There are people among the concept artists whose imagination goes beyond human limitations. You look at their works and think: these guys are crazy. Maybe they are on drugs or something? For example, Geof Darrow’s sketches for The Matrix are close to that of a drug addict’s hallucinations, just think of the mechanic and robotic technology drawn to the smallest detail. But it’s not about substance misuse, it’s about artists that have a really vast imagination and it’s deeply stunning.

There was exactly that type of a Creator in the development team of the first S.T.A.L.K.E.R., his name was Viktor Marchevsky, but he was better known as Lukash. Pseudogiant, bloodsucker, pseudodog, flesh, chimera and other representatives of the Zone’s wildlife came out from his pen. We knew almost nothing about Viktor for a long time, and he remained a mystery man for the general public. I guess, any self-respecting S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan will be interested to know who was the author of all these unforgettable images that still excite the minds of gamers.

While working on this article I had a chance to chat with Lukash’s younger brother, Artem Marchevsky, and his colleagues in the game industry: Denys Volchenko, Yaroslav Singayevsky and Dimitriy Dyachenko. Great thanks to them.

Before starting, I’d like to explain the origin of Viktor’s nickname. The last name of his father was Lukashenko, and later he changed it to Marchevsky. But Viktor chose to use the previous last name as his nickname.



Artem Marchevsky, the younger brother of Viktor.

Artem says:
“Vitya was a great brother. He was exactly as an older brother should be. Actually, the older brother takes part in raising a child just like parents.”

There was a big age difference between the brothers, fourteen years. Therefore, Viktor was the authority for him. Obviously, the parents were influential too, but the older brother is a different case.

“Of course as a teenager, I was interested in talking to people who are older than me. Because a difference of fourteen years doesn’t feel like an ‘older generation’ in a teenager’s perception.”

Vitya was not just an example, he was a mentor. And his methods of raising were often much more effective than parental. For example, when Viktor found out his younger brother started smoking, Artem was not afraid of what he could tell their parents. He was afraid that Viktor was going to kill him. But at the same time he was always a defender.

“Next to him you feel as safe as behind an impenetrable wall. Everyone at school knew that, so teenage disputes were rare: they were afraid.”

Vitya’s relationship with parents was good too. He was proud of them. He could talk to mom about everything in the world, from art to everyday topics. He always consulted with father, considering him a wise and smart person.

“The easiest way to describe the relationship with parents, ‘We lived in the same building.’ Vitya on the ninth floor, in apartment 33, and me with parents on the eighth floor, in apartment 32. Absolutely identical apartments, but with a mirror reflection of the layout.”

Vitya showed his talent as a child. No one ever taught him to draw, it was “given” to him. Just like that, this talent was given to him from above.
FireStarter concept arts (GSC Game World).

“Naturally, the parents noticed that and in every way encouraged him. Vitya’s craving for art was shown not only in drawing, he was always interested in exploring philosophy, for example. Actually, Vitya was well read in many different topics. You could talk to him on any topic for hours.”

After graduating from school Vitya enlisted in the army. During his time in the army he learned tattooing and made a tattoo on his left hand. After leaving the army Vitya brought home a hand-drawn icon.



Denys Volchenko aka Mandelshtam, art director, writer and game designer of “You Are Empty”.

Denys says:
“It’s hard to talk about it, but Lukash really was a cool artist and Friend. He wasn’t a simple person. You should see and hear him to understand what kind of person he is. In three words: charismatic, cheerful, living.”

Denys met Vitya in 1995 at training courses to get into the Academy of Arts (now The National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture in Kyiv — editor’s note). After graduating from the university, Denys ended up at GSC Game World in 2002 and recommended his friend as an artist for the studio. In fact, from this point Lukash was part of the gamedev industry.
FireStarter concept arts (GSC Game World).

