The international student HSE CREATIVE OPEN online competition on the basis of HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL
The goal of the competition is to gather original ideas and spectacular projects in all areas of design, contemporary art and fashion on one platform and to gain the attention of the creative community to the development of jobs in the industry.
Students from any university, regardless of the location they are based at, can participate in the competition.
The Red Month by Valentina Balitskaya
About the nomination
This is a new themed game art competition, featuring projects with dark, pessimistic, or existential themes.
Objective: To select and showcase projects on the platform that explore intellectual, philosophical horror, transcending the traditional genre clichés prevalent in popular culture. Despite the widespread popularity of horror, we seek thought-provoking, multifaceted works that intellectually disturb.
Participants: Artists and game creators addressing themes of cosmic horror, body horror, existentialism, pessimism, dystopia, and dark futurism. There are no strict genre boundaries; however, all submitted entries must be fundamentally dark, oppressive, or unsettling in their core themes and artistic expression.
Submission Format: Participants are required to submit an illustrated long-read detailing their concept, along with a short in-game video (2-5 minutes) that best conveys the philosophical and aesthetic essence of their project.
Terms and requirements
The final project has to consist of:
• A vertical cover with A4 proportions;
• A title of the work, a black tag «Game Graphics,» and a white tag «Dark Matter»;
• A concept that includes the setting;
• Proposed gameplay;
• At least five diverse screenshots;
• A trailer or gameplay video hosted on Vimeo or Kinescope;
• Optionally: at least five varied illustrations combined into a thematically cohesive series;
• It is recommended to enhance the presentation with animated GIF visualizations of particularly striking project segments.
Evaluation criteria
The jury will assess submitted projects based on two criteria: «Concept» and «Presentation.»
Within the category of Concept, depth and clarity of the idea, visual originality of the project, alignment of graphics with gameplay, compositional integrity, appropriateness of stylistic choices, etc., will be considered.
Presentation refers to the execution of the visuals and their delivery: quality, quantity, and diversity of assets, area/length of game levels and their level of detail, appropriateness and effectiveness of graphical technologies used, as well as the clarity and impact of the videos and screenshots presented.
Competition stages
October 31 — start date to upload projects on the platform
April 15 — project submission deadline
The prizes
I place 50 000 rubles II place 30 000 rubles III place 20 000 rubles
Do you want to participate in the competition? We prepared a guide on working with the platform that will help you create an account and upload your project
References
Wrathful / Suffocate by Daria Boldyreva
Degree programmes
HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL has launched the programmes of Game Design and Animation, CGI and Visual Effects, in which students can receive education in bachelor’s, master’s, additional education.
A project-based approach to learning, professional digital portfolio development, experienced instructors, and exposure to real-world creative industries enable our graduates to become international award-winning employees of successful companies and studios, and highly skilled professionals in design, fashion, contemporary art, photography, theater, programming, game design, media, advertising, film, animation, sound art, and visual effects.
Contact us
HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL Moscow, Malaya Pionerskaya st., 12 creativeopen@hsedesign.ru Get in touch with the event coordinators