“Over the last years, we are constantly fostering authorship, artistic expression and the courage of creating off-the-grid views of gaming and narratives. Once again, games aren’t just products of entertainment, games are works influenced by the knowledge, perspective and experience of the developer, and especially this year we are seeing a manifestation of a clear direction that is inspired by an inclusive,playful and engaging digital culture“, says festival director Thorsten S. Wiedemann



The submitters’ work ranges from all kinds of playful media, which underline the A MAZE. Awards categories. 25 games will compete in the following 6 categories:

Most Amazing Game Award

Human Human Machine Award

Long Feature Award

Digital Moment Award

Collider Award

Audience Award

THE NOMINEES:





Accounting+ by Crows Crows Crows (Germany)











Anamorphine by Artifact 5 (Canada)









Attentat 1942 by Charles University / Czech Academy of Sciences (Czech Republic)









Black Room by Cassie McQuater (USA)









Data Mutations by AAA (International)









Don’t Make Love by Maggese (Germany)









eCheese Zone by Seemingly Pointless (USA)









Fountain by Philipp Stollenmayer (Germany)











Genital Jousting - Story Mode by Free Lives (South Africa)







Homescape by Yotam Rozin (Israel)









Homo Machina by Arte France (France)









Hypnospace Outlaw by Tendershoot (Germany)









Knights and Bikes by Foam Sword (UK)









Levedad by Solimporta (Ecuador)









Like Roots in the Soil by Space Backyard (Italy)







Liquorice by Dlareme (Cyprus)







Meryll Wants a Cookie by Lost again (The Netherlands)









Museum of Symmetry by The National Film Board of Canada / Paloma Dawkins (Canada)









Sloppy Forgeries by Jonah Warren (USA)







The Norwood Suite by Cosmo D (USA)









The Zium Museum by Michael Berto (Australia)









Tuned Out by Shallow Games (USA)









Untitled Goose Game by House House (Australia)









Walden, a game by USC Game Innovation Lab (USA)









Witchball by S.L.Clark (USA)









HONORABLE MENTIONS:





character.animation.synth by Eran Hilleli, Giori Politi (Israel)







Isometric Epilepsy by Ludopium (Germany)







Nothing Happens VR by Michelle and Uri Kranot (Denmark)







NSFWARE by Pierrec (France)







Ooblets by Glumberland (USA)







Path to Mnemosyne by DevilishGames (Spain)







Pie in the Sky by Matthew Keff (USA)







Spoons by La Générale de Production (France)







Where Thoughts Go: Prologue by Lucas Rizzotto (USA)







The winners of each category will get chosen on-site during the festival in April by the international and multidisciplinary jury.

Sarah Northway (Canada)

Robert Yang (USA)

Peggy Schoenegge (Germany)

Jack King-Spooner (UK)

Leena Kejriwal (India)

The A MAZE. Award Show will take place on April 27, 2018 at 8 p.m. (Entrance at 7 p.m.) at Urban Spree and will be hosted by Tim Rogers (USA).