Andrea Phillips
Encyclopedia
Andrea Phillips is an American transmedia
game designer and writer. She has been active in the genres of transmedia storytelling and alternate reality game
s (ARGs), in a variety of roles, since 2001. She has written for, designed, or substantially participated in the creation of Perplex City
, the BAFTA-nominated Routes (a project of Channel 4
), and The 2012 Experience, a marketing campaign for the film 2012
.
, the ARG which revolved around the release of the movie A.I. Artificial Intelligence
. The Cloudmakers community encompassed thousands of players of the game and eventually included a "guide," walking players step-by-step through the game as it happened, a "journey", describing in prose the content of the game and its backstory, and a "trail", functioning as an FAQ
to organize the multiple sites and widespread information sources present within the game. As a player of the game, Phillips co-wrote "the journey" and contributed to versions 4.5 through 9.0 of "the trail".
as an "ad-hoc polymath", doing "'a little bit of whatever it takes to keep the game rolling,' be it designing and writing puzzles, or live event coordination.". Perplex City was the first "freestanding" alternate reality game to run as a stand-alone project rather than as a marketing vehicle for a traditional media project and Phillips stayed with the project until Mind Candy announced in 2007 that Perplex City was being put on indefinite hold.
and the Wellcome Trust
. Routes included interactive Flash games, an alternate reality game, a television documentary featuring Katherine Ryan, and a series of webisode videos. The project ran live for eight weeks between January and March 2009 and won or was shortlisted for a number of industry awards. It won a 2010 International Visual Communications Association (IVCA) Gold award in the Web 2.0 category and the IVCA Grand Prix award the same year. It was also a BAFTA nominee in the Children's Interactive category in 2009 and a BIMA
winner for content.
, a Roland Emmerich
film.
On her own initiative, Phillips has developed Madame Zee, a Twitter stream and blog that deliver tongue-in-cheek horoscopes and advice, My Super First Day, a "massively collaborative storytelling project", and The TSA Choice, a crowdsourced activism site opposing recent changes to TSA airport screening procedures.
's Special Interest Group on Alternate Reality Games and has carried out a variety of duties under that umbrella, including contributing to an Association whitepaper. She currently serves as Chairman of the Special Interest Group. She has also written extensively on the topic of transmedia on her blog, Deus Ex Machinatio.
Phillips has been a presenter at numerous industry gatherings, including Foo Camp
2010, South by Southwest
2010, and an MIT conference on "Storytelling 3.0".
Transmedia storytelling
Transmedia storytelling, also known as multi-platform storytelling, cross-platform storytelling, or transmedia narrative, is the technique of telling stories across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies...
game designer and writer. She has been active in the genres of transmedia storytelling and alternate reality game
Alternate reality game
An alternate reality game is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions....
s (ARGs), in a variety of roles, since 2001. She has written for, designed, or substantially participated in the creation of Perplex City
Perplex City
Perplex City was a long-term alternate reality game presented by Mind Candy, a London-based development team. The first "season" of the game had players looking for "The Receda Cube" , a priceless scientific and spiritual artifact to the people of a fictional metropolis known as "Perplex City",...
, the BAFTA-nominated Routes (a project of Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
), and The 2012 Experience, a marketing campaign for the film 2012
2012 (film)
2012 is a 2009 American disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich. It stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, and Woody Harrelson. It was produced by Emmerich's production company, Centropolis Entertainment and was distributed by Columbia Pictures...
.
Entry to alternate reality gaming
Phillips came to the genre in 2001, when she co-moderated the Cloudmakers mailing list which served players of "The Beast"The Beast (game)
The Beast was an alternate reality game created by a team at Microsoft to promote the Steven Spielberg film A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. The Beast, which ran for twelve weeks in the spring and early summer of 2001, is one of the most influential early ARG games.-Defining ARG:An ARG is a game...
