New Delhi, 17th April 2025 – Eshan Kaushik, a student of Game Art & Design at the JS Institute of Design (JSID), has secured 3rd place in an international game development challenge hosted by global gaming leader Electronic Arts (EA). The competition, held under the theme “Play to Make a Better World,” was a collaborative project involving student teams from various international branches of École Intuit Lab, including the Delhi campus partnered with JSID.
The competition saw 24 participants from India, France and Brazil along with esteemed institutions come together to conceptualize and create game environments that reflect the positive potential of gaming as a medium for change. The winning team’s project impressed the jury with a world-building narrative and gameplay loop that merged fast-paced action mechanics with a socially conscious storyline.Eshan’s award-winning project, “The Awakening of the Junkyard,” is a speculative design adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic world that educates players on the global waste crisis through immersive storytelling and interactive exploration. The project impressed the jury with its world-building narrative and gameplay loop that merged fast-paced action mechanics with a socially conscious storyline. The award-winning project was commended for its innovative take on the theme and its technical finesse in gameplay design.
With global video game revenues expected to surpass $200 billion by 2025 and an increasing emphasis on meaningful content, the game design industry is rapidly evolving to embrace themes of ethics, sustainability, and community engagement. EA’s initiative highlights a growing shift in industry trends towards inclusive, socially-aware gaming experiences, moving beyond entertainment to spark conversation and awareness.
In this context, the competition’s theme, “Play to Make a Better World,” resonates deeply with current industry discourse.Through individual brainstorming sessions and candid interviews, emerging designers from the participating countries shared their thought processes, cultural perspectives, and personal goals for creating impactful games. As they collaborated in virtual teams, blending their diverse ideas and skills, they explored innovative narratives, from environmental storytelling to mental health themes, reflecting the competition’s focus on building virtual worlds with tangible social impact.
For students at JSID, such initiatives offer a unique platform to apply classroom learning to complex, collaborative projects reflective of actual industry workflows. JSID, founded with a vision to bridge the gap between foundational design education and evolving industry requirements, continues to strengthen its reputation through such successes. With structured mentorship, hands-on projects, and international partnerships such as that with École Intuit Lab Delhi, the institute promotes a career-ready environment for aspiring game designers.
Commenting on the achievement, Nien Siao, Dean of JSID, stated: “This recognition is not only a testament to Eshan’s creativity and hard work but also speaks volumes about the relevance of our curriculum. As design educators, it is our responsibility to equip students with both conceptual clarity and the adaptability needed to thrive in an industry where technology and societal values converge.”
The global collaboration experience also provides students with cross-cultural exposure, a critical skill as studios increasingly operates with decentralized teams across continents. JSID incorporates exposure to global design sensibilities through participation in collaborative projects, real-world design challenges, and thematic briefs that reflect ongoing changes in the creative industry.