Tony Walsh's Secret Lair

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Tony Walsh has been playing, modifying, and developing games for over 30 years. He has helped plan and execute story-driven interactive projects since the early 1990s, including four award-winning extended-TV games. A multi-disciplined creative, Walsh has become internationally-recognized for his work at the intersection of games and culture.

In 2008, Walsh founded Phantom Compass, a Toronto-based game production company. He leads the company in providing products and services to broadcasters and media producers in Canada, the US and UK.

With Phantom Compass, Walsh co-wrote the interactive component of BBC Three series “Spooks: Code 9,” created an Alternate Reality Game in support of Hollywood B-movie “Bangkok Dangerous” and co-produced a suite of Flash games for CBC TV series “Breakout!” He is currently producing and directing “Dionysian Dream,” an original Phantom Compass game designed to teach teens and adults about classical Greek drama.

As a consultant, speaker, and mentor, Walsh shares his experience with organizations and institutions around the world. He developed and taught game design courses for George Brown College and Centennial College in Canada. He has coached film, television, and interactive producers in Canada, Australia, the USA, and UK. He is an advisory group member of the Australian Film, Television, and Radio School, the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, and Screenburn at SXSW in Texas.

Walsh appeared in the 2008 game culture documentary "Second Skin," is a games commentator on Canadian TV, and has been cited in such publications as Wired, Discover, Utne, and the Harvard Business Review. He has presented to international audiences on such topics as the intersection of sex and gaming, the role of marketing in virtual worlds, and the relationships between factual films and “Alternate Reality” games.

Selected Professional Credits

2009

Co-Producer, Breakout Games for Phantom Compass / Breakout Media / CBC TV

2008

Director, Save B Dangerous (Alternate Reality Game) for GGL Global Gaming League

Lead Writer, Liberty News (interactive component for BBC Three TV series Spooks: Code 9) for Six to Start

2007

Game Design Consultant, MI High - Whack the Mole for Xenophile Media / BBC
This project won the 2009 Rose d’Or Award in the Multi-Platform category.

Game Designer, The Border: Interactive for Stitch Media / CBC

2006

Game Designer / Writer, Fallen Alternate Reality Game for Xenophile Media / Disney / ABC Family
-- This project was awarded Interactive TV Emmy & a SXSW Web Award

2005

Game Designer / Writer, ReGenesis Extended Reality Game (Season 2) for Xenophile Media / The Movie Network
-- This project won a Canadian New Media Award for Excellence in Cross Platform; an International Emmy for Best Interactive Program in 2007; a Gemini Award for Best Cross-Platform Project; a Banff World Television Award

Lead Designer, ThisIsDanielCook.com (Season 2) for Marblemedia / TreehouseTV
This project won an iParenting Media Award; an award for Best Website at the Alliance for Children and Television's Awards of Excellence; This project was nominated for a Gemini Award for Best Cross-Platform Project; a finalist for the NHK Japan Web Prize

2004

Lead Designer, ThisIsDanielCook.com (Season 1) for Marblemedia / TreehouseTV

Game Designer, ReGenesis Extended Reality Game (Season 1) for Xenophile Media / The Movie Network
-- This project was nominated for a FITC Convergence Award

2001

Creative Lead, Babar.com for Kaboose / Corus Entertainment

Content Creator, MuchMusic web games for CHUM Interactive

1994 - 2000

Creative Lead, Jacob Two Two (Official Movie Web Site) for ExtendMedia / Shaftesbury Films

Creative Lead, Dreamcatchers (CD-ROM) for ExtendMedia / Science Alberta Foundation

Interactive Designer, Fred Penner: Company Coming (CD-ROM) for Digital Fusion Multimedia

Content Creator, Mazlo's Animated Spelling Adventure, Vol.1 & 2 (CD-ROM) for Digital Fusion Multimedia

Creator, "Rat Boy" segment of Treble Charger Enhanced CD (CD-ROM) for Digital Renaissance / BMG Music

Knowledge Transfer

2008

Mentor, Producers Institute for New Media Technologies for the Bay Area Video Coalition

Mentor, "Digital Development Lab" for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Instructor, Game Design Program, George Brown College.

2007

Instructor, Game Design Program, George Brown College.

Instructor, Game Design Program, Centennial College.

Instructor, Game Design Workshop (2 days), Canadian Film Centre.

Mentor, Producers Institute for New Media Technologies for the Bay Area Video Coalition

Mentor, Laboratory for Advanced Media Production for the Australian Radio, Television, and Film School

Professional Associations

Advisory Committee, Game Design Program, George Brown College (Toronto, Canada)

Advisory Board, Screenburn Festival / SXSW (Austin, Texas, USA)

Pool of Masterminds advisory group, Royal Academy of Art (The Hague, the Netherlands)

Professional Associate, Australian Film, Television, and Radio School

Member, International Game Developers Association