Ata Sergey Nowak and his team Torpor Games are honorable mentioned for their game Suzerain at the A MAZE. Awards 2020.

A MAZE.: How would you describe yourself?
Ata Sergey Nowak: Calm, thoughtful, adventurous and a little bit random. As a person I am trying to live by a moral compass of empathy, being good and contributing to humanity. It’s hard to describe oneself, but I am a person that is trying to find purpose in what they do. Most things in my life must mean something for me.

A MAZE.: Are you a wild heart? If yes, what makes you think you’re a wild heart?
Ata Sergey Nowak: Not too wild in the classic sense. My wildness is more related to my drive to try to make some sort of impact in the world through my expression. I really crave a real connection with people, did so most of my life. In that regard maybe I am a wild heart which is trying to find other wild hearts?

A MAZE.: Why did you start making games or playful media works?
Ata Sergey Nowak: Earlier throughout life I discovered that I particularly enjoyed certain subjects: intercultural communication, space, technology and history. Funnily enough these were cultivated due to my access to games and a PC at the early age of 6! Later in life I found out that connecting with the world is my true passion, which led me to combine the two. So, I decided to tell human stories, relay influences from my life to others and challenge them. Games are so powerful and that is why it is the perfect tool to look at our world in ways we have not done before. To put us in as actors and psychologically explore new avenues with a combination of art disciplines. It’s absolutely beautiful.

A MAZE.: Who (or what) is your biggest inspiration? Think beyond games too - musicians, writers, filmmakers, artists, scientists, …
Ata Sergey Nowak: Stephen Hawking is my biggest inspiration, his achievements and life is the perfect example of how our limits matter little, we can impact the world positively no matter what. He is a true hero in my eyes, his excellent contributions to science and his will to experience life without boundaries is a light that I will carry all my life. Besides Hawking my father Horst Nowak is a huge inspiration to me for he has turned his life around and achieved his goals even though the odds were stacked against him. After his recent passing, I found myself contemplating. At the end of the day what is this life all about? The good memories and the realisation of our goals.

A MAZE.: Where can we find this in your work?
Ata Sergey Nowak: The primary inspiration of Suzerain comes from the dramatic life experiences of the development team that lived through the gradual autocratic transformation of Turkey between 2008-2018. This profound experience caused us to question why such events do happen and what lies behind the doors of politics. In addition, the way we exercise the difference of opinion and ideologies is through these dozens of characters inside or outside the cabinet. All of them are trying to convey their own thoughts and to convince the player. Allowing us as artists to relay a plethora of different ideas to challenge the player while connecting them to an array of choices and consequences.

A MAZE.: What message(s) are you sending out with your works?
Ata Sergey Nowak: Our goal is to make people think about politics, governance and policy from the inside in order to provoke thoughts regarding these subjects. The artistic vision is to allow anybody to be able to put themselves in the shoes of a political leader and change their world view by that experience alone. The exploration of all the grey areas of democracy, dictatorship and autocracy allows the player to journey into how we perceive and exercise power, unfold the pillars of society and find our humanity.

A MAZE.: Is there a repeating pattern in all of your works the players may experience?
Ata Sergey Nowak: Most of my works were done on strategy games so some influences might have reflected upon Suzerain even though it is primarily a narrative game. Our goals as a new indie studio however is to tackle interesting subjects and to provoke thoughts. This is very general, but we love debating the realities of life and think that games provide a powerful tool to do so. Therefore you might see a pattern in the future!

A MAZE.: What influences your work more: Past (history), present (contemporary) or future (scifi) and what are your sources?
Ata Sergey Nowak: It is the mixture of the past and present. Even though I love scifi in general due to the exploration of the unknown, the fact that history repeats itself over and over again and that the present is heavily influenced by the past makes it a much more real subject to tackle. We as a team also love talking about history to change our perspectives because there is so much to learn from the past, it might be gone but the strong ripple effects of it still exist in the present.

A MAZE.: What does responsibility towards your players mean to you as an artist?
Ata Sergey Nowak: Our responsibility is to take the players on this narrative journey at the best quality we can deliver in the existing conditions we find ourselves in. My goal is to make the best possible game and to create the most impact and I never ever want to disappoint our players, though it happens with all games. One can’t please everyone. All in all we do our very best and see what happens next.

A MAZE.: What impact is the current pandemic having on you and your work?
Ata Sergey Nowak: The social impact is not to be overlooked, being alone in a room for weeks and weeks can get very difficult. The fact that we couldn’t go to GDC or other events also took some excitement out of us but overall, it is nothing we can’t overcome. There are some other industries out there that are on their knees and while we are impacted it isn’t a survival situation, yet.

A MAZE.: If there is something wrong in the field of games / playful media, what would you fix first?
Ata Sergey Nowak: The artistic element is fading away in certain parts of the industry. I totally respect all kinds of games but the rise of mobile and money-making game apps while inevitable, are taking away the focus from the artsy side of the industry. If monetisation is influencing gameplay then we need to revaluate where our priorities lie. Because our real-world financial limitations are starting to cross over to games in which we regard ourselves as free as possible. Are we more business or more art or both? And what are the ethics of monetisation? It is surely a sensitive subject but one that the industry as a whole needs to face.

A MAZE.: What are the three games someone who never played a game before should play? Why those?
Ata Sergey Nowak: Orwell, Life is Strange and Paper’s Please. These are relatively easy games to understand and enjoy while grasping the power of the medium. They all have strong unified concepts and stories which will likely attract any newcomer, keeping them hooked. The important thing for an entry to games is the simplicity and the impact of the interactive experience from the very beginning.

A MAZE.: How do you relax and find balance?
Ata Sergey Nowak: Watching tv shows, gaming and daydreaming myself to other universes helps me relax. Moreover, going out for walks and communicating with passionate creatives in talks puts me back in balance. It is not possible to excel at what you do without some kind of a mental balance. Never push yourself too long and hard. Most of the work we do is a long marathon and not a sprint, so maintaining a good average pace matters more.

A MAZE.: What are the main challenges for artists in your country to sustain themselves?
Ata Sergey Nowak: Germany offers many mechanisms of support for artists, but one does wish that we had simplified processes to financially support artists instead of spending months and months on application documentation. We really should support the smallest indie studios more directly and faster as they have higher chances of failure. Additionally upcoming artists are not paperwork savvy reducing their chances of success in these types of processes.

A MAZE.: How do you see interactive arts in 10 years from now? In 2030! Tell us your vision.
Ata Sergey Nowak: Interactive arts in 10 years will be primarily shifting to VR, AR and MR. They have already begun doing so but their market share will keep increasing until we see at least 25% in 2030. The PCs, Consoles, Laptops, Phones will all turn to support/become similar to those superior experiences or lose their previous positions in our lives. Humanity has a drive to improve and evolve and the revolution of interactive art in the future will play a strong role in the expansion of those technologies. In many ways it will push them forward.

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Ata Sergey Nowak