RU | EN
Submenu

Kopanev A. Visualization of the Russian North in Video Games: Function and Aesthetics

A. Kopanev
Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) of the RAS
St. Petersburg, Russia
ORCID: 0000-0002-3385-9677
E-mail: aleksandrkopanev90@yandex.ru

 

 Download  |  Go to Issue #2. 2026

 

ABSTRACT. An analysis of the term “video games” inevitably raises the question of how virtual space is visualized as players interact with it during gameplay. Building interactive cyberspace from diverse pictorial elements is an important research topic not only in game studies but also in historical science. Northernness can be depicted in various ways, so this article aims to identify the most prominent vectors in the visualization of the Russian North as an ethnographic, geographical, semantic, emotional, and mechanical phenomenon. When creating a video game, authors must integrate various elements into a coherent composition: reality rendered through digital code must combine aesthetic and functional qualities. In this regard, the Russian North is characterized as a specific region that cannot be considered particularly widespread, despite popular stereotypes about the “Russian winter”. This article selects several examples and perspectives to demonstrate specific methods for processing visual markers of the Russian North from a game design standpoint. Special attention is paid to iconic video games such as Syberia and Rise of the Tomb Raider, as well as to broader trends in representing the North within specific genres, including horror and survival. Prospects for further research are highlighted through the work of Russian game designers from Yakutia, who emphasize the development of northern folklore themes as a foundation for visualizing new projects.

 

KEYWORDS: North, Northernness, Russia, visualization, video game, cyberspace

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8600-2026-2(32)-172-187
UDC 39:0 04.92

 

REFERENCES 

  • Aarseth E. Playing Research: Methodological approaches to game analysis. Proceedings of Melbourne Digital Arts and Culture Conference (Melbourne, Australia, August 28–29, 2003). Melbourne: RMIT University, 2003, pp. 1–7. (In English).
  • Egenfeldt-Nielsen S., Smith J. H., Pajares Tosca S. Understanding video games: The essential introduction. 3rd ed. New York; London: Routledge, 2013, 332 p. (In English).
  • Golovnev A. V. Severnost’ Rossii [Northernness of Russia]. St. Petersburg: MAE RAN Publ., 2022, 450 p. (In Russian).
  • Golovnev A. V., Belorussova S. Yu., Kisser T. S. Virtual’naya etnichnost’ i kiberetnografiya [Virtual ethnicity and cyberethnography]. St. Petersburg: MAE RAN Publ., 2021, 280 p. (In Russian).
  • Komarovich V. L. Kitezhskaya legenda. Opyt izucheniya mestnykh legend [Kitezh Legend. An attempt to study local legends]. Moscow; Leningrad: Izdatel’stvo AN SSSR Publ., 1936, 189 p. (In Russian).
  • Koshkina E. Reconstruction of norse myth in videogames — The case of God of War: MSc in Interactive Digital Media Diss. Dublin: University of Dublin, 2020. 51 p. Available at: www.scss.tcd.ie/publications/theses/diss/2020/TCD-SCSS-DISSERTATION-2020-007.pdf (accessed: 04.05.2026). (In English).
  • Lasausse L. Norse mythology in video games: Part of immanent Nordic Regional Branding: Master of European and Nordic Studies Diss. Helsinki: University of Helsinki, 2018. 86 p. Available at: https://helda.helsinki.fi /bitstreams/a7c9ade9-7fcf-4410-8ade-91c228417e9c/download (accessed: 04.05.2026). (In English).
  • McGonigal J. Real’nost’ pod voprosom. Pochemu igry delayut nas luchshe i kak oni mogut izmenit’ mir [Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the World]. Moscow: Mann, Ivanov i Ferber Publ., 2018, 384 p. (In Russian).
  • Wolf M. J. P., Perron B. Introducción a la teoría del videojuego. Formats: Revista de comunicació audiovisual, 2005, no. 4, pp. 1–27. Available at: www.raco.cat/index.php/Formats/article/view/257329 (accessed: 12.01.2026). (In Spanish).