About DAFES AWARDS
We established the international competition program DAFES AWARDS to encourage creative achievements, share experiences and form guidelines for professional development in design, art, fashion, education and business.
DAFES AWARDS is awarded in five profiles, 20 categories and 80 nominations, as well as various partner nominations that we form together with educational and creative institutions.
About the nomination
This nomination accepts projects documenting the development process of a video game (devlogs). Devlogs should demonstrate the details of the technical and design choices made in creating the game and represent how the game functions. It can also include the descriptions of processes and pipeline of the development of visual elements, game mechanics, and locations. A devlog is expected to meet high standards of graphic design even in technical aspects (covering rhythm, composition, and color selection).
A core element of the devlog is a description of the developer’s task, followed by the developer’s discussion on benefits and drawbacks of alternative approaches considered and justification of the final decisions made. This reflective analysis allows for constructive critique, benefiting future developers in their approach to similar challenges.
Terms of participation
Both concepts and projects that have been implemented or published between November 1, 2023, and October 12, 2025, are accepted for professional nominations.
While confirmation of publication or implementation is not required for a project to participate in the competition, the jury may request verification from the competition organizers in disputed cases.
Requirements to projects
The project should be presented in a long-form format, including a brief text annotation of the game features, a devlog video, and a set of screenshots highlighting key visual elements.
Projects are evaluated by two criteria: concept and presentation.
Within this nomination, concept includes the originality and variety of technologies, complexity of the approach to optimisation of both development stages and the final product, and justification of the techniques implemented to solve specific development tasks. The innovation of approaches, the accuracy of the description and the possibility of reproduction by other developers are of particular importance in evaluating the project.
Presentation focuses on the clarity of the material, the diversity and coherence of demonstrated techniques (and results of their usage), and the quality of entertainment and engagement in the showcased game.
All projects are submitted to the competition in the format of a longread-format report created on the deziiign.com platform.
Jury
Amir Abu Mahadi is a lecturer of the Game Design program at HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL, a programmer, an indie developer and an Unreal Engine and Unity specialist
Anton Ivlenov is the author of the Virtual Space on Unreal Engine course at HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL and is the lead developer at Snowbird Games
Anatoly Kazakov is head of the Game Design program at HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL and a developer of educational games
Fan Zhang — Professor at the Communication University of Zhejiang. PhD in Digital Media, expert in AI-driven 3D digital humans and gesture generation. Unity Global Certified Instructor, Deputy Secretary-General, and judge of the National College Computer Design Contest. Author of key textbooks on game design and recipient of the National Digital Creativity Teaching Award.
Stefanie Quah — Animation and Design lecturer at Asia Pacific University. With over 14 years of industry experience, she helps students explore ideas, take creative risks, and transform imagination into impactful work.
Referenses
Registering and uploading a project
The step-by-step way to create an account and create a project on the platform to participate in the contest is described in the instructions.
Stages of the competition
Project submission deadline — October 12, 2025 Voting proccess — October 13 to 19, 2025 Invitation of participants and preparation for the ceremony — October 20 to November 7, 2025
Awarding ceremony
The award ceremony for the winners will take place on November 21, 2025
Contacts