Spiritual suffering: the first AI game about the cultural heritage of Altai is released in Russia

A group of Russian enthusiasts developed the game "Guardian of Altai" using AI tools. The main feature was the choice of the theme — the game tells about the medieval religion of Tengrianism, which was widespread among the Turkic-Altaic tribes and became part of the cultural heritage of Altai. The developers were the first in the world to digitize and process shaman worship using AI, transferring it to the game as an interactive mechanic. Read more about the project in the Izvestia article.

Modern solutions for medieval philosophy

A new game about the rich culture of Altai will appear in digital storefronts on August 21, Izvestia found out. The plot of "The Guardian of Altai" is based on the story of Tengrianism, one of the branches of the medieval religion that was widespread among the Eurasian nomads, including those living in Altai. The authors took Erlik, a well-known representative of Altaic mythology, as one of the main characters. His retinue has been supplemented with spirits and shamans who will confront the players.

A shot from the game "Guardian of Altai"

Photo: Surreal Overflow

— We actively used Russian solutions in the process of creating the game. For example, the neural networks GigaChat and Kandinsky from Sberbank. At the same time, the main game engine of Sentinel is foreign, it is Unity. We consider the combat system, which uses a tambourine and the sounds of a shaman's kamlaniy, to be our key know-how," explained Yaroslav Dunaevsky, project manager and narrative designer.

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As the developer explains, the game shows the belief in the balance of the world inherent in Tengrianism. For this purpose, a story was invented about the supreme shaman Kutu, who ensured that people and the spirits of nature lived in harmony. But the evil Erlik deceived Kutu with magic, and he stopped protecting the balance: he began to catch the spirits of nature and lock them in magical cages underground. Because of this, everything was disrupted: people became Erlik's assistants, and the world plunged into chaos. Now the player's task is to act as a young shaman and restore the natural order of things.

The idea to create a game using Russian AI technologies came to the authors as part of the Neurobutcamp competition. According to Yaroslav, the rules took only two months to develop, but the initiative was put on hold, and the authors decided to bring the game to mind and turn it into an educational project for everyone who is interested in Altai mythology.

A shot from the game "Guardian of Altai"

Photo: Surreal Overflow

— The player's main weapon is an orb (shamanic mallet) and a tambourine. By hitting the tambourine, the player causes a wave that destroys golems (mythical creatures made of inanimate matter, such as clay). Thus, each level for the player is essentially a ritual of kamlaniya, when the shaman confronts evil spirits, trying to rescue the good ones. We tried to immerse the player in the ritual as much as possible, transferring the strip of life and keyboard shortcuts to the tambourine, which allows us not to be distracted during the ritual, but to focus solely on the good cause," Yaroslav Dunaevsky summed up.

Subsequently, the authors recorded tambourine beats, throat singing and purring of a cat in a yurt using the ElevenLabs AI toolkit. According to the project manager, half of the development was given to AI, using first the latest models of Russian neural networks, then global ones: the generation of Kandinsky was improved and redesigned using ChatGPT 4o. The expert is convinced that such an approach will soon become the norm in the development of video games.

The demand for such games is growing

"Sentinel of Altai" is a significant case in the creative field, although in its current form it looks more like a game piece than a complete project. However, this is exploration in an unexplored direction. Folklore rhythm-action, ethno-fantasy aesthetics are all new words for an industry in which interesting ideas mean a lot, says Mikhail Lisetsky, creator of the Streamfest and Gamedays gaming festivals.

A shot from the game "Guardian of Altai"

Photo: Surreal Overflow

— So far, this intersection of game mechanics and ethnography looks rough, but if the developers do not plunge headlong into the excavation of local cultural heritage, but keep in mind the interests of a modern gamer, then a decent project may turn out. Patapon's trilogy of rhythmic "primitive" strategies will be a good reference point," he said.

According to IT expert Sergey Pomortsev, the AI origin of the game is noticeable and may indicate a low quality of the production cycle. It doesn't add credibility that this is the first game from this team, and most of them only have courses in Skillbox. The uniqueness of the chosen topic and the importance of pro-Russian narratives are largely discounted by the frankly amateur format of product sales.

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Altai deserves more than two well-known computer projects: "The Heart of Altai" and "Altai: cycling through the Heart of Russia." Only two notable projects with such rich material are a drop in the ocean compared to the potential of the region, blogger and streamer Roman Dorogavtsev is convinced.

— The decision to make Tengrianism the main one speaks about the intention of the authors to achieve cultural authenticity and depth. This means that the approach deserves at least attention to the educational objectives of the game," the blogger noted.

A shot from the game "Guardian of Altai"

Photo: Surreal Overflow

There are still a minimal number of Russian games that would tell about cultural traditions and organically weave them into the gameplay, according to Oleg Dobroshtan, an expert in the gaming industry. He clarifies that we are talking about ancient folklore, not modern folklore, where there are many more representatives.

— So far, I see a fairly crude product, but at the same time I note the desire of the guys to integrate into the mechanics of the game what can really captivate the player in terms of learning the ethnic component, — he believes.

The expert recalled that in any game, the process is much more important than the cultural context and its interest is much more important than broadcasting a certain setting, be it Altai mythology or any other. Gameplay and gameplay should come first.

The game is scheduled to be released on VK Play and Steam platforms on August 21.