Support l'X In the footsteps of a polytechnician who became a video game designer
Death of Internet, a video game project by Alexandre Pérot (X2018), created during his year at ENJMIN.
Video games are now the most powerful entertainment industry, ahead of cinema and music. To explore this field, École Polytechnique and its Foundation launched the Science and Video Games Chair in 2019, led by Raphaël Granier de Cassagnac, a particle physics researcher at the Leprince-Ringuet Laboratory and science fiction writer, a programme supported by Ubisoft. This Chair has made it possible to explore the links between science, technology and video game creation. It has encouraged the implementation of interactive experimental projects for École Polytechnique students, as well as the creation of a video game based on particle physics.
As an extension of this, the Chair has also contributed to the integration of ENJMIN (National School of Video Games and Interactive Digital Media, part of the CNAM) as an application school of the École Polytechnique. This unique partnership now offers Polytechnique students the opportunity to spend their fourth year at ENJMIN, training in video game design, interactive design and digital creation.
An inspiring journey: Alexandre Pérot (X2018)
One of the first to take this path, Alexandre Pérot (X2018) has successfully combined scientific curiosity with artistic passion. During his gap year, he enrolled in the IDE master's programme, a partnership between Gobelins and ENJMIN, and discovered a world where technical rigour and imagination come together. Captivated, he chose to spend his fourth year there, in the Master's in Digital Interactive Games and Media programme, where he specialised in special effects and technical art.
I have always loved creating. At the École Polytechnique, I learned to combine a wide variety of disciplines, and at ENJMIN, I rediscovered this richness in a collaborative work environment, which paved the way for me to do an internship as a VFX artist at Ubisoft. In 2024, I developed the video game Garden Trills on my own, and I now work as a special effects and technical artist for several game studios.
From theory to practice: learning by creating
The ENJMIN experience, a direct descendant of the Chair's spirit, is based on multidisciplinarity and concrete collaboration with industry. Alexandre has participated in several flagship projects, including Oasis Aquatique, an immersive installation created with the It Is Now association and deployed in several hospitals, as well as Death of Internet, a narrative game in which a tangible version of the internet is explored to investigate an enigmatic death.
Seeing a project designed in an educational setting become a tangible work installed in hospitals gave me particular pleasure. This applied approach is what really sets the school apart.
In France, ENJMIN is the only public school entirely dedicated to video games. Its integration into the École Polytechnique network of applied schools strengthens the links between scientific training and digital creation.
A legacy that continues to inspire
Although the Science and Video Games Chair came to an end in 2024, its legacy lives on through careers such as Alexandre's. École Polytechnique has opened up a new path for engineers passionate about creation: that of an alliance between science, art and innovation.
Ubisoft's sponsorship has enabled some wonderful projects to be carried out, and I think it is important to develop a variety of investment methods in order to promote a greater diversity of projects.