Category: Creative Practice & Strategy

Wow! 2012 is wrapping up already! This year I spent most of my time on my passion project and said “no” to more things than ever before. But looking over this list, I’ve still been busy! Here is an overview of everythink (I think), in case there is something you’d like to check out:

Creative 

• An early iPad prototype of my web audio adventure AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS was nominated for “Best Writing in a Game” at the Freeplay Independent Gaming Awards! We came runner-up amongst a big field of released games and so we’re thrilled! I’ve given some talks and written some articles about AUTHENTIC this year – and so you’ll see them below. I can’t wait to release this baby to the world. We’re working on our crowdfunding campaign to get the essential last monies to complete it. This will be launched in Jan. Fingers crossed!!
• I was commissioned by the Melbourne Writers Festival to write a mobile/cell story as part of their festival promotions. The stories (3 writers to create 3 stories) were cancelled due to the advertising agency having to pull out. However, because I had already done work on the street story before it was cancelled I received my first kill fee! And, because I like the storyworld I created, I’m going ahead with the street story anyway. I have adapted it for global implementation and am ready to playtest. Woot! Just need to do the tech side of things…
• “title withheld” – I did concept development for a game and graphic novel pre-experience for a cool supernatural action horror feature film
• “title withheld” – I’ve done some preliminary concept development work on a global serious game and accompanying transmedia campaign
• The Book of Revelations – I did a prototype pre-experience for this delightful work-in-progress performance work.
• Hunter n Hornet – I did some pitch and transmedia consulting with this “appisode series” in its early days, and now it is released!

Publications

• Invited article for MediaCommons on my adaptation of the screenplay format for my web audio adventure AUTHENTIC
• Commissioned chapter “The Scaredy Cat Factor” published in “The Emerging Writer: An Insider’s Guide to Your Writing Journey”
• My essay on “Player-Created Tiers in Alternate Reality Games” was translated in a Portuguese book on gaming “Synthetic Reality” by Thiago Falcao and Luiz Adolfo Tetra Campeão de Andrade (the book has sold out and so is available for free download). The original essay: ‘Emerging Participatory Culture Practices: Player-Created Tiers in Alternate Reality Games‘, Henry Jenkins and Mark Deuze (Eds) special issue on ‘Convergence Culture’ in Convergence Journal: International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. (PDF and accompanying website)
• “Some Things I’ve Learned about Transmedia Worldbuilding” – commisioned article for Meanland (one of my favourites of this year)
• Interviewed in Andrea Phillips’ book “A Creator’s Guide to Transmedia Storytelling“
• Interviewed in Tyler Weaver’s book “Comics for Film, Games, and Animation: Using Comics to Construct your Transmedia Storyworld“
• “Do You Go Both Ways?” – commissioned article for Meanland on transmedia creatives

Presentations

• Keynote address at MediaCity, Finland
• Opening keynote at the International Conference on Social Experiences, Barcelona, Spain (as well as meeting with the local transmedia meetup community there)
• Digital Writing Ambassador @ the Emerging Writers’ Festival
• Panelist at Transmedia Hollywood, LA
• Invited hour presentation on AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS and panelist at ABC Radio National’s Radio Beyond Radio: a symposium exploring new radio writing and performance, Sydney
• Taught Cross-Media Interaction Design at Umea University, Sweden
• Multi-platform writing panelist at Generation Next Drama and Comedy Conference
• Panelist on “measures of success” beyond money at the Freeplay Independent Gaming Festival
• Lectured on transmedia writing and design techniques and processes at RMIT
• Lectured on pervasive gaming at Swinburne University
• I presented on pervasive gaming and extended theatre experiences at the Pop Up Players event
• Panelist on “Stories and Systems” at Melbourne Writers’ Festival
• Panelist on “Postcards from Imaginary Worlds” at RePlay, GameMasters, ACMI, Melbourne
• Guest lecture on transmedia at Australian Film, Television, and Radio School, Sydney
• Guest lecture on Pervasive Gaming at RMIT University

Interviews

• Guest on ABC’s “Download This Show”, talking about pervasive gaming
• StoryForward Podcast – JC Hutchins interviews me about risk in transmedia
• Berlin’s Patrick Möller (text) interview with me
• “Ten Transmedia People” – article by Simon Staffans featuring myself and lots of ace people
• Press interview with me when I was in Barcelona, translated into Spanish and Catalan
• April lists AUTHENTIC in her showcase of transmedia projects
• Multi-part documentary video with me on transmedia and documentary for Atalanti Dionysus’ The Journey of Documentary:  all interviews with me
• Multi-part series on transmedia with various (anonymous) professionals for Media Wave (part 1 – collaboration?; part 2 – agencies?; part 3 – collaboration tips; part 4 – scheduling?; part 5 – outsourcing?; part 6 – pressure points?; part 7 – benefits?)

