A MAZE.: Are you a wild heart? If yes, what makes you think you’re a wild heart?
N.P: Cause I (almost) never choose a project for money.
N.P-O: Hum… not sure I understand what a “wild heart” is, but it’s attractive so the answer is yes.
D.B: Hell yeah ! That’s what my mom tells me all the time.
A MAZE.: How would you describe yourself?
Studio Oleomingus: We are an open collaborative arts practice studio based in Chala, India. And usually run by Dhruv and Sushant. We work at the intersection of post colonial writing and interactive fiction, using video game spaces as sites of discourse, resistance and record.
A MAZE.: What message(s) are you sending out with your works?
Bobbi A. Sand: Every work/story has its own theme and message, or maybe rather conversation, but I tend to circle around topics such as relationships, identity, mental health, sexuality.
A MAZE.: What influences your work more: Past (history), present (contemporary) or future (scifi) and what are your sources?
Julián Palacios: The past. I like to use spaces in videogames as a way to connect our memories and our experiences of reality with what we see on the screen. And I love old music, movies, pictures, books. They give us glimpses of what were different ways of life.
A MAZE.: How do you see interactive arts in 10 years from now? In 2030! Tell us your vision.
Gabriel: In 2030, VR is still not a thing, Itch.io has become a giant mass media and entertainment conglomerate and we are still releasing games people think we made on drugs.
Jira Trello: I hope (and imagine) all work created in the same medium of game engines is not constrained to one context.
A MAZE.: Why did you start making games or playful media works?
Eve Golden Woods: I've been telling stories and playing games as long as I can remember. Stories are important to me, and games are a cool and beautiful medium in which to tell them.
A MAZE.: What message(s) are you sending out with your works?
Marc Loths: Whatever message my work is sending depends on the work, really. Some of it is very self-indulgent, wallowing in emotions and feelings, some of it is more political in a broader sense and yet more work is more in the vein of ludic exploration. A lot of my recent work focuses on climate change and capitalism…
A MAZE.: Where can we find this in your work?
Kas Ghobadi: I think it’s easy to see environmental themes and ideas throughout Stereophyta and my other games which focus on nature, dynamic music, and use procedural generation to create the world. …
A MAZE.: How do you relax and find balance?
Adriaan De Jongh: This has been a major struggle ever since I graduated and practise game design, but right now I feel that balance quite well. I practise 'movement'…
A MAZE.: If there is something wrong in the field of games / playful media, what would you fix first?
KRL: Exploitative industry practices.
888: Funding models.
A MAZE.: What message(s) are you sending out with your works?
Mwaaba Alec Mugala: I am really focused on telling more African stories in my video games. Messages that show Africa in a more positive light as well as…
A MAZE.: What influences your work more: Past (history), present (contemporary) or future (scifi) and what are your sources?
Greg Heffernan: I think squarely contemporary, with nods towards both future scifi and history.
A MAZE.: What message(s) are you sending out with your works?
SUPR: “The author is on drugs or something” / “You have to be high to understand it” / “Way cheaper than drugs!” (according to most of our players).
RKKTKK: “Everything is permitted.”
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,…
A MAZE.: Why did you start making games or playful media works?
Annika Maar: I just had the deep urge to tell a story. I love games over any other media, so it felt very natural.
