No Time

No Time

The game collective “No Time” is nominated with their interactive installation Marble Run for our 9th international A MAZE. Award. Learn more about the team behind the fast-paced local co-op game.

A MAZE.: How would you describe yourself?
No Time: A team of passionate students who love playing and developing games. We enjoy experimenting with fun technology, art and new ways to connect players. We are an assembly of individual personalities who are straightforward, happy and open-minded.

A MAZE.: Are you a wild heart? If yes, what makes you think you’re a wild heart?
No Time: Each human is somehow a wild heart at some point in their lives. We think we are wild-hearted right now, because of our great passion. Also developing games can be very stressful at times, especially towards the end of a deadline. Therefore, you have to be resilient!

A MAZE.: Why did you start making games or playful media works?
No Time: We see a great potential of the medium in its interactive, activating and participating nature and great expressive power. Also we're trying to give our players the same great immersion which we had while playing all these great games out there! Furthermore, we like the close collaboration between designers and programmers during the development of a game.

ScreenShot Of Marble RUn

A MAZE.: Who (or what) is your biggest inspiration? Think beyond games too - musicians, writers, filmmakers, artists, scientists, …
No Time: Each of us has their own source of inspiration. Tobias’ inspiration for example are the Assassin's Creed games, whereas Julius takes lots of ideas out of game jams. In general, the biggest inspiration for all of us is the outside world itself. Regular life situations which can be turned into games.

A MAZE.: Where can we find this in your work?
No Time: We accidentally found 9 monitors mounted onto a wall of our university!

A MAZE.: What message(s) are you sending out with your works?
No Time: Together we are strong!
Have more fun playing together.
Locally (not only online).

A MAZE.: Is there a repeating pattern in all of your works the players may experience?
No Time: Made with Unity? :)
Every project we made focuses on different themes, there is no further repeating pattern at the moment.

A MAZE.: What influences your work more: Past (history), present (contemporary) or future (scifi) and what are your sources?
No Time: We are mostly influenced by the contemporary and all the new technologies. YouTube and other gaming channels help us a lot to keep up to date. Also we like to imagine how the future would be or how it would be by using technology from the future.

A MAZE.: What does responsibility towards your players mean to you as an artist?
No Time: The work should be considered as a means to reach an end: the player. It should not be the other way around. Therefore, we have to value the players’ feedback a lot. The worst thing that could happen is that at the end the players say they wasted their time.

A MAZE.: What impact is the current pandemic having on you and your work?
No Time: Lots and lots of home office! For most parts that is okay but asking quick questions face-to-face is much cooler than having to write or call. Also, given that we work with custom controllers, not having access to workshops, tools and equipment in our headquarters is challenging. Overall the situation is not ideal, but we will make the best out of it!

Game PLay of Marble Run

A MAZE.: If there is something wrong in the field of games / playful media, what would you fix first?
No Time: Bring back the couch coop! There are so few games (and especially console games) which you can play together! We would also fix the fact that the field (like any other cultural media) is strongly dominated by commercial thinking instead of creators fulfilling their visions.

A MAZE.: What are the three games someone who never played a game before should play? Why those?
No Time: There are soooo many great games and no one should be forced to like or dislike a game. Everyone should make up their own taste of games. Here some examples of our personal favourites, though:

This War Of Mine: it goes beyond the limits of pure entertainment and is a very strong, in some way educational, emotional experience. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: because of the fascinating view from viewpoints and the “Leap of Faith”. Journey: it is very accessible and intuitive, thus perfect for people who are new to games. It shows how a game can be a powerful tool of artistic expression and convey emotions in a non-verbal way.

A MAZE.: How do you relax and find balance?
No Time: Each of us has their personal ways to find balance, for example being one with nature, doing sports and of course playing video games!

A MAZE.: What are the main challenges for artists in your country to sustain themselves?
No Time: We think the main challenges for game studios is to get financial support. Art is not yet fully recognized as a real job if it does not fulfil commercial purposes or is not acclaimed by a large audience or important authorities.

A MAZE.: How do you see interactive arts in 10 years from now? In 2030! Tell us your vision.
No Time: We think technologies like VR or AR will get more use cases and the possibility to consume content through mobile phones or special glasses will be more accessible. Our big hope is that the human value of innovative ideas will grow at least as much as the technology used to develop them.