“Vitya has worked at Deep Shadows, Action Forms, and with me on ‘You Are Empty’. It should be noted that Vitya made the first sketches for the game which were an instrumental part in the successful launch of the project at the Russian Game Developers Conference (KRI — editor’s note). Also he introduced me to Yaroslav Singayevsky who later joined the development of ‘You Are Empty’ as a writer and game designer.”



Yaroslav Singayevsky aka Cray.

Yaroslav says:
“Lukash didn’t work together with the team. He made concept arts in the pre-production and the beginning of production.”
“You Are Empty” concept arts (Mandel ArtPlains, Digital Spray Studios).

Yaroslav and Vitya knew each other, their fathers often interacted at work.

“Actually, Viktor set me up with Denys at that time. And I ended up in the game industry. He remained in my memory as a valiant guy. He was so tough, tall and strong. I would never say by his looks that he can draw so well. I mean, his looks had nothing to do with drawing. And he was really cool at drawing. It was hard to implement his images in the game. A lot was lost on the way.”
“You Are Empty” concept arts (Mandel ArtPlains, Digital Spray Studios).

Artem says:
“If we talk about my attitude to Vitya’s art, then it’s very simple. Working as an artist was always prestigious. My teenage years fell on the rap culture boom that is difficult to imagine without graffiti and tattoos. Now imagine your brother can do tattoos and draw really cool! And imagine your brother draws the characters for video games that all your agemates are playing! I was super proud of him! My friends were coming over to visit me, and I bragged about Vitya’s sketches for them. I still can’t understand where Vitya got so much imagination to create these monsters for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.! His ideas never ended!”
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost concept arts (GSC Game World).

By the way, you can see Lukash’s face in “Shadow of Chornobyl”, it’s a character named… Lukash. He is the leader of the Freedom faction at the Army Warehouses (that was until the build 2571, but in the release game Viktor’s face was given for the character named Max, and the Freedom’s leader got a new face — editor’s note).

Viktor originally drew only pencil sketches on paper. Later he learned Photoshop, bought a graphical tablet and started to draw high-grade illustrations in color.

Vitya took an active part in the development of “You Are Empty”, including voice-acting, many monsters were voiced by him.



Dimitriy Dyachenko aka Stealth, composer and sound director of “You Are Empty”.

Dimitriy Dyachenko knew Viktor Marchevsky a long time. Their buildings were close, and their mutual friend was Mandelshtam, i.e. Denys Volchenko.

Dimitriy says:
“We got along great, and when visiting a club or something else, it was peaceful at heart, because Lukash had such a menacing, almost bandit look, that people avoided all of us. Actually he was a nice guy from a good and strong family. A very creative person. His sketches blew my mind. Lukash was a genius artist with a lot of ideas, and only a small part of it came to life.”
“You Are Empty” concept arts (Mandel ArtPlains, Digital Spray Studios).

Lukash had a great voice with a cool tone. At the first opportunity Dimitriy asked him to take part in voicing the Firefighter from “You Are Empty”. He immediately accepted. Because Lukash was on topic (he created and drew the game characters), he understood the task very well. It was necessary to voice with no words, no phrases, something generic and specific.

“As always, Lukash arrived at our office in his favorite car, black ‘Volga’. I gave him the gas mask, he put it on and worked in dozens of takes without taking off his long black leather coat. He tried very hard and played his guts out. And here’s what we made.”


In the early development of “You Are Empty” Viktor helped Dimitriy to voice the first track for the game’s soundtrack[keepmovingrecords.com]. It was a test task for the composer.

“For some time I was looking for a suitable scream. I chose different samples, but none would fit, until I got the idea to ask Lukash. Several takes and we got just what we needed, a crazy scream, the microphone barely withstood it! I joined the Digital Spray Studios with this track, and then the promotional teaser was created based on this theme (you can hear the scream at 00:47).”

Vitya’s looks absolutely didn’t match his activity. He looked like some kind of bandit. There were a lot of different funny stories caused by his looks.

