Czech game developer responds to Russia’s proposed ban on Last Train Home
The Russian prosecutor's office is demanding a ban on the distribution of the computer game Last Train Home, developed by Ashborne Games in Brno. According to the Russian authorities, the game about Czechoslovak legionnaires incites hatred against the Russian government and the soldiers of the Red Army. I interviewed Managing Director of Ashborne Games Petr Kolář about the Russian prosecutor’s office accusations.
How did you approach the portrayal of Czechoslovak legionnaires in Last Train Home to ensure historical accuracy? And how would you respond to the Russian prosecutor's office's claim that the game contains false information and distorts historical facts?
“At the very beginning when we started working on the game, we decided that we needed some historical accuracy consultants. So, we reached out to historians and those people have a lot of data regarding the state of affairs at the beginning of the 20th century when the Legion was going through the Trans-Siberian railway from Moscow to Vladivostok and then on to the U.S. and Italy back on their way to the newfound First Czechoslovak Republic.
“So, we gathered all the possible documentation and went through that and we tried to make the game portray the war not in black and white but in shades of gray. So, all the types of forces there are depicted in different shades.
“You can for example see that there is the Red Army that is the main enemy to the Czechoslovak Legion. But, on the other hand, you have events where you meet a soldier in the Red Army with his family and he asks you to bring the family to the doctor at the next train stop. And it’s up to you if you will go against him or if you will help the family.
“This way you can see that all the sides of the conflict are depicted in shades of grey throughout the game.”
Russian prosecutors are also arguing the need to protect children’s mental health, so how do you address concerns about the game’s potential effects on the mental health of children?
“The prime factor that we counted on is that the game has a rating. And the rating says that the game is suitable for people sixteen years and older. So, it shouldn't be the primary game for kids who are very small.
“On the other hand, we depict war in the game and war is never a nice thing. You can see mass graves; you can see massacres there. Those things are never nice. So, in this way, it can affect people. But it shouldn’t affect kids since it shouldn’t be bought by kids.”
What was the motivation behind choosing Captain František Langer as a central character?
“The game is, in a way, a memoir of František Langer, based largely on the real captain of the Czechoslovak Legion. He tells the story of the legionnaires but still the player is someone else. The player is a young captain who tries to take care of the whole train and soldiers, to make sure they arrive in Vladivostok on time, so they can return home. So, it’s more of a story of the homecoming that the player faces that is narrated by František Langer.”
