Tolstoy Enters the Game: Students Create a Quest to Explore the Writer’s Life
Russian students have teamed up with the Yasnaya Polyana museum-reserve in the Tula Region to launch a computer game about writer Leo Tolstoy. Anyone can play it directly on the museum’s website.
The project was made possible by Otkryvayem Rossiyu zanovo (Rediscovering Russia), a nationwide program of student expeditions. Its creators are students from HSE University, Moscow Polytechnic University, RUDN University, ITMO University and the Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The team brought together programmers, game designers, illustrators, screenwriters and sound designers. The game took just 10 days to produce.
Repin Comes to Visit Tolstoy
A Day in the Life of Leo Tolstoy is an interactive game that takes players on a virtual visit to Yasnaya Polyana, where they can meet the writer himself. In the story, Ilya Repin arrives at Yasnaya Polyana to portray Tolstoy. He tries to find Lev Nikolayevich first inside the house, then around the grounds and in the park. As players search for the writer, they discover what he ate for breakfast, where he went for walks, what kind of hat he wore, which walking stick he used and what letters he received.
The game is a visual novel with point-and-click elements and 2D graphics. Its soundscape is rooted in the actual estate: the developers recorded wind, running water, birdsong and the creaking of floorboards and footbridges on site. Neural networks generated the voices of the game’s characters. T
he game is designed for a broad audience. Anyone can spend 10 to 15 minutes learning about Tolstoy’s daily life and habits. It offers a break from routine while giving players something new to learn. It may even inspire them to visit the places where famous literary works were written and see the portrait painted by Repin in person. In this way, a computer game becomes another gateway to Russia’s cultural heritage, alongside exhibitions, guided tours and digital catalogs.
A Real-World Training Ground for Students
A Day in the Life of Leo Tolstoy is also a strong example of hands-on professional training. The students created a finished product, not just a classroom prototype. Crucially, they worked at Yasnaya Polyana itself, treating the estate as a creative laboratory and drawing inspiration from its setting and history. The opportunity came through Otkryvayem Rossiyu zanovo, a series of student expeditions organized with the participation of HSE University, Rosmolodezh (the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs) and the Russian Geographical Society. The program aims to support regional development and address real-world needs at museums, nature reserves and in local communities. Participants go into the field, work alongside local teams and develop projects designed for practical use.
“These aren’t just projects on paper. They’re a real synthesis of science and culture, design and technology. All of this makes our culture feel alive and memorable, while giving students a real-world case study in a socially significant project to include in their portfolios.” notes Ekaterina Kuldina, game design instructor at HSE University’s School of Design and mentor of “Gamification for the K. E. Tsiolkovsky Museum of the History of Cosmonautics”
Beyond Traditional Formats
In 2025, students from HSE University’s School of Design had already worked at Yasnaya Polyana on sound installations, graphic works and other projects connected with Tolstoy’s legacy. A Day in the Life of Leo Tolstoy grew out of that ongoing work, evolving from creative experiments in the museum setting into a fully realized product.
The project shows how Russian students can apply their digital product development skills to cultural and educational goals. Over time, projects like this could become part of museums’ digital infrastructure. Interactive tours, educational quests, computer games and multimedia routes can all complement traditional ways of experiencing cultural heritage.
