The Australian Writers’ Guild (AWG) is stoked to announce the winners of the 2014 Platform X Initiative.
Supported by the Australia Council of the Arts, the 2014 Platform X Initiative has this year welcomed a partnership between the AWG and Storycode: Sydney, to present an exciting opportunity for Australian writers keen to expand their skills in the growth areas of interactive multiplatform storytelling and narrative gaming.
The writers of five projects have been chosen for a place in a one-day intensive story lab run by experienced digital media practitioners Mike Jones (Head of Story Development for Portal Entertainment), Ester Harding (Media Stockade) and Troy Bellchambers (MonkeyStack), joined by graphic illustrator, Alan Chen. The lab will focus on development of their selected projects as well as writer-specific skills for the participants working across platforms.
“We were staggered by the volume of submissions and even more so by the quality. There seems to be a great maturity and critical mass of writers that are engaging with multiplatform and interactive writing. The panel really had to wrestle hard to come up with the top five,” said Mike Jones, Multiplatform Writer and AWG Platform X Judge.
The five winning projects for this year’s Initiative are: The Organisers by Kelly Boulton, Regency Shadows by Glen Cox, Corrosive Zone by Zachary Gillam, Outlawyer by Kym Goldsworthy and Ian Rohford and One of a Crowd by Grania Kelly.
The concepts created for each of the winning projects are bold, inventive and detailed, unfolding storyworlds that stretch the imagination. The Organisers’ anatomical adventures divulge a colourful collective of body organs to educate a primary school audience while Regency Shadows plays out a period narrative that reveals the debauchery of Europe’s high society.
One of a Crowd is an online documentary format and interactive game that experiments with the dynamic nature of human beings as they stand as individuals and move into a crowd. Outlawyer exposes the gritty underworld of a futuristic Earth while Corrosive Zone takes you on an unusual journey through a mining town in outback Australia only to come face to face with a new breed of alien mutants.
The intensive story lab will be held at the Academy for Information Technology (AIT) in Ultimo on 4 December 2014 where each participant will receive individual round-table development with the workshop leaders who will guide, advise, suggest and provide feedback on their projects while illustrator, Alan Chen, sketches concept ideas for them.
The lab will culminate in a special Storycode event where participants will present their projects to a diverse audience of designers, technologists, producers & writers. AWG Members are invited to be a part of this audience and may book online by clicking here.