The BradField Company


presents
Inanimate Alice - www.inanimatealice.com
'Inanimate Alice' tells the story of Alice, growing up in the early years of the 21st century. Written and directed by writer Kate Pullinger and digital artist Chris Joseph, this series of multimedia, interactive episodes uses a combination of text, sound, images, and games as Alice takes us on a journey through her life from the age of eight through to her twenties. Alice becomes a games animator; not just any animator, but a creator of characters for the most successful games company in the world.

And one character stands out: Brad, Alice's only true friend in life. The ten episodes of 'Inanimate Alice' become increasingly interactive and game-like, reflecting Alice's own developing skills as a game designer and animator. 'Inanimate Alice' is a study of human/computer relations in a world where having friends means never having to meet them.


Kate Pullinger works both in print and new media. Her most recent novels include A Little Stranger (2006), Weird Sister (1999) and The Last Time I Saw Jane (1996), and the short story collections My Life as a Girl in a Men's Prison (1997) and Tiny Lies (1989). Her current digital fiction projects include her multiple award-winning collaboration with Chris Joseph on 'Inanimate Alice', a multimedia episodic digital fiction, and 'Flight Paths', a networked novel, created on an through the internet. She's also involved in developing a fiction for mobile phones. Kate Pullinger is Reader in Creative Writing and New Media at De Montfort University where she teaches on the online MA in Creative Writing and New Media.

Chris Joseph is a digital writer and artist who has created work as babel. Past projects include The Breathing Wall with Kate Pullinger and Stefan Schemat, a groundbreaking digital novel that responds to the reader's breathing rate, and Animalamina, a collection of interactive poetry for children. He is currently Digital Writer in Residence at the Institute of Creative Technologies in De Montfort University, Leicester, UK.

Communications
Press release, 19 April 2007:
Kate Pullinger is shortlisted for the 2007 British Female Innovators and Inventors Award

Press release, 31 March 2007:
Inanimate Alice Links with Nancy Drew Fans at Her Interactive


Hyper Entertainment
18 Soho Square
Suite 303
London W1D 3QL
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7025 8077 (main)
Email: info@hyperentertainment.com


The BradField Company Ltd.
Email: ian@inanimatealice.com

Contributors
Binnorie (Brad illustrations)
Karl Sinfield (Website design)
Peter Sobolev (Episode 3 photography)
Rob Stacy (Concept art)

Translators
Apostrophe (Episode 1 French, Episodes 2 and 3 French, German, Italian and Spanish)
Carlos Maestre (Episode 1 Spanish)
Jess Laccetti (Episode 1 Italian)
Nadine Fleischer (Episode 1 German)

Episode 1: China

Episode 2: Italy

Episode 3: Russia
Awards
Winner, Premio per l'arte digitale, Italian Ministry of Culture, Department for Cultural and Environmental Heritage, DARC (General Directorate for Contemporary Architecture and Art), MAXXI (National Museum for 21st Century Arts) and the Fondazione Rosselli, Italy (2/2006)

'Hall of Fame' Finalist, 2006 Digital Media Awards, Dublin, Ireland (2/2006)

Finalist, Seoul Net Festival 2006, Korea (5/2006)

Selected Work, Eighth International Digital Art Exhibit, Havana, Cuba (6/2006)

Finalist, ACE 2006 at NICOGRAPH International, Seoul, Korea (6/2006)

Finalist, ACM SiGCHI International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology (ACE) 2006, Los Angeles, USA (6/2006)

Finalist ('multimedia' category), AVANCA 06, Avanca, Portugal (7/2006)

Mentorship scholarship, Banff Centre Interactive Project Lab, Banff, Alberta, Canada (10/2006)

Selected Work, CYNETart 10th International Festival for Computer-Based Art, Dresden, Germany (11/2006)

Selected Work, 404 International Festival of Electronic Art, Rosario, Argentina (11-12/2006)

Selected Work, Astas Romas, Rosario, Argentina (11-12/2006)

