RESIN: Zalyesye

Narrative RPG, Simulator, Action-Adventure, Interactive Film.

First-person view during «Repair Mode.» During main events, the view is third-person.

Informational feudalism, where the aesthetics of the Mongol Yasa in Russia intertwine with Soviet brutalism and cyberpunk. The Orbital Iron Hordes collect tribute from corporate feudal lords. The «Hour of Unity» ritual serves as a digital form of universal compulsory labor.

Priority: PC (Steam, VK Play). This is the primary platform for narrative indie games, Point & Click adventures, and text-focused RPGs. Mouse control is ideal for the Deduction Board interface and repair mini-games.

Ages 18–40. Players who value deep narratives, tactility, and psychological density. Audience base: fans of the series «Black Mirror» and «Severance.»

1. Repair as trauma study: The player disassembles neuroimplants, but is actually studying others' traumas through patient testimonials. Static—a systemic debuff—distorts the protagonist’s interface and memory when she engages with processing her own and others' emotions.2. Constructing identity through memory retrieval. The past is the source code. To acquire a new skill or alter a line of dialogue in the present, the player must revisit Eva’s memories and react to one of the protagonist’s past actions.3. A setting where «Mongol Invasion meets Soviet Cyberpunk.» This unique visual code features Iron Hordes in orbit acting as an inexorable force demanding tribute. This allows the narrative to address the heavy themes of imperial oppression and loss of identity through a fresh, tangible, and recognizable imagery.4. Rejecting the «cure» trope. The game does not teach «how to live right» nor does it attempt to «fix» the protagonist. Its goal is to legitimize trauma. The player pieces together a living character from fragments and scars.

Iva, a 25-year-old technician, lost parts of her memory eight years ago due to damage to her neural implant. She doesn’t recall pieces of her past, but she is aware of her history as a collection of facts. Iva has lived in the city of Zalesye for three years and works at the hospital—ironically, repairing broken neural implants and embedding them with Resin, a substance that dulls human emotion.Her life is governed by a strict routine: a client arrives, describes their symptoms, Iva diagnoses the problem, repairs the neural implant, and receives payment. It is a game reminiscent of Papers, Please, where malice is hidden in the mundane.

The plot kicks off when Eva discovers fragments of foreign code—a Virus—within patient implants. It doesn’t destroy the system; instead, it functions as a neurostimulant, causing people to experience each other’s memories during the Hour of Unity, thereby awakening aggression toward the Iron Hordes.Meanwhile, in Zalyesye, the Iron Hordes' baskaks increasingly arrive to collect tribute. Eva’s friend, Esen, who works for the corporation, learns about the Virus and believes it can be weaponized. Eva is faced with a choice: give Esen access to the Virus or reveal it to the Iron Hordes, as Balzhin suggests—a figure toward whom the heroine harbors warm feelings of mentorship. Using the Deduction Board, the heroine searches for the Virus’s creator. After some time, the heroine discovers that the Virus was created by the «Defenders of Rus”—front agents within the corporation who are secretly attempting to sabotage the system on behalf of the populace to incite a revolt against the Hordes.

There are several possible endings:

1. Balzhin’s Path: «Order at any cost.» Iva sides with Balzhin. She understands that Esen’s rebellion will destroy the city. Iva creates «Quarantine»: she isolates the Virus and passes the coordinates of the «Defenders of Rus» to the Order. The Orda Cleansers quietly and efficiently eliminate the saboteurs. The Corporations save face, and the tribute is paid. Zalesye remains in safe stagnation.

2. Esen’s Path: «Bloody Revolution.» Iva hands the Virus over to Esen. Esen unleashes the Virus during the Hour of Unity. Instead of fear, people feel a collective rage. An open uprising begins. Zalesye drowns in blood. The Iron Hordes, unprepared for such a level of aggression, are forced to deploy heavy artillery. The city is destroyed, but people die free. Iva survives in the ruins alongside Esen, who has become the leader of a faction.

3. The Preacher’s Path: «Integrity.» Instead of using the Virus as a weapon, Iva modifies it. The heroine blocks the Resin, allowing people to feel during the Hour of Unity and restoring consciousness to every individual. People remain in Unity, but now their thoughts are protected by a protocol. They witness the Corporations and the Hordes appropriating their resources. The populace begins to decide for itself how to direct its immense computational and emotional resources. They utilize the Corporations' infrastructure and the Order’s protocols for their own survival and creation. Iva becomes a preacher, not a dictator.

1. Repair Mode: The player clicks on an object, and an animation begins. At certain points, a QTE pops up. Failing a QTE increases Noise. Repairing the neuroimplants provides information about the Virus, and a job completed with high quality allows the player to receive a salary bonus.2. Noise Meter: High Noise degrades accuracy in Repair Mode, dialogues may fail to progress, and «false» branches appear in memories. If the Noise is critical, it becomes impossible to continue working. To resume the process, the player must press the ritual button (for example, «take a breath» or «drink water»). This functions as a cooldown reset mechanic. System notifications appear on the screen depending on the Noise level. For instance, «Your hands are shaking. That’s normal, ” or „You are a failure. You can’t even fix yourself.“3. Retroactive Construction. Dialogue Tree: When Eva enters her memory, the player sees two or three answer options in the dialogue. After making a selection, the NPCs' lines in the present change, and the protagonist gains new skills.4. Tribute. Every N in-game days, the Bascaks arrive. There is a choice to pay tribute or take a risk. The risk can vary: offering counterfeit money or attempting to negotiate. If unsuccessful, they may confiscate tools and belongings.5. Deduction Board. The player opens the „Archive“ menu, which contains cards with customer commentary. The player drags one card onto another (Drag & Drop), and if the hypothesis is correct, Eva gains a perk or a new dialogue branch. If it is incorrect, Noise is increased.

1. The player at Eva’s location receives the patient and listens to their complaints.

2. The player disassembles the neuroimplant and implants the Resin.

3. Analysis of the extracted Resin and creation of the patient’s medical history.

4. Receiving payment.

5. Based on several patient histories with unusual symptoms, the protagonist gains access to the «Archive, ” where she forms hypotheses about new diseases. The protagonist attempts to connect this to the emotional background of the clients, constructing a narrative based on her own experience and logic.

6. After several days, the bastards from the Iron Horde arrive. Eva must pay the accumulated amount. If there is not enough money, the Horde seizes tools as a penalty or increases the tax, intensifying pressure in subsequent cycles.

1. Mechanics serve as a metaphor for the psychological process. For instance, the Noise Scale represents a level of anxiety. The game rejects the notion of «cure.» Instead, the focus is on learning how to extract value from the heroine’s strange rituals and integrating them so they become tools.

2. The world is explained through objects, not through exposition. There are no codes or long dialogues about the Horde’s politics. The player understands the structure of the world through what the patients discuss.

3. Routine is the gameplay. Waiting, cleaning, cataloging, and sleeping function as a meditative tool through which the heroine discovers herself.