Artem says:
“We once went on vacation by car to Bulgaria. Just before this trip Vitya changed his looks: he shaved his head and began growing his beard. He really looked like some kind of islamist. Of course, the photo in his passport was different, with hair on the head and no beard. Bulgarian customs officers didn’t want to pass him: they didn’t find similarities with the photo in the passport. So Vitya had to shave his beard in the bathroom of the border checkpoint. And they allowed him to pass.”

Dimitriy says:
“Here’s a funny thing from life. One day Lukash gave a lift to a guy in his ‘Volga’, he was engaged in private transportation. Dude initially didn’t want to get in the car, but Lukash smiled with the heart: ‘Come on, get in, everything is fine!’ Lukash was dressed in the same black leather coat — it was his main outfit in winter — and the pistol was between the front seats. It was a gas pistol, if I’m not mistaken. And some amount of money under it. They were riding for ten minutes, the dude was visibly nervous. As they got there, the dude handed him the money. Lukash turned on the light in the car to find change. Noticing the pistol, the dude realized that he was in trouble. Perhaps, he connected all the dots that worried him on the way — black ‘Volga’, the bandit in the leather coat, the driver’s voice and the golden bracelet on his arm… So, he quickly got out of the car and said: ‘No-no, no need for this! Keep the change, thank you!’ I guess he was happy that Lukash decided to keep him alive.”

Vitya was a person with a strong sense of justice by his nature. He had never accepted a lie. Money was never an influential argument for him in anything. Vitya always was the life and soul of the party. He had a special sense of humor. His jokes were never sick. Even obviously hurtful things from his lips sounded absolutely not hurtful. He could beat any situation. Vitya always avoided conflicts. Even if he surpassed the aggressor in physical strength, he did everything to avoid a fight.



Denys Volchenko and Viktor Marchevsky. November 27, 2003.

Unfortunately, Vitya had a bad heart, since childhood.

Artem says:
“By and large, I grew up when Vitya passed away. I was only 17 at the time of his death. He was very stubborn, and like any man he didn’t really like to take care of his health. Always the health of loved ones, but not his own…”

July 31, 2005, the day of Vitya’s death, was the scorching heat, about 35°C in the shade. Vitya felt bad all day.

“Me and my parents were outside the city. Mom talked on the phone with Vitya all the time. We wanted to come and take him to the dacha. Vitya said he has to finish the job. We agreed that we’ll come in the morning. About 9 or 10 a.m. me and my father came for him, but it was too late… Medics said Vitya had a stroke and perhaps an infarction — his heart couldn’t take the heat.”

Dimitriy says:
“Six months before Lukash’s death Mandelshtam gave him a digitizer, and I was lucky to see his works. He drew only with a pencil or pen before that. Great opportunities opened up for Lukash, and what I saw was something incredible. I sincerely expressed my admiration for Lukash. I can only imagine how he could draw right now… I heard that Lukash was offered to work in the USA, but he declined it. Who knows, maybe if he had taken an offer and went, perhaps all of this would not happen. I think he would have been saved.”
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost concept arts (GSC Game World).

Denys says:
“It’s been ten years since Viktor Marchevsky aka Lukash left our world, and it’s really cool that he is still remembered. It’s very touching to hear kind words about ‘You Are Empty’ though the game is dedicated to Vitya, and it was released a long time ago. I think he would be happy too.”

The bright memory of Lukash.

From the editor in 2025. The original concept arts for the first S.T.A.L.K.E.R. drawn on paper by Viktor Marchevsky, preserved for twenty-three years still hangs on the walls of the GSC Game World office[www.instagram.com].



“I’m glad that despite all the time and life’s changes they were preserved in safety,” Anton Kukhtytsky, the lead concept artist of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, says. “They are a great value for me and proof that it’s possible to create a masterpiece with an ordinary pencil.”

The author thanks Maeda K. for help with English translation.

The article cover uses the author’s illustration.

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