Minesalt - New Battle Field: As Ukraine won Russia in a computer game based on Minecraft

Although his bodily "I" is 600 miles from there, in Khmelnitsky, in the west of the country, Bandrivsky returned home in a incorrect form as a Minesalt character, a spin-off of an extremely popular Minecraft game developed by the Ukrainian government. The release of the game last Thursday marks Ukraine's release to a new battlefield, a virtual front, through which both sides try to cover a new and younger audience in the Information War.

The action of the game unfolds in the famous salt mines of Soledar, the largest in Europe, and players have to rush on their repositories and tunnels, collecting salt crystals. As soon as they come to the end, they will be asked what they learned about the mine. However, the game also serves an information purpose to "remind the world of the struggle for Ukrainian freedom", as Yaroslav Gres says, the main coordinator United24, the official crowdfunding unit of the government.

"Two years after a full -scale invasion, we need to find new solutions, new ways of communication, new creative ideas to talk to the world about the war in Ukraine," she said. "That's why this game matters, and it is, of course, a counterweight to Russian propaganda that uses games such as Roblox and Minecraft. " The most selling game in the history of Minecraft play more than 160 million users on a monthly basis.

One of the reasons for her success is that she makes it possible to create "custom content", with the help of which everyone can create their own version of playing with their characters, settings and tasks. After the Wagner troops were seized by Soledar in January 2023, Russian developers created their own version of Minecraft in the scenery of this city.

Unlike the Ukrainian version based on salt, Russian adaptation is a reconstruction of the battle, the culmination of which is the final task that requires the players to raise the Russian three -color flag above the captured city. The Kremlin's invasion of the virtual world, which has similar adapted versions of other games, such as Roblox, was regarded as an attempt to extend the continued propaganda among young people.

This group is usually less watched by TV, which is the main means of transmitting President Putin's state messages. There were other cases of Kremlin's attempts to use Minecraft for agitation purposes. Last June, celebrities, musicians and a member of the Russian government staged a concert dedicated to Russia Day. Minesalt - the brainchild United24 and has a completely different focus.

It will be used to raise funds at the expense of donations of players to restore school in the Greater Kostromka in Dnipropetrovsk region, destroyed by a Russian rocket. The 33-year-old Bandrivsky, who worked at a mine in Soledar, is presented in the game as a mentor of players, showing them numerous caves with the size of the cathedral, connected by more than 200 miles of tunnels.

The characters of the game are also famous people-Richard Branson, British businessman, Alexander Usyk, heavyweight boxing champion, and Alexander Zinchenko, a player of the English Premier League. After the seizure of Soledar Russia, the mine remains closed. To reproduce it accurately, developers from the French video game Endorah have addressed the memoirs of miners, cards and photos. Minesalt is more than just a game.