Toronto, Canada, May 26, 2009 -- Phantom Compass, an independent Canadian game company, is in production on an original learning game called “Dionysian Dream: The Greek Drama Game.” The development process is open to the public at http://www.DionysianDream.com


Classics come to life

Dionysian Dream explores Greek drama through a contemporary lens. Activated by a storyline set at the intersection of a real tragedy and an imagined dream world, teen and adult learners interact with some of the most important playwrights and fictional characters of ancient Greece.

As the details of the drama emerge through game play, so too does the troubled past of the game’s mysterious protagonist. Through critical thinking, exploration and strategy, the player must unravel the main character’s identity and find a way to bring closure to the protagonist’s unresolved addiction and family issues.

Suitable for classroom and at-home use by teens and adults, Dionysian Dream is the game equivalent of a short film, designed to be completed in less than three hours.

“Traditional teaching tools are losing their effectiveness as media-savvy generations flood the school systems,” said academic advisor and York University professor Dr. Nanci White. “Dionysian Dream will offer an interactive, multimedia, interdisciplinary approach to learning. The game promises to be an engaging, story-driven experience for teen and adult learners.”

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Phantom Compass founder and director Tony Walsh will be in San Francisco between May 29 and June 5, 2009, on loan to the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) for their annual Producers Institute. For his third subsequent year, Tony will be filling the role of mentor to documentary filmmakers, offering game/interactive consultation and even production skills during this week long engagement.

On Saturday, May 30 at 1:30PM Pacific in the KQED ATRIUM, Tony Walsh and Ken Eklund (World Without Oil) will present on the topic of games for change:

Games for Change has turned into its own movement of creatives, technologists and gamers who are developing interactive and game projects driven by social issues.Tony Walsh, CEO of Canadian game design firm Phantom Compass, and Ken Eklund, developer of the award-winning ARG World Without Oil unpack some of the most successful social change games and related creative experiments and provide a blueprint for filmmakers looking to get into "game space."

On April 17, 2009, Global News published our resource-management game "Global Village" as part of Global's Honda-sponsored Earth Day coverage. Play the game now.

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Company director Tony Walsh will be speaking about "Serious Games And Factual Content" at this year's DOC IT Conference in Toronto on April 19.

The discussion, which includes digital media theorist Cindy Poremba, will look at games as a means of more deeply engaging an audience in documentaries. Tony will present examples of work including Liberty News, the 'Save B Dangerous' ARG and Breakout! Games as practical means of illustrating how audience participation in factual content can be taken to new levels through game play.

We're happy to have been involved behind the scenes on two interactive projects based on Canadian-made TV series.

We delivered the lead functional design of the micro-world 'I Prophesy Interactive,' created by clients The Secret Location. Based on documentary anthology series I Prophesy: The Future Revealed from VisionTV, I Prophesy Interactive allows fans of the show and other visitors to take a journey of self-discovery through live chat and interactive exploration. Players extend themselves online as customizable 3D characters that can talk with other players, and travel between 13 different environments, each reflecting an episode from the TV show.

We were also involved in 'Rollbots Online,' produced by Xenophile Media Inc. in association with Amberwood Entertainment. The interactive component of the Rollbots TV series immerses users in a technological fantasy world populated by transforming robots. The games featured on the site are based on designs by Phantom Compass. Our designs are available for license in the form of design documents and as fully executed Flash source code. Please contact us for more information.

I'm happy to be a guest for the latest edition of the Ontario Science Centre's "Café Scientifique" discussion series. At 4pm, on Saturday, January 17, 2009, at Toronto's Rivoli (Queen Street West) I'll join fellow guests to find out if Game Theory can predict the outcome in politics, the economy and dating. I'm guessing the answer is "not bloody likely," but I'm thrilled to be involved in an event that relates strongly to Phantom Compass' "productive play" mission. I hope to add to the mix in talking about practical applications of game design theory in my game development work, and about some basic design theory concepts.

