A MAZE. / Berlin 2025: Full Schedule

Welcome to the A MAZE . / Berlin 2025 program! Add sessions to your profile to get an easy overview of your own schedule!

Program is regularly updated with new sessions.

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TBA

Singing Rainbow

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA

Kuppelhalle [Silent Green]

A collaborative multiplayer dome game created by A MAZE. and Katpatat Collective.

This work is inspired by crowd games. 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, to express LGBTQ identity and pride, also it is a symbol for happiness, feelings of togetherness, hope, and good fortune.

This installation will run at the Kuppelhalle throughout the festival. Between sessions, A MAZE. visitors will be able to take the microphone and experiment with the artwork projected on the dome ceiling of the Kuppelhalle. Gather people around (or fly solo), lie down and hum, sing or do poetic readings and enjoy the mesmerising visions.

Friday May 16, 2025 TBA
Kuppelhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Interactive

09:30 CEST

A MAZE. / Exhibition

Friday May 16, 2025 09:30 - 23:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

The main exhibition features the nominees and the honorable mentions of the 14th International A MAZE. Award including some extra gems which we showcase out of competition.

Nominees and Honorable Mentions
Extra Gems: (tba)

Artistic and experimental games are often off the mainstream and allow for different experiences with forward-thinking and playful views, often not for entertainment only. Technology is used as playground for artistic expression and innovative interaction with audiences interested in critical reflection and meaningful interaction. Discover different experiences, local multiplayer games, interactive installations and many more of this versatile art-form.

For Festival Pass holders, One Night at A MAZE. Ticket holders, Public Play Day Ticket holders.

Friday May 16, 2025 09:30 - 23:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Exhibition

09:30 CEST

Sokpop x A MAZE.

Friday May 16, 2025 09:30 - 23:00 CEST

Transmediale Studio [Silent Green]

Ten years and over a hundred games: Time for a retrospective!

Sokpop is the collective of game designers Aran, Ruben, Tijmen, and Tom from the Netherlands. They started out together, making one game per month for their online subscribers. Financing Sokpop with this monthly support of loyal fans they chose not to worry about the competitive games market, but instead focus on making fun, inventive, and charmingly weird little worlds - games that surprise the players and sometimes leave them wondering.

Friday May 16, 2025 09:30 - 23:00 CEST
Transmediale Studio [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Exhibition

10:00 CEST

Kiko's Apple Adventure

Friday May 16, 2025 10:00 - 12:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

A Sokoban game about a curious bear who loves tasty apples. Explore islands, move the finish line, and outsmart your enemies.

Friday May 16, 2025 10:00 - 12:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

10:00 CEST

lombric

Friday May 16, 2025 10:00 - 12:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

this is your own little terrarium. you'll have to gather and sell your worms to find new items to play with and make even more worms.

Friday May 16, 2025 10:00 - 12:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

10:00 CEST

SCHROTT

Friday May 16, 2025 10:00 - 12:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

SCHROTT - the roguelite driving game: Pull off insane stunts, collect valuable loot, and customize your absurd vehicle.

Friday May 16, 2025 10:00 - 12:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

10:00 CEST

Spooky Express

Friday May 16, 2025 10:00 - 12:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

Plan the train route for the world’s spookiest theme park! All the passengers are all just dying to ride the Spooky Express. Pick up the creepy cryptids and drop them at their destinations around the park. But be careful! Don’t let them scare or bite the human passengers. Stay on track of the situation or you’ll have a grave problem.

Friday May 16, 2025 10:00 - 12:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

10:00 CEST

A MAZE. Bazaar: 6th International Arthouse Games Market

Friday May 16, 2025 10:00 - 16:00 CEST

MARS | Küche & Bar

The A MAZE. Bazaar - 6. International Arthouse Games Market is a business module of A MAZE. Connect. It is the only and first market for arthouse games, independent games and playful media productions which gives authors and digital artists the opportunity to meet with publishers, funding institutions, art institutions and collaborators. Our goal is to bring culture and games industry closer together.

The marketplace will be open on Thursday 15th and Friday, 16th of May from 10:00-16:00 CEST at Silent Green, Mars Restaurant and Cubus.

We are the annual marketplace where game creators, digital artists, virtual worldbuilders can either connect to publishers and labels or funding institutions, festivals and curators, but also finding new opportunities in working on theater- or museums projects. Our major goal is to create a sustainable environment for playful media creators, and game studios to get their works properly produced, released and exhibited.

