Next Level
Festival for Games

Nov 26–28 2021

#21nlf21

21 Ideas, Pictures for 2021

The Next Level – Festival for Games 2020 has to be cancelled at short notice due to the Corona Pandemic. But we want to fire up the anticipation for 2021 – and we call on you: What would have been your best moment at the Festival 2020? And what are your best ideas for the Festival 2021? What experiences do you wish for the Festival 2021?

Take a picture, paint analog or digital, write a concept or poem, build in Minecraft or Roblox – and upload your results until November 30th. The 21 best ideas and pictures will get a ticket for 2021 – and become part of the next festival!

Upload files here

Game Over

AshramMommies: VR performance by The Agency

Sat, Nov 14, 12:00 PMHalle 2
THE AGENCY examines surrogacy as an ambivalent phenomenon: Is the surrogate mother as a figure predestined to mark reproductive work as work? Why do we still pursue the dream of the genetically related child at all? And what does the figure of the child mean in these apocalyptic times?

Concert & performance: Colin Self & Santiago Latorre

Sat, Nov 14, 1:00 PMHalle 5
The Architecture of Friendship is a collective project inspired by the notion of ecosystem and the value of interdependence led by Colin Self and Santiago Latorre, and performed with Carlos Maria Romero (aka Atabey Mamasita) and Nieves Arilla.

Art meets Minecraft: Simon Denny

Fri, Nov 13, 11:30 AMHalle 2
Simon will be unpacking themes of extractions, technology, accountability and climate through a Minecraft in-game tour of his last exhibition MINE, currently on show simultaneously at K21, Düsseldorf and on the Minecraft platform.

Gaming futures: Hologram games

Fri, Nov 13, 9:00 AMRundeindicker
Playing the future: Multi-user interactive 3D gaming experiences from Voxon. No headset, special glasses or other wearables are needed: People can gather around to visualize, communicate, learn, and play via a shared 3D holographic experience.

AR gaming with Nadine Kolodziey

Sun, Nov 15, 10:00 AMHalle 2
Due to the global pandemic, the digital world becomes the safe space to meet, exchange and work together. What is the new reality? Do we stroll in a park outside similar to how we scroll the internet?

New game concept: Watch Dogs

Fri, Nov 13, 9:00 AMHall 12
Slip into the role of spies, drone experts, hackers or become a "street art artist". In Watch Dogs : Legion it is possible to play all characters, control drones, launch spider robots and use augmented reality capes!
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Video Walk with Lucia Kilger & Nicolas Berge

Fri, Nov 13, 9:00 AMHalle 6
Via tablet and headphones, the audience is guided across the Zollverein grounds and experiences the fusion of both levels in constant comparison of pre-produced audio/video material with the reality/live performance.

Performance & concert with Why Not?

Fri, Nov 13, 11:00 AMHalle 5
A performative installation and concert. A co-production by Next Level – Festival for Games, Theater im Pumpenhaus, Münster and Schauspielhaus Bochum.

On Documentary Games and the Extractive Industries

Sun, Nov 15, 12:00 PMHalle 2
Only a small fraction of the global gaming market is featuring themes that aren't of a fictional nature. In this session Georg Hobmeier will introduce the audience to selected project from the ephemeral category of "documentary games" with a special focus on the portrayal of the extractive industries.

Play a democracy!

Fri, Nov 13, 9:00 AMHall 12
Democracy is a government simulation game first developed in 2005 by the British one-man indie studio Positech Games. In the fourth and newest part of the series, which will be released in autumn 2020, you play the president or chancellor of a democratic government.

Fish against plastic garbage

Sun, Nov 15, 10:00 AMHalle 2
Our cities are clean, tidy. Everything is recycled. Wait a minute... In 2018, when China said that the country would no longer accept "foreign waste", we found out that very little plastic can be recycled at all.
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Playable Graphic Novel: Liberated

Fri, Nov 13, 9:00 AMHalle 12
In a gaming corner, visitors can use the switch console to retreat and lose themselves in the playable graphic novel. Players slip into the roles of various characters. The focus is on the question of how the freedom of society can be regained - and at what price.

Retro arcade with a future twist

Fri, Nov 13, 9:00 AMHall 12
The Retro-Arcades-Game by the Colombian media artist Camilo Sandoval deals with the political future of a nation.

Black Streamers Changing the Game

Sat, Nov 14, 3:00 PMHalle 2
From #solidarityisforwhitewomen to #MeToo, gaming culture provides an interesting case study to explore the experiences of women within the transmediated spaces of gaming. Drawing from ethnographic observations of gamers and games, this talk will trouble what it means to be a woman inside gaming as well as what feminist contributions to gaming can look like.
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Performance: of course i still love you loss of signal

Fri, Nov 13, 10:30 AMHalle 12
In of course i still love you loss of signal, the audience will be taken on a spaceship trip without mission: The performance begins long after the radio contact to the ground control has been lost.

Taì Chū 3030: an after-death digital soul

Sun, Nov 15, 2:00 PMHalle 2
After everything ended, everything started. MengXuan is closing the festival with a self introduction as an avatar. Followed by a live presentation of her latest piece “Taì Chū 3030” - an after-death digital soul.

Play Big Brother: Orwell

Fri, Nov 13, 9:00 AMHalle 12
Big Brother has arrived - and it’s you. Investigate the lives of citizens to find those responsible for a series of terror attacks. Information from the internet, personal communications and private files are all accessible to you. But, be warned, the information you supply will have consequences.

Play new worlds: Occupy Mars

Fri, Nov 13, 9:00 AMHalle 12
Occupy Mars is a highly technical, open world, sandbox game about Mars colonisation. Build and upgrade your base, discover new amazing regions, conduct mining operations, retrieve water and generate oxygen, grow crops, fix broken parts, learn how to survive on Mars!