A MAZE. Pop Up in Bishkek
On March 14-15 we are going to be at GameCon Central Asia 2025 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. GameCon started in 2024 and was initiated and produced by Goethe-Institut and Institut francais (Franco-German Cultural Institute). After a successful first edition A MAZE. joins forces to support the curation part of the 2nd edition. The major interest is to enable networking, building bridges between the invited creators from Germany and France and the local game community from Central Asia – Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
We are excited that the following invited artists are joining us and sharing their work and knowledge as talk.
alpha_rats (FR)
Talk: Performing Video Games
Description: Time for some real-time extravaganza! here is a walk through a few video games I made to be performed on stage and played by the audience, to be live-streamed and controlled through the chatbox, to be an audio-visual show for a set or a concert, or to platform musicians and performance artists. Free the video games from the confines of your bedroom, they want to run wild and they are hungry!
Louis Cortes (FR)
Talk: Cosa Mentale collective’s work and artistic approach.
Description: Detailed presentation of collective pieces, accompanied by an explanation of the thinking process and ways of getting an audience to interact in public.
Cosmografik (FR)
Talk: Documenting the Real World with Video Games
Description: I want to show my personal work and video games that inspired me to create Type:Rider and Vandals. Games are great to understand systems, and that this might be interesting to dig this topic as creators. We can’t change the world but we can help to better understand it !
Chloé Desmoineaux (FR)
Talk: Between Funfair and Video Game : Let’s talk about Alternative Controllers
Description: This talk explores the wild world of alternative controllers—how they work, where can we play and how you can make your own!
Jana Reinhardt (DE)
Talk: Make it Personal!
Description: In an industry driven by trends and commercial success, personal games stand out by offering a different, authentic, and unique approach. This talk explores why injecting personal stories can benefit your game and create a deeper connection - at least to yourself. Drawing from experience with indie development, game jams, and experimental projects, Jana showcases experiences that feel right - but also the reasons why some went wrong.
Benedikt Hummel (DE)
Talk: The Origins of Studio Seufz’s Signature Style
Description: Studio Seufz Co-Founder Benedikt Hummel will talk about how the unique approach that the studio uses came to be. Their latest release Lucky Tower Ultimate will serve as an example for what their signature style leads to, but also highlight the struggles of how a small studio tries to stay afloat in the industry with productions soaked in complex emotions.
Mel Taylor (DE)
Talk: An Indie Dev Career: 10 years of Making Games
Description: Starting your own indie studio is a tough road into the unknown. Mel Taylor has done this twice in two different countries. She will talk about her 10-year journey so far as an indie developer, the pitfalls and difficulties and how she managed to find funding for games that were not immediately obvious promising hits. This talk is not a “how-to” on building your career, but instead an inspiring story about an indie developer who always aims to make games she believes in.
Lukas Hort (DE)
Talk: Designing around Alternative Game Mechanics: Combining Learnings in AltCtrl & Consumer Games
Description: Using experiences in designing alternative controller & consumer games, I will go into detail on the design process with a focus on alternative game mechanics. Going through personal best practices for designing, expanding and working with alternative game mechanics.
Forment Raphaël (FR)
Workshop: Audio/Visual Live Coding: Anywhere, Anytime, from the Web
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Live Coding AV performance by Forment Raphaël + Louis Cortes
The A MAZE. exhibition will include the following works.
Lucky Tower
By Studio Seufz (DE)
Escape from a dangerous tower where everything can be a weapon. Lucky Tower Ultimate is a slapstick, roguelike adventure that looks like a cartoon and feels like a joke. Slashy slashy! Link.
Blueberry
By Mellow Games (DE)
Blueberry is a story-driven puzzle platformer that takes you deep into a woman’s mind as she faces her trauma. Ascend her Tower of Life, relive her key memories, and collect pieces of her fragmented self to unlock the mysteries of her past. Link.
Vandals
By Cosmografik (FR)
Play the role of a young graffiti artist ready to do anything to tag his works on the walls of the world’s biggest cities. Be sneaky, sharp and fast. But above all, help him avoid getting caught! Link.
Solitune
By Rat King Entertainment (DE)
Being a shepherd is my escapist fantasy. I don’t really want to be a shepherd, I know it’s no easy job. But there are some moments where I just want to leave making computer games behind. Do real work with my hands. SOLITUNE is about these moments. Being not yourself. Wanting to leave. Link.
Non Virtual Reality Games
By 3m Jump (DE)
VR without the headset! A collection of games you only play with the VR controllers, no headset needed. Instead of visuals, these games only use vibrations and sound to convey the game, while you play in the real world. Link.
Crashboard
By Emilie Breslavetz & LĂ©on Denise (FR)
Crashboard is a surfing cyberspace game controlled by a real skateboard. In the game, you have to avoid waves of operating system windows pop-up interface scrolling in your direction. You control the player position by leaning on the skateboard. The aesthetic of the game is crafted from glitch, retro web design and error system. Link.
Scylle 3000
By Chloé Desmoineaux (FR)
Scylle 3000 is a detour of the game Snake. The goal of the game is always the same, catch the red pixel on the screen to increase your score without touching yourself or the edge of the screen. The snake will increase in size and speed. Link.
High Five Romance Race
By Rat King Entertainment (DE)
Play with your friend/lover/frenemy/parent/sibling/anybody, or play it alone! Get as many coins as possible, but don’t meet with an accident ! Link.
Singing Rainbow
By A MAZE. and Katpatat (DE/NL)
Singing Rainbow is a collaborative multiplayer dome crowd singing game. This audio-reactive playful art piece brings people together to sing along different notes. The more you sync with the sound pattern the more bright and dense you paint colors to the dome and move the clouds above away. The game has 7 levels as a rainbow has colors. The rainbow symbolizes ethnic and racial diversity, also it is a symbol for happiness, feelings of togetherness, hope, and good fortune.
