Universe Creation 101 is about creating comedic playful stories that try and change things (and sometimes don’t try at all).
Universe Creation 101 is headed by Christy Dena, a writer-designer-director who has worked on award-winning pervasive games, film, digital and theatre projects.
Her web audio adventure “AUTHENTIC IN ALL CAPS” won the Interactive Media category at the 2014 Australian Writers’ Guild Awards; won the Digital Narrative category at the 2014 WA Premier’s Book Awards; Official Selection at the 2014 Media Arts Show for the Electronic Literature Organization; and a prototype was Runner Up for Best Writing in a Game at the 2012 Freeplay Independent Games Festival. It also was successfully crowdfunded with contributors from over 14 countries, and attracted funding from Screen Australia.
Christy has been commissioned to create a game for Experimenta’s 5th International Biennial of Media Art: Recharge. The game, Magister Ludi, was also part of the Official Selection for the Freeplay Independent Games Festival event Parallels. The installation was launched in Melbourne in November 2014 and will tour around Australia, as well as be available online.
In 2013, Christy was granted Australia’s first Digital Writing Residency at The Cube for her project “Robot University,” with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts and QUT.
In 2012, she was the “Digital Writing Ambassador” for the Emerging Writers Festival. Previously she worked extensively with the Australian Literature Board on their “Story of the Future” initiative, including co-writing “The Writers Guide to Making a Digital Living” for the Australian Literature Board.
She co-founded with Lance Weiler a residential lab for storytellers working in tech called “Forward Slash Story“. Christy also runs a “digital writers’ room” and “Deep Games” workshop for intermediate writers.
Her clients include Nokia, Cisco/No Mimes Media, ABC, Wieden+Kennedy, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Noah Falstein, Ken Eklund & Agency of Coney, and more. She has given keynotes and presentations at film, tech, writing, and gaming festivals worldwide. She has mentored industry professionals around the world; has written numerous articles on writing and design; been published in numerous books; and wrote a PhD on Transmedia Practice.
She is Professor Adjunct at Creative Industries, QUT; Senior Lecturer, Games at SAE Creative Media Institute Brisbane; a Member of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Emmys); Member of the Australian Directors Guild; Member of the Australian Writers’ Guild, and a Board Member of the Entertainment Technology Press (ETC).
Christy blogs about articles and presentations on her personal website, curates deep games & shares articles and videos she finds interesting on Pinterest; and she used to share war stories at You Suck At Transmedia.
An older hi-res photo of Christy can be downloaded from this page.