Hopetown Inspirations: The History of Disco Elysium as told by Kaur Kender | Part Four

The History of Disco Elysium is a special series where we’re asking people who worked on Disco Elysium our most pressing questions: whether about their work on the legendary game, their take on our work on Hopetown, or what the gaming landscape can teach us.

In this edition, we’re asking Kaur Kender, one of the early members of ZA/UM and executive producer on Disco Elysium, our most burning questions about his involvement with the game, and where he is now.

We’ll cover some of his history with Robert Kurvitz and the other members of ZA/UM, his current work, as well as his take on the current gaming industry.

This series aims to shed light on one of gaming history’s most beloved titles, as well as inspire us to push the limits of the cRPG genre even further. Enjoy!

Q: You’re working on Tangerine Antarctica, previously known as XXX Nightshift, with the backing of Disco Elyisum’s original investor Margus Linnamäe. Why did the name change and what should fans know about what they could expect to experience in Tangerine Antarctica?

A: The name change was because I’m an idiot who can’t learn! Basically, the XXX name was way too high-concept and complicated for the modern world, so we changed it to something more shiny and tasty. Like the first time around.

Q: Tell us why you changed the style of Tangerine Antarctica to a 3rd person game?

A: We are not looking to make another Disco Elysium. We had only 60k wishlists when we launched Disco Elysium. Many publishers said no to us, that now pretend they really wanted to back us but could not at the time. I think that the only thing people really want is something NEW, like we did with Disco. This is what we will create at Dark Math, and going third person was part of that.

Kaur at a recent event alongside Brendan Greene, better known as PlayerUnknown (yes, the man behind PUBG!).

Q: Can you tell us more about the early days of your involvement with ZA/UM, including the challenges with funding and organization that the team initially faced?

A: I’ve been telling this story to everyone and their grandma, about how I had to sell my Ferrari and also get funding from Friends, Fools, and Family! But my involvement with ZA/UM started way earlier. We were first publishing books and blogging.

Q: You are still considered a mysterious figure in Estonia, and among the Disco Elysium fanbase. Can you tell us, in your own words, why you think that is and what they should know about Kaur Kender and his role in the making of Disco Elysium?

A: They should just play the game. It’s not about me or anyone else. Video games are just there to give you a bit of hope, and a little bit of strength to carry on another day.

Kaur shortly before the launch of Disco, circa 2019.

Q: How did you first get in touch with team members such as Robert Kurvitz, Martin Luiga, Argo Tuulik, and Made Luiga (Mudlum)? How did the work they did on an online Estonian blog initially interest you?

A: Oh, the blog zaum.ee was the most curated part of the Estonian internet, and the writing there was so good and fresh. So, obviously, I was drawn to it. Martin is probably the only writer in ZA/UM who’s a more talented writer and a way more interesting thinker than Robert. Don’t get me wrong, Robert is not a bad video game writer! Just Martin is so much more interesting to me.

Q: You were an early champion of Robert Kurvitz’s vision, including helping fund the novel Sacred and Terrible Air before pitching the idea of adapting the Elysium world into a video game. Can you tell us more about those early days, and what motivated you to help them realise Robert’s vision?

A: For the first year, when we were making the video game, Robert complained every day that he had never worked so hard for someone else’s vision. In the first year, when we had no funding except me selling my stuff, it was my vision. Once we got funding, it became Robert’s vision. Once the game was a success, it became Robert’s solo project. But it’s fine, it’s just marketing at the end of the day.

Q: At the heart of the original legal conflict was the role of Tütreke OÜ. There were serious allegations — which you yourself initially made — that Tütreke OÜ used a scheme involving buying concept sketches for one euro to acquire a €4.8 million majority stake in ZA/UM using the company’s own money. You later withdrew your lawsuit. What do you think people should know about this situation, if anything?

A: I have nothing to say on this matter.

Q: You were taken to court in 2016 for your story, “Untitled 12” on some deeply serious charges. Can you talk more about what happened in this case?

A: Robert wrote the short story. We had a nihilist.fm blogging site. We published it there for lolz. Shitposters as we are. As Robert was afraid, we published it under my name. What followed was three years in court. But all ended well, I got acquitted on all counts.

Kaur after his acquittal in Harju County Court in 2017. Source: Rene Suurkaev/ERR

Q: Looking back now, with the original ZA/UM cultural association dissolved and the key creators gone, how do you feel about the dissolution of a collective that had such high ideals? What have you learnt from the experience and what would be your advice to aspiring game developers?

A: I have no ideals except making good games. Or writing good books. I always try to err on the side of art. And the only kind of feedback I truly value is people pressing the buy button and later leaving their comments on Steam.

What have you always wanted to know about the making of Disco Elysium? Any burning questions for the team that you’d like to see answered in the next post? Let us know on our Discord. Finally, don’t forget to wishlist Hopetown on Steam, or pre-order a discounted version of the game on Kickstarter, which helps us build to something NEW, as Kaur puts it.

Top image credit: Herkki-Erich Merila

Until next time, 

— The Hopetown Team