Thanks for the cooperation with MeetToMatch. Additional 'A MAZE. Bazaar - 6th International Arthouse Games Market Ticket' ticket for only 42€. (excl fee & service costs) LINK.

Friday May 16, 2025 10:00 - 16:00 CEST
MARS | Küche & Bar Gerichtstraße 35, Seiteneingang, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Business and Networking, Meetings

10:30 CEST

Let’s talk about sounds & music: what would the colour pink sound like and is it happy?

Friday May 16, 2025 10:30 - 12:30 CEST

Workshop Room 1

If you didn’t study music, how would you talk about it? If you’re writing a brief for a composer for your game, where do you start? How can you articulate audio descriptors to help direct your design decisions? Have you ever felt intimidated with giving directions to your audio team? Are you composing without any direction in the hopes that it gets approved? In this workshop we’ll collectively listen to some music tracks and expand on different ways to talk about you hear. No prior music knowledge required.

AUDIENCE:
People who are interested in audio, creative designers working with audio people, people wanting to improve their directing/design skills
REQUIREMENTS:
Just an openness to discuss things!
BRING:
Pen & paper if you want to take notes.

For this workshop online registration is not required to attend. The spots will be assigned on a first-come first-served basis, so make sure to be at the workshop location at least 10 minutes before the starting time.

Artists

Jade Leamcharaskul

Composer, JDWasabi - Music

Jade Leamcharaskul is a Thai Chinese-Malaysian composer, orchestrator / arranger, and Game Audio Producer. A Game Dev Heroes Award Winner for Sound (2020), BAFTA Member, and multiple-timed juror for the Best Music / Audio Achievement for BAFTA and the Ivor Novello Awards. She has... Read More →

Friday May 16, 2025 10:30 - 12:30 CEST
Workshop Room 1 Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Workshop

10:30 CEST

Self-Publishing my Indie Game: How to get a bite of the $184 Billion annual revenue

Friday May 16, 2025 10:30 - 12:30 CEST

Workshop Room 2

Explore the challenges and opportunities developers face in today’s changing industry. By combining data-driven insights with real-world experience, we will highlight potential pathways to success. During this workshop we will cover topics like lessons from recent indie launches, pre-launch strategies, the role of Steam Wishlists and their conversion to sales, indie sales performance in 2024 and early 2025, and effective marketing approaches—especially through social media.

But besides that people can also apply here with an unreleased game to receive feedback from the guest marketeer and indie publisher Thomas Reisenegger (FFG), or simply join as part of the audience.

AUDIENCE:
Developers, studio owners or indie marketeers who are developing a game as an indie and want to find out how they could approach today’s game market or want to hear or/and share Insights from recent indie game launches REQUIREMENTS:
For those who are actively involved in creating or promoting a game and want to explore business and marketing strategies within the indie game space.
BRING:
Something to take notes with.

For this workshop online registration is not required to attend. The spots will be assigned on a first-come first-served basis, so make sure to be at the workshop location at least 10 minutes before the starting time.

Artists

Maria Aloupi

beyondthosehills

With a rich background in music and art productions, Maria Aloupi brings a holistic approach to game production. Eight years ago, she transitioned into game development, where she now leads with expertise in production, business development, and self-publishing. Maria has played... Read More →

Thomas Reisenegger

Thomas founded the UK-based indie games promotion agency Future Friends Games with the goal of working on cool cool cool indie games such as Vampire Survivors, Content Warning, Thronefall, What the Golf?, Rusty’s Retirement, and Frog Detective. Since then, Future Friends has also... Read More →

Friday May 16, 2025 10:30 - 12:30 CEST
Workshop Room 2 Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Workshop

12:00 CEST

Bearly News

Friday May 16, 2025 12:00 - 14:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

Bearly News is a short, empathetic game from the newsgame genre, where facts and gaming experience merge into one narrative. Instead of telling a story, it allows you to play it and thus create your own relationship with the topic. You play as a bear living in a landscape shaped by human intervention. The game combines simple mechanics, stylized visuals and verified news to sensitively convey a complex issue: what does it mean to survive as a wild animal in a landscape dominated by humans?

Friday May 16, 2025 12:00 - 14:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

12:00 CEST

Find Your Self

Friday May 16, 2025 12:00 - 14:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

A short interactive poem about the arbitrariness of identity, with gameplay mostly based on hidden-object genre with pacman influences.

