first," explained Alexander Yegorov, Head of VK Play Indie.  

The public talk also featured Alexei Skrebtsov, Head of Mobile Games Publishing at Astrum Entertainment, Ivan Orlov, PR Director at Ninsar.Games, Alexander Gorbachenko, CEO of Foxhound Studio, and Anatoly Subbotin, Marketing Director at 1C Game Studios.

The public recording of the podcast "Our Game. Russian Industry and Its Global Standing" was livestreamed. The topic was discussed by Alexander Zhogolev, gaming reporter for Zvezda TV, and Alexander Mikheyev, head of VK Play.   

"The industry is growing and improving. The first reason is education. Russian universities offer hundreds of courses designed to train skilled games industry professionals, from game designers to programmers and live operations specialists. The second is a strong professional community. We have several major associations with hundreds of specialists. The third is investment. Game production requires substantial investment. We have little in the way of major private investment, but the state is taking an active role, and the Internet Development Institute helps support dozens of projects every year. The fourth is distribution. That's exactly what we do at VK Group," noted Alexander Mikheyev.  

The head of VK Play listed the strengths of Russian game development: a deep understanding of two very different markets, Asia and the West, one of the world's strongest traditions in technical training, a strong tradition in the arts, and a distinctive cultural code and outlook on values. He also identified promising markets for Russian developers in Asia, South America, the Middle East and North Africa.  

The Gaming Lobby also explored the psychology of gaming. Stanislav Zharinov, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences and Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy for the Natural Sciences Faculties at Moscow State University, discussed the ancient origins of play.

"In his book 'Homo Ludens: Man the Player', the cultural historian Johan Huizinga argues that play is much older than culture, citing the example of animals at play. Everything that makes up culture gradually takes shape through play. Greek theatre, for instance, has several things in common with play. One of them is the space it takes place in. The Dionysian mysteries unfolded in an arena. Poetry also grew out of a contest, a game of rhythm. Even religious rites originated in play," explained Stanislav Zharinov.  

Why people play games was the question taken up by Vladislav Polevik, Head of Marketing for "World of Tanks" at Lesta Games, Vladimir Alipov, a neuroscientist and physician, Sergei Aleksashenko, Production Director at Game Art Pioneers, and Alexei HardPlay, a streamer and video blogger. The experts explained that people play for different reasons: to relieve stress, feel the satisfaction of winning, join a community and make friends, or earn money. In the age of the "attention economy", marketing techniques, psychological techniques and visual design also help draw people to games.  

Cybersecurity was another topic at the Gaming Lobby. Experts at the "Esports and Cybersecurity" public talk agreed that good digital hygiene matters to everyone. They advised enabling two-factor authentication on important accounts, using Face ID and similar tools, and avoiding storing files containing passwords and code words on computers or mobile phones. They also highlighted the potential of esports. Fraudsters still rarely target gaming platforms, they said, so there is time to get into esports and learn good cybersecurity habits.  

A highlight was the "World of Tanks" tournament, with gaming fans following the fast-paced battle on big screens. Enemy and Spartak faced off in the final. Each side fielded seven players, and every player had a chance to help their team win. Manoeuvres, attacks and defensive plays made for a tense and exciting final. Enemy won, and the tournament had a prize pool of 500,000 roubles.

Throughout the day, visitors also took part in a quiz and attended a presentation of DISTORTION. Alongside the discussions, visitors could try new Russian releases in an open gaming area equipped with 26 high-performance PCs. In the lounge area, they played "Well, Just You Wait!", "Tetris" and other games on Soviet-era arcade machines and modern replicas.

The III International Symposium "Inventing the Future" was held on 12–13 November at the National Centre RUSSIA and brought together more than 8,000 participants from 109 countries. The event was organised at the direction of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, under the auspices of the Decade of Science and Technology, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.