Three stunning game design projects and the Visual Effects, Digital Arts & Animation students that made them
Visual storytelling is not just about what’s the viewer sees. It’s a reflection of the artist behind it, their obsessions, their influences and the tools they choose to shape their world. We sat down with three students from our Visual Effects, Digital Arts & Animation programme to explore techniques, software and core ideas at the centre of the artworks. We chatted about how their broader networks, influences and creative environments contribute to their artistic endeavours.
Being a visual artist in 2025 is about more than mastering the craft – it’s about expressing your unique vision, utilising tools and building worlds that say something about who you are. These three portfolios reveal how deeply personal visual art can be when artists are empowered to explore. Keep reading to learn about snow-covered memories, twisted love letters to Berlin club culture and redefined versions of purgatory.
Elizaveta Abramishvili
“Instead of relying on combat or judgment, I created a meditative space for inner dialogue.”
Rewriting purgatory through contemplative design
Eliza’s walking simulator Purgatorio reimagines Dante’s Purgatory. Rather than a place of punishment or judgement, her rendition is as an endless field for quiet exploration and personal reflection. By choosing a complex reference with a lot of symbolism, Purgatorio seeks to blur the boundary between interactive art and traditional game design. The player takes on the role of “The Pilgrim” a lost soul navigating a vast, open landscape. Rather than basing the game mechanics on conflict, hierarchy, or overt religious metaphors, players engage in escapism through environmental storytelling.
The immersive mood of Purgatorio is shaped through sound as well as visuals. Eliza collaborated with Creative Audio Production & Sound Engineering student Lucas Hochar and Electronic Music Production & Performance student Jasper Ewing to create a audio landscape that supports the meditative nature of the game. “The sound fit perfectly to the overall mood of my game” reported Eliza.
Expanding both creative practice and network
Using TouchDesigner this year for the first time has opened many possibilities for Eliza. She has found it is the perfect tool for blurring the line between technology and expression. It has also opened new realms of possibility, including new media art, audio-visual performances, VJ sets and interactive installations. The combination of creative coding with visual programming has opened up a new path in her practice.
As has her time at Catalyst so far. Our vibrant and deeply collaborative environment has pushed her to her boundaries and beyond. Eliza has found constant motivation when surrounded by like minded artists from all over the world. Our school has also redefined what making is for her, as she has moved from solitary creation into a more interdisciplinary production mode.
For example, take “Inter[ ]linked”, her collaboration with Electronic Music Production & Performance student Rudik Mkrtchyan. The immersive audio/visual performance created a space where people come together to listen to music, experience immersive visuals, and contemplate on reflective questions. The music played with the sounds that happen between words in a conversation, while the visuals focus on abstract faces and mimicry - elements that link human communication.
Dave Juker
“During a small snowstorm, everything was slightly distorted. My goal was to recreate this special atmosphere in the game.”
Recreating a cherished memory through landscape design
Dave’s walking simulator “Snowglobe” began as a way to revisit a winter spent in the mountains with friends. He began building with precise, open-source LIDAR Data of the Swiss Alps, processed in Houdini. But limitations led him away from creating a geographically accurate render. The project then moved toward a more stylised, atmospheric world.
Playful collaboration meets street-level inspiration
Physical environments have other ways of turning up in Dave’s projects. He collaborated with grillz artist Dima Peletskiy, making 3D rendered dental jewellery fly over Berlin. In another short video, Dave animated some balloon-like graffiti by 1UP float off the wall and above our creative city. “I’ve walked past that graffiti every day” he told us, “I've often asked myself… what if these balloons detach from the wall and fly away?”. The Visual Effects, Digital Arts & Animation programme gives you the tools to bring those ideas to life.
Sophie Holder
“What if you were stuck in a place you love, but everything is completely different?”
Building the uncanny through visual storytelling
Sophie’s walking sim “Horrorhalle” is based on Sisyphos – a club just two tram stops away from Catalyst. Rather than an exact replica of Sophie’s favourite weekend spot, Horrorhalle is inspired by the two floors she visits the most – Hammehalle and Dampfer. The world she built in her virtual labyrinth is one of confusion and isolation. “It’s empty”, she tells us. “I wanted to make a familiar yet unsettling experience. What if you were stuck in a place you love, but everything is completely different?”
To achieve her goal, Sophie experimented a lot with textures, lighting and architectural cues. Cinema 4D was central to the process, and metallic textures and lighting was mainly processed in Redshift. “The goal was to create something that felt immersive yet unsettling.”
Breaking through with TouchDesigner
Sophie first opened TouchDesigner a few years ago and was completely overwhelmed. “But now I’m absolutely in love with what it can do,” she says. A self-described beginner, she credits the software with having a major impact on her practice. Instead of relying on pre-edited loops, she can now generate visuals live – adjusting aesthetics more organically and keeping each performance dynamic.
Her journey into VJing began right alongside her studies at Catalyst. In fact, it’s one of the reasons she chose the Visual Effects, Digital Arts & Animation programme. Soon after the semester started, she teamed up with a close friend. Since then, she has been performing at parties, eventually finding the confidence to perform solo. After the end of year VFX showcase, Sophie reflected on the difference between performing live versus in an exhibition space. In a club, “there’s always a bit of unpredictability since you never really know what the DJ will play next”. Installations on the other hand were much more meditative.
Below, see how Sophie animated her Gigeresque "heartbug". Both soundtracks are by altjira.