Friday May 16, 2025 12:00 - 14:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

12:00 CEST

LightFight

Friday May 16, 2025 12:00 - 14:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

In a colorful duel for the light of an LED column, strategy and intuition are the keys to success, because only your own side of the cylindrical game screen is visible.

Friday May 16, 2025 12:00 - 14:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

12:00 CEST

Mops & Mobs: A Sweeping Dungeon Novel

Friday May 16, 2025 12:00 - 14:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

Mops & Mobs is a Visual Novel and Dungeon Crawler mix (with a bit of card game thrown in). You're the janitor of a dungeon, responsible for the well-being of the the various monsters. Decorate their rooms, fulfil tasks for the dungeon master, play some cards and maybe also try to find *the artifact*!

Friday May 16, 2025 12:00 - 14:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

12:00 CEST

Rope Session

Friday May 16, 2025 12:00 - 14:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

Rope Session is a cozy educational game about Japanese bondage, that provides players with deeper context about the Japanese art of Shibari, the BDSM community with which it is closely connected, and especially the importance of consent that accompanies these activities. It highlights its ethical and safety principles, which are mostly absent in games or other forms of (especially mainstream) media. The game presents Shibari as an art form and a consensual act, avoiding gender stereotypes and any sexualization of characters that would present them merely as sexual objects intended for personal gratification. On the contrary, the characters are portrayed as two equal beings, without any objectification, with their own boundaries, personality, and motivations. As players, we take on the role of the rigger, and with it, responsibility for her own decisions, as well as their consequences. The character of the model is depicted as an equal entity, reacting to her own discomfort.
The game also portrays human diversity, the queer community, and gender identity with the same respect and sensitivity.
It's a mix of a walking simulator with elements of narrative, point-and-click, and hypercasual gameplay.

Friday May 16, 2025 12:00 - 14:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

12:00 CEST

Open Screens

Friday May 16, 2025 12:00 - 20:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

Open Screens are back!
Following the success of previous years, our goal remains the same: to provide a convenient platform for developers to showcase their creations to the press and their peers. These exhibits will be on display at the physical A MAZE. venue.

See for the full line up: https://2025.amaze-berlin.de/openscreens/
Individual Times exhibited projects Open Screens

Friday May 16, 2025 12:00 - 20:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Exhibition

12:30 CEST

Betonhalle Stage - BREAK - (12:30 - 14:00)

Friday May 16, 2025 12:30 - 14:00 CEST

Betonhalle Stage [Silent Green]

Friday May 16, 2025 12:30 - 14:00 CEST
Betonhalle Stage [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

12:30 CEST

Kuppelhalle Stage - BREAK - (12:30 - 14:00)

Friday May 16, 2025 12:30 - 14:00 CEST

Kuppelhalle [Silent Green]

Friday May 16, 2025 12:30 - 14:00 CEST
Kuppelhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

12:30 CEST

AI Sidekick: Power-Ups for Indie Game Devs

Friday May 16, 2025 12:30 - 14:00 CEST

Workshop Room 2

AI isn’t here to steal the show—it’s here to jam with you! In this hands-on workshop, we’ll explore how AI tools can boost your game dev workflow without taking over the fun parts. From early ideas and prototyping to vibe coding, 3D art, and sound, we’ll dive into how generative AI can lend a hand at every stage. We'll also get practical with a live demo on creating 3D assets using AI. Come hang out, swap ideas, and chat about how indie devs can use AI in creative, collaborative, and even weird ways.

AUDIENCE:
Game Developers, 3D artists. People looking to incorporate AI tools into their everyday work.
REQUIREMENTS:
Workshop is made for beginners. No need for any particular skills. Drawing, 3D modeling, or coding skills is a plus.
BRING:
Laptop or tablet. No need to pre-install anything.

For this workshop online registration is not required to attend. The spots will be assigned on a first-come first-served basis, so make sure to be at the workshop location at least 10 minutes before the starting time.

