Eve Golden Woods is part of Dreamfeel, an award winning studio that is just releasing If Found…. The game received an honorable mention at A MAZE. Awards 2020. We’ve asked Eve the 15 #wildhearts questions. Enjoy the read.

A MAZE.: How would you describe yourself?
Eve Golden Woods: Straightforward, sensible, passionate about art, and sleepy.

A MAZE.: Are you a wild heart? If yes, what makes you think you’re a wild heart?
Eve Golden Woods: Probably not, no! But I do believe passionately in a better future, and in working to make that happen. And sometimes that feels like a pretty wild ambition.

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.: Who (or what) is your biggest inspiration? Think beyond games too - musicians, writers, filmmakers, artists, scientists, …
Eve Golden Woods: Ursula le Guin for sure. She shaped the way I think about so many things. But beyond that, I really try and draw on a lot of different influences.

A MAZE.: Where can we find this in your work?
Eve Golden Woods: If Found... in particular has a lot of personal experiences in it, as well as influence from other Irish media (there are a few references here and there to Irish poems, for example). We also talked about sci-fi television from the 1970s and 80s, apocalyptic fiction, diary narratives... The list could go on and on.

A MAZE.: What message(s) are you sending out with your works?
Eve Golden Woods: Mostly, I think I would prefer players to draw their own conclusions. But I think it's fair to say I am trying to give an honest account of the world as it is and the world as I think it could be.

A MAZE.: Is there a repeating pattern in all of your works the players may experience?
Eve Golden Woods: This is the first project I've worked on for Dreamfeel. I think if you were to look at what all the members of our team have brought to the table you would be able to find parts of this game that mesh with previous things we've all done, but it's also something new and special.

A MAZE.: What influences your work more: Past (history), present (contemporary) or future (scifi) and what are your sources?
Eve Golden Woods: I don't know if that question makes sense to me. Science fiction is deeply informed by history, and history is always framed through the lens of the present. If Found is set in the past (1993), but it's also a science fiction story, and its themes are deeply relevant to the present moment.

A MAZE.: What does responsibility towards your players mean to you as an artist?
Eve Golden Woods: I think it's very important to consider the player in many different ways. From things like accessibility to the way that you tell stories, being aware that there are many different experiences of the world is hugely important. I love the work being done on accessibility options, and I'd also love to see content warnings become more widely used. But on the other hand, I also think part of the artists responsibility is to tell the truth, and to be honest to their own goals and vision. Sometimes that means making something not everyone will like, but I think that's okay too.

A MAZE.: What impact is the current pandemic having on you and your work?
Eve Golden Woods: In some ways not much - our team has adapted very well to remote work. I definitely miss hanging out with the team in the office and chatting about whatever. It's much harder to do that over discord. And I think the collective tension and anxiety has definitely hit my productivity, although in a very nebulous way.

A MAZE.: If there is something wrong in the field of games / playful media, what would you fix first?
Eve Golden Woods: The first thing I'd like to fix is the horrible insecurity so many of us work under. Games need unions, games need workplace protection, games need support for independent artists making non commercial products.

A MAZE.: What are the three games someone who never played a game before should play? Why those?
Eve Golden Woods: I don't really like the idea of canons, in any medium. I think everyone has different formative experiences and that's great. But I'd always encourage people to play more weird small games. I know that the Catamite's games, like 50 Short Games and Space Funeral, are examples that everyone on our team really likes.

A MAZE.: How do you relax and find balance?
Eve Golden Woods: I like to put on a podcast and go for a walk. Especially since I stare at a screen for so many hours a day, getting out into nature is really nice. Cooking and baking are also things I enjoy. And you can always just settle down with a good book.

A MAZE.: What are the main challenges for artists in your country to sustain themselves?
Eve Golden Woods: There are a couple of different things. One is the high cost of living, especially in Dublin. Rent has climbed a lot over the past five years, and many artists find themselves squeezed tight just trying to survive. And rural areas, where rent is cheaper, are still often disconnected from high speed internet access, which makes remote work close to impossible. The other big problem is that although we have an arts council, they don't really recognise or acknowledge games as an artistic medium. So it's hard to get funding for non commercial projects, and a lot of our great talents end up relying on things like patreon, which is really useful but not exactly stable.

A MAZE.: How do you see interactive arts in 10 years from now? In 2030! Tell us your vision.
Eve Golden Woods: The best and most exciting thing about interactive art in ten years is that I have no idea what it will be like. But I hope that creators from many different backgrounds and communities are at the forefront of what we're playing and experiencing, and I hope they have the support and acknowledgement they deserve.

A MAZE. Magazine

A MAZE. Magazine

Interviews

A MAZE. Magazine

Eve Golden Woods