From the official event listing:
Curious about game theory?
Is there a mathematical way to predict human actions?
What do we learn when we play games and how does that relate to the real world?
Can playing games reveal the hidden strategy of the human mind?
Join our experts for drinks, debate, and discussion. For this cafe, we'll probably play a few games too!

Company founder / director Tony Walsh will be prowling the floor of the nextMEDIA "Monetizing Digital Media" conference in Toronto on November 18 and 19. One of eight screen-based content producers comprising the nextMEDIA/OMDC networking group, Tony will be looking to reconnect with old contacts and make new ones. You can reach him via voice or text on +1 416 894 0894 or via email at 'tony at phantomcompass dot com.'

Tony joins the following producers at the event:

• Kevin Airgid,CD, Airgid Media Inc
• John Bessai, President, CineFocus Canada Interactive
• Damon D'Oliveira, Partner/VP Production, Conquering Lion Pictures
• Erin Faith Young, President/Producer, caché film and television
• Jill Golick, Producer, Story2.OH
• David Oppenheim, Head of Development / Producer, Interactive, Kensington Communications Inc.
• Randall Thorne, Executive Director, The NE Inc.

Thanks to Achilles Media, the OMDC, and Trapeze Media for establishing and fostering the networking group.

Things are busy at Phantom Compass. We've added two junior game designers and one senior game designer to our in-house staff. We're working from a temporary production office on two major projects, with a number of in-development initiatives on the side-burner.

Here's how things are shaping up, events-wise:

• October 28 - 29, Toronto, Canada: Meet company founder/director Tony Walsh at the Game On: Finance conference.
• November 5 - 9, Sheffield, UK: Meet Tony Walsh at the annual Sheffield Doc/Fest. He'll be speaking about "ARGs and Docs" on Friday 07 November 2008 at 17:30.
• November 14, Toronto, Canada: Tony will be speaking at the Art & Design Educators VIP Preview of George Brown College's new School of Design facilities. The event goes from 12-3 pm, and the presentation is scheduled for 1 hour.

On the projects front, we've reorganized the Projects section of our web site to reflect our current productions, development efforts, and launched projects. We're now in production on Breakout Online!, a suite of games for an upcoming CBC TV series, and we're in production on a separate suite of game designs for a separate upcoming TV series (no further info at this time). Both projects--launching Q1, 2009--will establish a library of completed games and game designs for license. Most importantly we'll actually have some Flash games to show.

I'll be in Sheffield, UK this November for the bulk of the Sheffield Doc/Fest (the DigiDocs track, specifically). On Friday 07 November 2008 at 17:30, I'll be joining fellow speakers Dan Hon, Juan Carlos Pineiro Escoriaza, Wendy Levy, and Matt Adams for a panel entitled "Docs and ARGs."

An alternate reality game (ARG) 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 [...] This session focuses on what ARGs offer the world of documentary and what documentary makers can bring to the world of ARGs.

Really looking forward to what is bound to be a lively and informative discussion. Phantom Compass co-wrote the Liberty News alternate reality experience for Dan's company Six to Start earlier this year; I made a brief appearance in Juan Carlos' film Second Skin; I've worked with Wendy and her organization BAVC over the past couple of years. Haven't met Matt yet, but I'm familiar with some of his work.

If you're in Sheffield for DigiDocs, drop me a line if you'd like to meet up.

On September 25, 2008, Phantom Compass founder Tony Walsh will join Jill Golick in conversation about writing for digital media. Part of the monthly "Writers Watching TV" discussion series presented by the Writers Guild of Canada, Tony will talk about some of his previous freelance writing projects and recent Phantom Compass projects for interactive platforms.

What are some of the challenges and opportunities for producers, writers and storytellers presented by digital media? What happens to the relationship between audience and author in an interactive setting? We hope to address these questions and more.

The event will be held September 25 at Camera, 1028 Queen St West in Toronto. Seating is limited. There's a cash bar. We're not sure yet what time it starts.