Meet Rachel Farzan (B.F.A ’25) , a Communication Arts student recipient of the VCUarts Undergraduate Research Grant. Rachel created her game Closing at 2 alongside three of her peers, Natalie Reyes, Olivia McCabe, and Cameron Krainock, for her Intro to Game Dev class in 2023. With the support of Professor Jason Bennett, they were accepted to showcase their game at MAGFest (Music and and Gaming Festival) earlier this year.
Rachel’s project, Closing at 2, is an indie horror visual novel game created in her Intro to Game Dev class. Players play as a bartender, having to make drinks for customers. However, throughout the night, things become eerie as the characters begin to change. The game is intended for mature audiences, as it tackles themes of alcoholism and mental health. Prior to MAGFest, the demo of the game had already gained popularity with over 1,800 downloads on Itch.
Administrative Affairs Coordinator, Taylor Colimore, and current Communication Arts student, Luce Barahona-Gonzalez, spoke with Rachel about her experience receiving an Undergraduate Research Grant to support her project.
How did you prepare your game proposal for the grant? What was the process like?
Rachel Farzan: We created Closing at 2 for an Intro to Game Dev class in Fall 2023, then we applied for and got accepted into MAGFest’s Indie Video Game Showcase the following year. Our advisor, Jason [Bennett], encouraged us to apply for the grant, which honestly hadn’t even occurred to me. When preparing our proposal, we discussed as a group what elements we’d like to have in our display at MAGFest, specifically decorative items like banners and tablecloths, as well as items to promote our game like business cards and stickers.
In what ways did Jason Bennett, your mentor, help support your project?
RF: As an advisor, Jason, gave us some ideas of how we could spend our funds beyond what we could originally come up with. He also helped us greatly as a professor for the Intro to Game Dev class, providing us with suggestions regarding both gameplay and visuals.
How did receiving the Undergraduate Research Grant make your project possible?
RF: Without the grant, our display at MAGFest would have been very bare bones; the items we purchased with our funds helped draw attention to our booth, as well as advertise our game. We met all sorts of people, including fans of the game and people who offered to help us with making a finished version of the game.
Do you have any advice for students looking to apply for this grant?
RF: My first suggestion is to apply for the grant, even if you don’t think your project is “worthy” of it. You never know what could happen! Another suggestion is to be very meticulous with what you’d like to use your grants on, and make sure you plan ahead. My team and I unfortunately struggled with this, as MAGFest took place shortly after we received our grant.