GAME ART: MIKHAIL MAKSIMOV’S RELIC DONGLE (2025)

Independent artist and game designer Mikhail Maksimov has just released Relic Dongle, a curious entry in what might be called the genre of “mourning simulators.” The app positions itself as a playful, even ironic, platform to grieve: “Although our world is fragile, life is beautiful! But it is very important to remember all those who leave us,” reads the project’s description.

Relic Dongle presents condensed life stories of the deceased, weaving occasional sharp remarks or ironic jabs into the narration. Users may publish obituaries, publicize them to a broader audience, and collect an in-game currency titled Necrocoins. All published obituaries are aggregated on a dedicated Telegram channel.

Mikhail Maksimov is a Russian multimedia artist, filmmaker, and experimental game designer whose work operates at the intersection of simulation, narrative, and philosophical speculation. He holds degrees from Moscow State Construction University and the Moscow School of Photography and Multimedia. Over the years, he has participated in major exhibitions and festivals, including Manifesta 10, the Moscow Biennales, the Venice Architecture Biennale, Locarno Film Festival, Hamburg Kurz Film Festival, and the Riga Biennale. His works have been shown in both institutional and digital contexts, often employing game engines, 3D animation, algorithmic systems, and transmedia storytelling. Maksimov explicitly foregrounds the capacity of interactive systems to “test-drive possible worlds,” using software, gaming logic, and narrative scripting to probe ideological, ecological, and existential themes. He is based in Moscow.