In Game - Winner of the Virtual Filmmaking Challenge 2025

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What a way to kick off spooky season! I was honored to have won the Virtual Filmmaking Competition with my latest Unreal horror animation “In Game.” I would love to hear what people think, and if anyone has any questions about the film, let me know!

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Hi there @Megasteakman,

Hope you’re well and having a wonderful week so far :slight_smile:

The side-eye at the tv after “Mom?” was both wildly entertaining and rather creepy. The game elements were also really witty and just a good twist on the horror theme. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you get the idea/concept for this?

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Oh thank you so much! I appreciate you checking it out! I love that moment too: a lot of the short was trying to bring as much out of those moments as I could in the one minute time limit.

I think it’s because I play a lot of indie horror games, and obviously doors feature prominently in those, and I was playing in a room where the door was right by the TV and it got me thinking what if the game world and the real world were connected in some uncanny way. Then it all became about trying to sell that idea and make it read. I also have a BTS video on my channel if you want to see more about how it was made/the thought process behind it!

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Hello @Megasteakman !

This gave me literal chills! The door twitching after interaction on the TV had me catching my breath, and I was so curious where things would go from there. I watched your behind-the-scenes and was curious if the game you’re working on is going to involve any aspects of what we’ve seen in this short?

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Oh thank you! I’m so glad you were into it: I love that premise and definitely want more as well!

So the game within the game was throwaway, although I did use the AI state tree system I build for my main game. Also, the monster and main character are from the game I am working on, but outside that there aren’t a lot of similarities, although now you have me thinking what a game within a game that plays out like this would look like.

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Thanks for taking the time to answer :smiley: I hope we get to see more of your films/projects around here. Especially the creepy ones! :jack_o_lantern:

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