Artists

Vladimir Storm

creative director, artist, Sirpin Studio

Vladimir Storm is a visual artist, a filmmaker and a creative director focused on AR/VR storytelling, narrative games and interactive computer graphics. He worked with clients like Microsoft, Netflix, Niantic, Valve, Snapchat, etc. Vladimir collaborates with film and game studios... Read More →

Friday May 16, 2025 12:30 - 14:00 CEST
Workshop Room 2 Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Workshop

Subject AI, 3D
Area Ateliers

13:30 CEST

The Future of Video Games on Kickstarter: New Era, New Challenges

Friday May 16, 2025 13:30 - 15:30 CEST

Workshop Room 1

Kickstarter had its strongest year in video games in 2024, the best since almost a decade ago, which in turn translates to more projects, a bigger backer community, and more funding. In recent years, many changes and new challenges have emerged, especially for small creators and indie developers. Discoverability has become the Holy Grail for video game developers, while the market remains a bumpy ride for creative individuals. At the same time, small to medium-sized video game creators are standing tall against industry giants. By sharing data, insights, and showcasing new tools and features, this workshop explores how Kickstarter continues to be a valuable market validation and viable funding solution for video game developers.

AUDIENCE:
People interested in crowdfunding, publishing their game and/or building their community
REQUIREMENTS:
None
BRING:
Pen & paper if you want to take notes.

For this workshop online registration is not required to attend. The spots will be assigned on a first-come first-served basis, so make sure to be at the workshop location at least 10 minutes before the starting time.

Artists

Elina Roinioti

Games Outreach, Kickstarter

Elina Roinioti is an Assistant Professor of Interactive Digital Storytelling at the University of the Peloponnese in Greece, and for the past five years, she’s also been part of Kickstarter’s European Games Outreach team. She’s spent over a decade moving between indie studios... Read More →

Michael Liebe

Outreach Games Europe, Kickstarter

Michael Liebe is CEO and founder of Booster Space, the company that initiated gamesweekberlin, Womenize! Games and Tech or VR NOW Con. He acts as Outreach Games Europe lead for Kickstarter. During his eight years with Kickstarter, he worked with more than 1.000 projects, with a funding... Read More →

Friday May 16, 2025 13:30 - 15:30 CEST
Workshop Room 1 Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Workshop, Funding

14:00 CEST

Amazen

Friday May 16, 2025 14:00 - 16:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

You were always worried that AI would take your job. Well, what if it takes everything else instead? Fulfillment. Security. Happiness. Balance. You will perform! You will be content! You will deliver!

Friday May 16, 2025 14:00 - 16:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

14:00 CEST

Keybound

Friday May 16, 2025 14:00 - 16:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

Keybound is a 2D platformer whose main feature is that the key bindings randomly change while playing, so the player has to adapt to the new controls on the run. “Your usual 2D plaftormer right? Guess what, now you have to press SPACEBAR to move right, P to move left and L to jump. GL with that!”

Friday May 16, 2025 14:00 - 16:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

14:00 CEST

Sisyphe's Backspace

Friday May 16, 2025 14:00 - 16:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

A game about Love and Hesitation. Use Backspace to play

Friday May 16, 2025 14:00 - 16:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

14:00 CEST

Will The Man Get Frog

Friday May 16, 2025 14:00 - 16:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

Will The Man Get Frog is a chill little game about composing silly or sweet haikus (short poems) and sharing them with the world!

Friday May 16, 2025 14:00 - 16:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

16:00 CEST

Intro to live coding in XR with p5.js

Friday May 16, 2025 16:00 - 17:30 CEST

Workshop Room 1

You will learn to code simple p5.js sketches and run them on the Oculus Quest 3. Other participants wearing the headsets will interact with your sketch in real-time as you are live-coding.
We will use p5.js, a creative coding library and P5LIVE, a collaborative web editor to see results instantly.
The workshop will focus on rapid prototyping with this immediate loop. You will use simple inputs such as hand and head tracking data, and create outputs using p5.js primitives, colors, and shapes. Advanced rendering or complex game-engine like features will not be covered.
More info at spatialp5.com

AUDIENCE:
People interested in creative coding and Mixed Reality
REQUIREMENTS:
Minimal programming experience with p5.js and javascript is preferred, but not mandatory. We will form groups so everyone can partake.
BRING:
* Laptop with a chromium based browser
Nice to have:
- USB-C port on laptop or adapter (for headset mirroring)
- Preinstalled software: Meta Quest Developer Hub (for headset mirroring)
- Oculus Quest 3 headset (if you want to bring your own)

For this workshop online registration is not required to attend. The spots will be assigned on a first-come first-served basis, so make sure to be at the workshop location at least 10 minutes before the starting time.