Selected Work, III International Exhibit of Digital Art, Santa Fe, Argentina (11-12/2006)

Selected Works, 20th Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Stuttgart, Germany (1-3/2007)

IBM New Media Prize, 20th Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Stuttgart, Germany (5/2007)

Selected Finalist, 2008 CULTURAS Intercultural Dialogue Awards, Madrid, Spain (9/2007)

Finalist (Interactive productions category), Learning on Screen Awards 2008, British Universities Film & Video Council, UK (2/2008)
 
 
In The News


The Columbian (USA, 5/2008)
Minneapolis Star Tribune (USA, 3/2008)
The Leicester Mercury (UK, 3/2008)
Star Tribune (USA, 2/2008)
The Philadelphia Inquirer (12/2007)
O'Reilly Radar (USA, 8/2007)
El Pais (Spain, 4/2007)
Digg (4/2007)
The Philadelphia Inquirer (USA, 3/2007)
ICTeachers (UK, 3/2007)
Tuổi Trẻ Online (Vietnam, 12/2006)
techsty - literature and new media (Poland, 12/2006)
Guardian Unlimited (UK, 12/2006)
hero.ac.uk (UK, 11/2006)
jobs.ac.uk (UK, 10/2006)
BBC Leicester (UK, 9/2006)
East Midlands Incubation Network (UK, 9/2006)
BBC News (UK, 8/2006)
GameRoobie (8/2006)
Digital-Lifestyles.info (8/2006)
HEXUS.gaming (8/2006)
gamesindustry.biz (8/2006)
The Short Story / Book Trust (UK, 3/2006)
Jay is Games (2/2006)
Betwixt and Between (2/2006)

 

Screenings

2008 Biennale, Sydney, Australia (6-9/2008)

404 International Festival of Electronic Art, Trieste, Italy (5/2008)

FILE RIO 2008 - Electronic Language International Festival, Oi Futuro Cultural Center, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2-3/2008)

European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008 (12/2007)

Interactive Futures 2007, Victoria, Canada (11/2007)

Electrofringe 2007, Newcastle, Australia (9-10/2007)

2008 CULTURAS Intercultural Dialogue Awards, Madrid, Spain (9/2007)

lazylaces (8/2007)

newgrounds (7/2007)

FILE RIO - Electronic Language International Festival, Oi Futuro Cultural Center, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (3-4/2007)

20th Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Stuttgart, Germany (1-3/2007)

III International Exhibit of Digital Art, Santa Fe, Argentina (11-12/2006)

Astas Romas, Rosario, Argentina (11-12/2006)

404 International Festival of Electronic Art, Rosario, Argentina (11-12/2006)

CYNETart, Kunsthaus, Dresden, Germany (11/2006)

LA Freewaves, Los Angeles, USA (11/2006)

Banff Centre Interactive Project Lab, Banff, Alberta, Canada (10/2006)

Media Art Friesland 2006, Leeuwarden, Drachten, Beetsterzwaag and Groningen, The Netherlands (9-10/2006)

DRHA (Digital Resources in the Humanities and Arts) Conference 2006, Dartington, UK (9/2006)

Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival, Edinburgh, UK (8/2006)

FILE - Electronic Language International Festival, SESI Gallery, São Paulo, Brazil (8/2006)

AVANCA 06 (Finalist 'multimedia' category), Avanca, Portugal (7/2006)

DiverseWorks netArt Exhibition, Houston, Texas, USA (7/2006)

Revelation Perth International Film Festival, Perth, Australia (7/2006)

CGIV06 (3rd International Conference on Computer Graphics, Imaging and Visualization), Sydney, Australia (7/2006)

IV06 (10th International Conference on Imaging and Visualisation), London, UK (7/2006)

Eighth International Digital Art Exhibit (Jury Selected Work), Havana, Cuba (6/2006)

ACE 2006 (Selected Finalist) at NICOGRAPH International, Seoul, Korea (6/2006)

