NEW YORK, NY (2025) — Urban Arts, a New York City-based nonprofit that teaches digital game design as a pathway to college and wide-ranging careers, is proud to announce that The Vanishing Enigma created by Studio Capstone team “The AristoRats” has won the 2024 Congressional App Challenge for New York’s Eighth District, hosted by Representative Hakeem S. Jeffries and announced in 2025.
Developed during Urban Arts’ year-long Studio Capstone program, The Vanishing Enigma is a puzzle adventure game featuring retro-inspired visuals, innovative challenges, and an original soundtrack. By undergoing a professional experience that emulates a real indie game studio, students in the Studio Capstone program at Urban Arts learn to design, build, and launch digital games while collaborating in specialized roles under real production deadlines.
With the creative guidance of Creative Director and Programming Lead Djuensie Cherfils, the winning AristoRats team included Amanda Li (Game Design Lead and Project Manager); Jenny Zeng (Narrative Lead); Dylan Chin (Art Lead); Chris Vidals (Music Lead); Karen Zheng and Raven Grusky. (Artist); and Aidan Ainsley and Eason Wang (Programmers). Urban Arts students learn computer science, animation, music, and storytelling, preparing for college, scholarships, and careers in STEAM.
Djuensie, a 2025 graduate of Brooklyn Technical High School and resident of New York’s Eighth District, submitted the entry for the challenge, highlighting each team member’s contributions as well as her vision as creative director: blending classic computing aesthetics with immersive adventure gameplay.
“It’s incredible to see The AristoRats team be celebrated for this amazing project,” says Darcy Gutierrez, Urban Arts faculty member who leads the Studio Capstone class. “They worked so hard over the course of an entire school year to create an incredible game.”
“Nothing came out perfect on the first try,” shares Dylan. “Every design went through rounds of iterative feedback with the team. That back-and-forth was what made our work feel stronger and consistent. With every pass we added more detail, more story, and more intention, and it’s all experience we’ll carry with us into the future.”
The Congressional App Challenge is an initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives encouraging middle and high school students to explore coding and computer science. This year’s competition broke records, with 382 Members of Congress hosting competitions and 12,682 students participating nationwide.
“This win shows what happens when young people are given real-world tools, mentorship, and the freedom to create,” says Amy Patterson, Chief Program Officer at Urban Arts. “We’re grateful to Rep. Jeffries for championing opportunities like the Congressional App Challenge that open doors to our students. This success is a testament to the students’ talent, enthusiasm, and the power of game design as a pathway to college and career.”
The Vanishing Enigma is available to play at: https://aidain21.itch.io/aristorats-game
The Vanishing Enigma trailer is here https://youtu.be/huBx2PuQffs?si=M52XTAUbdvfYgG-K
About Urban Arts
Urban Arts teaches digital game design as a pathway to college and career. We teach the art and technology of game development through computer science, coding, animation, music and storytelling. We provide top tier college-access services and ensure our students earn the maximum in scholarships. We connect our students and alumni to mentorships and internships at leading media and technology companies, generating a new talent pipeline.
Our programs prepare students for college and careers in STEM fields to unlock the power of possibility. We launch creators, not just consumers.
Game changers start here.
Fast Facts
Impact: 100% college acceptance rate
Impact: $46M+ in college scholarships since 2017
92% of students identify as people of color
300+ original games created by students
Alumni now work at Lucasfilm, Unity, Salesforce, Amazon, more
Founded: 1992
Headquarters: New York City, operates nationally in 13 states
2024 YEARBOOK