Artists

Tibor Udvari

Tibor Udvari is a creative technologist based in Lausanne, Switzerland. He has recently finished an MA in Media Design at HEAD Geneva, graduating in the fall of 2024. Previously, Tibor was the head of the technology center at ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne, where he used... Read More →

Friday May 16, 2025 16:00 - 17:30 CEST
Workshop Room 1 Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Workshop, coding

16:00 CEST

doggoworld

Friday May 16, 2025 16:00 - 18:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

Play as Doggo, the debt-ridden dog in search of part-time jobs, friendship and love in a magical, late-capitalist world. On their adventures Doggo meets desperate fan-fiction writers, awkward ghosts, Angelo (the sexy fish) and loads more.

riprip is also presenting their accessible game-making tool that they used to create 'doggoworld'!

Friday May 16, 2025 16:00 - 18:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

16:00 CEST

Dome-King Cabbage

Friday May 16, 2025 16:00 - 18:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

A short visual novel set in the world of a monster-collecting RPG. Grappling with their ability to perceive reality through an RPG lens, Mush navigates their way to a job interview for the enigmatic title of “Dome-King.”

Friday May 16, 2025 16:00 - 18:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

16:00 CEST

HOMMAGE

Friday May 16, 2025 16:00 - 18:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

Inspired by the works of Moebius, Jodorowsky, Laloux, and Métal Hurlant, Hommage is an interactive odyssey through surreal landscapes and philosophical depths.
Players begin in the dreamlike world of Arzach, confronted by a formidable Loc-Nar, an ominous force of corruption and power.
To escape, they must follow the Loc-Nar's words, mount Arzach's companion, Zoch, and navigate this world in pursuit of the fabled Incal.
Along their path, Players may be invited to a cryptic gathering where a Jodorowsky-inspired figure imparts esoteric wisdom, bending perception and reshaping intent. Others may wander different roads, uncovering hidden truths and encountering a trapped Djinn—a being whose fate is uncertain, bound to choices yet to be understood.
Players must unite to unravel the ultimate revelation, which transcends the journey and embodies themes of liberation, enlightenment, and artistic legacy.

Friday May 16, 2025 16:00 - 18:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

16:00 CEST

mystic arcave: the electric underground arcade

Friday May 16, 2025 16:00 - 18:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

A beyond screens project where a multiplayer 2D game is projection mapped and everything is synced with music including custom made LED lights. In our submission for the A MAZE. Award we said our setup would take 6 hours and need either a room to itself or a curtain. Fortunately the mystic arcave is scalable, and we can do a much simpler pop up setup where we take over the corner of a room if something like that would be doable. We're very happy to work with the team to make sure our install is streamlined while maximizing for fun and amazement.

Friday May 16, 2025 16:00 - 18:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

16:00 CEST

Truer than You

Friday May 16, 2025 16:00 - 18:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

Truer than You is a choice-packed visual novel about love, loss and being lost in life. In an attempt to run away from the past, Rin arrives in an unfamiliar city, hired as a gig-working actor to play roles in real-life situations. But is escaping from yourself really possible - or could playing someone else bring you closer to who you actually are?

Friday May 16, 2025 16:00 - 18:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

16:30 CEST

Let's All Make One Really Big Game (with Downpour)

Friday May 16, 2025 16:30 - 18:30 CEST

Workshop Room 2

This is a casual session to make a game with Downpour! Use craft materials, collage, go take some photos around the venue -- and then put it together into a videogame on your phone using Downpour, an approachable game making app (that I made). And then, using the power of hyperlinks, we will link them all together into a single game for everyone to play.

AUDIENCE:
It's for people who want to make a fun game together!
REQUIREMENTS:
No existing knowledge needed - it's an opportunity to make something fun with a bunch of other people.
BRING:
A phone

For this workshop online registration is not required to attend. The spots will be assigned on a first-come first-served basis, so make sure to be at the workshop location at least 10 minutes before the starting time.

Artists

V Buckenham

Downpour Limited

V Buckenham is the creator of Downpour, an app that makes it easy to make little games on your phone. Before that, she was the creator of Cheap Bots Done Quick, a website that made it easy to make little Twitter bots on your computer. She's also worked as a game designer and developer... Read More →

Friday May 16, 2025 16:30 - 18:30 CEST
Workshop Room 2 Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Workshop

17:00 CEST

Gameplay, Culture, Vision: The Italian Way To Meaningful Design

Friday May 16, 2025 17:00 - 17:45 CEST

Betonhalle Stage [Silent Green]

At the invitation of the Italian Cultural Institute Berlin, a panel with artists from Italy will take place to shed light on new creative developments and trends in indie and arthouse gaming. The panel will address the topic of meaningful design: how can expressive needs, artistic visions, storytelling and gameplay be combined to create interactive experiences that are meaningful and engaging from both a cultural and entertainment perspective?

