Research Writing Samples

Timur Slavgorodskii-Kazanets

Game Studies Researcher | Former Creative Lead at Risus Lupus Enthusiastic Game Project | Blog Writer and Storyteller

 🏳️‍🌈🇺🇦 (He/Him)

About Me

I'm a game studies researcher passionate about developing games that can affect people's perception of the world. My interest lies in non-linear narratives and unusual gameplay mechanics that set bringing up a certain idea as their goal.

My Ethos

Games can prevent wars. They can change people's lives for the better. The right story told with the appropriate mechanics can turn this world upside down. Storytelling should be meaningful and impactful. These are the core values of my work.

Game Design and Narrative Design

My concept of the demo version in-game boss is turned to the functioning model by our talented 3D designer Lisa Furina.

Showcase of various UIs in Argenta Fervojo. I developed the concept and wrote the text, while UI designers Lisa Furina and Katya Checklina brought it to life. Made in Unreal Engine by our developer Alex Vorobey. 

My Blog

Medium Blog about various issues that exist between game studies and game design.

Medium •

Tarnished, Chosen Undead, Ashen One: Narrative Design and Identity in Soulsborne Games

Identity of the Unknown One

To start with, Soulsborne games utilize quite the same formula of outlining the protagonist. In most cases, these characters are someone without a decent list of achievements in the game world. The story presents us as outcasts/foreigners/miserable and forgotten creatures/individuals that are not considered as something meaningful for the background lore at first. Still, as the game progresses we find out more about our purpose.

You may remember that this approach i
Medium •

Parting of the Ways: How Authors in Non-linear Stories Affect Virtual Identities of Players

In my master thesis, I have studied how the in-game narrative structures contribute to constructing a player’s virtual identity. Here, in the Medium article, I would like to discuss the crucial finding useful for game designers and narrative designers.

Non-linear stories are the ones that give players the unique experience of interactivity with fiction. Traditional forms of fiction imply players to be side viewers of the events that consequently unveil one after another. When we watch “Les Mise
Medium •

Morrowind: how narrative can become the main character

What is the Morrowind formula?

Each game has a set of mechanics which are coherently connected by the story. Game designers aim to deliver certain messages by putting the player into a gaming experience that traditionally immerses them in the narrative. So, which experience does Morrowind offer to the player?

The first thing to note here is that Morrowind is an RPG. The player starts as a prisoner, who arrives in the province of Morrowind by boat. No one knows anything about them. You can buil
Medium •

Kenji Miyazawa: Two Worlds of Death

You should listen to Earth if you want to understand it

Miyazawa had an unusually tough life, but the author himself would not agree with such a statement. Kenji had both financial and ideological struggles as his family did not share his view of the world. In particular, his father, Masajirō Miyazawa, followed a different school of Buddhism. It may seem that Miyazawa did not support only the beliefs of his dad, but in fact it was a major conflict between the materialistic and the idealistic wo

Research Examples

A few exempts from my university thesis research works. At the moment, I am conducting my PhD studies based on the previous findings at the University of Salford.

BA Thesis Fragment

Two chapters from the Bachelor Thesis called "Social and Political Identity Construction in Virtual Communities: Evidence from Analysis of Social and Political Practices (MMORPG World of Warcraft Game Experience)."

The first one shows how I have outlined the so-called identification spaces (IS) in World of Warcraft, deriving them from the in-game narrative. Then, using the participant observation (Chapter II), I have distinguished the most important IS for players to build the interview guide.