Ukrainian IT specialists continue to develop games to support the country
The IT community became more active and stood up for the country's defence immediately from the beginning of the war. Thus, the Ukrainian IT army successfully carried out cyber attacks on essential infrastructure facilities in Russia. But in addition, IT specialists are also engaged in the games' development to help everyone who wants to contribute to the protection of Ukraine.
On February 28, programmers from Lviv developed a special browser game similar to the famous "2048" puzzle. The essence of the game is that it allows you to direct DDoS attacks on Russian websites.
And this product is made so that each player's move brings the attacked sites closer to blocking. After starting the game, the player sends more than 20 thousand requests in one game, which overloads the site and blocks its access.
According to the developers, the game's mechanics are so simple that even children, teenagers or people who don't have any skills in information technology can help Ukraine with it. You need to go to a special website and leave the page open on your computer or smartphone to join the game. It is also mandatory to use a VPN when playing from the territory of Ukraine because most Russian resources are not available for Ukrainian IP addresses.
IT specialists indicated that they developed the resource primarily for children and adolescents since these young people also want to help Ukraine but don't know exactly how. In addition, the developers urged to involve their friends around the globe in the game.
The main purpose of DDoS attacks from the game are sites that serve the aggressor's army. The creators don't want to warn the enemy, so they hide the details. Also, they are working on the tasks of the IT army of Ukraine.
This game is completely safe for the user and his browser. Only the creation of automatic traffic makes the attacked websites inaccessible.
And recently, another group of developers released another game designed to motivate foreigners to financially help Ukrainians. The game puts the participant in the place of a volunteer in Ukraine.
During the simple gameplay, the player gets the opportunity to control a truck that carries aid to Ukraine. At the same time, you need to collect items that fall from above – bulletproof vests, helmets, shoes, medicines, avoiding attacks from enemy equipment and explosives.
If the help element provides the player with a certain number of points, then the enemy's attacks take them away. In total, the truck can survive three collisions with the enemy. After the game ends, a message states that the player can now become a superhero volunteer and know what Ukraine needs.
Also, the player can find a message a little lower about the opportunity to help real funds that help in reality: "Come Back Alive" and "Kolo" (Circle). According to the developers, 61% of users started the game, 94% finished the process, and 9% clicked on links to charitable foundations.
The creators urge to distribute the game, especially among foreign citizens. In their opinion, everyone needs an individual approach: a call with a bank card number is enough for someone, while others prefer to help volunteer friends financially. Many people abroad have the opportunity to support Ukraine with money, and this game is a kind of approach to such an audience.
Domestic video game developers did not stand aside either. In particular, GSC Game World — the creators of the famous STALKER trilogy, held a charity sale of their games for several weeks on all well-known digital game sale platforms: Steam, GOG, Humble Bundle, Gamers Gate and others. According to the sale results on April 4-11, the developers have collected $ 800 thousand, which will later be transferred to the "Come Back Alive" fund.
Many digital stores have started selling charity sets of games and promised to send the proceeds to help Ukraine. The largest of them was a bundle from the Humble Bundle store. The set for $ 40 included content, the purchase of which separately would have totalled $ 2 thousand.
In addition to STALKER, there are also Metro series games from Ukrainian 4AGames, Max Payne 3, and Quantum Break. Besides the AAA AAA projects, there were also comics and books in the set. The set was sold from March 18 to March 25, and during this time, Humble Bundle managed to raise $20.7 million.
Epic Game Store did not stand aside either — back in March, they announced that fees for all Fortnite domestic purchases, including April 3, would help Ukraine. According to the campaign results, the developers collected and transferred $144 million to Ukrainian funds.
Thus, Ukraine is being helped by domestic IT specialists and developers and by well-known foreign campaigns that have managed to raise millions of dollars for a country protecting its land from Russian occupation.