Robert Kurvitz

Kurvitz founded the video game development company ZA/UM in 2016. Its first game, Disco Elysium, set in the world of the Sacred and Terrible Air, was released on 15 October 2019 with Kurvitz serving as its lead writer and designer. The game received universal acclaim, with its narrative and conversational systems receiving the most in particular. It won several awards and accolades from various publications.

In 2013 Kurvitz published the novel Sacred and Terrible Air (Estonian: "Püha ja õudne lõhn"). It is set in a fictional world and centers on three men who, twenty years after the mysterious disappearance of their classmates, are still determined to find them. It received mostly positive reviews, with literary theorist Johanna Ross highlighting it as one of the few books to successfully bridge the science fiction and "literature proper".

The band failed to find an Estonian record label for their second album. It was self-released with money inherited Kurvitz's long-time friend, editor and collaborator Martin Luiga, and released on the internet for free. A third album, Fantastika was announced on the ZA/UM website in May 2011, but it has yet to materialize.

In 2011 Kurvitz collaborated with Raoul Kurvitz on the album Forbidden to Sing, providing backing vocals and synth. The album was granted the Annual Award of Estonian Cultural Endowment.

Kurvitz is the son of artists Raoul Kurvitz and Lilian Mosolainen. In 2001 he became the lyricist and lead singer of progressive rock band Ultramelanhool, inspired by Estonian bands Metro Luminal and Vennaskond. To date, they have released two albums, Must apelsin (Black Orange) and Materjal (Material), in 2004 and 2008 respectively. A song from the first album Talvehommik ("Winter Morning") was featured in the Kanal 2 TV series Ühikarotid ("Dorm Rats").

Robert Kurvitz (born 8 October 1984) is a Karelian-Estonian novelist, musician, and video game designer. He founded the video game development company ZA/UM in 2016, which released Disco Elysium in 2019.