Adriaan De Jongh
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Adriaan De Jongh
Adriaan De Jongh is nominated with his local multiplayer dance game Secret Shuffle. Adriaan is famous for creating various party games like Fingle, Bounden, Bam Fu. Not to forget the hand-drawn searching game Hidden Folks. He lives and works in the Netherlands.
A MAZE.: How would you describe yourself?
Adriaan De Jongh: A human with a body. A person who takes away awkwardness by being silly. Lucky. A designer of games who loves iterating to the bone. Priviledged. Someone with a passion for physical activities. A friend.
A MAZE.: Are you a wild heart? If yes, what makes you think you’re a wild heart?
Adriaan De Jongh: I can be a wild heart if I want. I try to put those wild heart energies in the right places, such as moving and playing with friends, or engaging in meaningful conversations. I try not to be a wild heart on the internet or in places where people are violent in their communication.
A MAZE.: Why did you start making games or playful media works?
Adriaan De Jongh: I came in thinking I was going to be a game artist, but I stayed because of the challenge of facilitating collaborators to make their best work and the challenges of the iterative process of making games.
A MAZE.: Who (or what) is your biggest inspiration? Think beyond games too - musicians, writers, filmmakers, artists, scientists, …
Adriaan De Jongh: Small social interactions occasionally inspire me. More often I am inspired by the drive of friends and other people I talk to; to take matters into their own hands and change their situation.
A MAZE.: Where can we find this in your work?
Adriaan De Jongh: In all the games I helped designed (Fingle, Friendstrap, Bam fu, Bounden, Hidden Folks, Secret Shuffle) and all the events I organise (playdev.club, industrieoverleg.nl) and in all the side projects I've done (docontract.com, dustchgameindustry.directory).
A MAZE.: What message(s) are you sending out with your works?
Adriaan De Jongh: It's ok
Screenshot from Secret Shuffle
A MAZE.: Is there a repeating pattern in all of your works the players may experience?
Adriaan De Jongh: Some experiences of the games I helped design are perhaps related, but there is no pattern across all of them.
A MAZE.: What influences your work more: Past (history), present (contemporary) or future (scifi) and what are your sources?
Adriaan De Jongh: The present. In vision, theme, collaborations, and process.
A MAZE.: What does responsibility towards your players mean to you as an artist?
Adriaan De Jongh: I don't know. It is such an abstract question. What is responsibility, anyway? Do you have a responsibility when you don't take it? How much does a game actually affect the people that play it? How much can games affect players? These are all wildly unanswered questions, and I don't want to make my work more conceptual or esoteric than they are.
Screenshot from Secret Shuffle
A MAZE.: What impact is the current pandemic having on you and your work?
Adriaan De Jongh: Most effects are mild and not even worth talking about considering the challenges other people are having in this situation. The most annoying thing is that I can't playtest Secret Shuffle during social distancing!
A MAZE.: If there is something wrong in the field of games / playful media, what would you fix first?
Adriaan De Jongh: The general public's value perception of "games" is completely fucked up. Perhaps we should start renaming and recategorizing interactive and playful works so players can recognise an A MAZE. Award winner without the horrible connotation of free-to-play games, gore-y shooters, and fantasy MMOs.
A MAZE.: What are the three games someone who never played a game before should play? Why those?
Adriaan De Jongh: I've never met anyone who's never played any game and if I would meet a person like that I would definitely not try to force this person to play a game. Instead, I would ask this person a lot of questions, and we'd never get to the part where I explain what I do and where I try to make them understand games.
A MAZE.: How do you relax and find balance?
Adriaan De Jongh: This has been a major struggle ever since I graduated and practise game design, but right now I feel that balance quite well. I practise 'movement' (as taught by Ido Portal) 2–4 hours every other day, which brings me a release from work. I hang out with and hug my partner a lot, which is very relaxing. I sleep and eat well.
A MAZE.: What are the main challenges for artists in your country to sustain themselves?
Adriaan De Jongh: The same as in every other country: making enough money to sustain yourself.
A MAZE.: How do you see interactive arts in 10 years from now? In 2030! Tell us your vision.
Adriaan De Jongh: I think the future will in one way be very similar to our current situation: because most people want to make more money than they need, 98% of the interactive stuff works on dopamine and addiction mechanics. it's up to the creators of that 2% to create experiences that tickle our social, emotional, and our intellectual needs.