HSE Presents Claw Engine at Major Gaming Industry Expo
From November 29 to December 1, 2024, members and participants of the ‘Game Engineering and Interactive Systems’ workshop at the HSE Tikhonov Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics (MIEM), took part in the largest gaming event of the year—RedExpo. Together with the student indie studio Bear Head Studio, they showcased their proprietary development, the Claw Engine, a generative AI-powered tool for game creation. This year, the workshop continues to refine the product and is already working on its first game using the engine.
RedExpo is a major interactive entertainment exhibition supported by key partners such as VK Play, Lesta Games, Astrum Entertainment, and 1CGS. The event brought together aspiring game developers, major companies, and publishers. Attendees could explore Russian-made games, listen to lectures from leading experts, and network with industry professionals.
RedExpo 2024 attracted a vast number of visitors interested in the gaming market's development. Attendees had the opportunity to try out a pre-alpha version of the MIEM engine at the booth and evaluate its basic functionality. The engine currently includes essential tools for 3D rendering and user scripting, with generative and AI-based modules set to be integrated in the coming months.
Visitors could also play games created by workshop participants at the MIEM booth. One of the most popular projects was the economic strategy game Merchants, powered by AI. Set in a medieval fantasy world with elements of Slavic mythology, the game features a realistic economic simulation. Both players and computer-controlled NPCs can gather resources, craft complex items, trade, and engage in various social interactions, encouraging economic entities to explore and utilise available resources to improve their standing in the game world.
Other workshop projects were also displayed in the showcase area, featuring the best indie games selected through an internal competition by RedExpo organisers. Among them were collaborations with the HSE Art and Design School: Smasher VR and Fairypunk.
Smasher VR is a VR action-shooter where players can simultaneously wield weapons and magic, developing their character's skills to create a unique playstyle.
Fairypunk is a rogue-lite slasher with a dark fantasy setting. It depicts an epic war between fairies and dieselpunk knights aiming to break an endless fairy tale.
On November 29, 2024, the event hosted esports competitions in the game Caliber. The workshop’s team competed against students from Bauman Moscow State Technical University and Moscow Polytechnic University.
On November 30, 2024, Ilya Semichasnov, Director of MIEM's Project Management Centre and Head of the ‘Game Engineering and Interactive Systems’ workshop, gave a lecture titled ‘The Era of Productisation: How Game Development is Changing Education in Russia.’ He discussed how HSE University develops future game development experts and shared insights from the workshop and Bear Head Studio.
Ilya Semichasnov emphasised that RedExpo provided valuable networking opportunities with other developers and experts in the field, benefiting not only the workshop but also HSE students actively involved in game and application development.
‘Participating in such large-scale events is beneficial on many levels. It is a chance to discover new opportunities for our projects and connect with interested people. For the workshop members, the exhibition served as a platform to meet potential users and fellow developers. The students received a lot of positive feedback on their work, motivating them to continue,’ shared Ilya Semichasnov.
For more details, you can listen to Ilya Semichasnov's lecture here (in Russian).
Text by Vladimir Chudnovsky, 3rd-year student of the Bachelor’s in Information Security.
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Engine for Game Development Created at HSE University
The ‘Game Engineering and Interactive Systems’ workshop team of the HSE Tikhonov Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics (MIEM) invites everyone to participate in testing the Claw Engine, the first version of their game development program. This new tool allows for processing three-dimensional images and programming one’s own scripts.
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