Facing Pages 2012 and a bit of A MAZE.

Last weekend was a weekend filled with independent magazines and independent games.

Independent games: A MAZE
On Sunday I played through the finalists for the Most Amazing Game Award from the upcoming A MAZE. Indie Connect 2012 festival in Berlin. What a wonderful selection it is! I really enjoyed playing all the nominated games, I’m foreseeing a lot of discussions with the other judges, as every game has something unique, adorable, wonderful. Such a tough choice. The award ceremony will be on Friday at the .HBC in Berlin. Just a couple of days to go! Really looking forward to meet my fellow jury members, the A MAZE. organizers and of course the indie game devs.

Independent Magazines: Facing Pages 2012
On Saturday I traveled down to Arnhem with Eva Nieuwdorp and Jim Biekmann to visit Facing Pages 2012. This festival is the ‘biggest event on independent magazines’ and promised lectures, workshops and of course great magazines to leaf through.
Together with journalist Niels ‘t Hooft and graphic designer Jim Biekmann, I’m working on an idea for a magazine on games, so this was an excellent opportunity to meet like-minded people, get inspiration and some fresh ideas.

Below you find a small photo report of the second day of the festival.

Above: The festival hall: organizer Tanja Koning (you can spot her in the middle) had been painting and rearranging the whole building the weekend before, together with a crew. Amazing what they have managed to create. Wonderful space.

Above: The designer who designed the format of the exhibition (something with library cards)

Above: Max Bruinsma talks about the redesign of magazine Items

Above: Dimitri Nieuwenhuizen did a lecture on Lustlab‘s research projects. He showed a couple of really interesting projects such as Urban Echo, Res Sapiens and Airport The Hague.

The magazine exhibition space.

The magazine The Ride is a great example of taking a topic out of its usual magazine format and focus on the actual lifestyle and personal stories. Add great illustrations, photographs and artists, et voila a magazine I now intend to buy.

I had never heard of the ‘It’s Nice That‘ website before Saturday, but it looks like I missed out. It ‘exists to champion creativity across a whole host of disciplines’. Just up my sleeve! Will Hudson talked us through the history of the blog and the start of the magazine.