Moderators

Davide Mancini

IIDEA

Davide Mancini is the Developer Relations Manager at IIDEA, the Italian video games industry trade association, where he oversees relationships with Italian developers and related programmes. He is also the Artistic Director of the Italian Video Game Awards, the event celebrating... Read More →

Artists

Claudia Molinari

We are Müesli

We Are Muesli is an independent and unconventional game development studio founded in 2013 and based in Milan, Italy. Known for their award winning art and narrative projects rooted in culture and history, the studio’s previous works include the multi award winning Visual Novels... Read More →

Lorenzo Redaelli

Santa Ragione

Lorenzo Redaelli, known as EYEGUYS, is a video game and music artist from Milan. In 2023, he won the Excellence in Narrative award at the San Francisco Indipendent Games Festival for the visual novel Mediterranea Inferno.

Maddalena Grattarola

Space Backyard

Maddalena Grattarola is Senior Lecturer at London College of Communication (University of the Arts London) and Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London. She teaches Contextual and Theoretical Studies of Games Design and Interactive Narrative & Digital Storytelling. Narrative... Read More →

Friday May 16, 2025 17:00 - 17:45 CEST
Betonhalle Stage [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Conversation

18:00 CEST

Happy Puppets! Kill! Kill!

Friday May 16, 2025 18:00 - 20:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

All work no play makes Murm wanna smash things!!! Happy Puppets! Kill! Kill! is a physics-driven, rogue-lite dollhouse crawler. Imagine Cuphead and the Muppets had an angry child, and you let that child wreak havoc in a physics-based game world.

Friday May 16, 2025 18:00 - 20:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

18:00 CEST

I Write Games Not Tragedies

Friday May 16, 2025 18:00 - 20:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

‘I Write Games Not Tragedies’ is a narrative-driven rhythm game that pays homage to British emo and goth subcultures. In the game’s narrative levels, the player experiences the story of Ash, from “baby bat” in the 2000s to “elder emo” in the 2020s via a period of addiction in the 2010s, with awkwardness, humour and romance along the way.

‘I Write Games Not Tragedies’ features rhythm levels with three original songs composed by the developers and their friends. These rhythm levels give the player the opportunity to exorcise their own angst, teenage or otherwise. In the verses, there is a distinctive rhythm game mechanic where players hit musically considered beats within the lyrics. In the choruses, players are invited to sing or scream into the microphone, and the louder they vocalise, the higher their score.

Friday May 16, 2025 18:00 - 20:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

18:00 CEST

Off-Score: A game of songs

Friday May 16, 2025 18:00 - 20:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

Off-Score is a game that tells the stories of 3 songs. From a piece of paper striving to survive in the society of a copy machine, to a hunter of elephants that struggles with regrettable memories, and lastly a song-sized universe that unfolds as you change your point of view, these songs will bring you to 3 different worlds of fantasy and secrets.

Friday May 16, 2025 18:00 - 20:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

18:00 CEST

Symbiosis/\Dysbiosis

Friday May 16, 2025 18:00 - 20:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

Symbiosis/Dysbiosis: Mutualism invites audiences to slow down and experience an interconnected, psychedelic forest adventure through whimsical storytelling live performance within an evolving soundscape. Reminding us that the future depends on our ability to recognize our connection to the non-human world.
Combining real-time fungal biodata streams with EEG data from Players, haptic sensations, and scent emitters triggered by the living fungi create an environment where participants see, feel, and interact with the microscopic connections formed within us, on us, and around us. Within the expanded reality installation, Nanotopia creates an evolving soundscape with living Mycelium that is directly connected to a custom synthesizer and bio-electrically connected to the virtual environment.
A large spherical, sealed terrarium holds locally cultivated living Mycelium within the installation/performance space. Electrode wires grown within the Mycelium lead to a custom synthesizer system and into a PC, bringing the bio-electrical data into the VR experience.

Friday May 16, 2025 18:00 - 20:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

18:00 CEST

Velvet 89

Friday May 16, 2025 18:00 - 20:00 CEST

Betonhalle [Silent Green]

Velvet 89 is a hidden-object game that tells the story of ordinary people taking part in the peaceful demonstrations that changed the course of history. Big crowds hide those, who want to tell you why they took to the streets.

