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Raul Garcia Hemonnet
The fashion industry and video games have an increasingly close relationship. In recent times, great designers such as Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga or Valentino have decided to launch collections in the virtual world and enter the metaverse.
The Vice President for Innovation and the Higher Technical School of Computer Engineering (ETSII) are organizing the event 'Hero: Catwalk: video games and inclusive fashion' on the Móstoles campus. A 'GameJam/Hackathon' for the design of electronic entertainment adventure characters and their clothing sets with a focus on social inclusion. Registration is open and can be done through this link.
For a whole weekend (from November 4 to 6), all those who wish will be able to participate in an event in which the imagination is the limit to design the most original character with all their costumes.
“The objective of this Hackathon is to show that the relationship between the video game sector and fashion is solid and has a future”, explains Jorge López Moreno, professor in the Computer Technology and Architecture area. The idea was in the head of this teacher and researcher in digital fashion, who has been one of the promoters of the URJC DESILICO/Seddi LABS technology-based company for some time.
For an entire weekend, participants will be able to design, animate and wear their creations, always keeping inclusivity in mind and opt for the prizes that have been prepared
“During those 48 hours we take care of the participants, we give them lunch and dinner and even a rest area in case they want to sleep. Participate in teams of four people. You can come with the team made or form teams with people who come alone, "explains Jorge López.
To bring their characters to life, those who participate will be able to use both real-time video game development tools and other 'offline' tools for design, modeling or photo retouching. The characters must be animated and 'walk' through a virtual fashion catwalk.
The event is open to video game development students such as Fashion degree students with digital knowledge.
In addition to the competition, in which both the creative and technical aspects will be valued, the event will host a space to design 2D and 3D avatars to interact in environments such as the metaverse. Round tables and debates on the possibilities and trends of training in video games and fashion have also been scheduled.
The URJC, with an expanding industry
The Rey Juan Carlos University is an institutional partner of the Videogames and Creative Industries Cluster of the Madrid City Council. The URJC Hackathon, which is part of the program of activities of this entity, explains Jorge López, "puts the University on the map of the Madrid video game ecosystem and places us in the trends of the professions of the future, because the The world of video games is going to get bigger and bigger. The studios already hire people who are exclusively in charge of designing the costumes for these creations”.
The URJC Hackathon is one of the activities carried out in several universities prior to the presentation of the future Madrid Video Game Campus, which will be presented shortly in an event called 'Madrid In Game', all promoted by the Video Game Cluster and Creative Industries.
For the URJC's vice-rector for Innovation, Fernando García Muiña, “the university is committed to the development of innovative talent-based industries. The video game cluster in Madrid, of which the university is a part, is a clear example of this”.
The 'Hero: Catwalk: Video Games and Inclusive Fashion' event is an opportunity to see how both fashion and video games will evolve in the near future. Two worlds that, although at first seem far apart, are closer than ever.