Financial aid for tuition
at ARC Academy
Start: August 17
End: September 15
Requirements: Motivation, talent, desire to develop
Level: No previous experience is required
At ARC Academy, we help young talents realize their potential. 84% of graduates go on to careers in the game and creative industries. We work with some of the biggest studios in Bulgaria, such as Creative Assembly Sofia, Gameloft Sofia, Snapshot Games, ReDefine, Chibi Phoenix, EGT Digital, etc. All lecturers are working professionals, and the training follows best practices from the relevant industries.
To support students with potential who have financial concerns, we provide financial aid for the 2-year programs Game Design, Game Programming, Concept Art, 3D Art and VFX & Animation. Its amount is between 10 and 30% of the fee for the first year of study.
To check your current skills, we have prepared an assignment according to the program which you have chosen. Along with the solved task, send us a short motivation why you want to study at ARC Academy.
How to get financial aid?
Assignments for the Game Design, Concept Art, and 3D Art programs are tied to the following story:
Among the icy peaks of Silver Arrow Mountain lies a hidden treasure. Legend has it that there, where the earth meets the sky, a ferocious dragon guards a treasury full of diamonds and precious stones. Heroes who dare face the Silver Arrow’s guard will win the treasure and unravel the mysteries of ancient times.
Here are the tasks:
Concept Art:
Show us how your imagination works by drawing how you imagine any of the elements listed above – the Silver Arrow mountain, the dragon, the heroes, the treasury, etc.
3D Art:
Introduce us to any of the characters or environments in the game by modeling them in 3D (the Silver Arrow mountain, the dragon, the characters who want to win the treasure, etc.) Don’t limit yourself to just illustrations. You can also use clay, stop motion, paper, or whatever else you think best represents your idea.
Game Design:
Tell us about your game based on this story. The game can be single-player, multiplayer or cooperative (CO-OP). You are not limited by genre in any way. The game can be for mobile platforms, core gaming platforms (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo or PC), and even VR software.
The document we expect should contain:
– Summary (maximum ½ page)
– Description of main character and story (maximum ½ page)
– From 2 to 5 game mechanics (maximum ½ page each)
– List of game elements: potential items (items), opponents (dragon for example), weapons, etc. (maximum ½ page)
– Example design of a level from the game, including a plan or sketch. If your idea is to be realized in an open environment (open world), describe to us the structure of a specific mission and its terrain features/progress design).
– Basic gameplay structure and how it will evolve over time. (maximum 1 page)
The task for Game Programming:
Sudoku generator
In the Sudoku game, a 9×9 square must be filled in with numbers from 1 to 9 with no repeated numbers in each line, horizontally or vertically. The grid is further divided in 3×3 squares holding 9 cells, and each of these squares can’t have any repeating numbers either.
When all 81 cells in the grid are filled with numbers according to the rules, Sudoku is considered solved.
Write a program in C/C++ that generates 100 000 different, valid, solved Sudokus as fast as possible and outputs them to a file named sudoku.txt in a format of your choice. The program should generate and output different combinations each run.
Deadline
You can apply for financial aid to study at ARC Academy in the academic year 2023/2024 until 15 September.
Jury:
Your work will be assessed by ARC Academy faculty in the relevant programs who know the entry-level students should have. All teachers are also active professionals from game and film studios in our country. Approved candidates will be invited to an online meeting with our team.
Send your task:
If you have trouble submitting the assignment, you can send your materials, along with your information, to welcome@arc.academy.