Juror

• International Digital Emmy Awards, Digital Program: Fiction (USA – remote)
• Web Drama Series, Independent Production Fund (CAN – remote)
• Creative Australia New Art, Inter-Arts Board, Australia Council for the Arts (AUS)

PhD Assessor

• Markus Montola’s PhD on pervasive gaming
• Silvina Bamrungpong’s PhD on transmedia storytelling

Boards

• StoryWorld Conference and Expo, Hollywood – Unfortunately I had to cancel being there and running my panel(s) in the end – but heard from everyone it was a great catch up time!
• Aphids – an artist-led organisation focusing on cross-arts practice. Of the many projects they launched and developed this year, there is a supernatural iPhone tour to be released shortly – Fever Beach!
• As the Dust Settles – documentary on Burning Man that is currently in post-production and so the board is currently giving feedback!
• ETC Press – this game-focused open-publishing press has been receiving lots of submissions this year and so we’ve been busy!

 I cannot believe it is the end of the year now. It is good to have less of a workload for a bit. I’ll be working on my stuff of course – AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS, and as well as my street story (let me know if you want to be a playtester!). But I’ll be watching movies and playing games, and doing life admin stuff. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my 2012. I look forward to spending more time with all of you! 

Helloooo!

I have some good news and some bad news. Well, some bad news for some.

I’ll start with the bad news. I’ve decided to cancel my trips to LA and Sweden. So I won’t be at the StoryWorldConference. I was really looking forward to seeing you all, but I’ve cancelled because I want to spend the next few months focusing totally on my project AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS. So this is the good thing.

AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS was recently runner-up for “Best Writing in a Game” at the Freeplay Independent Gaming Festival! Wohoooo! We didn’t win, but we submitted a very early iPad build of the project (they accept projects in-development) and ended up beating many released games. So we’ve done really well and are super happy about this.

So now to keep the progression going. In order to finish this little beauty, we’ll need to run a crowdfunding campaign to get the final funds we need. And then, if that is successful, jump straight into finishing it for release early next year. So excited about this.

I’ll keep you updated on what is happening, and wish all my wonderful colleagues in LA the best time! 🙂

Now, for all my crazy American friends – here is a video of the winners of the Best International Game at Freeplay. They decided to do something us Ozzies would NEVER do…

Hello everyone! Another update on a bundle of publications and events I’m part of:

But first I want to tell you some news about my project AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS. We’ve done the first iPad app build of episode one! Wohoo! Yes folks, it is moving along. I’m so excited. We still have more to do of course, but the baby is alive and walking! This is because of the wonderful work of my team – including graphics designer Juliana Loh, audio by Trevor Dikes, and programming by Craig Peebles. More info to come, but…gee…

In other news, I was asked to contribute a piece about my writing and design documentation for “Rough Cuts: Media and Design in Process” over at Media Commons. I talk about how I’ve adapted the screenplay format for my AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS app. This is part of a collection of pieces on documentation practices curated by Kari Kraus. Check it out.

This week I’ll be on panels at two events. The first is Open Channel’s Generation Next: Comedy and Drama Conference this Thursday and Friday. There is an awesome line up of presenters (and attendees), and I’m really keen to hear some writing perspectives on comedy. I’ll be talking about making a comedy drama for iPad (AUTHENTIC) and multi-platform writing and strategy in general.

Then on Saturday I’ll be on a panel at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival. The panel, “Stories and Systems,” features a great bunch of colleagues who’ll be chatting about the differences, obstacles, and beauty of game writing.

Next week, I fly to Sydney to present at ABC Radio National’s “Radio Beyond Radio: a symposium exploring new radio writing and performance“. They don’t have a webpage up yet but it looks like it will be a ripper, with international guests from Arte Radio, The Hackney Podcast, and Jonathan Mitchell and Ed Herbstman from improvised drama podcast The Truth (swoon!). It is happening 3-7 September at ABC Ultimo and UTS. I’ll be speaking on a panel about new storytelling, another about working interdisciplinary, and giving an hour talk on the scripting, audio design, technology, and performance of AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS!

Then back in Melbourne on the Tues 18th, I’ll be on a panel at ACMI as part of their GameMasters Re:play series. I’ll be *presenting* on “Postcards from Imaginary Worlds“. Look at this strange and cool angle we’ll be exploring:

The promise of games has always been of unexplored worlds, simulated and presented with you at the centre of them. The player is the the explorer, navigating every nook and cranny, crevasse and mountain. Come with us as we scribble out our postcards from these imaginary realms, searching for stamps and postboxes in Azeroth, Minecraft, Dungeons and Dragons and worlds that look suspiciously like our own, but harbour something playful just beneath the surface. Speakers Include: Ben McKenzie (‘Dungeon Master’ & comedian), Brendan Keogh (games journalist, Towards Dawn) and Christy Dena (transmedia writer & designer). Chair: Daniel Golding.

I’ll then by flying back to Sydney for a couple of days to work, to return quickly to Melbourne for the Freeplay Independent Games Festival! I’ll be on the panel called “Measures of Success”:

Videogames make more money than Hollywood is the go-to argument when discussing why games matter but what if we took a different approach, exploring new metrics beyond the financial? What would they look like? And would people listen?

Then I fly up to Queensland to be a part of if:book’s BookCamp on 28th September”

Bookcamp gathers together smart, bookish people from creative backgrounds of all stripes to explore the future of books – and consider emerging technologies, people, ideas, and stories in the fast-changing business of connecting writers with readers.

Yay! And in the middle of all that it will be my birthday. Looks like a great few weeks of catching up with ace mates around Oz. And then in October and November I’ll be flying around the world again — L.A., maybe Canada, and Sweden, and… More soon. :p