Writer for all digital content in this hybrid digital/physical experience created by Spyscape in collaboration with Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment and DC. Story by Gail Simone.
“users truly do feel like they're chatting with DC Universe's infamous characters” - Time Out New York
Tickets on sale here: https://spyscape.com/batman
I was commissioned by Future Everything and Mozilla to create a piece of interactive fiction exploring themes of Money and the Environment, as part of Mozfest 2022.
The result of this was a short piece written in Twine called Mine, which takes the reader into three different locations and times, connected by the idea of “mining” and scarcity.
You can play Mine here: https://veniceasadolphin.itch.io/mine
Shortlisted for the if:book UK New Media Writing Prize 2021
All of Me: The Twine is an intimate, absurd online exploration for one player of wanting to live, wanting to die and what can happen if we sit together with the dark.
Adapted from the grudgingly hopeful, occasionally funny stage show, it is Caroline Horton and director Alex Swift’s first leap into the world of interactive digital work. In this new Twine version, the player must navigate their own journey through this unapologetically dark show about dark things.
I was brought on board as Interactive Dramaturg, guiding Caroline and Alex through the world of interactive fiction and the format of Twine and exploring possible structures of interactivity.
“Superb creative innovation” – The Stage
“The dramaturgy of this piece is so clever – William Drew’s work is sharp and the journey of the protagonist (of me?) is carefully crafted” – Exeunt Magazine
All of Me: The Twine is available to play for free from the China Plate website here.
Threads is a digital experience for 10-14-year-olds, exploring sustainable fashion.
It was commissioned by Global Goals Centre in Bristol.
I worked with illustrator Ellie Shipman and developer Viki Johnson to create it in Unity.
It’s available here: https://globalgoalscentre.org/project/threads/
How can we secure our fortunes in the future of work?
This immersive story-game, made by BAFTA-winning play-makers Coney in partnership with the Future Work Centre of the RSA uses experiential focus groups, playing futures and provoking debate to take us on a journey into 2035.
“Here at VSNRY we’re tackling the Big Qs, Big Qs about you. We do this with our experiential focus groups: playing futures, provoking debate and discovering how we feel in the face of uncertainty.
But what if your future wasn’t uncertain? What if all the tools we need to better grasp certainty are right here?
Join VSNRY for the invaluable opportunity to better understand your own fortune, simply by answering some simple questions and making some minor decisions. Together, we can find more options in the evolving present.
Writer for this Coney project, in collaboration with the RSA’s Centre for Future Work. This was intended to be part of Futurefest in March 2020. Due to the pandemic, the work was moved online and one of the three interactive stories I wrote are hosted on the Futurefest website here: https://futurefest.org/experience/big-tech-future/
What foul deeds did you do last night? Jekyll / Hyde is an interactive mobile game that plunges you into a world where your memory can’t be trusted, and neither can those around you. You’ll have 90 minutes to search for hidden clues around the streets of Lambeth: uncover the truth about your actions decide what your future will hold... if it’s not already too late.
Part theatrical adventure and scavenger hunt, Jekyll/Hyde blends mobile game technology with narrative storytelling and real-world characters. You’ll be guided through the streets via a web app on your smartphone, whilst also encountering a cast of real-life characters as you make your way through dark and sinister surroundings.
Writer on this real-world game inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novella for Fire Hazard Games, running at Vault Festival in London until 22 March.
Tickets available here
“an exhilarating night out… William Drew writes a compelling script” (Broadway World *****)
“The story is a real hoot” (Theatre Weekly ****)
COULD YOU MAKE THE CUT AS A COLD WAR SPY?
Can you invent a cover story, plant a dead-drop or tail a suspect? Can you pass the miniscule tests of character and behaviour devised by The Circus to evaluate your ‘agent potential’?
I was lead writer on this sell-out real world street game in September 2018 created by The Ink Factory and Fire Hazard Games.
kintsugi haiku was created for Global Game Jam 2020, the theme of which was “repair”. It is an interactive poem where the reader can change the words to create their own version.
It’s available for free on itch.
You’re invited on an adventure in search of the Cheshire Cat. Follow the mischievous cat’s curious clues on a journey across the city into the strange, surreal and absurd. Weave through galleries in search of reflection, scour the literary archives for wares of Wonderland word and descend into cellar vaults to paws for drinks. Discover a darker side to the world of Wonderland. And perhaps to yourself, too.
I was part of the game design team for HiddenCity on this immersive game that takes place across the streets of London.
The Green Gold Conspiracy was a Coney project commissioned by Chester Zoo, as a piece of interactive dinner theatre to raise awareness about sustainable palm oil. We created a tabletop role-playing game pitting each table against each other as plantation owners in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
I created, wrote and designed this with Tassos Stevens.
This was presented at Chester Zoo and the Lowry Centre, Salford, in 2015.
New Scientist wrote about the project here: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2075047-gaming-theatre-could-spark-a-playful-interest-in-science/
Wayland, a mythical craftsman, challenges you to uncover a city transformed by imagination. Once a visionary smith sought by gods and kings alike, he now invites you on a journey of cryptic clues. On your adventure, you'll uncover a legacy of ice empires, floating literature and frozen fiery cream. Solve his final challenge, and he might have something for you.
I was lead writer and lead designer on this real world game for HiddenCity. Launched in 2016.
You can still play it here: https://www.inthehiddencity.com/london/mind-of-the-maker
An experience inspired by the world of Sherlock Holmes.
Professor James Moriarty invites you on a journey through the criminal underworld. Solve a trail of clues, sent to your phone, as you attempt to seek out his safehouse. Succeed and he'll present you with an offer you won't refuse...
I was co-writer on this real world game from HiddenCity, released in 2015.
You can still play it here: https://www.inthehiddencity.com/london/moriartys-game
The Eschaton was inspired by the game described in David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. It was first play-tested at the Battersea Arts Centre with Coney and then presented at festivals such as Playpublik in Berlin and igFest in Bristol.
Here’s a video of the first play-test: https://vimeo.com/39562023
