Last year, we announced our partnership with Ung Svensk Form to offer a scholarship focusing on fashion, expression and creative design in video games in order to bridge physical and digital spaces. In 2021, the scholarship went to fashion designer Marie Isacsson and on May 18, the application process for 2022 opened. We sat down with Marie and Art Producer Palle Hoffstein to talk more about the scholarship and how fashion and design can expand games’ horizons.
Ung Svensk Form is a platform for young designers with the goal to share knowledge and raise awareness about new, innovative Swedish design. It is open to young designers working in Sweden and Swedish designers residing and working outside of Sweden, and acts as a bridge between the student life and work life.
Massive’s Concept Artist Scholarship is a part of Ung Svensk Form, and is a six-month paid internship with a focus on fashion, items and skins in our game productions. With craftsmanship as one of our core values, working with Ung Svensk Form to create the scholarship came naturally to us.
Fashion helps tell the story of the characters and their world.
“It used to be enough to just be a 3D artist in the industry creating the look of the characters in the game”, says Palle Hoffstein, Art Producer at Massive Entertainment. “But with increased realism and detail, there is now more focus on accuracy and believability. Fashion helps tell the story of the characters and their world. It’s the gaming industry’s next step to use fashion designers in the same way as film and television do.”
Marie Isacsson, who received the scholarship in 2021 and is currently at Massive as a Junior Concept Artist, believes that fashion is about change and constantly looking ahead in order to offer people – and players – what they did not even know that they wanted.
“I believe that fashion can expand the horizons of apparel in games and help create more diverse identities in the customization,” she says. “Showing individuality in virtual game worlds is sought-after by players, which makes total sense since many players spend a lot of time within game-worlds. For some players, it may be even more important to have a certain style or image for their avatar than for themselves in the real world.
Your work will matter to artists and game designers, brand managers and community managers, producers and business executives and most importantly to players.
If you are a fashion designer and want to work in the gaming industry, what is important to know before you embark on that journey?
“One is the interconnectedness of everything,” Palle explains. “Your work will matter to artists and game designers, brand managers and community managers, producers and business executives and most importantly to players. And so, design comes with a lot of discussion and sometimes high expectations, starting with your colleagues and all the way to the players.”
During her first couple of weeks here, Marie has already gained many insights into the industry.
“It’s really exciting to learn and to work within the gaming industry!” Marie says. “I love to work alongside inspiring and passionate people, to challenge myself with new skills and knowledge, which Massive offers.”
Useful links
- Interested in the scholarship? Read more and apply here.
- Games, Identity, and Fashion: Massive’s Concept Artist Scholarship Revealed
- Announcing the Concept Artist Scholarship in partnership with Ung Svensk Form (Young Swedish Design).
