I should have written this post earlier. It has been almost two months since I went to A MAZE. / Berlin so I don't remember all the details. Here's hoping I still remember the highlights.

I'll not go into detail on what A MAZE is again, it's basically an Indie GameDev Conference with exhibitions and parties. This was the 4th one in Berlin, and the 3rd one I attended after missing the first one.

I met a bunch of people I already knew from previous years; when I arrived on Wednesday evening Major Bueno were among the first I saw. I was somewhat self-conscious about my new hat, fearing I might be labelled a Hipster and hated. But as if he could read my thoughts the first thing Majus said was that he liked it, making me feel a lot more confident. Go Majus!

Sos was also there and introduced me to Aubrey from Wolfire; I knew of him but had never met him before. He came all the way from San Francisco.

Aubrey and me.

I had also searched for nearby e-sports bars. I had never been to one but felt like I'd enjoy it, having previously read about the Loading Bar in London with its awesome punny cocktail names like the Evil with Gin and Assassin's Mead. And I had found one within walking distance of A MAZE (if you're willing to walk for a while), the Meltdown Berlin. So that's where I went on Wednesday night.

It would have been better to go on Tuesday, when Dota 2 is on, but I only arrived on Wednesday afternoon so that was out of the question. So Wednesday it was. That's when the Hearthstone tournament is on. I don't play Hearthstone so I didn't really follow it, instead I chatted with the people there, mostly the staff, and perused the drinks. I quite enjoyed them, although they were out of milk and cream. I could easily see myself going there regularly, especially on Dota nights, if I lived there.

The TLO, lit and ready to serve.

Back at A MAZE it was business as usual: Interesting talks and cool people. Including a couple of what you might call indie celebrities:

Sos, Dennis Wedin, MsMinotaur and C418

It's amazing how much Dennis Wedin changed - when I met him a couple of years ago at Gamescom (showing Hotline Miami) he had no beard and shorter, brighter hair; I only recognized him due to the Keyboard Drumset Fucking Werewolf tattoo.

The two selfies I took reminded me how horrible my phone's front camera is; I'm generally not too happy with it, maybe I shouldn't have gone for a cheap model when I bought it 2 years ago. Oh well, it will have to do for another couple of months until I'm done with uni, have a job and can afford a new one. Anyway, selfie time:

Sos and me.

Nina Freeman and me.

And while the back camera isn't quite as bad it still doesn't quite hold up, especially in low light conditions:

William Pugh and me.

So that was A MAZE. Fun as always, great people, good weather, interesting talks. Looking forward to next year.

So long
Willi

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