A MAZE. | |
---|---|
Genre | Independent games, digital art |
Location(s) | Berlin, Germany, Johannesburg, South Africa |
Years active | 12 |
Founded | 2008 |
Website | amaze-berlin |
A Maze (stylized as A MAZE.) is an international series of events celebrating independent and arthouse games, immersive media and digital culture. Founded in 2008 by artistic director Thorsten Wiedemann, A MAZE. is most notable for hosting the International Games and Playful Media Festival, held annually in Berlin since 2012, which feature annual awards and prizes for games and digital works.
A MAZE was launched by founder and artistic director Thorsten Wiedemann in Berlin in 2008. [1] Wiedemann stated the event began at a local bar to showcase games and digital art, with the event expanding in 2012 to the first festival, Indie Connect, coinciding with the International Games Week Berlin. [2] The festivals are not primarily commercial and aim to celebrate games and digital culture as "not only a product" but a "medium of expression". [3] In following years, the festival was also co-held in Johannesburg from 2012 to 2017. In 2019, A MAZE experienced financial difficulties following the decision by the German Senate Department of Culture to discontinue funding for the program. [4] Following this decision, the festival organisers launched a successful campaign on Kickstarter to partially fund the event in November 2019. During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the event transitioned to a digital experience titled A MAZE ./ SPACE, hosting an online multiplayer showroom. [5]
A MAZE Festival events feature awards and prizes decided by an independent jury. The festival awards features an open-ended selection criteria beyond traditional video games, with eligibility extended to interactive fiction and digital art. [6] Nominees are judged by a selection committee, with submitted works reviewed and rated on "innovation, potential, interdisciplinarity, social, cultural and political impact, aesthetics and overall awesomeness". A shortlist of games is then reviewed by a final jury of five to select award winners, including the winner of the previous year. Winners of each category receive a €1000 prize, with the main 'Most Amazing Award' prize winner receiving €2000. [7]
Year | Date | Submissions | Work | Author | Award |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 [8] | 10–13 May 2023 | 287 | Extreme Evolution: Drive to Divinity | Sam Atlas | Digital Moment Award |
The MetaMovie Presents: Alien Rescue | The MetaMovie | Human Human Machine Award | |||
Season: A Letter to the Future | Scavengers Studio | Long Feature Award | |||
Lost on Mars | Trey Ramm | Explorer Award | |||
Viewfinder | Sad Owl Studios | Audience Award | |||
Player Non Player | Jonathan Coryn | Most Amazing Award | |||
Psychotic Bathtub – The Story of an Escalating Mind. And Ducks. | natsha | Wings Award | |||
2022 [9] | 13-17 May 2022 | 189 | BORE DOME | Goblin Rage | Digital Moment Award |
Okthryssia and Saturnia's Bureaucratic Adventures | Fantasia Malware | Human Human Machine Award | |||
NORCO | Raw Fury / Geography of Robots | Long Feature Award | |||
We Are One | Flat Head Studio | Explorer Award | |||
Titanic II: Orchestra for Dying at Sea | Flan Falacci | Audience Award | |||
Tux and Fanny | Albert Birney and Gabriel Koenig | Most Amazing Award | |||
A Rejection Story! | Faezeh Khomeyrani | Wings Award | |||
2021 [10] | 21–24 July 2021 | 251 | Adventures of Harriharri | Harold Hejazi | Digital Moment Award |
Map to Utopia | Fringe ensemble / Platform theatre | Human Human Machine Award | |||
I am dead | Hollow Ponds | Long Feature Award | |||
Before Your Eyes | Goodbyeworld Games | Explorer Award | |||
Time Bandit | Joel Jordon | Audience Award | |||
Stilstand | Ida Hartmann & Niila Games | Most Amazing Award | |||
Colestia | David Cribb | Humble New Talent Award | |||
2020 [11] | 21–24 July 2020 | 204 | Promesa | Julian Palacios | Digital Moment Award |
Brave Mouse Cartographer | common opera | Human Human Machine Award | |||
Knife Sisters | Transcenders Media | Long Feature Award | |||
Cook your way | Enric Granzotto Llagostera | Explorer Award | |||
Time Bandit | Joel Jordon | Audience Award | |||
Nightmare Temptation Academy | Lena NW & Costcodreamgurl | Most Amazing Award | |||
N/A | Studio Oleomingus | Humble New Talent Award |
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