ACM SiGCHI International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology (ACE) 2006 (Selected Finalist), Los Angeles, USA (6/2006)

Izolenta/06 International Film Festival, St. Petersburg, Russia (5/2006)

Seoul Net Festival 2006 (Selected Finalist), Seoul, Korea (5/2006)

Thailand New Media Arts Festival 2006, Bangkok, Thailand (5/2006)

Animafest New Media Competition, Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films, Zagreb, Croatia (5/2006)

DLux D>Art.2006, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia (4/2006)

Propeller TV (4/2006)

The Electronic Literature Collection volume 1 (CD-ROM), The Electronic Literature Organization, UCLA, Los Angeles, USA (3/2006)

Classical/Digital, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Canada (2/2006)





“Don't miss this excellent and award-winning interactive narrative experience” (jayisgames.com)

“This is wonderful. It's really amazing to see how computer animation is going to change the way we tell a story... Really good stuff.” (jayisgames.com)

“Beautifully designed, brilliantly inventive” (Hyperliterature Exchange, hyperex.co.uk)

“....ebooks. it's not about the device, it's about the experience. and the experience is not about what you or I think of as "reading" because that is not what will happen. I was profoundly struck by inanimatealice.com. people should take a look at that production. imagine that, and imagine that *authored* easily, and portable, and you see a glimpse of the near future.” (Peter Brantley)

“A very creative take on digital storytelling, there's nothing else like it on the net.” (Kris Abel, CTV.ca)

“It's funky, clever, daring, invokes cool visualizes, sets the mood with edgy music and tells a great story.” (Kenny Kellogg, kennykellogg.com)

“....a mysterious new web-based flash game, the likes of which we haven't seen before.....it's more the style, quality plot and overall sophistication of presentation that has kept us interested.” (www.tiscali.co.uk/games)

“The story is told with child-like innocence by Alice in an almost poetic fashion and is told through some very sophisticated and design oriented animation. Very stylish work.” (Revelation Film Festival. Perth, Australia)

“Not only is it one of the best pieces of flash fiction I have ever seen, but it's suitable for children... just breathtaking in aesthetics and design.” (Angela A. Thomas)

“It is way cooler than an e-book, because you interact with the story...I would encourage you to go visit Inanimate Alice. You'll enjoy your time.” (Childhood bibliophile, chbibliophile.blogspot.com)

“An excellent example of strong fiction existing online” (jesslaccetti.co.uk)

“A fine example of what can be done using new media tools to create narrative for the web. The balance of text, imagery and audio in the story gives the narrative a pace perfectly suited to the medium.” (runran.net)

“...pioneering material that is already surprisingly accomplished and opens up new writing dimensions.” (MartinGoodman.com)

“Push[es] flash to new levels of expression. It is a real multimedia tour de force... I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to see what see the new kinds of narration that networked computer can deliver!” (betwixtandbetween.blogspot.com)

“A very interesting Flash-based kinetic novel... A nice little piece to study if you're thinking of making a Flash-based ren'ai game or kinetic novel.”(lemmasoft.renai.us)

“There have been flash movies and animations and even games for a while now. Yet as I delve deeper and deeper into the realms of flash and online movie productions, the more and more I am convinced that "flash" is the new creative writing/photography/film/...hybrid. I just stumbled across this great story/flash vid. It's called Inanimate Alice... and it was awesome.” (hearts-keep.livejournal.com)

“I love the music, I keep the windows open after they're done playing just to hear the credit music. I've found a new obsession.” (Nordinho.net)

“Not your average animation...something for grown ups and plenty for kids” (AwesomeArts.com)

“Who says that hypertext stories are all like "difficult listening music" and made only for adults?... I am looking forward to playing with the other installments soon.” (Steven D. Krause)

“...that extraordinary thing, a genuinely original, engrossing piece of narrative using Flash.” (RelaxedParents.com)