How did the communist regime in Czechoslovakia fall? What do people making a stand against the unjust regime dream of? What do they fear?

Velvet 89 takes you on a trip across the revolting country – from cautious ecology-themed protests to huge crowds. Investigate the moments before police brutally attacked a peaceful demonstration and unveil the stories of those who decided to speak up.

Velvet 89 was developed with experts from the renowned Czech project Stories of Injustice. Every piece of the story in the game is based on actual testimonies. It shows how the revolution gained momentum, from the border regions onto the squares of Prague and further.

Friday May 16, 2025 18:00 - 20:00 CEST
Betonhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Open Screens

20:00 CEST

A MAZE. AWARD SHOW

Friday May 16, 2025 20:00 - 21:30 CEST

Kuppelhalle [Silent Green]

YEAH IT IS SHOWTIME AND WE ARE EXCITED TO HIGHLIGHT THE NEW WAVE OF GAME & PLAYFUL MEDIA CREATORS

The winners are selected by an interdisciplinary, international and 100% independent jury: Always reflecting the current times, A MAZE. / Berlin extended and changed awards which are now: “Most Amazing Award”, “Human Human Machine Award”, “Long Feature Award”, “Digital Moment Award”, “Explorer Award” and “Audience Award” and the Gender Diversity Award presented by WINGS.

Moderation by Tim Rogers
Tim has worked in most aspects of video game development and criticism for two decades. Since 2007 he has owned Action Button, a design consulting agency and game development studio which since 2020 also produces video essays on YouTube. He currently lives in Manhattan, New York, New York, USA in a small apartment near Central Park with two Pomeranian dogs and one human person.

youtube.com/actionbutton
discord.gg/actionbutton
twitch.tv/actionbutton

Jury:
Aluta Null, Luis Díaz Peralta aka Ludipe, Sarah Reimann, Somi, Tanja Tankred

Live Performance by Dogshow
Dogshow are an unmistakable band formed by 2 brothers traversing the astral planes of dance music - whilst dressed as poodles. These two full-bodied canine brothers are on a mission to create the ultimate party experience, and might accidentally be the most surreal band you’ll witness anytime soon. Fusing live techno, jazz, dance musicianship, their show comprises a battery-powered ‘Dog-Trolley’ placed in the centre of the audience where they conduct a ritualistic ‘howling at the moon’ ceremony. Join the spectacle and unleash your inner canine. ‘Boiler Room meets Crufts on a trip to space’

dogshowdisco.com

Nominees:
https://2025.amaze-berlin.de/nominees/

The doors will open at 19:30. The Kuppelhalle will have limited seating, that is why the A MAZE. AWARD SHOW is also streamed at the Betonhalle Stage.

Friday May 16, 2025 20:00 - 21:30 CEST
Kuppelhalle [Silent Green] Gerichtstraße 35, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Special

22:00 CEST

Panke Exhibition

Friday May 16, 2025 22:00 - Saturday May 17, 2025 02:00 CEST

Panke Culture

A MAZE. presents a self curated exhibition by Distraction Collective from Paris at Panke Gallery. The exhibition will be open only during the opening hour of Panke. Wednesday - Saturday from 10pm - 2am.

Also we are showing a new games by Free Lives and an LED Installation by Robin Baumgarten .

Friday May 16, 2025 22:00 - Saturday May 17, 2025 02:00 CEST
Panke Culture Hof V, Gerichtstraße 23, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Exhibition

22:00 CEST

The legendary A MAZE. Jump'n' Run Party

Friday May 16, 2025 22:00 - Saturday May 17, 2025 02:00 CEST

Panke Culture

The A MAZE. Jump 'n' Run Party is the legendary A MAZE. Awards Aftershow Party.

Music:
uppercut.continue (dj)
YUI (dj)
DogShow (live)
Rama (dj)
Debmaster (dj)

Games:
Distraction Exhibition
LED Games
Free Lives Game
and more.

Let's jump ! Jump, jump high!

For Festival Pass holders, One Night at A MAZE. Ticket holders, Public Play Day Ticket holders.

Friday May 16, 2025 22:00 - Saturday May 17, 2025 02:00 CEST
Panke Culture Hof V, Gerichtstraße 23, 13347 Berlin, Germany

Party