École Intuit Lab x Techno India University hosted India’s first-ever World building Hackathon titled “Dark Souls – Edition I” on 6–7 March 2026. Over two dynamic days, the campus evolved into a thriving creative space where students came together to craft immersive fictional worlds through art, storytelling, and collaborative exploration.
Positioned as a first-of-its-kind initiative in India and Kolkata, the hackathon established École Intuit Lab Kolkata as a living lab for original Indian intellectual property (IP) creation. Designed as a studio-style sprint, the event mirrored real creative pipelines used in video games, anime, films, and live-action production, giving students a hands-on glimpse into how global creative industries actually build worlds, stories, and characters.
The hackathon was supported by the Game Art & Design (GAD) Faculty and guided by industry professionals Bharat Raj Thukral and Srijandeep Kumar Das, who are associated with internationally recognized organizations including Konami, Bandai Namco, Kodansha, FromSoftware, Ubisoft, Netflix (Japan & USA), Studio A24, Polygon, Paris Review, Shigeru Ban Architects (Tokyo), London Design Festival, Parsons (NYC), and Formula Their presence brought real industry energy to the campus, inspiring students to think bigger, bolder, and more creatively.
The event featured enthusiastic participation from four dynamic teams — Team Krusty Krab, Team Shiro, Team Kirmada and Team Kaalhima — each bringing their own creativity, ideas, and collaborative spirit to the experience. Through their unique perspectives and teamwork, the groups contributed to an engaging and energetic atmosphere, reflecting the excitement and innovation that defined the event.
Inspired by the atmospheric storytelling style of the Dark Souls universe, participants were challenged to design environments layered with narrative clues. Working in teams, students created four original fictional worlds, building lore, characters, environments, and cultural contexts that gave life to their imagined universes.
What made the experience even more exciting was the timing. Across India, the craze for video games, anime, films, and live-action storytelling is growing faster than ever, especially among Gen Z creators who are eager to explore new forms of digital storytelling. Against this backdrop, the hackathon felt less like a classroom activity and more like a creative festival of ideas, where imagination, art, and storytelling collided in the best possible way.
Bringing together students from École Intuit Lab Kolkata, Techno India University, and selected creative professionals, the event showcased how game art blends creativity, design thinking, and science. Teams brainstormed, sketched, debated, and designed together — turning raw ideas into fully imagined worlds.
The initiative was made possible with the support of Indofuturism Studios and Dasein Labs, whose collaboration played an important role in bringing this pioneering event to life.
More than just a hackathon, Worldbuilding Hackathon: Dark Souls – Edition I became a celebration of imagination — proving that when passionate young creators come together, they don’t just tell stories… They build entire worlds.