“...a wonderful throwback to early interactive media work which mixed audio, video, text and images in simple ways but to powerful effect.” (Bob Stein, futureofthebook.org)

“...the 'digital drama' everyone's talking about” (Big A little a)

“Check out Inanimate Alice... it will suck you right into its tale” (Roger Sutton, hbook.com)

“Let me be clear. I'm not talking about a game or a virtual environment. I'm definitely not talking about a toy or a movie. I'm talking about a new medium that integrates the narrative form of a book with new ways of telling the story which are digital. And now I think I've found the first completed instance of it. ” (Kristen McLean, Executive Director, The Association of Booksellers for Children - pixiestixkidspix.wordpress.com)

“It's no secret that I love my action games, my platformers, my rhythm games, my survival horror and adventure games. But... I've practically ignored web-based interactive games/art like Inanimate Alice, which is close to a crime in my book.” (The New Gamer)

“I am hooked on the Alice story now... this kind of storytelling can grab you.” (Book Moot)

“...do check out inanimate alice, an online serial children's/YA story told with interactive media... It's a fast-paced, mysterious story, and the pictures and sounds support the text. It's thoroughly absorbing, as good as having your own little movie, or, since it's interactive, your own little game.” (Finding Wonderland: The WritingYA Weblog)

“A wonderful story told in a new and exciting way.” (Julia Farley, keenthings.blogspot.com)

 

Netchatter

Tipline (4/2008)

'Twas Brillig (4/2008)

Dr Ruth Page - Digital Narratives (4/2008)

Hollie Marshall (4/2008)

Literature Discovery (4/2008)

Libgaming (3/2008)

Principalville (3/2008)

School Library Journal (3/2008)

HFs Conversations (3/2008)

Alice's House of Leaves (3/2008)

Moreena (3/2008)

Library - Interactive Multimedia Story (3/2008)

booksinq (3/2008)

MCVUK - Market for Home Computing and Video Games (2/2008)

Becca's blog (2/2008)

Nichole, English 3010 (2/2008)

Dan's Dive (2/2008)

DianneD (1/2008)

Electronic Literature (Dene Grigar) (1/2008)

simplekaywa (1/2008, in German)

Finding Wonderland: The WritingYA Weblog (12/2007)

Big A little a (12/2007)

Kenny Kellogg (12/2007)

Wor::site (12/2007)

1682 Japone (11/2007)

New Media module, De Montfort University (11/2007)

Angela A. Thomas (8/2007)

Jess Laccetti (8/2007)

Renewals Conference, University of London (7/2007)

Adolescent Literacies (4/2007)

Angela A. Thomas (3/2007)

Centre for Creative Communities Interchanges 30, Winter 2007 (1/2007)

Finding Wonderland: The WritingYA Weblog (1/2007)

Book Moot (1/2007)

The New Gamer (1/2007)

pixie stix kids pix (1/2007)

Grand Text Auto (Nick Montfort) (12/2006)

Jay is Games (12/2006)

Matteo Bittanti (12/2006)

Guardian blog (12/2006)

(Public) Thoughts of a Finite Mind (12/2006)

Swen (12/2006)

Bookshelves of Doom (12/2006)

The Reticulated Python (12/2006)

Alpha (12/2006, in German)

GamePad (12/2006)

Roger Sutton (12/2006)

Jaboko (12/2006)

Writing Machines (12/2006)

Big A little a (12/2006)

Blogger of Books (11/2006)

Pop Culture Rules '06 (11/2006)

Awesome Arts (pdf - 11/2006)

The Penguin Blog (11/2006)

Literary Experience Group (11/2006)

Steven D. Krause (11/2006)

Media Studies: New Media, De Montfort University (10/2006)

Relaxed Parents (10/2006)

Binnorie (10/2006)

Gareth Doodles (8/2006)

Martin Goodman (6/2006)

Future of the Book (6/2006)

Jess Laccetti (2/2006)

Pure Land Etchings (2/2006)

hearts_keep (2/2006)