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Олександр КузьменкоGameDev Eng
22 May 2026, 18:05
2026-05-22
SEO Team Lead of BUKI company Oleksandr Zakhoda is developing a game about an SEO student from the KPI dormitory
Ukrainian IT specialist Oleksandr Zakhoda, who holds the position of SEO Team Lead at EdTech platform BUKI, is developing his own narrative RPG with elements of management called SEO or Die. The project is dedicated to the evolution of the Ukrainian Internet and tells the story of a student who starts with promoting the first websites in the dormitory of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI) in 2011 and goes through the key stages of the industry’s formation up to modern blackouts.
Ukrainian IT specialist Oleksandr Zakhoda, who holds the position of SEO Team Lead at EdTech platform BUKI, is developing his own narrative RPG with elements of management called SEO or Die. The project is dedicated to the evolution of the Ukrainian Internet and tells the story of a student who starts with promoting the first websites in the dormitory of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI) in 2011 and goes through the key stages of the industry’s formation up to modern blackouts.
SEO or Die invites players to immerse themselves in the authentic atmosphere of the «old internet» and go from creating simple websites to managing their own agency. The gameplay combines the technical aspects of SEO — collecting semantics, buying links, working with texts and adapting to constant updates of search algorithms — with life management.
One of the key mechanics will be a weekly task planner. The player will have to constantly choose priority and secondary tasks, balancing work, study, fatigue, and a limited budget.
«This is not a get-rich-quick fantasy. This is a story about old forums, cheap hosting, working nights, your first online money, burnout, ambition, and the strange hope that one small website can change your life,» the developer says.
He says that the project will be highly replayable thanks to a large number of random events and freedom of choice — the player determines his own path of development. Non-linearity will also be affected by the «echo system»: decisions made will have long-term consequences. For example, using questionable promotion methods at the beginning of a career in 2013 may negatively affect your reputation or client base a few years later, and ignoring customers will make it difficult to find work in the future.
The game’s plot spans 15 years and is divided into four successive eras:
2011–2015 — dormitory, launching the first websites, and first small earnings;
2015–2017 — transition to freelance, night work, and search for first regular clients;
2017–2022 — office work, team building, and managerial responsibility;
2022–2026 — the challenges of a full-scale Russian invasion, blackouts, and working in a crisis.
Screenshot from the game SEO or Die
Oleksandr Zakhoda is considering a release model in which the main game will be released first, covering the period from 2011 to 2014. Subsequent historical eras will appear later in the format of content additions. The solo developer has not yet decided on the final cost of the game.
The project involved modern technologies, including generative artificial intelligence tools. However, the use of neural networks sparked a debate online: users on Reddit did not like that the trailer and some promotional images of the game were generated by AI.
«The trailer, the pictures are generated. The screenshots from the game are real. But the vibe, gameplay, texts, plot — I think it over, especially since this is a game about personal experience, when in 2010+ I was just entering IT,» Zahoda reacted.
Oleksandr emphasizes that real-time generation is not used during gameplay, and the creative core of the project remains completely manual. All generated content is carefully checked and edited to match the art style and atmosphere of the game.
The demo of SEO or Die should be available in a few months, and the full release is scheduled for the end of 2026.
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