, the ARG which revolved around the release of the movie A.I. Artificial Intelligence
A.I. (film)
A.I. Artificial Intelligence, also known as A.I., is a 2001 science fiction drama film directed, produced and co-written by Steven Spielberg. Based on Brian Aldiss' short story "Super-Toys Last All Summer Long", the film stars Haley Joel Osment, Frances O'Connor, Jude Law, Sam Robards, Jake Thomas...
. The Cloudmakers community encompassed thousands of players of the game and eventually included a "guide," walking players step-by-step through the game as it happened, a "journey", describing in prose the content of the game and its backstory, and a "trail", functioning as an FAQ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...
to organize the multiple sites and widespread information sources present within the game. As a player of the game, Phillips co-wrote "the journey" and contributed to versions 4.5 through 9.0 of "the trail".
Perplex City
In 2005, Phillips transitioned from being a player of transmedia and alternate reality games to being a designer of them. She was hired by Mind CandyMind Candy
Mind Candy is a British entertainment company, formed in 2003 by UK internet entrepreneur Michael Acton Smith, and based in Shoreditch, London, England...
as an "ad-hoc polymath", doing "'a little bit of whatever it takes to keep the game rolling,' be it designing and writing puzzles, or live event coordination.". Perplex City was the first "freestanding" alternate reality game to run as a stand-alone project rather than as a marketing vehicle for a traditional media project and Phillips stayed with the project until Mind Candy announced in 2007 that Perplex City was being put on indefinite hold.
Routes
In 2008, Phillips was hired as Lead Game Designer for Routes, a multimedia game targeted at British teenagers and run by Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and the Wellcome Trust
Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research...
. Routes included interactive Flash games, an alternate reality game, a television documentary featuring Katherine Ryan, and a series of webisode videos. The project ran live for eight weeks between January and March 2009 and won or was shortlisted for a number of industry awards. It won a 2010 International Visual Communications Association (IVCA) Gold award in the Web 2.0 category and the IVCA Grand Prix award the same year. It was also a BAFTA nominee in the Children's Interactive category in 2009 and a BIMA
British Interactive Media Association
The British Interactive Media Association or 'BIMA' is an industry body representing the digital industry in the United Kingdom.Formed in 1985, BIMA is a membership organisation primarily made up of digital agencies...
winner for content.
Other projects
Phillips has also worked as lead writer and game designer for "The 2012 Experience", an alternate reality game used as marketing for 20122012 (film)
2012 is a 2009 American disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich. It stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, and Woody Harrelson. It was produced by Emmerich's production company, Centropolis Entertainment and was distributed by Columbia Pictures...
, a Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich is a German film director, screenwriter, and producer.His films, most of which are Hollywood productions filmed in English, have grossed more than $3 billion worldwide, more than those of any other European director...
film.
On her own initiative, Phillips has developed Madame Zee, a Twitter stream and blog that deliver tongue-in-cheek horoscopes and advice, My Super First Day, a "massively collaborative storytelling project", and The TSA Choice, a crowdsourced activism site opposing recent changes to TSA airport screening procedures.
Industry participation
Phillips was a founding member of the International Game Developers AssociationInternational Game Developers Association
International Game Developers Association is the professional society for over 10,000 video and computer game developers worldwide.It is incorporated in the United States as a non-profit organization....
's Special Interest Group on Alternate Reality Games and has carried out a variety of duties under that umbrella, including contributing to an Association whitepaper. She currently serves as Chairman of the Special Interest Group. She has also written extensively on the topic of transmedia on her blog, Deus Ex Machinatio.
Phillips has been a presenter at numerous industry gatherings, including Foo Camp
Foo Camp
Foo Camp is an annual hacker event hosted by publisher O'Reilly Media. O'Reilly describes it as "the wiki of conferences", where the program is developed by the attendees at the event, using big whiteboard schedule templates that can be rewritten or overwritten by attendees to optimize the schedule...
2010, South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
2010, and an MIT conference on "Storytelling 3.0".