A Finnish man has made almost alone video game for years, and fans pay him a total of thousands of euros a month

A young man squatted in the door of an old concrete bunker, dressed in brown jacket and black clothes. — Antti Leinonen has lived in Hamina, a short distance from the Russian border. There will also be Leinonen’s video game.

For more than a decade, a former professional soldier has made a Road to Vostok video game, which is to become the best in the world. Many trust the promise.

In the middle of the ghostly fog, the house is chilled.

Nowhere does the soul of the cross appear. The porch has the key, but it is not needed now. The door is open and the windows are splashing.

It is in such places that Leinonen’s upcoming video game will be placed.

31-year-old Leinonen has been building his own dream for more than a decade, a game called *Road to Vostok *in Post-Apocalyptic Finland. Leinonen has made most of the game alone.

The goal is bright and Leinonen does not hesitate to say it out loud:

– It becomes the world’s best survival game.

Over 700,000 charges

The game is now awaiting many: * Road to Vostok * test version, or demo, has been downloaded more than 700,000 times.

At least Leinonen is not lacking in determination and self -confidence. He has analyzed his strength carefully.

– The stereotypical gambler is probably still an introvert nerd, and it will stumble upon the social side at the latest. I’m not excited about being on display.

The man stands behind a broken window in an abandoned state. — Road to Vostok is at the time of writing trade site Steam’s 57th most anticipated game. The investment is staggering: more than 10,000 games are published every year on the trade site.

This has been very useful for Leinonen.

A significant part of the game’s funding comes through the crowdfunding site Patreon.

In Patreon, Road to Vostok has more than two thousand fans, many of which pays a small amount for Leinonen every month to make the game. In total, the total amount of money is three thousand euros.

This means that Leinonen has to be a lot on display: he actively tells fans about the stages of making the game.

Many now trust Leinonen’s promise of the world’s best survival game.

Picture of a game that looks at the forest landscape in hand. There is a helicopter in the sky and the human body is lying on the ground. — Road to Vostok is an FPS game shot of the first person. The genre is very popular.

Lost village and concrete bunkers

Leinonen has promised to introduce the game’s central venues in Hamina. Here Leinonen has lived in her childhood and adolescence, tens of kilometers from the Russian border.

According to him, it is important that the atmosphere and milieu of the border region are as realistic as possible in the game.

Leinonen calculates that he spent tens of hours photographing different destinations in the Hamina region: desert houses, wartime bunkers, roads. There are thousands of picture files.

There must be a lot of material to make the end result as accurate as possible to the small details.

Hamina’s Hallinkylä, a former residential area, has been rushed to a new faith in recent years. The City of Hamina has acquired countries to demolish buildings from large industrial projects. There is already a massive Google Data Center nearby.

There are only a couple of modest houses and some kind of gazebo. There are some more buildings in the forest. Initially, there have been significantly more houses. They are only stored in the photos.

Leinonen pointed to look up: someone has raised a kick to the tree.

– That is a must -have.

One man’s road

Leinonen is a former professional soldier in the background and has also taught games at the University of Applied Sciences.

While the goal of the world’s best survival game may sound terrible, the experience of the gaming industry, according to Leinonen, has ensured that the legs are on the ground.

– As a developer, I know what I can and what I can’t.

In 2018, Leinonen resigned as a teaching officer in the Defense Forces to go to the gaming industry. Disconnection from the training agreement is not simple.

– In practice, I had to pay myself free. I sold my car to get the money.

Leinonen believes his background is one of the assets to stand out. Road to Vostok in the weapons look as realistic as possible, and the same has been sought in their handling.

– I have been able to use the know -how I received by the Defense Forces.

Survival struggle on the eastern border

The next destination is a twenty -minute drive from the winding Salpalinja. After the Winter War, the line of defense built in eastern Finland is 1200 kilometers and reaches the Savukoski north of Southeast Finland from Virolahti.

Leinonen is used to stepping into a bunker excavated in the rock from a small doorway. Inside, in the dark, there is a wider space with staircases. Just the right shelter against the enemy. The player’s road will also take you here, ”says Leinonen.

Picture of the game Road to Vostok. The machine gun hand is in a large hall with information boards on the sides. — The game focuses on coping with crisis reality.

So what kind of game is it right?

The Road to Vostok, which is aimed at PC, began to take shape in Leinonen’s mind just over ten years ago. It is a so-called FPS game, a first-person shooting and survival game. The genre is very popular, but Leinonen believes in his potential.

– I know the scene well, and I play these games myself.

The game lives in crisis reality, but it is not quite clear to the player what is really happening.

Therefore, you have to focus on survival: gathering equipment, various materials, weapons, equipped with your own base and defending from enemies. The more east the player on the game’s maps, the harder everything becomes.

Right now, Road to Vostok’s geography is teasing. It is located in the border of Finland and Russia, which brings a unique perspective to the world. World political events in recent years have contributed to the fascination of the game’s story.

100 % in their own hands

Leinonen has worked like an indie game maker without much external funding. This has made sure that there was no need to make compromises. For the past few years, he has only supported himself by making his game.

– I own 100 % of the game. I wanted to keep the power to me completely.

On the other hand, it also means that the ambitious game is slowly being completed. Leinonen himself is responsible for almost everything from concept to practical gameplay and communication with the audience and the accountant.

In practice, Leinonen has done things as far as he could. He has bought some of the tasks required to build the game as an external job from freelancers.

They are from all over the world. That’s why communication is already around the clock.

The man stands in front of a broken abandoned cottage, surrounded by a foggy forest landscape. — According to Antti Leinonen, making a game is a 24 -hour job.

Leinonen admits that the so -called normal everyday rhythm has not been possible for a long time – and probably won’t be for a moment.

– But it takes when you know what’s going on.

How much money the whole project has swallowed, Leinonen cannot estimate. In many stages, over the years, it has come to the shoulder bank. Of course, there must have been developed forms of funding.

Road to Vostok has collaborated with, for example, Army Varusteleka, and Leinonen has applied for and received various scholarships and business subsidies in addition to Patreon’s income.

Breakthrough is the only chance

Our tour is coming to an end, and Leinonen heads his car towards Hamina’s ABC. He is happy to tell about his old hometown.

Today he lives in Hämeenlinna but has thought he was moving back with his companies. After all, the city of Hamina is clearly interested in setting up the technology industry in the area. It could be useful for both sides, says Leinoinen.

– Think now: Hardly there is congestion of gaming companies that make a game that is where you are here.

Leinonen has not yet promised the exact time of the game’s commercial version. Maybe this year, maybe next year. Much depends on the gaming calendar.

– The timing is everything. It makes no sense to make a publication if something significant is coming at the same time.

In the picture, the person stands outside in the middle of the forest wearing a brown jacket and a black hoodie. The foggy forest landscape stands out in the background. — Leinonen’s game has been published. There is no information on the time of the finished game.

Leinonen emphasizes that Road to Vostok is a whole career -long job, not just a few years of project to move on to the next. In the future, a whole brand will be built around the game, covering everything from fan products to a short film.

Although the existing community is waiting for the game to be completed, Leinonen does not admit to knowing the expectations.

– When you tell you where the project is going and what it is to expect, you will not end up in a situation where you can create expectations that you can’t redeem.

But what if there is no breakthrough and road to vostok is drowning in the mass?

– There is simply no such option. I’ve been thinking so carefully.

*Correctly fixed at 1:16 pm: The story mistakenly read that in Patreon, more than two thousand fans cost a small amount every month. Patreon account has more than two thousand members but not everyone costs monthly donations.*